Hincapie and Ballan to be his chief lieutenants
The BMC Racing Team lineup which will support the bid by Cadel Evans, twice runner-up, to finally win the Tour de France has been announced today.
The Australian world champion will be joined by his predecessor in the rainbow jersey, Alessandro Ballan, and US road racing champion George Hincapie in the three week event.
The three big names will be supported by six others, namely double Tour de Suisse stage winner Marcus Burghardt, Karsen Kroon, Steve Morabito, Mathias Frank, Mauro Santambrogio and the American rider Brent Bookwalter, who finished an excellent second in the opening time trial of the 2010 Giro d’Italia.
“Leading into the Tour, things seem to be coming together,” said Evans, who has been the most impressive world champion of recent years, and appears transformed as a rider. “For me, the Giro was a bit more fatiguing than I expected, possible because of the health problems I encountered. We will see during the Tour how my alternative race program goes.”
Evans has had a very solid season, getting things underway with fifth overall in the Tour Down Under. He was then fifth in the GP dell’Insubria, third overall in the Tirreno-Adriatico, sixth in Criterium International, thirteenth in the Amstel Gold Race, first in Flèche Wallonne and fourth in Liège-Bastogne-Liège.
His most recent race was the Giro d’Italia, where he won a stage, took the points classification and finished fifth overall.
Since then he has worked on recovering from the Italian tour and then preparing for the Tour. His Directeur Sportif John Lelangue believes that the overall victory is possible.
“The best result for the BMC Racing Team is looking to the highest step on the podium,” he stated. “With Cadel, we come to the Tour clearly with one objective – one leader. All of the team will be focusing on supporting him.”
Team president Jim Ochowicz believes that there will be difficult stages, but that the team will fare well. “We’ll have our day in the sun there and we’ll have some tough days as well,” he said. “But overall, it will be a great experience for the BMC Racing Team.”
Hincapie and Ballan have pledged their support. The American has been a Paris-Roubaix contender for many years and feels that being in the right place on the third stage is going to be crucial. He warns that some overall contenders will lose a chunk of time after the start in Rotterdam.
“There are cobblestones in the mix and small roads and wind and possible bad weather conditions, so it can be very hectic,” said the 36 year old. “I think the first week this year can blow the whole race wide open.”
He and Ballan are both excellent Classic riders and will play an important part in steering Evans out of trouble. Ballan was recently sidelined due to an investigation in Italy, but appears to have been cleared of wrongdoing and is back racing.
“I was most worried about not returning in time to be selected for the Tour de France,” he explained. “I had hoped to help Cadel at the Giro but was unable to participate. Now I can work 100 percent for him at the Tour.”
The race will begin next Saturday in Rotterdam, and will finish 3,642 kilometres later in Paris.