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Tour de France 2013 Teams

The exact composition of the nine-man squads to ride the Tour de France will be resolved by team management in the weeks and days leading up to the start of the great race. Across the 22 teams there are 34 Australian riders who could potentially be chosen to ride—some clear certainties, other emerging riders hopeful to be given their chance. Here’s a look at the teams’ jerseys, their bikes and some of the key riders in each team. AG2R La Mondiale   

Nationality: France

Frame: Focus Izalco Team SL           

Groupset: Campagnolo Super Record EPS        

Wheelset: Fulcrum

Italian Domenico Pozzovivo is one of several new signings AG2R have made to fill the void of 11 riders who have left since 2012. Pozzovivo had a strong showing in last year’s Giro and will be a key player for the team. Others to watch for include Davide Appolonio and Colombian Carlos Betancur.

Astana Pro Team   

     

Nationality: Kazakhstan    

Frame: Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL4     

Groupset: Campagnolo   

Wheelset: Corima

The void left after Vinokuov’s departure has been ably filled by Vincenzo Nibali who’s had good form prior to, as well as a strong showing in the Giro this year.  However 28 year old Jakob Fuglsang who will lead the team into the Tour confirmed the team won’t be there for the overall win but has his eyes set on a top 10 finish in the General Classification.

BMC Racing Team    

Nationality: USA   

Frame: Team Machine SLR01           

Groupset: Shimano         

Wheelset: Shimano

Australian Riders on the roster 1

Australia and BMC will be pinning their hopes once more on Cadel to shine in this 100th iteration of the Tour. The tough mountainous course will suit him, and his team will be there to support him unless illness or accident occur; at which point Van Garderen would step in. There’s been much conjecture about Evans’ decision to race the Giro as well as the Tour; we’ll have to wait and see how that pans out.

Cannondale  

 

Nationality: Italy    

Frame: Cannondale SuperSix Evo Hi-Mod   

Groupset: SRAM

Wheelset: Vision

Australian Riders on the roster 1

Peter Sagan is the human headline in the Cannondale team. With speed to mix it with the best and stunning power figures, Sagan should provide some memorable moments this year. After pulling out of the Giro with a cyst in an undisclosed location, Ivan Basso should be fit for the Tour. Keep an eye out for Moreno Moser, nephew of the great Francesco, to make a statement on the shorter steep climbs this year. 

Cofidis       

    

Nationality: France

Frame: Look   

Groupset: Shimano

Wheelset: Mavic

In 2012 they received a wildcard entry to race the Tour de France. Again this year they have received a call-up to ride, making a total of five French teams in the 100th running of the Tour. Spaniard Daniel Navarro Garcia, Belgian Nico Sijmens and climber Nicolas Edet have each had wins so far in 2013 in the UCI Professional Continental series.

Europcar      

  

Nationality: France

Frame: Colnago          

Groupset: Campagnolo   

Wheelset: Campagnolo

Another of the three French teams to score wildcard entries, Europcar has had a successful start to the year in the Continental series. Thomas Voeckler (aka le Chouchou or ‘the sweetheart’) is crowd favourite after holding the maillot jaune for 10 days in 2011. Also watch for Anthony Charteau in the mountains, winner of the polka dot jersey in 2010,  and Damien Gaudin, winner of the prologue in this year’s Paris-Nice.

Euskaltel Euskadi  

   

Nationality: Spain  

Frame: Orbea Orca     

Groupset: Shimano         

Wheelset: Shimano

The bright-orange clad riders of Euskaltel Euskadi will once again line up in the tour.  Stepping away from tradition, Euskaltel Euskadi has signed nine riders with no Basque connection to race this season. Local boy Igor Anton Hernandez with three top-ten finishes this year and 28 year old Mikel Nieve have been confirmed to ride the tour this year. Expect to see a big colourful contingent of Basque fans roadside for stages eight and nine.

Française des Jeux (FDJ)     

  

Nationality: France

Frame: Lapierre Xelius EFI   

Groupset: Shimano         

Wheelset: Shimano

Managed by the flamboyant Marc Madiot, the FDJ team has been around for 16 years. The team this year boasts Sandy Casar with three stage wins to his name, French Road Race champion 2012 Nacer Bouhanni who has sprinted to four victories this year so far, plus young gun Thibaut Pinot who finished 10th overall last year.

Garmin Sharp 

Nationality: USA   

Frame: Cervelo s5      

Groupset: Shimano Dura-Ace Di2         

Wheelset: Mavic

Australian Riders on the roster 4

Garmin-Sharp won a total of 23 races in 2012 including three team time trials, with 14 different riders. They have a wealth of talent to choose from; Hesjedal, Vande Velde, Vansummeren, Dekker, Danielson and Millar. There are four Australians on the roster who may also get a guernsey; Nathan Haas, Steele Von Hoff, Lachlan Morton and neo Rohan Dennis.

Lampre-Merida   

       

Nationality:  Italy    

Frame: Merida Scultura SL Team      

Groupset: Shimano         

Wheelset: Fulcrum

Australian Riders on the roster 1

With just seven wins in 2012 the Lampre Team has a lot to prove. Michele Scarponi is being dogged by doping allegations and crashed early in the Giro but should be part of the crew along with old hands Pettachi, Pozzato and neo pros Luca Wackerman, Mattia Cattaneo and Diego Ulissi. 

Lotto-Belisol  

Nationality: Belgium          

Frame: Ridley Noah FAST/Helium   

Groupset: Campagnolo   

Wheelset: Campagnolo

Australian Riders on the roster 1

The Belgian team has few international riders, though one of the few is Australian Adam Hansen fresh from a win at stage seven of the Giro. The other big names in Lotto include of course Andre Griepel (the gorilla), and team leader and fourth-place getter in last year’s tour, Jurgen Van den Broeck.

Movistar         

Nationality: Spain  

Frame: Pinarello Dogma 2     

Groupset: Campagnolo   

Wheelset: Campagnolo

Team manager Usebio Unzue has his sights set on a podium finish. Based on recent results of Valverde and support riders former Italian National Champion Giovanni Visconti, 2011 Vuelta winner Juan Jose Cobo, Spanish national road race champion Francisco Ventoso, and Russia’s Vladimir Karpets, his expectations are not unjustified. Climber Nairo Quintana has been in top form lately too; be prepared for a show on stage 18. 

Omega Pharma-Quick-Step Cycling Team    

Nationality: Belgium          

Frame: Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL4     

Groupset: SRAM

Wheelset: Zipp

Another team spoilt for choice is OPQSCT. Cavendish will have his share of the limelight, while Boonen, Chavenel, Martin, Steegmans and Terpstra could all be team leaders in their own right.

Orica GreenEdge  

    

Nationality: Australia         

Frame: Scott Foil       

Groupset: Shimano         

Wheelset: Shimano

Australian Riders on the roster 15

Simon Gerrans has had three wins in 2013 as well as finishing third in the Amstel Gold Race and 10th in Liege Baston Liege and along Michael Albasini will add some Antipodean flavour to the mix. The home grown riders’ names may not roll off the tongue with such panache as their euro counterparts but over the past 12 months the Orica GreenEdge team has proved they are worthy participants in the WorldTour.

Radio Shack Leopard

Nationality: USA   

Frame: Trek Madone 6 Series            

Groupset: Shimano         

Wheelset: Bontrager

Despite a poor showing in 2012 due to injuries and failing team morale, Radioshack are firing in 2013. Fabian Cancellara, Chris Horner, Andreas Kloden, Yasoslav Popovych, Frank and Andy Schleck, Haimar Zubeldia and the irrepressible Jens Voigt will be hard to pass up during selection for the Radio Shack Leopard team.

Sky Procycling           

Nationality: Great Britain  

Frame: Pinarello Dogma 2     

Groupset: Shimano         

Wheelset: Shimano

Australian Riders on the roster 3

The tensions between Wiggins and Froome never seemed to settle down completely, with Tour de France leadership speculation rising from time to time. Still Froome at least according to team management is the man chosen for the job in 2013.  Richie Porte and Mathew Hayman should be a shoe in for selection but Australia’s hopes will be with Chris Suttonfor a start this year.

Sojasun    

      

Nationality: France

Frame: BH     

Groupset: Mixed                    

Wheelset: Corima        

Third wildcard entry Sojasun have been successful in the Continental series in 2013, with all-rounder Johnathon Hivert claiming three wins. National pride is apparent in France at times, and the ASO was keen to have a strong French contingent in this the 100th running of the 110 year old race. The final contender for last of three wildcard entries; IAM Cycling, a Swiss base team missed out—a poor record of wins leading up to the decision cited as the determining factor.

Team Argos-Shimano

Nationality: Netherlands    

Frame: Felt F1

Groupset: Shimano         

Wheelset: Shimano

Australian Riders on the roster 1

The average age of the Argos–Shimano riders is just 26 years old, with almost a third of them under 23.  And while sprinters John Degenkolb and Marcel Kittel took the lion’s share of the team’s 31 wins through 2012, the lead-out train of Bert De Backer, Albert Timmer and Koen de Kort performed exceptionally well to position them to take the victories. Australian Will Clarke may be in contention for a start this year.

Team Blanco  

Nationality: Netherlands    

Frame: Giant TCR Advanced SL      

Groupset: Shimano         

Wheelset: Shimano

Australian Riders on the roster 4

Team Blanco (nee Rabobank) has a long history of solid performance in grand tours. Ten podium finishes by seven riders to date in 2013 attest to this. In particular sprinter Theo Bos is in good form bagging four wins this year, while at the 2013 Tour Down Under Tom Slagter took the overall victory.

Four Australians Mark Renshaw, David Tanner, Jack Bobridge and veteran Graeme Brown have a place in the Blanco roster and will be looking for a seat on the team.

Team Katusha

Nationality: Russia 

Frame: Canyon           

Groupset: Shimano                    

Wheelset: Mavic        

Spanish star of the Russian team, Joaquin Rodriguez, is hoping for a top five finish in the tour this year. In 2010 he finished 7th overall, he has a second place in the Giro and two thirds in the Vuelta a Espana to his name. Look also for Sergey Chernetskiy to make his mark in the hills, and Anton Vorobyev in the time trials.

Team Saxo-Tinkoff    

Nationality: Denmark        

Frame: Specialized S-Works Tarmac SL4     

Groupset: SRAM

Wheelset: Zipp

Australian Riders on the roster 3

Saxo-Tinkoff and El Pistolera will be aiming squaring at the top step of the podium this year. Contador will be able to count on three new signings to keep him out of the wind; Roman Kreuziger, Evgeni Petrov and Michael Rogers the former triple World Time Trial Champion who has come over from Team Sky.

Vacansoleil DCM Pro Cycling Team 

Nationality: Netherlands    

Frame: Bianchi Oltre  

Groupset: Mixed 

Wheelset: FFWD

Thomas de Gendt’s long, lone ride to victory on the Passo Stelvio in the Giro d’Italia was one of the most exciting performances of 2012, and in 2013 the Belgian stage racer will once again be spearheading the Dutch Vancansoleil-DCM squad. Thirty year old Venezuelan grimpeur Jose Rujano may be a surprise packet in the alps. 

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