The German professional cyclist Emanuel Buchmann is returning to the Tour de France in the summer – and has a lot of other plans too.
The 32-year-old climbing specialist has received a commitment from his new French team Cofidis to take part in the 112th Tour of France (July 5th to 27th).
“The tour with Cofidis will definitely be cool. The Grand Depart is in Lille, it’s a home start. There will be a lot of motivation in the team. I’m definitely excited,” Buchmann told the SID.
Buchmann in fourth place on the 2019 tour
This will be Buchmann’s eighth tour participation; his best placement in the overall ranking was fourth in 2019. He is still missing a stage win in the world’s most important cycling race. In 2024, Buchmann fell badly in the run-up to the Grand Loop at the Tour de Suisse. His ex-team Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe had not planned him for the tour anyway.
What role Buchmann takes on in the summer also depends on how the race goes. “The first week of the tour is relatively flat. A lot can always happen. You have to see how you get through the first ten days,” said Buchmann: “Then you can continue to plan whether you want to go for the overall classification, attack stages or a mixture of both.” In any case, it is easier in the Cofidis jersey “to go to a group.”
First year at Cofidis
Buchmann is looking forward to his first year at Cofidis. His season begins with the Mallorca Challenge at the end of January. Further missions are planned for the Algarve Tour, the Catalonia Tour, the Tour de Romandie and the Dauphine.
Before his move, the two-time German champion Buchmann had been active for the German team Red Bull-Bora-hansgrohe and its predecessor teams for ten years. The relationship was recently strained.
Sportschau Tourfunk, December 16, 2024 9:00 a.m