Orica-GreenEDGE will line up 5 time trial specialists for the Tour du Poitou-Charentes which is usually decided in its only TT. Without a designated captain, the team will give all riders a chance to go for the victory.

A powerful ORICA-GreenEDGE, including five time trial specialists, will line up for the Tour du Poitou-Charentes starting this Tuesday in France.

The four-day, five-stage Tour features a 24.3km individual time trial, poised to play a critical role in the general classification battle.

The seven riders for the Tour du Poitou-Charentes are: Damien Howson, Jen Mouris, Leigh Howard, Luke Durbridge, Michael Albasini, Michael Hepburn and Svein Tuft.

Sport director David McPartland is confident that the squad offered a range of options for the overall victory. 

“We are going to this race trying to win it,” McPartland said.

“We will take each day at a time, but the main objective is to win it with one of the guys.

“We can’t pin point one or two guys but the team that we are taking here, almost any of them could win this Tour. It is a strength across the whole team.”

Won by Durbridge in 2012, the Tour du Poitou-Charentes is likely to find its winner courtesy of the day three time trial.

“It’s a hard mans sort of course.  It’s undulating up and down the whole time and there can often be a lot of wind,” McPartland said. 

“(The time trial) will be the most important stage of the lot I would think.  

“For sure during the other stages there are going to be dangerous points but even if there is a break that stays away on another stage we expect to have at least one guy in it.

“We will try to get amongst it and be relatively aggressive and then try to do a really good time trial on the third day which will hopefully put us in the lead to be able to defend or in a position to be able to chase some seconds to get in front on the last stage.”