Michael Landa (Murguía, Álava), four days after his 33rd birthday, is enjoying the last bars of a fantastic 2022 for him. the corridor of Bahrain-Victorious He is happy in sports, especially with those meritorious podiums in Giro d’Italia and Giro de Lombardy, but also personally with his fatherhood. Some more than exciting reasons to face the next course with maximum motivation, as the alavés himself confirmed during the virtual press conference granted from Calpe to the media, including AS, on the occasion of the training camp that his team starts these days in Altea. The main goal? Win back, something that has resisted him since the general of Vuelta a Burgos 2021.A
-What changes will you make in the next season?
-Change, I suppose little. The preparation is going to be the same, except that instead of the Giro I’m going to do the Tour. I hope to be more present, especially in the races in the first part of the year.
-In the absence of knowing the route of the Vuelta and with the 70 km time trial that the Giro will have, do you like the Tour route better?
-Yes, I like the next Tour much more. Apart from the fact that it is the Tour, because there is less time and they have devised a very mountainous route.
Are the physical problems you had this year already forgotten?
-I have rested well this winter, we have worked to recover the problem I had in the gluteus and back area. I was already quite satisfied with Lombardy, so they are forgotten.
-What three reasons would you give to continue trusting the ‘Landismo’?
-I always try, being very difficult today to face the leaders who dominate cycling because they are very complete. I promise to fight and try and let’s wait for the rest to come.
-What would be a good season for you in 2023?
-I would like to be close to the podium in the Tour, fight a one-week race, such as Itzulia, Tirreno or Catalonia, and win a stage. I haven’t won for a long time and it’s something I’ve been looking for for a long time. I would like to raise my arms again.
“I like the route of the next Tour, it is very mountainous”
-What could be the weak point of Vingegaard and Pogacar in a Tour de France?
-It is difficult to find their weak point. They are super complete and are also surrounded by very good teams. You have to be close and your weak point can be a bad day. We are all human and if you have a bad day you can take advantage of it.
-About the rest of your calendar, are you considering being in the Ardennes and La Vuelta?
-I still don’t know if I’ll be there, but I like both and it’s possible that I’ll do them. Let’s see what the Liège route is like and if it changes a lot compared to this year. They are difficult races for me, but I like to be there because they are beautiful. I have not been there to compete in La Vuelta in the last two years, but it is a comfortable race and you feel at home. I would like to go back.
-It will be special for you that the next Tour leaves from the Basque Country.
-It motivates me a lot. They are our roads, with our fans and it will be something historic for us. Living it as a runner makes your hair stand on end, so there will be double motivation. I will try to enjoy and use it as an advantage.
-Were you satisfied with your final stretch of the season?
-Yes, in Lombardy I got rid of the bad taste in my mouth that La Vuelta left me. It helped me to face this 2023 with more confidence and motivation. It was a race that was contested by the best in the peloton and it reminded me of where my place could be.