Marc Soler: “Why can't I repeat the 2017 podium?”

Sant Feliu de Guixols (Girona), 21 Mar The Spanish cyclist Marc Soler (UAE Team Emirates) is optimistically facing the Volta Ciclista a Catalunya that starts this Monday in Sant Feliu de Guixols, where he is able to repeat the podium (he was third in the 2017 edition) after completing a good performance in the recent Tirreno- Adriatico, finishing in fifteenth position.
“Why can’t I repeat the 2017 podium?” , asks the Catalan cyclist in an interview with EFE before the start of the race.
“I am very happy with my performance in the Tirreno-Adriatico and the result could have been even better. Now are the Volta and the Tour of the Basque Country, in which I will have more freedom”, announces the 28-year-old athlete.
The UAE Team Emirates training for this 101 edition of the Volta is powerful. In addition to Marc Soler, there will be Portuguese Joao Almeida and Rui Costa, who are also running to fight for the top positions in the general standings. “We have a good team, with several riders who will fight for the general. The goal is to be as high as possible”, says Soler.
This time you can’t imagine a podium closed by the INEOS team, which in the previous edition won a historic treble with Adam Yates as the winner, and Richie Porte and Geraint Thomas as second and third place.
Of the three, only Porte will be there this year, although INEOS will continue to have important names such as that of Ecuadorian Richard Carapaz and Polish Michal Kwiatkovski.
“Last year the time trial made a big difference, this time the podium will be more open. INEOS also has a good team with Richie Porte, Alejandro Valverde always plays a good role in the Volta and Simon Yates already demonstrated in Paris-Nice that he is at a great level (he finished second). In addition, I am sure that my teammates will also be on top”, analyzes the UAE Team Emirates cyclist.
The two major mountain stages will be on Wednesday and Thursday, with finals in La Molina and Boí Taüll, respectively. “I have known the ports of the La Molina stage for other years, but that is not the case with those of Boí Taüll”, admits Soler. In any case, he considers that “they are ports that adapt well” to his “characteristics”.
Experience tells Soler that the Volta general will be decided in these two stages. “They will mark the way quite a lot. Last year, when I was at Movistar, we tried to make a difference to INEOS in the last stage in Montjuïc so that Alejandro Valverde could be on the podium, but it was not possible. If someone has not yielded in the mountain stages, it is very difficult for them to do so in Montjuïc”, he says.
But contenders for the top positions in the general standings will have to be vigilant from day one, as the expected wind and rain can complicate the first two stages. “Rain always affects and adds danger. In the final three kilometres of the Sant Feliu de Guixols stage, you will have to be careful”, warns the cyclist from Vilanova i la Geltrú.
Precisely, the fifth stage, ideal for sprinters, will end in this town on the Barcelona coast. “Running at home is always a special illusion. There I will meet my people and the people of cycling”, explains Soler, whose main objectives this season are the Tour de France and the Vuelta a España. CHIEF
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