Sky Procycling – Froome, following the lead of Wiggins
This team comes to the 100th Tour de France without the defending champion, Sir Bradley Wiggins, who forfeited his place on the roster because of a knee injury. Still, the game plan remains the same as had been planned for the 2013 race: Chris Froome is the leader. Judging on his performances already this season – when he has won the Tour of Oman, Critérium International, Tour de Romandie and Critérium du Dauphiné – he is up to the task of improving on his second place at the Tour de France in 2012.
To support Froome, Sky Procycling has an impressive cast including the winner of Paris-Nice this year, Richie Porte. The Tasmanian has been his leader’s right-hand man in 2013 and he could potentially do what Froome did last year and follow his leader to a place on the podium. This is a dominant team that includes the favourite for the yellow jersey and a group of super-domestiques who are ready to win again.
The selection: Edvald Boasson Hagen (NOR), Christopher Froome (GBR), Peter Kennaugh (GBR), Vasil Kiryienka (BLR), David López (ESP), Richie Porte (AUS), Kanstantsin Siutsou (BLR), Ian Stannard (GBR), Geraint Thomas (GBR)
Detailed team presentation sheet
Team Saxo-Tinkoff – Contador aims for the top
This will be Alberto Contador’s sixth start in the Tour de France and he’s keen to return to the top step of the podium. He has promised to attack at every opportunity and take on the likes of Chris Froome and the other GC specialists. ‘El Pistolero’ insists that he’s ready to win again. Many believe he is the finest Grand Tour rider of the current generation but he hasn’t had a lot of success so far in season 2013. Still, the focus from the start of the year has been the Tour de France and he has a wealth of talented riders in the Saxo-Tinkoff line-up including new recruits Roman Kreuziger, ‘Nico’ Roche and Michael Rogers.
The selection: Daniele Bennati (ITA), Alberto Contador (ESP), Jesus Hernandez (ESP), Roman Kreuziger (CZE), Benjamin Noval (ESP), Sergio Paulinho (POR), Nicolas Roche (IRL), Michael Rogers (AUS), Matteo Tosatto (ITA)
Detailed team presentation sheet
Euskaltel-Euskadi – Aiming high with diversity
With the exception of the team time trial, the route for the 100th Tour de France is ideal for this Basque team. The mountainous terrain throughout the 2013 race plays to their strengths. Included on the roster are riders who have won stages of the Tour, Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España. And, in all likelihood, it’s stage wins that Euskaltel-Euskadi will be chasing again in its 14th Tour appearance.
Igor Antón and Mikel Nieve are the likely leaders and that’s largely because of their history in the Vuelta and Giro, but we can expect to hear the Izagirre name mentioned repeatedly as the brothers will be racing the Tour together for the first time – and they love to attack: on the climbs, on descents, and across their name which was written thousands of times on the roads of the Pyrenees last year (when Gorka was in the line-up but Jon wasn’t). A high result in the GC would be a dream for this team but they’ll have to make up for lost time in the TTT... and aggressive racing in the mountains is one way to achieve that.
The selection: Igor Antón (ESP), Mikel Astarloza (ESP), Gorka Izagirre (ESP), Jon Izagirre (ESP), Juan José Lobato (ESP), Mikel Nieve (ESP), Juanjo Oroz (ESP), Rubén Pérez (ESP), Romain Sicard (FRA)
Detailed team presentation sheet
Garmin-Sharp – Options for GC
The line-up for this American team is an impressive one with a wealth of talent and riders who can perform well on even the steepest terrain. Leadership duties are to be shared by 2012 Giro d’Italia champion Ryder Hesjedal and American debutant Andrew Talansky. They are promised great support in the mountains from Tom Danielson, Giro stage winner Ramunas Navarkauskas and Liège-Bastogne-Liège champion Dan Martin. And, of course, there is the irrepressible Dave Millar who played a key role in the 2011 Tour when Garmin won the TTT. Olympic team pursuit silver medallist Rohan Dennis will make his debut after having led the Critérium du Dauphiné for a day and winning the youth classification of that race early in June.
The selection: Jack Bauer (NZL), Tom Danielson (USA), Rohan Dennis (AUS), Ryder Hesjedal (CAN), Dan Martin (IRL), David Millar (GBR), Ramunas Navardauskas (LTH), Andrew Talansky (USA), Christian Vande Velde (USA)
Detailed team presentation sheet
Team Europcar – More than making up numbers
One of three French wildcard teams, Europcar has helped animate the Tour de France in recent years thanks to the antics of Thomas Voeckler and the best young rider of the 2011 race, Pierre Rolland. Both have won multiple stages and their insistent efforts have ignited the action on many occasions. Voeckler is returning from a broken shoulder sustained in April and although the King of the Mountains of last year’s Tour didn’t contest the French championships in June, expect to see him on the attack again this July.
Canada’s David Veilleux earned his Tour selection based largely on what he did at the Criterium du Dauphiné early in June when he won a stage and wore the yellow jersey for two days.
Yukiya Arashiro is the first Japanese rider to finish the Tour and he has made the selection for the fourth time in his career.
Although it’s a distinctly French team, this is a cosmopolitan line-up for the 100th Tour with riders for all manner of terrain and an attacking attitude that is bound to see it earn more headlines again in 2013.
The selection: Thomas Voeckler (FRA), Pierre Rolland (FRA), Cyril Gautier (FRA), David Veilleux (CAN), Yukiya Arashiro (JPN), Davide Malacarne (ITA), Jérôme Cousin (FRA), Kevin Reza (FRA), Yohann Gene (FRA)
Detailed team presentation sheet
Astana – Ready and able...
This is an entirely different team to the Astana line-up from 2009 when the team won the team time trial and the overall title (with Alberto Contador). It’s a different management group and a fresh cast of riders but it is still a force in the peloton. The champion of this year’s Giro d’Italia, Vincenzo Nibali, was third in the Tour last year (as a member of the Liquigas team) but he never planned to try for the Giro/Tour double. Instead leadership duties have been issued to Danish recruit Jakob Fuglsang who is looking to avenge his non-selection (while with another team) in 2012. He’s finished the Tour twice, placing 50th both times – but this was when he was a domestique for others.
The line-up boasts last year’s ninth-place finisher Janez Brajkovic who is omnipresent in the mountains, but never quite capable of winning a stage of the Tour... yet. He is one of nine versatile riders who are bound to have a strong presence in the 100th Tour de France.
The selection: Assan Bazayev (KAZ), Janez Brajkovic (SLO), Jakob Fuglsang (DEN), Enrico Gasparotto (ITA), Francesco Gavazzi (ITA), Andrey Kashechkin (KAZ), Fredrik Kessiakoff (SWE), Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ), Dmitri Muravyev (KAZ)
Detailed team presentation sheet
