The riders who will back Alberto Contador’s bid to win his fourth Tour de France have today been announced by the Saxo Bank SunGard team, with many expected names present.
His compatriots Jesus Hernandez, Dani Navarro and Benjamin Noval will continue their previous support of him, as seen in recent years, and will be joined by Australian rider Richie Porte, Danish trio Chris Anker Sorensen, Nicki Sørensen and Brian Vandborg. The octet backing him is completed by Italian rider Matteo Tosatto.
"We've obviously tried to pick the team that fits the best to our overall strategy. It is no secret that we are in the race to win it, so our job have been to identify the rider group, that will be able to give Alberto the best possible support through the three weeks,” said Bjarne Riis.
Of those nine riders, five – Contador, Porte, Hernandez, Navarro and Tosatto – rode the Giro d’Italia. While many expect Contador to recover in time for the Tour de France, the extent of that overlap is something which could potentially prove a factor in the third week of the race. Many big names stayed clear of the Giro this year as they believed it was too difficult to ride hard in Italy and to have sufficient reserves to be at their best in France.
The fact that the majority of the Saxo Bank SunGard lineup will have done both events will put their recovery under close examination. In essence Contador’s chance of winning the Tour will depend as much on how each of those has recuperated from their earlier exertions as it does on his own reserves.
Still, Riis says that he is happy with the selection. “We have come up with a team that can both protect and be aggressive and defend, and we are strong both on the flat roads and in the mountains,” he said. “I think it's an exceptionally strong team.”
It also meant some tough choices. “It's never an easy job to tell people, they didn't make the team. Some of the riders, we turned down, really deserved a spot on the team.”
Contador has won the Tour de France in 2007, 2009 and 2010. His victory in the latter is still under question, though, due to an unresolved doping positive for Clenbuterol in last year’s race. He claims that the substance entered his system via tainted meat, and this explanation was accepted by the Spanish federation RFEC. This clearing of him has however been disputed by both the UCI and WADA, and has been appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
A decision was expected before the start of the Tour, but the hearing has now been deferred until early August after a request for more time by the rider’s lawyers was accepted by the UCI and WADA.
This year’s Tour begins at the Passage du Gois on Saturday 2nd July. Contador and many of the other riders are expected to line out in the various national championships this weekend.