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Published on Friday, 04 July 2014 00:33

Teams and Riders 

The teams and riders to watch in the TDF 2014.

Twenty two teams, 9 riders a team - 198 nervous riders will take to the start line next Saturday morning in Leeds as the TDF 2014 Grand Départ gets under way. The teams of course are made up of different kinds of riders, each with their special jobs to do. 

Starting naturally with the GC contenders - each team will have a rider (or possibly more than one) who will be the teams protected rider aiming for a good GC position. They are almost certainly going to be good climbers as this year's race sees a lot of vertical miles. 

There are climbing specialists who will either be assisting their key men in the mountains or looking for stage winning opportunities for themselves. You also have the 'puncheurs' who will like the up and down stages like Stage 2 to Sheffield, they like to hide themselves away until the last moment and then attack with ferocious power like you see Purito Rodriguez doing. Then you have the long breakaway candidates - usually lower ranked riders from smaller teams looking for exposure or better riders who have lost time in the GC and are looking for stage wins to save their Tour. 

Of course the big guns are hugely important in the Tour - the sprinters. Cavendish, Kittel, Greipel, Sagan, Démare.. they will provide scintillating and sometimes downright scary finishes at 60kmph+ in their bid for stage glory - watch for them on two iconic stages in to London in front of Buckingham Palace on stage 3 and on the Champs Élysées in Paris on the final day. 

The TT specialists like Tony Martin, Cancellara and Froome have only one day to really shine and that doesn't come until the second last day! Martin will have to drag himself over a lot of climbs along the way before he possibly gets a shot at a stage victory! 

And finally a word for the domestiques. The work horses. The water carriers.. Without them no man could win the Tour. They block the wind and protect their team leaders for as long as they possibly can. They ride at the front and set a pace for their team leaders until they pull over exhausted and often literally coming to a standstill. They give up wheels and bikes if necessary to an afflicted captain. And they do this with little adoration and recognition,  but they are real heroes and could be the difference between who wins and loses on the fight for the GC.

Here's a quick look through each of the teams for the Tour, more analysis will come very shortly.

Team Sky 

1.FROOME Christopher
2.EISEL Bernhard
3.KIRYIENKA Vasil
4.LOPEZ David
5.NIEVE Mikel
6.PATE Danny
7.PORTE Richie
8.THOMAS Geraint
9.ZANDIO Xabier

Chris Froome is the star of the team but it's a team packed full of talent. Bernard Eisel is taking part in his 10th Tour and will be the road captain. Kiryienka is the metronomic machine that just goes and goes and goes at the front tapping out the rythm for Froome. Lopez, Nieve and Zandio are three more who will be important aides in the mountains. Geraint Thomas could possibly go stage hunting, maybe on stage 2 but he also says he could go well on Stage 8.  Richie Porte is coming back to form and will be a vital lieutenant for Froome out on the road. Is capable of a top placing as well though.

Expectation - Overall victory, stage victories, possibly 2 riders in the top 10, top 3 for team prize.

Men to watch - Froome for the overall, Porte for top 10, Thomas for a stage victory. 

Movistar

11.VALVERDE Alejandro
12.ERVITI Imanol
13.GADRET John
14.HERRADA Jesús
15.INTXAUSTI Beñat
16.IZAGIRRE Ion
17.PLAZA Rubén
18.ROJAS José Joaquín
19.VISCONTI Giovanni

This is all about Alejandro Valverde and whether he can justify his team's faith in him by leaving Nairo Quintana at home and giving Valverde one last shot. A top 6 should be the least he'd expect but a stage win is not out of the question. John Gadret and Izagirre should go well in the mountains and JJ Rojas could do well in some of the sprints on lumpier days.

Expectation - podium for Valverde, possibly stage victories from him and Rojas.

Men to Watch - Valverde, Izagirre and Rojas. 

Team Katusha

21.RODRíGUEZ Joaquim
22.ISAYCHEV Vladimir
23.KRISTOFF Alexander
24.PAOLINI Luca
25.PORSEV Alexander
26.SILIN Egor
27.SMUKULIS Gatis
28.ŠPILAK Simon
29.TROFIMOV Yuri

Joaquin Rodrigues comes here with low expectations given he is only just returning from injury sustained in the big pile up in the Giro d'Italia. Having said that though he should be capable of challenging for a top 10 position, especially if he comes good in the second half of the race. The TT will not be in his favour though. Alexander Kristoff will fancy some sprint finishes and Spilak and Trofimov will be adventurous and agressive in the mountains. 

Expectations: Top 10 on GC for Rodriguez, stage wins from Rodriguez and Kristoff.

Men to watch: Rodriguez for the punchy finishes, Kristoff for tough sprints and Spilak, Trofimov and Paolini for the breaks/climbs.

Tinkoff-Saxo 

31.CONTADOR Alberto
32.BENNATI Daniele
33.HERNáNDEZ Jesús
34.MAJKA Rafal
35.MøRKøV Michael
36.PAULINHO Sérgio
37.ROCHE Nicolas
38.ROGERS Michael
39.TOSATTO Matteo

Tinkoff-Saxo are my favourites for the team prize as I can see them having a good Tour. They're certainly going to stand out in their fluorescent yellow kit they revealed on Thursday! Contador looks a solid top 3 candidate at worst, in fact I'm backing him to win it.  I think Nicolas Roche will have a great Tour, he's got the big monkey off his back with his impressive maiden stage win in the Route du Sud and looks in great shape.  

Mick Rogers is also looking in great condition as we saw in the Giro when he landed two stage victories including the famous win on the Zoncolan. Majka, Paulinho, and Hernandez will be important men in the mountains for Alberto and the team looks ready to battle with Team Sky. 

Expectation - Winning with Contador, 2nd at worst. Team prize must be a target too. Stage wins with Contador, Roche and possibly Rogers or Bennatti.

Men to Watch - Alberto Contador should light up this race and make it a real battle for Froome. Roche and Majka could go stage hunting later in the race. Bennatti may be up there in reduced sprints too. 

Astana Pro Team

41.NIBALI Vincenzo
42.FUGLSANG Jakob
43.GRIVKO Andriy
44.GRUZDEV Dmitriy
45.IGLINSKIY Maxim
46.KANGERT Tanel
47.SCARPONI Michele
48.VANOTTI Alessandro
49.WESTRA Lieuwe

Vincenzo Nibali leads a strong looking Astana team, but it's disappointing to see the poor effort at a National Champions jersey Astana have given him! A small Italian flag on his chest isn't good enough!

Nibali is talking a good game, says he is here to challenge and expects to go well. He could well fill the 3rd Podium spot in Paris. He will have to hang onto Froometador for as long as possible on the key stages though and fight off some strong opposition for that 3rd spot. Westra is a key man for him on the cobbled stage 5 and Westra, Fuglsang and Kangert will be key support men and possible stage hunters. Scarponi I fear will disappoint, age is catching up with him now. 

Expectation - Top 5 at worst for Nibali, possibly top 3. Stage wins possibly from Nibali, Fuglsang or Westra.

Men to watch - Nibali, Westra and Fuglsang are the key men but watch for Iglinskiy and Grivko for breaks. 

Cannondale
51.SAGAN Peter
52.BODNAR Maciej
53.KING Edward
54.KOREN Kristijan
55.MARCATO Marco
56.DE MARCHI Alessandro
57.MARINO Jean-Marc
58.SABATINI Fabio
59.VIVIANI Elia

I'm sure Elia Viviani is not happy with being forgotten about when the key sprinters are being discussed by everyone! I even forgot about him in my preview for the Green jersey, but that's because he is in the second division at this Tour when it comes to top level sprinters. It should fire him up though to prove people wrong though and we could see him muscle his way in to a few sprint finishes. This is a team based on one man though and he will probably find himself alone and isolated quiet a bit on the rolling stages that he should be looking to win. 

Expectations - Green jersey looks likely and possibly multiple stage victories from Sagan.

Men to Watch: It's all about Sagan, but watch for Viviani in the sprints. 

Belkin-Pro Cycling Team

61.MOLLEMA Bauke
62.BOOM Lars
63.CLEMENT Stef
64.TEN DAM Laurens
65.KRUIJSWIJK Steven
66.LEEZER Tom
67.TANKINK Bram
68.VANMARCKE Sep
69.WYNANTS Maarten

Belkin come here with a lively chance of a top 6 showing from Bauke Mollema. His preparation has been good and he rode well in the Tour de Suisse, just being outpaced by Rui Costa on the final climb. He has some very strong support riders in Tankink, Vanmarcke, Boom, Kruijswijk and Ten Dam and we should see lots of Belkin on our screens with the team looking for a new sponsor following Belkin's decision to pull out of cycling sponsorship. 

Vanmarcke will be one to watch on stage 5 over the cobbles - 2nd in Paris-Roubaix in 2013, 4th this year, he had a very good classics season earlier this year. 

Expections - Top 6 or maybe better for Mollema, possible stage wins for Mollema and Vanmarcke

Men to watch - Mollema, Vanmarcke but also watch for Ten Dam for late attacks on climbs to try to tee up Mollema, if the pack hesitates he could be gone.  

Omega Pharma - Quick-Step
71.CAVENDISH Mark
72.BAKELANTS Jan
73.GOłAś Michał
74.KWIATKOWSKI Michal
75.MARTIN Tony
76.PETACCHI Alessandro
77.RENSHAW Mark
78.TERPSTRA Niki
79.TRENTIN Matteo 

Big expectations and big pressure on Mark Cavendish as the race starts in England. England expects,  Isle of Man expects, OPQS expects and Sky expects! But most of all Cav himself expects. He wants to win every sprint, but he is smart enough and experienced enough to know when it's a better idea to ease back and wait for another day. It could happen on stage 1 to Harrogate where he might decide to wait for Monday. His lead out train is probably the best in the business with the addition of Mark Renshaw and Alessandro Petacchi this year. Add in the power of Tony Martin,  Jan Bakelants and Niki Terpstra and you can see why they dominate flat stage run-ins.

But they also have potential stage winners in Tony Martin for the TT, Terpstra on stage 5 over the cobbles (winner of Paris-Roubaix) and Kwiatkowski on some of the lumpier stages. 

Expectations: Stage wins from Cavendish in the sprints, possibly could win 3 or 4 stages. Stage win from Martin in TT, possibly a good showing from Terpstra on the cobbles of stage 5. Bakelants for a possible breakaway stage win. 

Men to watch: Mark Cavendish, Tony Martin, Niki Terpstra, Michal Kwiatkowski

AG2R La Mondiale

81.PERAUD Jean-Christophe
82.BARDET Romain
83.CHEREL Mikael
84.DUMOULIN Samuel
85.GASTAUER Ben
86.KADRI Blel
87.MINARD Sébastien
88.MONTAGUTI Matteo
89.RIBLON Christophe

AG2R are having a good year, but their intended team leader for the Tour Carlos Betancur is awol and not starting. This puts the pressure on young Romain Bardet to deliver a top 10 ride, something he is indeed capable of. With strong climbers like JC Peraud and Christophe Riblon he will be helped towards possibly winning the Young Riders white jersey. 

Expectations - a Top 10 and the white jersey for Romain Bardet, Possible stage victories for Riblon and Peraud. 

Men to watch: Romain Bardet, JC Peraud, Sam Dumoulin for the select sprints and Riblon and Kadri for the long breakaway attempts.

Garmin Sharp
91.TALANSKY Andrew
92.ACEVEDO Janier Alexis
93.BAUER Jack
94.HOWES Alex
95.KING Benjamin
96.LANGEVELD Sebastian
97.NAVARDAUSKAS Ramunas
98.SLAGTER Tom-Jelte
99.VANSUMMEREN Johan

A team built around Andrew Talansky who has a serious chance of a top 6 finish and maybe even a podium, coming off the back of his break-through victory in the Criterium du Dauphiné. Ably supported by Ben King, Acevedo, Navardauskas and Slagter he should be in the select group of 10 or so climbers left at the business end of the tough mountain stages. Tom-Jelte Slagter will be stage hunting on the lumpier puncheur type stages and Navardauskas, Langeveld, Howes and VanSummeren can go on the long breaks, with stage 5 suiting some of these too. 

Expectations: Top 6 for Andrew Talansky, possible stage wins for Acevedo and Slagter

Men to watch: Talansky and Slagter, Langeveld on stage 5, Navardauskas and Acevedo for possible opportunist breakaway stage wins.  

 Team Giant-Shimano

101.KITTEL Marcel
102.CURVERS Roy
103.DEGENKOLB John
104.DEVENYNS Dries
105.DUMOULIN Tom
106.JI Cheng
107.DE KORT Koen
108.TIMMER Albert
109.VEELERS Tom

One of the most exciting teams in the Peloton when it comes to sprint finishes, if you've not seen their on-bike videos then you are really missing out. John Degenkolb and Marcel Kittel have realistic chances of taking home 4 or 5 stage wins, starting possibly with the first three. Kittel or Degenkolb could well win the first, Degenkolb maybe the second and Kittel the 3rd (and maybe 4th too!). Tom Dumoulin could go well in the TT, a top 5 is possible, and Devenyns and Timmer could be two for the long breakaways. As long as their sometimes mis-firing leadout team get it right then Kittel should finish it off. 

Expectations: Multiple stage wins courtesy of Kittel and Degenkolb with London and Paris two big targets. 

Men to Watch: Marcel Kittel and John Degenkolb, Tom Dumoulin for the TT and possible breakaway win

Lampre-Merida
111.COSTA Rui
112.CIMOLAI Davide
113.DURASEK Kristijan
114.HORNER Chris
115.MODOLO Sacha
116.OLIVEIRA Nelson
117.RICHEZE Ariel Maximiliano
118.SERPA Jose Rodolfo
119.VALLS Rafael

Lampre-Merida come here with the world champion and the reigning Veulta Champion in Chris Horner. Costa has been riding well but just not able to break his duck in the World Champions stripes, but he righted that with a good win in the Tour de Suisse, a commanding, controlled, calm victory over Mollema and Frank. So we know his form is good, but the question is can he sustain that sort of performance over three weeks, he has never managed to do well in a grand tour in the overall GC. What he is though is a master tactician and breakaway expert, especially the hilly late attacks. Horner, we have no clue about his form as he has been injured since the end of March, only coming back in the Tour of Slovenia, in which he managed a 14th place overall finish.

Sacha Modolo could get involved in some of the sprints and Oliviera, Serpa and Valls could be candidates for the breaks.

Expectations: Top 20s for Horner and Costa, with possibly a top 10 for Costa if he can last the three weeks of intense effort. Possible stage victories from Costa and Modolo.

Men to watch: Costa, Modolo and Horner. 

FDJ.fr
121.PINOT Thibaut
122.BONNET William
123.DELAGE Mickaël
124.DéMARE Arnaud
125.JEANNESSON Arnold
126.LADAGNOUS Matthieu
127.PINEAU Cédric
128.ROY Jérémy
129.VICHOT Arthur

FDJ, the great French hopes! Lots of possible active men in the team but team leader Thibaut Pinot has a lot of pressure on his shoulders, especially considering how last year's Tour turned out for him. Go back 12 months before that and he was a revelation, winning that brilliant stage to Porrentruy with Marc Madiot going mental in the team car. He also took 2nd in the white jersey competition. A lot is expected of him this year and he is sharing favouritism with Bardet for the White Jersey, but I think Bardet will beat him, but he is capable of a top 15 placing. 

Arnaud Démare is their main man for the sprints, but can he muscle in on the top sprinters like Cav and Kittel? It'll be hard as their lead-out tends to screw it up a lot. Jeannesson is capable of big rides in the mountains, Jeremy Roy, William Bonnet, Ladagnous, Vichot and Delage are all capable of big rides on breakaways and expect to see that FDJ jersey up the road quite a lot.

Expectations: Top 10 to 15 for Pinot, Possible stage wins for Vichot, Démare or Jeannesson.

Men to watch: Pinot and Démare 

 Lotto Belisol

131.VAN DEN BROECK Jurgen
132.BAK Lars Ytting
133.DE CLERCQ Bart
134.GALLOPIN Tony
135.GREIPEL André
136.HANSEN Adam
137.HENDERSON Gregory
138.ROELANDTS Jurgen
139.SIEBERG Marcel

Lotto Belisol have the nicest bikes in the race. There you go. If you haven't seen them, they are a cool retro look with a white band in the middle of the seat and down tube of a red frame. Really nice. As regards the riders on them, I'm hoping for a big ride from Jurgen Van Den Broeck and I think he is capable of a top 5 finish. André Greipel is capable of top 3 finishes in a number of sprint stages and may even win one but I can't see him beating Cav or Kittel unless a crash takes them out!

Jurgen Roelandts is a possible breakaway candidate as is Lars Bak, Bart de Clercq and Adam Hansen is bound to be his usual attacking self. Tony Gallopin could do well on some of the lumpy medium mountain stages which end in reduced sprints.  

Expectations: Top 5, hopefully top 3 for Jurgen Van den Broeck, possible stage wins for Greipel.

Men to Watch: JVDB for the GC, Greipel in the sprints and Adam Hansen for drinking beer on his way up a climb! 

BMC Racing Team

141.VAN GARDEREN Tejay
142.ATAPUMA John Darwin
143.VAN AVERMAET Greg
144.BURGHARDT Marcus
145.MOINARD Amaël
146.OSS Daniel
147.SCHAR Michael
148.STETINA Peter
149.VELITS Peter

Team Europcar
151.VOECKLER Thomas
152.ARASHIRO Yukiya
153.COQUARD Bryan
154.GAUTIER Cyril
155.GENE Yohann
156.PICHOT Alexandre
157.QUEMENEUR Perrig
158.RéZA Kévin
159.ROLLAND Pierre

Trek Factory Racing
161.SCHLECK Andy
162.BUSCHE Matthew
163.CANCELLARA Fabian
164.IRIZAR Markel
165.VAN POPPEL Danny
166.RAST Gregory
167.SCHLECK Fränk
168.VOIGT Jens
169.ZUBELDIA Haimar

Cofidis, Solutions Crédit en ligne
171.TAARAMäE Rein
172.EDET Nicolas
173.GARCíA Egoitz
174.LEMOINE Cyril
175.MATE Luis Angel
176.MOLARD Rudy
177.NAVARRO Daniel
178.PETIT Adrien
179.SIMON Julien

Orica GreenEDGE
181.GERRANS Simon
182.ALBASINI Michael
183.CLARKE Simon
184.DURBRIDGE Luke
185.HAYMAN Mathew
186.KEUKELEIRE Jens
187.MATTHEWS Michael
188.TUFT Svein
189.YATES Simon

IAM Cycling
191.FRANK Mathias
192.CHAVANEL Sylvain
193.ELMIGER Martin
194.HAUSSLER Heinrich
195.HOLLENSTEIN Reto
196.KLUGE Roger
197.PINEAU Jérome
198.REICHENBACH Sebastien
199.WYSS Marcel

Team NetApp – Endura
211.KöNIG Leopold
212.BáRTA Jan
213.DE LA CRUZ David
214.DEMPSTER Zakkari
215.HUZARSKI Bartosz
216.MACHADO Tiago
217.MENDES José
218.SCHILLINGER Andreas
219.VOSS Paul

Bretagne - Séché Environment
201.FEILLU Brice
202.BIDEAU Jean Marc
203.DELAPLACE Anthony
204.FEILLU Romain
205.FONSECA Armindo
206.GERARD Arnaud
207.GUILLOU Florian
208.JARRIER Benoit
209.VACHON Florian

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