Trek have used their Twitter account to announce the first six riders on their Tour de France roster and unsurprisingly Fabian Cancellara was the first rider to be names. Surprisingly, there was room for sprinter Danny Van Poppel while the neither Schleck brothers nor Jens Voigt have been named yet.
At the end of the Tour de Suisse, Trek manager Luca Guercilena said that the Trek management would discuss their Tour roster on Monday and make an official announement later in the week. Last night the team revealed their first 6 names on their 9-rider roster via Twitter.
Unsurprisingly, the team will be led by Fabian Cancellara who will make his return to the French grand tour after a one-year absence. The Swiss has lamented the lack of the prologue but has been inspired by the inclusion of a stage over the Paris-Roubaix cobbles.
Grand tour veteran Haimar Zubeldia will make another appearance and will again target the overall standings and he can count on support from loyal domestique and fellow Basque Markel Irizar. In the mountains, he can expect to get assistance from climber Matthew Busche who will make his Tour de France debut.
Swiss classics specialist Gregory Rast has made the cut but the big surprise is the inclusion of young sprinter Danny Van Poppel. Last year the then 19-year-old Dutchman was the youngest rider since World War II to ride the Tour but after signing with Trek he said that the plan was for him not to do any grand tours in 2012. However, strong performances - including a stage win in the Driedaagse van West-Vlaanderen and a prologue victory in the Tour de Luxembourg - have made the management change their mind.
Three spots are still up for grabs and they will be announced at 13.00 CEST. Surpringsingly, none of the Schleck brother have been named yet. Frank crashes out of the Tour de Suisse while Andy didn't show much form in the Swiss race. Jens Voigt is also not on the roster yet, the 42-year-old German having a strong desire to do one final Tour before ending his career at the end of the season. Grand tour veteran Yaroslav Popovych is another rider who hasn't been selected yet.
First six riders on Trek Tour de France roser:
Fabian Cancellara, Matthew Busche, Haimar Zubeldia, Markel Irizar, Gregory Rast and Danny Van Poppel
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