Omega Pharma-QuickStep have selected three newly-crowned national time trial champions for their Tour de France team.
French champion, Sylvain Chavanel, and Peter Velits, who beat his brother Martin into second place to claim the Slovak title, will ride in a strong line-up that includes world time trial champion, and new German champion, Tony Martin, as well as Levi Leipheimer, who finished third in last week’s Tour de Suisse.
Team manager, Patrick Lefevere, said: “Overall, the formation is well balanced and they will be able to stand out in the individual stages as well as in the general classification.”
Leipheimer, who finished on the podium of the 2007 Tour, has come back strongly from a leg broken when hit by a car while training on the eve of the Tour of the Basque Country, finishing sixth at last month’s Tour of California, and making the podium in a bid to defend his Tour de Suisse title.
Martin is another rider still recovering from being hit by a car while training, but was recently crowned overall champion in the Tour of Belgium after winning the fourth stage time trial.
Chavanel’s national time trial success represents the continuation of a strong season that includes top ten finishes at Paris-Nice and the Tour of Flanders, victory at the Three Days of De Panne, and second in the Dwars Door Vlaanderen semi-Classic. His Tour pedigree has made him a two-time winner of the combativity jersey, and brought him three stage victories.
Former world time trial champion, Bert Grabsch, should provide excellent service on the flat stages. His diesel power set up numerous sprint victories for Mark Cavendish, when the German dragged Cavendish’s sprint train to the closing kilometres.
Jérôme Pineau, who wore the King of the Mountains jersey for eight stages of the 2010 Tour, Dries Devenyns, Kevin De Weert, and Stijn Vandenbergh, complete the line up.
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Omega Pharma-QuickStep – 2012 Tour de France
Sylvain Chavanel (FRA)
Devenys Dries (BEL)
Bert Grabsch (GER)
Kevin De Weert (BEL)
Levi Leipheimer (USA)
Tony Martin (GER)
Jérôme Pineau (FRA)
Stijn Vandenbergh (BEL)
Peter Velits (SLO)
