Vacansoleil-DCM: Marco Marcato and Romain Feillu ambitious
Vacansoleil-DCM was always dubbed the little brother of Rabobank but the team has matured. The ambitions are growing as is the results list. The team that has attacking as its trademark, will somewhat leave that philosophy behind in 2011. They need to race with their heads more, so to say. “We won quite a few races last year,” team manager Daan Luijkx says. “This year we want the same amount of wins but of a higher quality. A stage in the Tour de France or a major classic is most certainly on our wishlist.”
France – Romain Feillu
One lone Frenchman is sitting in the press room. His English is barely enough to communicate with his teammates or say something during the presentation but still Romain Feillu is an important rider for Vacansoleil-DCM. He won eight races for the team last year and is one of the guys who will be part of the Tour de France squad. He’s the ideal rider because he doesn’t need a sprint train so the team can focus on the mountain stages and the overall with riders like Wout Poels and Rob Ruijgh.
“We pass close to my home so the Tour de France is always special for a Frenchman. My brother Brice won a stage in 2009 so my big ambition is to win one too. It’s the biggest podium in cycling. My other goals are the Olympics and maybe the World Championships even though the course might be a bit too difficult. But first things first. I will go Down Under and hope to compete there with the strong sprinters. Then Tour de Mediterranee where I won three stages last year.”
His brother Brice was part of Leopard-Trek in 2011 but there was no room for the Frenchman in the new Radioshack-Nissan team. Wouldn’t Romain want his brother in the same team again? ” He chose to ride for Leopard-Trek and I chose Vacansoleil-DCM. Now Brice is going to Saur-Sojasun and that’s fine.”
Italy – Marco Marcato
The Mediterranean country is an important market for Vacansoleil Camping Holidays so the team has a relatively large contingent of Italians. Marco Marcato has been with the team from the start but only had his first win last season. “Everyone was happy for me which shows how we are like a family. That’s what I really like about this team,” he says in remarkable good English for an Italian. “I was happy too to be able to finally give the team that victory last year.”
Marcato is almost 28 and still very ambitious. “I showed last year that I can still be there in the final of a big classic like Milan-San Remo. That race is very important to me. I will ride Tirreno Adriatico to prepare and hopefully be very good in San Remo. After Milan-San Remo there’s the Ardennes classics and after that I am not sure yet. Next week we go to training camp in Benidorm and we’ll decide on the program.”
“Of course I would love to ride the Tour de France.” No Giro, as an Italian? “No the Tour is the biggest stage in the year and that’s where I want to show what I can do. Even if you finish seventh in the Tour you get more exposure for the team than a top three in Giro or Vuelta. That’s the way it is.” And now we are near the actual course for the 2012 Worlds? “I hope to be part of Squadra Azzurri during the Olympics and the World Championships. That’s an important goal for the new season.”
