John Degenkolb will be back in Paris-Tours to defend the title he conquered 12 months ago. The in-form German will be supported by most of the strong Giant-Shimano lead-out train.

John Degenkolb returns to Paris – Tours as defending champion after his win in 2013, and the team will be hoping to round out this season in similar fashion.

Paris – Tours is one of the oldest races on the calendar, now in its 108th edition, and it is often a fine balance between a small group just holding on to stay clear and a bunch sprint. For this eventuality Degenkolb has good support, including lead-out man Tom Veelers and road captain Roy Curvers.

“The plan for Paris – Tours will be very similar to Paris-Bourges, with John as our main rider,” Christian Guiberteau, team coach, said.

“John has strong support for the sprint here, but the team will have to be alert to powerful groups moving clear, especially late on as previous results show that groups often breakaway and just hold on ahead of the sprinters.

“Weather conditions can also play their part on this race, but we have an experienced team for riding in the crosswinds or tough conditions.”

Line-up:

John Degenkolb, Tom Veelers, Tom Stamsnijder, Ramon Sinkeldam, Roy Curvers, Bert De Backer, Nikias Arndt and Thierry Hupond