More Tidbits on the Teams

I mentioned in my last post that the two Belgian teams Lotto - Belisol (LTB) and Omega Pharma - Quick Step (OPQ) have confusing connections and genealogies. It’s almost like they are the offspring of siblings or something. Lotto, the Belgian lottery, has been sponsoring bike teams since 1984, with a variety of co-sponsors, including Domo-Farm Frites, makers of Belgian fries. (Don’t insult a Belge by calling them "French fries!"). The Lotto-Domo team from 2003 is essentially today’s LTB, with new partner Belisol, a Belgian maker of windows, doors and solar panels. (No one said that co-sponsors must have anything in common!) Meanwhile, Quickstep (laminate flooring) and Omega Pharma (pharmaceuticals), through its subsidiary Davitamon, has also sponsored a team since 2003 that included a bunch of staff and riders from an earlier Domo-Farm Frites team. Omega Pharma has been connected to Quick Step through the years, but also teamed with Lotto in 2010 and 2011 for the Omega Pharma - Lotto team. So, this year, Omega Pharma’s name is still in the Tour de France, but not with Lotto, as it was the previous two years; for now it is with Quick Step, again, as it was in prior years. Did I lose you?

Most Americans could care less about this confusing, nearly-incestuous, relationship between the two Belgian teams. But this year it matters. Levi Leipheimer, an American star with solid TDF credentials (and strong connections to Utah) is riding for OPQ. So, we’ll be cheering for his new Belgian team. (Besides, we once hosted a Belgian foreign exchange student, so that makes us almost part-Belge, doesn’t it? Bonjour, Florence, comment ça va?)

Another interesting team situation this year is the HTC - Highroad story. Here was a team, whose evolving names included T-mobile and Telekom, that had existed for at least 20 years, and boasted of TDF GC champions Bjarne Riis and Jan Ullrich, familiar names Kloden and Vinokourov, and 2011 TDF sprint champion Mark Cavendish. But their sponsor pulled out at the end of 2011. When they failed to find a new sponsor, the team folded. Cavendish has gone to SKY, but the question is whether he will have a powerful lead-out train like he had at HTC which enabled him to win 20 stages over several years, and the coveted green jersey.

I am anxious to see how the holdovers from Léopard - Trek will mesh with their former competitors from the U.S. RadioShack team. They would normally support Frank Schleck for GC (his brother Andy is unable to ride), but there are some big names from the RadioShack side as well. Watch RadionShack - Nissan (RNT), riding under the Luxembourg flag. There are no Americans in the top nine. Only Chris Horner is listed as a reserve.  It must be a strong team if 5-time TDF veteran Horner is a reserve.

The U.S. team BMC, with its Australian defending GC champion Cadel Evans, will be a team to watch. Americans on this team are Hincapie and Van Garderen, with Bookwalter listed as a reserve.  The other U.S. team is Garmin - Barracuda, with four Americans, Danielson, Farrar, Vande Velde and Zabriski, plus one Canadian, Hesjadal. Alex Howes is an American reserve.  The reserves will only ride if someone above them is unable to start the race.  There are no substitutions if a rider has to abandon after the start of the Tour.

I have been intrigued early this season with the successes of a new Australian team, Orica GreenEDGE (OGE). The team is new, but it has some riders with experience and firepower. And they have that caution-to-the-wind Australian flair. Prepare to be entertained!

Finally, a team that impressed me last year was Europcar (EUC). This all-French team has been around for a long time, but Europcar is a fairly new sponsor, and has breathed new life into the "équipe française." They were a wild card invitee in 2011, as they are again in 2012. No one expected them to challenge for the GC prize, but Thomas Voeckler surprised everyone by capturing the yellow jeresy for stage 10 and defending it until stage 19. He finished fourth overall. Pierre Rolland, won a stage and also won the white jersey for best young rider. As a team, they were creative and courageous as they animated the race for the glory of France last year. France has been low on heros in its own special race lately, so my favorite French team to watch this year will be Europcar. Besides, it was two perfect-fit Europcar Ford station wagons that we used on our own mini-Tour de France in 2011. They served us well, merci infiniment!

Oh, wait!  That's not our rental car!  That's a classic Deux Cheveaux!

Here's one of our two twin rental cars (from Europcar), with Nan passing it near the top of l'Alpe d'Huez.