Etixx-QuickStep have confirmed the eight riders who will join Mark Cavendish at the Tour de France, which starts in Utrecht on Saturday July 4.
Cavendish, a 25-time stage winner, will lead the team’s charge for sprint success against a field which does not include big rival Marcel Kittel (Giant-Alpecin).
And the Manxman, 30, will be backed by a team including lead-out man Mark Renshaw, the huge engine of Der Panzerwagen Tony Martin, Italian Matteo Trentin and world champion Michal Kwiatkowski.
Rigoberto Uran, who suffered a frustrating Giro d’Italia before two third-placed finishes on stages 19 and 20 moved him up to 14th overall, is also included but Classics ace Niki Terpstra misses out.
Former three-time world cyclo-cross champion Zdenek Stybar, Michal Golas and Julien Vermote complete the Belgian super-team’s nine-man line-up.
And sport and development manager Rolf Aldag believes the team is capable of firing on all cyclinders from the very first stage, where Martin will start among the favourites in the time trial.
“We are at the start of this Tour de France with a very talented and experienced team,” he 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 Utrecht with the time trial, 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.
“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.
“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 an 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.”
Cavendish, who claimed the green jersey in 2011, has won 12 times this year – 13 when you include overall victory at the Dubai Tour – with only Alexander Kristoff (Katusha) winning more times in 2015.
It has been a strong comeback from a disappointing (by his standards) 2014 season, which included his now infamous race-ending crash on stage one of the Tour de France.
And Aldag believes Cavendish and Martin are far from the only two capable of success in the team, with strength in depth something the team has always prided itself on.
He added: “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.”
Etixx-QuickStep for 2015 Tour de France
Mark Cavendish (GBR)
Tony Martin (GER)
Michal Kwiatkowski (POL)
Michal Golas (POL)
Mark Renshaw (AUS)
Zdenek Stybar (CZE)
Matteo Trentin (ITA)
Rigoberto Uran (COL)
Julien Vermote (BEL)
