Etixx - Quick-Step has announced the selection that will participate in the 102nd edition of Le Tour de France which runs from Saturday, July 4th until Sunday, July 26th.
The Belgium based side have named Mark Cavendish, Michal Golas, Michal Kwiatkowski, Tony Martin, Mark Renshaw, Zdenek Stybar, Matteo Trentin, Rigoberto Uran, and Julien Vermote as their team.
"We are at the start of this Tour de France with a very talented and experienced team," Sport and Development Manager Rolf Aldag said to his team's press office.
"Of course for a team like ours, until the 9th Stage at the TTT, every day will be a challenge. Starting in the beginning in Utrecth with the ITT, and continuing the day after with a stage that, on paper, looks to be conditioned by crosswinds along the sea.
"It's no secret we have a team that is built for these kinds of efforts. So we are looking forward to this stage. Then we move into Belgium. As a team based there, it is a key moment of Le Tour to show ourselves in front of our home public. We also have the day of the Mur de Huy finale, where we can play with several options. Then the day after, Stage 4 with the cobbles, it is another stage that suits our team perfectly, even if riding on a Classic parcours during the Tour de France is not exactly like riding the spring races.
"Of course, in cycling anything can happen during these stages, but we know we are as prepared as any team in the peloton to do well on the cobbled sectors. Then we have a couple of stages for fast riders, where Mark Cavendish can be a protagonist. Mark will have the team at his service these days. To conclude the first week of the Tour de France is the arrival of Mûr-de-Bretagne, and the TTT, a discipline where technique and commitment are important. We have tradition in this discipline, that's why we consider it a important appointment on our road to Paris.
"Our goal is to perform well in this first part of the race. We want to go into the first rest day happy with our overall performance. It will be important to perform, find results, and then good confidence for the second part of the race starting with the 10th stage. In the second part of Le Tour there are still some stages for the sprints, but also a lot of ground for climbers and attackers. We have options also in the mountains with a rider like Rigoberto Uran, but not only him. Riders such as Tony and Michal showed already in the past that every day they can invent something significant. We want to be consistent over the three weeks and try to be present on multiple levels.
"We want to be present in the stages, and why not, try to get the yellow jersey for a few days. Wearing that jersey even for few days is always a big achievement. The guys prepared well for this race, and we are confident that all the jobs we've done in the last weeks will pay off at the right moment. We believe in our selection formed by riders of eight different nationalities.
Our ultimate goal is to leave a mark in this Tour de France, and we believe we have the potential to do it."
Source: DSG
