Boise cyclist set to compete in second Tour de France

BOISE, Idaho (CBS2) — A Boise cyclist is making his final preparations, ahead of his second Tour de France this weekend.

Matteo Jorgenson, a Boise High grad, will ride for Movistar Team in the Tour de France, the most prestigious cycling race in the world, that spans over 21 days for more than 2,000 miles. Jorgenson rode in his maiden Tour de France in 2022, where he achieved a 21st-place finish, a pleasant shock to cycling fans in U.S. and around the globe.

Since then, Jorgenson admitted his confidence has been through the roof. He notched his first career stage win earlier in the year, in the Tour of Oman, and he went on to win the Tour outright, winning the General Classification by just one second.

Currently, Matteo is in Europe, getting ready for the Tour's start this Saturday. His family however, is still in Boise. His mother, Cheri, spoke on her son's accomplishments thus far.

"It's exciting," Cheri said. "It's a lot of years of hard work on his part. It just makes us so proud and it's super fulfilling for us as parents, knowing that he's fulfilling his dreams."

While Matteo lives in Nice, France, Movistar Team is based out of Pamplona, Spain, part of Basque Country. The Tour, which has a different route each year, often starts outside of France. By chance, the tour will spend it's first three days of racing in the Basque region.

The race also starts on Matteo's 24th birthday. Cheri admitted that Matteo said he didn't want any gifts this year, but she still decided to gather some hometown support, in the form of a celebration in the Basque block with friends, family and those in the Boise cycling community.

At the celebration, there were Basque flags, t-shirts with Matteo's face on them, and fathead cutouts of Matteo, all of which will be present at some points in the race, held by his family or those from Boise traveling to watch the Tour.

The director of the Boise Young Rider Development Squad (BYRDS) and Matteo's old coach, Douglas Tobin, spoke about how much the support can do for a rider in a race like the Tour.

"Your family being there; you're racing for them but you're racing for all the fans... as a rider you can feel the percussion of the hands clapping and the yelling, and all that coming as you go through how it is on the side of the course... so riding through that in those large climbs is exhilarating," Tobin said.

Tobin coached Matteo for more than a decade, from when Matteo was seven till just before Matteo left to live and compete in Europe. He explained just how difficult the Tour is for every cyclist competing.

"You know, you have to remain focused," Tobin said. "You have to do the little things before and after a race. You have to be prepared for each race. You have to eat well... 6000 to 10,000 calories, if you can imagine eating that much... hopefully you don't get caught up in a crash or something of that nature that inhibits your ability to move forward."

Despite the difficulty, Tobin is confident in Matteo's ability, given his determination (demonstrated in Stage 16 of last year's Tour, where Matteo crashed badly, yet went on to finish 4th). Both Tobin and the community are excited to cheer on Matteo as he races through France against the world's elite.

CBS2 will update you on Matteo Jorgenson's Tour de France as the race progresses. It starts in Bilbao, Saturday, July 1, at 12:30 p.m. (4:30 a.m. MT) and runs nearly every day through July 23rd.