"C'est le Tour" they say insistently, the best race in the worldthe excellence of cycling. The most important annual sporting event, always in July, and this time with Mobel dressing in a special way the dean team of the peloton, Cofidis, which will put its hopes on Ion Izagirre, Guillaume Martin, Jesús Herrada, Bryan Coquard, Simon Geschke, Alexis Renard, Piet Allegaert and Axel Zingle.
"This is our best possible team"explains team manager Cédric Vasseur, who knows the race inside out, having been a leader, won a couple of stages and been in ten editions as a rider, plus the ones he has done as a director, about the eight-time Cofidis starter.
Present here since 1997Cofidis has built a love affair with the most important race in the world that has continued uninterrupted to this day and this time with a very high bar, in view of the two stages they won a year ago.
Ion Izagirre in a race that inspires him
Of the two victories, the second was won by Ion Izagirre from Guipuzcoa, a cyclist who is particularly inspired in France. His ride through the Massif Central a year ago contains indelible images such as the one in which he left Mathieu Van der Poel on the wheel.
"It's an honour to be here, and it will be ten Tours already. It's the most prestigious race in our sport and each edition has something special. I want to get as many breakaways as possible and look for another stage win, without forgetting to give Guillaume a hand," said Ion, moments before setting off for the start in Florence.
With him, a "balanced" team has been put together, in Vasseur's words, "with options for the sprints with Bryan Coquard and experienced people in the breakaways".
Experience and know-how are embodied in the figure of Guillaume Martin, in his seventh Tour: "We're going to have a curious route, with mountains almost at the start, flat stages in the middle and the finish in Nice. We come with the morale of two victories last year".
Another wheel to follow will be that of Jesús Herrada, a good stage-hunter, with experience on the podium at the Vuelta and who in the Tour wants to improve on his second place on MontAigoual four years ago. "I want a stage win and I've already come close," he says at the outset.
On the other side of the team, Bryan Coquard, a good sprinter and pistard, is looking to flat stages: "It's been many years that I've been close to victory without achieving it. However, I know that I'll have a chance if I get into a small group".
Three weeks ahead to add to and make the history of this team even greater, the doyen of the best race in the world, a historic team that always makes its presence felt, gets into the cuts, provokes the breakaways and has a good haul in these more than 25 years of shared history, a book with a chapter of white pages that will come dressed by Mobel.
More than 300 garments of Mobel by the Tour 2024
But let's go into detail, let's take a look at the list of parts that Mobel has for its debut in the best race in the world.
Every cyclist will have at his or her disposal, pieces for the famous "French summer", alternating hot days and not so hot days. A wardrobe designed for all climates in just a few days:
- Two short-sleeved jerseys in plain fabric for mild weather.
- Four short-sleeved jerseys with micro-warmed fabric for warm weather.
- Three warm-weather compression shorts.
- Three bib shorts with perforated fabric for warm weather.
- Two integral overalls for in-line stages.
- Two chrono divers for time trial.
- A lightweight long sleeve jersey for cool weather.
- A long sleeve fleece jersey for cold weather.
- Two windproof jackets and two waterproof jackets.
- A waterproof jacket and a membrane jacket.
- Various quantities of different types of gloves, socks, sleeves, boots and hats complete the luggage of complements.
In addition, sprinters Bryan Coquard, Alexis Renard and Axel Zingle have full suits made with aerodynamic fabrics and a special pattern perfected for sprint finishes.
In addition to this, there are thermal jackets to wait for the cyclists at the finish line on days with high finishes in cold or rainy weather.
The team also has about ten spares of each garment in various sizes, in case they are dropped, lost or torn. We hope not to have to use them.
Always for the most important races of the year, a pair of bib shorts per size and colour of the different classifications of the Tour (yellow, green, red polka dots and white) is produced in case you wear the leader's jersey of one of them.
We're off and running, our first Tour de France has started!
