Valter motivated to lead Team Visma | Lease a Bike in Strade Bianche
Attila Valter (25) will be as proud as he can be when he starts the Strade Bianche on Saturday. The Hungarian is the leader of Team Visma | Lease a Bike. It will be Valter's third appearance at the event, having previously finished fourth and fifth on the Italian gravel roads.
The race in and around Siena is high on the list of priorities for many riders. "Strade Bianche is my favourite race”, Valter says. "I come from mountain biking. I love racing on dirt roads. I also love the Tuscan countryside. It is one of the most spectacular races of the year. This will be my third participation. The first two went well, with two top-five finishes.”
Last week, the Hungarian champion finished fifth in the UAE Tour. "So the form is good. I had a good week in the UAE. The training sessions are also going well. I can say that I am ready”, Valter says.
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"This year's Strade will be even longer and more demanding than last year's”, says Valter, referring to the fact that this year's race features no less than 215 kilometres and fifteen off-road sections. "But this is to my advantage. I like tough and challenging races. This is my first one-day race of the season. I surprised myself by finishing fifth in the UAE Tour. That gives me a lot of satisfaction and motivation.”
"It is an honour to be the leader"
There will be plenty of big names at the start, Valter admits. "With Tadej Pogacar and Thomas Pidcock, among others, the field is very strong. We hope to match or even improve on last year's result. Personal development is my biggest goal in cycling. It would be great to finish close to the podium. However, luck will play a role for every rider, Valter says.
"Attila will indeed be our leader”, sports director Arthur van Dongen says. "He has more than earned that status, not least because of his results in the Strade Bianche. We will start with a strong team, including Christophe Laporte and Sepp Kuss. Sepp recently showed that he is at home on the gravel of Jaén. He will be in good form and full of confidence. A podium would be fantastic, but we would also be happy to match Attila's result from last year.”
Valter can hardly wait for Saturday. "It is an honour to be the leader. I can hardly believe that men like Christophe and Sepp, not to mention the gravel riders, will be working for me. It feels uncomfortable, but it also gives me a lot of strength. I hope to repay the team's trust with a good result.”
Line-up Team Visma | Lease a Bike Strade Bianche: Attila Valter, Sepp Kuss, Christophe Laporte, Ben Tulett, Bart Lemmen, Milan Vader & Julien Vermote.
Sports directors: Arthur van Dongen, Grischa Niermann & Maarten Wynants.
