The Tour de France is the biggest cycling race in the world and the one with most coverage. Yet, it is rare to hear stories of disagreements and battles within the peloton, as riders are well aware of how quickly statements in the heat of the moment can change a lot. However a ‘breath of fresh air’ can be found in Tobias Lund Andresen who has talked about two riders in particular who have annoyed him quite a lot in this race.The Dane, who raced for Team Picnic PostNL – sprinting for his own chances, but frequently being in a supporting role for Pavel Bittner and Oscar Onley – has given insight on Visma’s tactics and Tadej Pogacar’s tension with the Dutch team. But the 22-year old has his own remarks on the race and some of his competitors.
And he surprisingly names a compatriot within them: “Kasper Asgreen is always sitting there alone and in the way,” Lund Andresen said in Eurosport’s Radio Tour. “Then we’re all together with the whole team, and then a rider from one team comes along and thinks he should be there. That’s not how it works in a stage race”.
In the Tour the stakes are as high as they can be and this leads to an ever-stressful race, and Lund Andresen – a sprinter – was often involved in the leadout battles and could witness riders taking massive risks.
“Of course, there are several who irritated me, but if I had to name the one who irritated me the most… Damian Touzé was always in the way,” he said of the Cofidis rider. One particular moment was that of stage 20, where the breakaway had already finished the stage but in the peloton there was a fight for minor places. But despite the lack of importance in these, there were still big risks taken and the Frenchman was involved in a crash inside the final kilometer.
“I come in with the peloton and then you can sprint for thirteenth place. And then they crash in the group with 800 meters to go. Touzé crashes,” he explains. “I’m not happy that someone crashes, but I saw it coming.”