David Moncoutie is targeting the fifth consecutive King of Mountains jersey at the Vuelta a Espana 2012
Team Cofidis rider David Moncoutie has shown interest to ride the Vuelta a Espana 2012 and he is willing to skip the French Grand Tour for the same.
The cyclist is considered as one of the best climbers in the sport and he is keen to test his skills at the Spanish Grand Tour for the fifth time.
He told rmc.fr, “The Tour isn’t one of my goals. I’ve informed the team that it doesn’t suit me anymore. I prefer to leave my place on the team to young riders. I’ve ridden the Grande Boucle ten times and I think I should turn the page”.
Moncoutie has as many as ten Tour de France appearances to his name with his best performance being the 13th place finish in 2002. He also won two stages during the 2004 and the 2005 editions of the race.
The French also participated in the Vuelta a Espana 2008-11 and finished at the 37th position during the most recent version of the race.
He also won the eleventh stage and claimed the Mountains Classifications for the fourth consecutive time.
David started his professional career in 1997 with the French side, Team Cofidis and is continuing his 12th consecutive season with the team.
He had a terrific 2011 season with an overall victory at the Tour Mediterraneen, including the fifth stage victory at the race.
The 36-year-old also won the Tour de I’Ain and the 11th stage of the Spanish Grand Tour.
Team Cofidis is a Professional Continental team and it requires the wild card invitation for the major UCI races.
Since it failed to make an impact in the previous edition of the race, the team has not been invited to the French Grand Tour yet.
David acknowledged that he is more suited to the Vuelta as compared to the Tour and he is targeting the fifth consecutive King of Mountains jersey at the Vuelta a Espana 2012.
He mentioned, “I’ve ridden it [Vuelta] four times, and I’ve won four climber’s jerseys and four stages. I really prefer the Vuelta to the Tour. It’s easier in terms of pressure and harder in terms of terrain”.
Moncoutie is turning 37 in April and he has no plans to retire from the sport. He still enjoys riding at the highest level of the race and will not consider retiring any time soon.
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