In the absence of star sprinter Marcel Kittel, it will be Milan-San Remo and Paris-Roubaix winner John Degenkolb that will lead the Giant-Alpecin team at the Tour de France. Time trialist Tom Dumoulin and French climber Warren Barguil -who is making his Tour de France debut, will also form a key part of the team’s line-up.
“There are two objectives for the team,” Giant-Alpecin team manager Iwan Spekenbrink told Cyclingnews. “We would really like to win a stage, that would be our goal, and that the new riders in the team can really can develop and that this race can be a great step in their career.”
Cyclingnews broke the news of Kittel's absence earlier on Thursday with the team confirming that he would not form part of their nine-man line-up. While the team have chosen Degenkolb as the new leader, they’re adamant that they will not try and fit him into Kittel’s role.
ADVERTISEMENT
“John Degenkolb is not a replacement for Marcel Kittel, John Degenkolb is another rider with other qualities,” said Spekenbrink. “On the pure-Marcel Kittel days he will not be the favourite. He is not the guy when it is totally flat, he is more the kind of sprinter who can do well when it’s more selective. We have a team built around him to stand by him in those stages.”
The obvious highlight for the German will be the cobbled stage four, after he claimed victory at Paris-Roubaix earlier this season. The green jersey is also up for grabs for Degenkolb but the team say that they will not target that competition from the outset. Degenkolb will be supported by Koen de Kort, Albert Timmer and road captain Roy Curvers. Simon Geschke adds yet more experience to the team.
Dumoulin and Barguil riding for experience
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/1NivIzk
No comments:
Post a Comment