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Former two-time champion Alberto Contador of Spain will headline the Saxo-Tinkoff team at the Tour de France which starts on June 29, the outfit announced today.
The Spaniard was champion in 2007 and 2009 but was stripped of a third victory in the “Grande Boucle” in 2010 for doping.
Britain’s Chris Froome, runner-up behind Bradley Wiggins last year and one of the favourites this time round, said on Tuesday that he viewed Contador as his biggest threat.
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“We enter this year’s Tour de France with the objective to win the race with Alberto,” said Philippe Mauduit, the Danish team’s sporting director.
“So obviously we’ve tried to pick the riders that fit the best to our overall goal, and we’ve tried to identify and bring together the competencies needed in the team to give Alberto the best possible support and protection over the three weeks on both flat roads and hectic finals, the hilly terrain, the mountains and the time trials.”
Mauduit added: “We believe we have come up with a really strong line-up, a great all-round team with a lot of valuable Grand Tour experience.”
Team
Michael Rogers (AUS), Roman Kreuziger (CZE), Nicolas Roche (IRL), Matteo Tosatto (ITA), Daniele Bennati (ITA), Sergio Paulinho (POR), Alberto Contador (ESP), Jesus Hernandez (ESP), Benjamin Noval (ESP)
