Tinkoff-Saxo announces strong Tour de France lineup to support Contador in his quest for the Giro-Tour double
Tinkoff-Saxo has selected the nine riders that will represent the Russian team at the biggest race of the season. Team captain Alberto Contador leads a star-studded squad of proven riders in an attempt to win the Tour de France 2015 and complete the daunting Giro-Tour double.
Tinkoff-Saxo’s selection for Tour de France 2015 consists of Alberto Contador, Peter Sagan, Rafal Majka, Roman Kreuziger, Michael Rogers, Ivan Basso, Daniele Bennati, Michael Valgren and Matteo Tosatto.
Elaborating on the composition of the squad, Steven de Jongh, Head Sports Director of Tinkoff-Saxo, tells that the team will field a strong squad capable of supporting Alberto Contador in the difficult attempt to fight for the overall win.
“It’s pretty obvious that our chief goal is to win the Tour with Alberto. We have our full attention on pulling on the yellow jersey in Paris and we are well aware of the fact that it will be a formidable challenge against many strong rivals. Additionally we will support Peter Sagan to win stages, whenever it’s possible and that depends on the situation on each stage”, says Steven de Jongh and adds:
“Looking at the list of riders that will represent our team, I reckon that we will field a very strong squad and most importantly versatile, as the Tour will present us all with an array of different challenges. Alberto is our captain and Rafal Majka will be his key support in the high mountains, while Kreuziger, Rogers and Basso will offer experience and strong backing in the medium mountains. Then we have a lot of horsepower in Bennati, Tosatto and Valgren for the flatter stages and they will also be able to help Peter in the search for stage wins”.
Rafal Majka, last year’s winner of the polka dotted jersey, is expected to play a key role in supporting the team ambitions.
“Here, just before Tour de France I feel very good. I`m now well rested after the Tour de Suisse and ready to begin. The Grand Boucle is the most important race for Tinkoff-Saxo in the entire season and my main goal will be to help Alberto Contador in achieving the overall win. I believe we can do it and Alberto can win two Grand Tours in one year”, says Rafal Majka.
Peter Sagan, green jersey winner of the last three editions, equally declares himself ready for the Tour after a great build-up that culminated with yet another national championship title.
“The Slovak Champion title makes me happy and confirms that I am in great form. I am ready for the Tour, where we have a very strong squad. I will contribute to the effort with the highest commitment and I really look forward to Saturday’s start.”
Despite fielding seven-time grand tour winner Alberto Contador, Steven de Jongh notes that Tinkoff-Saxo will not be favorites to take the win.
“After Alberto conquered the Giro, he spent time in Livigno resting and training, he showed good signs at Route du Sud followed by some days of concentrated training and then a short period of rest before the start in Utrecht. We know how much class Alberto has, but we don’t enter the Tour as the main favorites. His form will, despite a very meticulous effort, be a question mark compared to the form of Froome, Nibali and Quintana”, comments de Jongh, who remains assured that not only the mountains will prove decisive:
“We’ve been studying the parcours closely and there are many stages, where you can’t win the Tour but you can lose it. The flat stages of the first week with possible crosswinds, steep finishes such as Mur du Huy and cobbles will make for a tough start to the race. So we took the decision to bring one more guy for the flat stages in exchange for a climber. In the end, what matters the most is that we send a committed squad that comes fully prepared to support Alberto”, finishes Steven de Jongh.
Team Captain Alberto Contador will comment in detail on his expectations and challenges later this week.
Trek Factory Racing has announced its line-up for the Tour de France with the help of the worldwide fanbase of the team. Nine select followers of the pinstriped team each disclosed the name of one of the nine riders for the Tour.
The nine athletes representing Trek Factory Racing at the Tour de France are: Julian Arredondo, Fabian Cancellara, Stijn Devolder, Laurent Didier, Markel Irizar, Bob Jungels, Bauke Mollema, Gregory Rast and Haimar Zubeldia.
Lotto Soudal has selected these nine riders: Lars Bak, Thomas De Gendt, Jens Debusschere, Tony Gallopin, André Greipel, Adam Hansen, Greg Henderson, Marcel Sieberg and Tim Wellens. Manager Marc Sergeant explains this choice.
“This choice is based on trust: in what they did for the team in the past, their current condition and the way we want to approach the next Tour. André Greipel remains one of the foundations of the team. Since 2011 he won at least one Tour stage each year, he got a confidence boost the past weeks in several races and with a good team around him we aim for another stage win. It’s true there are less sprint opportunities than previous years, but still this is our biggest chance of a stage win.”
“Greg Henderson, Jens Debusschere and Marcel Sieberg will support André as good as possible to achieve our goal, but the other guys will do their part of the job as well. Just think of the hundreds of kilometres Lars Bak pulled at the front of the peloton last year or the experience and tranquillity of Adam Hansen in an exciting finale. With Greg Henderson we have one of the most experienced lead-outs of the peloton. André won his most important races with Greg. Jens Debusschere can take over the role of Jürgen Roelandts, if necessary he is fast as well and can have a go of his own in the stage over the cobblestones for example. He has grown a lot and is ready for his Tour début. Marcel Sieberg is indispensable in his role, he knows André very well and works together perfectly with the other guys.”
“We want to continue our attractive way of racing of the first part of the season. We got lots of publicity and positive reactions. In each stage that won’t end with a bunch sprint our riders can attack. The fact that we don’t have a GC rider this year gives more freedom to this type of riders. Tony Gallopin, Tim Wellens, Thomas De Gendt and also Adam Hansen and Lars Bak can join a breakaway in stages that suit them. Except for Tim Wellens, for whom it’s the first Tour, they all proved they can win a stage in a Grand Tour. Tim can go the Tour without any pressure, like he raced in the Giro last year.”
Santa Rosa, California – The BMC Racing Team announced Tuesday the eight riders who will support Tejay van Garderen in this year’s Tour de France.
Roster:
Damiano Caruso (ITA), Rohan Dennis (AUS),
Daniel Oss (ITA), Manuel Quinziato (ITA),
Samuel Sánchez (ESP), Michael Schär (SUI),
Greg Van Avermaet (BEL), Tejay van Garderen (USA),
Danilo Wyss (SUI).
Etixx – Quick-Step to Le Tour de France
26-Jun-2015: Etixx – Quick-Step has announced the selection that will participate in the 102nd edition of Le Tour de France, which includes nine flat stages, three hilly stages, seven high mountain stages with summit finishes, one individual time trial, and one team time trial. There are also two rest days during the three week grand tour that starts on Saturday, July 4th, and goes until Sunday, July 26th.
The selection of Etixx – Quick-Step for Le Tour is Mark Cavendish, Michal Golas, Michal Kwiatkowski, Tony Martin, Mark Renshaw, Zdenek Stybar, Matteo Trentin, Rigoberto Uran, and Julien Vermote.
“We are at the start of this Tour de France with a very talented and experienced team,” Sport and Development Manager Rolf Aldag said. “Of course for a team like ours, until the 9th Stage at the TTT, every day will be a challenge. Starting in the beginning in Utrecth with the ITT, and continuing the day after with a stage that, on paper, looks to be conditioned by crosswinds along the sea. It’s no secret we have a team that is built for these kinds of efforts. So we are looking forward to this stage. Then we move into Belgium. As a team based there, it is a key moment of Le Tour to show ourselves in front of our home public. We also have the day of the Mur de Huy finale, where we can play with several options. Then the day after, Stage 4 with the cobbles, it is another stage that suits our team perfectly, even if riding on a Classic parcours during the Tour de France is not exactly like riding the spring races. Of course, in cycling anything can happen during these stages, but we know we are as prepared as any team in the peloton to do well on the cobbled sectors. Then we have a couple of stages for fast riders, where Mark Cavendish can be a protagonist. Mark will have the team at his service these days. To conclude the first week of the Tour de France is the arrival of Mûr-de-Bretagne, and the TTT, a discipline where technique and commitment are important. We have tradition in this discipline, that’s why we consider it a important appointment on our road to Paris. Our goal is to perform well in this first part of the race. We want to go into the first rest day happy with our overall performance. It will be important to perform, find results, and then good confidence for the second part of the race starting with the 10th stage. In the second part of Le Tour there are still some stages for the sprints, but also a lot of ground for climbers and attackers. We have options also in the mountains with a rider like Rigoberto Uran, but not only him. Riders such as Tony and Michal showed already in the past that every day they can invent something significant. We want to be consistent over the three weeks and try to be present on multiple levels. We want to be present in the stages, and why not, try to get the yellow jersey for a few days. Wearing that jersey even for few days is always a big achievement. The guys prepared well for this race, and we are confident that all the jobs we’ve done in the last weeks will pay off at the right moment. We believe in our selection formed by riders of eight different nationalities. Our ultimate goal is to leave a mark in this Tour de France, and we believe we have the potential to do it.”
Movistar Team heads towards Tour de France
Eusebio Unzué confirms telephone squad’s nine-man roster set to start in Utrecht on Saturday, July 4th: “It’s the most balanced squad and the one that brought us everything we needed in all terrains”
Five days before the 102nd edition of the Tour de France starts in Utrecht (Netherlands), Eusebio Unzué has confirmed the nine riders the Movistar Team will bring to the start. Nairo Quintana, Alejandro Valverde, Imanol Erviti, Jonathan Castroviejo, Gorka Izagirre, José Herrada, Adriano Malori, Alex Dowsett and Winner Anacona complete the roster, with José Luis Arrieta and Chente García Acosta as sports directors.
“It’s the most balanced squad and the one that brought us everything we needed in all terrains”, explained Unzué. “I already stated before the Giro that building the nine-man squad for Italy had already been really difficult, but seeing the names we had left out shows that doing so for the Tour was even harder. We start with riders ascribed to three different roles: a more climbing group, with Winner and José; allrounders like Gorka or Jonathan, useful in all situations; and talented rouleurs like Alex, Adriano or Imanol, who will keeps us calm into the flat stages.
“Our leadership is clear: Nairo is the team’s main reference on the road. However, and knowing how this race works and all the circumstances you can go through during a Tour de France, we can’t rule out Alejandro staying by his side and also keeping his chances alive (which are the whole team’s), until the facts show otherwise.”
CANNONDALE-GARMIN PRO CYCLING ANNOUNCES 2015 TOUR DE FRANCE TEAM, UNVEILS NEW TEAM BIKE & TOUR DE FRANCE KIT
Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling today announced its 2015 Tour de France Roster. The team features U.S. National Time Trial Champion, Andrew Talansky (10th overall in the 2013 Tour de France); Dan Martin (2014 Lombardia Champion and 2013 Tour de France Stage Winner) and Ryder Hesjedal (2012 Giro d’Italia Champion). The three powerhouses will work together as co-leaders of the argyle squad and will be supported by a strong team including Tour veterans Jack Bauer, Kristijan Koren, Sebastian Langeveld, road captain; and Ramunas Navardauskas, 2014 Tour de France Stage winner. Dylan Van Baarle and Nathan Hass will both be riding their inaugural Tour de France.
“We are going into the Tour de France with three leaders, all who have very different riding styles, and those styles compliment each other. Andrew, Dan and Ryder have shown they work well together, and that will translate to the roads of the Tour,” said Charly Wegelius, Director Sportif. “Supporting them is a strong bunch. Ramunas showed his strength with a stage win last year, and Jack Bauer will be looking for redemption after coming so close to a win in 2014. Sebastian is our road captain and his leadership and experience will be invaluable in the wind in Holland, over the Cobbles and thought the entire race. Kristijan is skilled at moving around the peloton and helping riders maintain and keep their position. Dylan and Nathan will be riding their first Tour de France and will support and learn from the more senior riders on the team. Each rider is capable of stage wins, and working together we expect them to make the race exciting.”
“We have a very talented group of riders and by bringing three top guys: Andrew, Dan and Ryder, we’re going to make things very interesting. These three, and the team as whole, will work seamlessly and selflessly together to shake things up and create opportunities,” said Jonathan Vaughters, CEO, Slipstream Sports and Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling. “You’ll see a lot of creativity from us at this Tour.”
The argyle squad will be racing the All-New SuperSix EVO Hi-MOD for the first time, as well as unveiling a limited edition team kit for the 2015 Tour de France, created by its innovative Italian clothing partner, Castelli. The All-New SuperSix EVO, recently launched in Kitbhuel, Austria, designed to deliver success in racing on the World Tour. The new jersey retains the distinctive Cannondale and Garmin logos, but reverse black with Cannondale’s signature shade of green. The signature Slipstream Sports argyle is prominently displayed in blue on front and back. “We’re really excited about racing the new Cannondale that the team has been testing for months and the Tour de France kit,” said Vaughters. “The bike is perfectly suited for racing the Tour and the lighter color of the new kit is perfect for hot weather and our signature argyle is more prominent.”
Cannondale, known for designing bikes that deliver a legitimate performance advantage, unveiled the completely redesigned SuperSix EVO Hi-MOD with a focus on setting a new balance power within elite race bicycles. Balancing every factor important to race performance, Cannondale has created the All-New EVO with improved stiffness, increased compliance and lighter system weight – all designed to deliver success in racing on the World Tour. “We rely on the team to be an integral part of the development process and we look forward to the new EVO being an essential part of the teams’ success at the tour.” Said Henning Schroeder, VP of Product at Cannondale.
Castelli has introduced new clothing multiple times in its history at the Tour de France. “We consider the Tour de France a very special event that deserves a special design,” said Steve Smith, Castelli Brand Manager. “This team is rider-centric, and Castelli has done its part to make sure the riders have the most comfortable and technically advanced clothing for this big event. Racing in hot weather is physically demanding, that’s a given, and despite the fact that Castelli makes some of the lightest and coolest fabrics in existence, wearing a lighter color will make a big difference, both psychologically and physically, to a rider’s well being.”
