Cycling: The Tour de France is the cycling highlight of the season. Many sponsors and team managers align most of their goals with those three weeks. 198 riders are divided into 22 teams at the start in Düsseldorf on Saturday. What are the goals of the teams? Velomotion looks at the nominated drivers and speculates on possible successes.
Here is the second part of our team preview for the Tour de France 2017
Ag2r La Mondiale: Full focus on Romain Bardet
For Team Ag2r, all focus is on Romain Bardet. The Frenchman finished second overall last year and is aiming to do better this season. To achieve this goal, Romain Bardet has been given a strong team. His compatriot Pierre Latour and Mathias Frank might even be able to reach the top ten themselves. As we know Team Ag2r, they will not just focus on the overall standings. From time to time we are guaranteed to find the colors of the team in escape groups. Jan Bakelants, Alexis Vuillermoz and Oliver Naesen are particularly predestined for this.
Astana Pro Team: Question marks behind Fabio Aru & Jakob Fuglsang
Team Astana has played a significant role in cycling since its inception. We will also see the light blue jerseys in action at the 2017 Tour de France. Astana wants to draw attention to itself, especially in the mountains. Accordingly, the nominations failed. Fabio Aru decided to take part in the Tour de France after missing the Giro d'Italia. It is questionable whether the Italian, who is strong in climbing, will be in top form in time after his knee injury. If not, Jakob Fuglsang could step into the breach. The Dane won the Critérium du Dauphiné and appears to be in the form of his life. But can he keep the shape and stay in France for more than three weeks? If he doesn't succeed either, Astana will go for stage wins. With Andriy Grivko, Dario Cataldo, Alexey Lutsenko and Michael Valgren, Astana has the right men in its own ranks.
Bahrain-Merida: Only rushing forward can bring success
We're looking in vain for a ranking driver or sprinter in the 9-man squad from Bahrain-Merida. Success can therefore only be calculated with great difficulty. Janez Brajkovic was considered a great tour driver talent many years ago. However, he could never live up to expectations. Javier Moreno and Jon Izagirre are strong climbers. If the three weeks went perfectly, they could either finish in the top ten or secure the mountain jersey. Otherwise, success can actually only be made possible by escape groups. Yukiya Arashiro likes to be a breakaway, as does Gebremaryam Grmay. In a difficult sprint you will probably rely on Sonny Colbrelli, but Grega Bole and Borut Bozic could then also try something. In a pure mass sprint, however, you will have no chance.
BMC Racing Team: Richie Porte must finally deliver
This year, Team BMC will be fully focused on overall victory. In this rating, the big hit at the Tour de France should finally succeed. Team BMC has not been victorious at the Great Loop since Cadel Evans won in 2011. Richie Porte is supposed to do it again in 2017. In the mountains and in the time trial, he is hardly worse than his big adversary Chris Froome. However, his problem is the consistency over three weeks. While Richie Porte has so far been particularly successful in one-week tours, he found it much more difficult in the Grand Tours. If the plan with Porte goes wrong again, there is no substitute captain for the ranking in the team. With Greg Van Avermaet, Stefan Küng and Damiano Caruso, Team BMC still has a chance of winning a stage.
Bora-hansgrohe: Many goals in the first Tour de France
The squad of the German team Bora-hansgrohe is undoubtedly peppered with well-known and experienced drivers. World champion Peter Sagan and multiple mountain king Rafal Majka will also be there. The green jersey and the polka dot jersey seem to be automatically in the team's sights, but this year Rafal Majka should mainly concentrate on a good place in the overall classification. Either way: you will see something from Bora-hansgrohe in the mass sprints and in the mountains. It will also be exciting from a German point of view how Emanuel Buchmann will do. He is considered to be one of the most promising candidates in the junior classification.
Cannondale-Drapac: It's probably all about stage wins again
The Cannondale-Drapac team can probably be described as the weakest WorldTour team in the last two years. In the Grand Tours you often ended up at the bottom of the award tables and you had to wait months for victories anyway. Even at the Tour de France 2017, it cannot be assumed that you will be particularly successful in the overall classification. Theoretically there is a chance of making the top ten with Rigoberto Uran and Andrew Talansky, but these ideas do not seem to be particularly reliable. It will probably stay that way this year with breakaway attempts. In this respect, however, we are also extremely well positioned. Pierre Rolland is considered a hot contender for a win in the mountains and the polka dot jersey. We will certainly find Simon Clarke in groups as well.
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits: Nacer Bouhanni should ensure victories
After Nacer Bouhanni had to cancel his participation in the Tour de France last year, he is back at the start in 2017. The Frenchman will go into the tour as the captain of his team. He should ensure a French success in the mass sprints. In addition to sprinter Bouhanni, the line-up also includes a number of mountaineering pilots. The red jerseys of the Cofidis team will therefore be seen in the escape groups on almost all hilly and hilly stages. Especially Nicolas Edet, Luis Angel Mate and Julien Simon are made for it. Cofidis will certainly fight for the mountain points, especially in the first week. For the overall classification, on the other hand, there are no hot irons in the fire. Only Daniel Navarro can focus on that.
