This post at first appeared on Velo News
SAINT PAULIEN, France (VN) — Esteban Chaves has a new crew kit and new teammates, but his ambitions and eternal smile keep on being the exact.
The Colombian climber insists he’s continue to the identical rider who strike grand tour podiums, and is holding out hope to earn a location on EF Education-EasyPost’s roster for the Tour de France.
Speaking to VeloNews, the ever optimistic Chaves is hoping for the most effective.
“I am even now a GC guy,” Chaves claimed. “It’s a very long way to the Tour de France and it’s a long listing. Like every single single staff, you will need to display you are excellent more than enough to go.”
The 32-yr-outdated Colombian is out to show to everybody he can nevertheless contend at the maximum stage. He’s been dogged by well being issues and injuries for a great deal of his career, and he’s nevertheless managed to carve out some impressive effects.
Also browse: Chaves lands at EF Training-EasyPost
When he’s wholesome, he’s 1 of the most explosive climbers in the bunch. Or at minimum he utilized to be. Now he’s on a mission to display everyone he nonetheless is.
Past yr, he rode to 13th total in his 3rd Tour start in his greatest grand tour result because he was second in the 2016 Giro d’Italia and third in the Vuelta a Espana that same year in his breakout year.
Like several teams, EF Education-EasyPost is ready to see who’s riding robust and regular this thirty day period prior to committing to 8 riders to race the Tour.
Chaves rode to ninth overall at the Tour of Norway last month and hopes to journey deep into this Dauphine to receive a ticket to the Tour.
“You have to verify it to you as perfectly,” Chaves mentioned. “It’s a lengthy way to the Tour de France, so you will have to influence the staff, and every thing can transform in one working day. We just go working day-by-working day and 7 days-by-week, and just love it.”
New team, same vibrations
Chaves rocked up to the Criterium du Dauphine this week carrying a beach front hat and brandishing his trademark smile.
Just after racing for the GreenEdge franchise his overall WorldTour job, he switched to EF in 2022 on a a single-year agreement.
“New jersey, new bike, new workers, new teammates, every thing is difficult and you want to do your most effective. You want to be qualified, you want to press,” Chaves said. “You want to display you can do it.”
Chaves is taking all the transform in stride.
At GreenEdge, he was the centre of the team’s GC ambitions for decades. At EF Training-EasyPost, he’s locating his way.
“It’s very wonderful on this staff. I invested a extensive time in 1 group. It was a little bit of a shock and I necessary time to adapt to the new workforce,” Chaves stated. “It’s exciting and transform can be a very good thing. I am happy to do this improve. I was a extended time there and the corporation gave me the greatest decades of my career, but sometimes adjust is a great matter.”
His 2022 has not been as easy as he would have appreciated. He was disregarded for these types of races as Itzulia Basque State and the Giro d’Italia, and he struggled at the Volta a Catalunya with 44th, and did not complete the Tour of the Alps.
“The beginning wasn’t what I had envisioned, I had some COVID, and now we are on a fantastic route immediately after a block schooling in Andorra with the men,” Chaves reported. “We went to Norway and now we are below searching for a large amount for this race.”
Chaves received matters back again on monitor at the Tour of Norway, driving to ninth.
That is fantastic for his ideal phase race GC since final year’s Tour, possibly a sign that things are shifting in the right way just at the appropriate time.
Chaves is battling by way of the opening levels at the Dauphine. Soon after two sprint stages, he arrived with the favorites on the shorter but explosive finale in phase 3.
He will start out Wednesday’s individual time trial seventh general.
No matter how he finishes the day, he will be smiling.
“We are listed here to try out for the GC. We have [Mark] Padun as very well,” he mentioned. “Up till the TT, then we will see, anything will adjust immediately after the time demo.”
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