Roster Ruminations, Part V – Saxo-Tinkoff and other GC Contenders/Pretenders

Saxo-Tinkoff:  We’ve already covered GC contenders Chris Froome (Sky), Cadel Evans (BMC), and Andy Schleck (RadioShack-Leopard), as well as Ryder Hesjedal and others at Garmin-Sharp.  It’s time we devoted some ink to the third former champion in this year’s Tour, Alberto Contador (Saxo-Tinkoff).  He returns to the Tour with solid support from Roman Kreuziger, Nicolas Roche, Michael Rogers and other seasoned riders.  The organizers have given the mountain stages extra emphasis in this year’s race, and Contador can climb with the best.  Do not expect him to be satisfied with a defensive strategy, but look for him to attack often on the steep climbs.

Now for a summary, in no particular order, of several other teams with legitimate GC riders, any one of whom could out-shine the so-called favorites:

Astana:   Jakob Fuglsang should have been a star for RadioShack last year, but they excluded him from the Tour roster for complaining about team management.  Imagine being upset just because of no paychecks!  He’s having a good year on this new team, with three top-ten finishes, and would dearly love to put an exclamation point on his defection by beating Andy Schleck and possibly making the GC podium in Paris.  Rising Slovak star Janez Brajkovic gives Jakob a super-domestique, and he could even give Astana a second top-ten finisher in the GC battles. Watch out for the robin-egg blue jerseys of Astana!

Katusha:  Spanish climber Joaquim Rodriguez aims for a high GC placement in this year’s Tour, and will not back down from the anointed favorites.  Compatriot Daniel Moreno (winner of the 2013 Fleche de Wallonne) will second Rodriguez.

Lotto-Belisol: Belgian rider Jurgen van den Broeck already has two top-five finishes at the Tour (2010 and 2012).  He could fly under the radar and pull off a big surprise.  In a previous post, I’ve already listed his teammate, German champion André Greipel, who plans to keep the “Big Boy Sprinters” honest.  Lotto-Belisol will chase two dreams: a top GC finish for Jurgen van den Broeck and stage wins (or even the Green Jersey) for André Greipel.

Cofidis: This French team has four possible challengers for GC glory.  Two French riders, Christophe Le Mével (10th in 2010) and Jérôme Coppel (14th in 2011), plus Spaniard Daniel Navarro and Estonian Rein Taaramae.  Could one of them wear the Yellow Jersey for a while this year, or finish in the top 10?  Either result would be glory for Cofidis, one of the “wildcard” teams in the race.

Movistar:  I have already highlighted Rui Costa in my recent report on the Tour de Suisse.  But Movistar has other GC hopefuls as well: Alejandro Valverde, and Tour rookies Nairo Quintana and Jonathan Castroviejo.

FDJ: Do you remember Thibeau Pinot from the 2012 race?  He finished in GC 10th place last year, and was narrowly beaten by Tejay van Garderen for the White Jersey (best young rider) only in the waning stages of the race.

Summary:  This gives us about 20 riders who could realistically challenge for the Yellow Jersey.  The hazards of illness, accidents, bad weather, and mechanical problems will almost certainly eliminate some of them (even the favorites) from contention.  Beyond that, an inspired ride here, some brilliant teamwork there, or even a strategical lapse somewhere else, all could turn the GC contest upside down.  The mountain stages and the time trials will be the most important in the GC battle, but even in the flat stages, each team will need to  carefully watch the daily breakaway groups to prevent any of these top GC threats from seizing a big time gap.

Sign-off:  With that, I sign off until tomorrow for the Grand Départ (the first stage) in Corsica.  Remember, there are lots of prizes (not just GC), so every stage has its drama; and often several threads of drama are interwoven in a single stage.  I’m so excited, I may not even sleep tonight!

May, 2011, Jurgen van den Broeck (Lotto-Bellisol) has just finished a training ride climbing to the summit of the Col du Tourmalet in the French Pyrénées, and whom should he encounter?  None other that Matt Jensen, mastermind-organizer of the famous Three Kings cycling challenge in North Salt Lake!  Did they exchange autographs?  Did VDB whip out his cell phone and grab a photo of King Matt?  Are they facebook friends?  You should have been there!