Earlier today Oleg Tinkov revealed the Tinkoff-Saxo roster for the Tour de France and now the team has issued an official statement to confirm the selection. The Dane elaborates further on the thoughts behind the squad that will be fully devoted to Alberto Contador.

Tinkoff-Saxo has selected the nine riders for Tour de France 2014 after a thorough phase of decision. The team that will head out with the clear ambition of winning Tour de France is:
 
Alberto Contador, Michael Rogers, Nicolas Roche, Rafal Majka, Jesús Hernandez, Sergio Paulinho, Daniele Bennati, Matteo Tosatto, Michael Mørkøv.
 
The team management has carefully selected the nine riders after following a very strong group of candidates, who according to Team Manager Bjarne Riis would all be more than suited to ride this years Tour de France.
 
“It has been very difficult to select this year’s line-up. This year, we’ve had a very strong group of candidates, who have all been showing impressive spirit. We have selected a team of high quality both in relations to individual strength and their compatibility to support each other and ride as a team towards the main goal of winning the Tour with Alberto”, says Bjarne Riis.
 
The team is chosen with the purpose of supporting team captain Alberto Contador on a very demanding route against strong competitors. Bjarne Riis has together with the sport directors focused on finding riders, who would be able to support Alberto Contador on a versatile parcours.
 
“We have been looking at what shape the riders were in and tried to match their unique skills as riders with the challenges we’ll face during the 21 stages. It’s a tough Tour this year with almost no flat stages after the first week. When we reach the Vosges, we’ll already be facing serious climbs”, explains Bjarne Riis and continues:
 
“So we’ve chosen riders that are capable of protecting Alberto on all kind of stages and supporting him to the fullest in the mountains. I have complete confidence in our team, their readiness and their commitment to take up the fight in this year’s Tour. We all focus on standing on the podium in France putting on the yellow jersey”, concludes the Team Manager.