Benoît Cosnefroy assaulting the Strade Bianche and Milan-San Remo before the Ardennes
Benoît Cosnefroy, who has already expressed his desire to “Aim even higher” this year after a 2021 season started by a knee injury and ended with a superb victory over the Bretagne Classic, will tackle higher goals in 2022. For the first time in his career, he will thus take the start of the first Monument of the year, Milan-San Remo (March 19), conclusion of the Italian campaign in which he will participate in full with the Strade Bianche (March 5) and Tirreno-Adriatico (March 7-13).
“The goal this year is to focus on the World Tour events”
“At the start of my career, I adapt to the desires of the team: today, it’s easier to ask to participate in certain races, but I want discoveries, a little more program creative, explains the rider, currently in training in Dénia (Spain). Milan-San Remo will be a great challenge and I will have a lot of ambitions throughout the Italian campaign. We had to adapt the start of the season accordingly: for example, I could have done the Etoile de Bessèges (February 2-6) whose route is cut out for punchers, but I wanted to arrive in March with as much freshness as possible, so I asked not to go. The goal this year is to focus on World Tour events. “
The Normand will therefore begin his season in Spain, a country where he has hardly ever raced until then, with the Challenge de Mallorca (January 26-30) then the Tour of Andalusia (February 16-20), before a brief foray into France for the Classic de l’Ardèche (February 27).
He will then continue with the Italian campaign and will only prepare for the Ardennes classics: the Amstel Gold Race (April 10), in which he has confirmed his participation, then the Flèche wallonne (April 20) and Liège-Bastogne- Liège (April 24). He will then observe a period of rest and will make the Critérium du Dauphiné (5-12 June) his preparatory race for the Tour de France (1-24 July).