Zdenek Stybar (Etixx-QuickStep)
Zdenek Stybar (Etixx-QuickStep)
There will be more than one string to the Etixx-QuickStep bow for the Tour de France, with Tour de France stage winner Zdenek Stybar also confirmed as part of a six-man line-up spearheaded by Mark Cavendish.
A debutant at the Tour of Britain, Stybar is capable of being up among the GC men overall – as proved by his third place overall in his home race, the Czech Cycling Tour, in August.
On the tougher sprint finishes and Classics-like stages you can expect to see the former world cyclo-cross champion in the thick of the action – as he showed in Le Havre at the Tour de France by bagging a stage win.
Stybar’s overall hopes will depend on how he fares on Hartside Fell but his powerful engine could see him claw back any time lost should Etixx-QuickStep give him the free rein to do so.