Yesterday Lotto Belisol announced their Tour de France roster which is built around Jurgen Van Den Broeck and André Greipel. Today the team manager Marc Sergeant has explained why he has designed the team in the way he has.

Yesterday Lotto Belisol announced its selection for the upcoming Tour de France. Manager Marc Sergeant explains the choice for the nine riders. He also looks ahead to the crucial phases of the Tour.
 
“I think the choice for the nine names is logical," he said. "With Jurgen Van den Broeck and André Greipel we have two leaders for their respective terrain and that’s what our Tour is all about. We’ve built a team around it which can perform in function of those two goals.

"More than ever Jurgen gave the impression in the Dauphiné that he can aim high. As a team we showed much understanding and patience after his crash in the Tour and the difficult first part of the season. On the other hand he did give the right signals himself after Liège. His recons and training camps went smoothly and the Dauphiné gave the last confirmation.
 
“I expect about eight bunch sprints. Three teams will aim for the victory with their top sprinter and apart from them there are guys like Démare and Sagan. Tony Gallopin and Adam Hansen can have a go of their own in certain stages.

"The past weeks each of the nine selected riders proved to be ready for the Tour. As opposed to last year Frederik Willems isn’t part of the selection. He told us that the Tour wasn’t a must for him.
 
“Pim Ligthart also showed he’s got a good condition. I explained our choice to him. It’s normal to be disillusioned, but I think he can understand our reasoning. We are satisfied about what he showed so far and think he will be of service to the team later this year as well.

"After the strong spring we talked to Jelle Vanendert about focusing on the races  in the last part of the season that suit him. He agreed with that. In modern cycling you have to let riders attend on the terrain where they can maximally use their capacities. And if Jelle can do in the last part of the season what he did in the spring, he will have done a lot for the team. In any case, his crash in Switzerland wouldn’t have made it easy to participate in the Tour.
 
“It’s exceptional that for the second year in a row the Tour doesn’t start with a time trial and a sprinter can take the yellow jersey. That’s of course our goal. The second stage in England is cut out for strong guys, possibly a break will battle for the victory.

"On day five the riders get the feared cobblestone stage. I think this will be crucial for the rest of the Tour. Our riders have the natural gift to ride over cobblestones, also Van den Broeck. There was lots of enthusiasm during the recon. On the one hand the mechanical aspect is important, on the other hand it’s a matter of being in the right position and the weather conditions can play a role as well.

 
“The three stages in the Vosges won’t decide about the overall victory, but will show who’s ready for the next part. The Alps look a bit less hard, but in any case you have to be good in the Pyrenees in the last week to fulfill your ambitions. The Tour promises to be interesting, with the open battle between Froome and Contador and about ten others who can mingle in the debates.”