French cycling team Cofidis unveiled a nine-man Tour de France team Monday which manager Eric Boyer has shaped principally for success in the mountains.
Frenchman David Moncoutie, who won the hilly penultimate stage of the Dauphine Libere on Saturday, will be the team’s main hope on the Tour’s climbs along with fellow specialists Amael Moinard and Remi Pauriol.
Christophe Kern, who also impressed during the Dauphine, has also been given instructions to perform well in the Alps and Pyrenees.
On the flatter stages diminutive sprinter Samuel Dumoulin, a stage winner at Nantes in 2008, will join Stephane Auge and Colombian Leonardo Duque in aiming for stage glory.
Sebastien Minard and Spaniard Bingen Fernandez make up the rest of the team.
The Tour de France begins in Monaco and is held July 4-26.
Cofidis team:
Stephane Auge (FRA), Samuel Dumoulin (FRA), Leonardo Duque (COL), Bingen Fernandez (ESP), Christophe Kern (FRA), Sebastien Minard (FRA), Amael Moinard (FRA), David Moncoutie (FRA), Remi Pauriol (FRA).