Europcar will go into the Tour de France with three leaders. Pierre Rolland will focus on the GC, Bryan Coquard will target the sprints and Thomas Voeckler will use his usual aggressive strategy to chase stage wins.
Pierre Rolland got his big breakthrough in 2011 when he won the queen stage to Alpe d'Huez and the best young rider's jersey and in 2012 he took his second stage win in the Alpine ski resort of La Toussuire. Since then he has not had the same kind of success in his home race but this year he will hope to improve on his two latest performances.
Last year Rolland did his best grand tour ever when he finished fourth in the Giro but that left him fatigued for the Tour. This year the French race is his big goal and he showed solid form in the Dauphin'e.
Rolland's lieutenant will be Romain Sicard who played a key role in last year's Giro before he led the team in the Vuelta where he finished 13th overall.
Thomas Voeckler and Cyril Gautier will be the final two climbers in the team and they will use their aggressive approach to target stage wins. Perrig Quemeneur is likely to play a similar role as he hopes to confirm the form he showed in last year's Giro.
The second half of the team is made up of Bryan Coquard and his lead-out men Yohann Gene and Angelo Tulik. The latter two successfully led their captain to two stage victories in the recent Route du Sud. Tour debutant Bryan Naleau completes the team and can use his versatile skills to support both Rolland and Coquard.
Europcar for the Tour de France
Pierre Rolland, Thomas Voeckler, Bryan Coquard, Cyril Gautier, Perrig Quemeneur, Romain Sicard, Angelo Tulik, Yohann Gene, Bryan Nauleau
Denas MASIULIS 25 years | today |
Christophe PREMONT 35 years | today |
Michel SUAREZ 38 years | today |
Jay DUTTON 31 years | today |
Holger SIEVERS 56 years | today |
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