Euskaltel reveal Tour team
With less than a week to go before the big kick-off on Corsica, Euskaltel have revealed the make-up of their Tour de France squad.
Igor Antón, Mikel Astarloza, Gorka Izagirre, Ion Izagirre, Juan José Lobato, Mikel Nieve, Juan José Oroz, Rubén Pérez and Romain Sicard are the chosen nine.
As expected, Mikel Nieve and Igor Antón will lead Igor González de Galdeano's team. According to the former, Euskaltel will live up to their reputation and be as aggressive as ever.
"We're a brave team that will go on the attack", he tells Basque Cycling News. "Samuel Sánchez, who used to have one eye on a stage win and the other on the general classification, won't be in France this year, but the team's goal is to win a stage. We'll play our cards right.
"As we don't have a world-class sprinter amidst our ranks, we have to make our own race, look for opportunities and seize them. We'll be as combative as ever".
Team boss Galdeano echoes Nieve's sentiments, telling the team's website "a stage win is the goal" and "we're sending a competitive squad".
"This is the most important race - the eyes of the whole word are fixed on it", he says. "Our riders are aware of this fact, and I'm sure that they'll give it their all and make the fans proud.
"The Pyreneen stage will be very important. La Marea Naranja (The orange tide) is often seen in the Pyrenees, and it's become a classic of the Tour. We look forward to counting on your support. It's very important to us".
Photo: BCPT
7 comments:
I would have liked to see Urtasun in TDF, always attacking and if you look to the statistics one of our best riders. What's the value of Oroz anyway? He's never in the breaks, can't climb, can't sprint and can't TT. Not to mention Asatarloza who is really weak now he's riding (let's hope) clean. Clear to see he was on epo all his carreer if you look at his results before and after. Hope Ruben Perz finds his 2011 legs and to Sicard it's probably his last chance not to go in history as a wasted talent. On a more positive sides i expect a lot of the Izagirres (Ion is really top!), Nieve was really good in Dauphiné and Anton wasn't so bad in Switzerland. Anyone who knows a bit about Lobato? Yes he has got pretty fast legs but is he able to survive little climbs?
Lobato could be a good bet for a stage win. He hasn't got the speed to win on totally flat days, but he excels on the flat stages with a climb or two in them. He's in the mould of JJ Rojas and, well, Urtasun if you like!
The problem with Lobato is that if he gets through a stage with some smaller climbs he will still have to worry about that Wonder Kid Peter Sagan....
Well, Tony, I think we can honestly say that's every single rider in the peloton's problem!
Good luck to all the riders and all the team. Do the best you can. I look forward to seeing orange on the podium in Paris on 21st July...
John
HAHA Magnus... You are so right!
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