Tinkoff-Saxo have opted for experience having announced the eight riders who will support Alberto Contador at the Tour de France.
Giro d’Italia champion Contador is bidding to secure a Giro-Tour double having won the first Grand Tour of the season in May. If he were to do so, the Spaniard would be the first ride to do the double since Marco Pantani in 1998.
Contador, who also won the Vuelta a Espana at the end of last season, will be backed by a fiercely strong squad including Ivan Basso, Roman Kreuziger and Michael Rogers, with last year’s green jersey winner Peter Sagan and polka-dot jersey winner Rafal Majka also set for the start line.
Directeur sportif Steven de Jongh said: “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.”
Though De Jongh’s comments suggest Slovakian champion Sagan will not have the full backing in his pursuit of a fourth straight green jersey, the inclusion of rouleurs Daniele Bennati and Michael Valgren ensure he will not be without support.
Veteran domestique Matteo Tosatto, 41, completes the line-up, starting what will be his 32nd Grand Tour.
De Jongh added: “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”.
However, De Jongh insists Contador is not favourite for the race, in what is set up to be a four-way battle with Nairo Quintana, Chris Froome and Vincenzo Nibali.
He concluded: “We know how much class Alberto has, but we don’t enter the Tour as the main favourites.
“His form will, despite a very meticulous effort, be a question mark compared to the form of Froome, Nibali and Quintana.
“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.”
The team revealed their new, special edition kit for the race earlier this month which mixes the team’s fluoro colours with their camouflage training kit.
Will Alberto Contador, Rafal Majka or Peter Sagan be winning jerseys for your Fantasy Tour de France team? Enter our 2015 competition at fantasycycling.roadcyclinguk.com for your chance to win Science in Sport prizes.
Tinkoff-Saxo for 2015 Tour de France
Alberto Contador (ESP)
Roman Kreuziger (CZE)
Ivan Basso (ITA)
Michael Rogers (AUS)
Rafal Majka (POL)
Peter Sagan (SVK)
Daniele Bennati (ITA)
Matteo Tossato (ITA)
Michael Valgren (DEN)
