Trek Factory Racing today announced its Tour de France roster, using individual Tweets from pre-selected fans to reveal the nine-rider team on social media.
Fabian Cancellara will lead the pinstriped US-based team into the Grand Depart July 4 in Utrecht, where he will likely try and take the prologue win and first yellow jersey of the race. The Swiss rider has led the Tour de France five different times thanks to his strength in the prologues or opening time trials (2004, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2012) for a total of 28 days in the maillot jaune.
Cancellara will forgo the time trial at this week’s Swiss national championships to focus instead on the road race and the Tour.
Bauke Mollema will carry the bulk of the team’s general classification hopes. The 28-year-old Dutch rider, who was sixth in the 2013 Tour de France and 10th overall last year, finished second overall earlier this year at Tirenno-Adriatico.
The team announced earlier Tuesday that Frank Schleck will miss the Tour because of knee injury, but Mollema can look for help in the hills from Julian Arredondo, Markel Irizar and veteran Haimar Zubeldia. Cancellara, Stijn Devolder, Laurent Didier, Bob Jungels and Gregory Rast will provide power for the team time trial and the transition stages while also hunting stage wins.
The 2015 Tour will be the first for 22-year-old Jungels and 26-year-old Arredondo.
Trek Factory Racing 2015 Tour de France roster: Julian Arredondo, Fabian Cancellara, Stijn Devolder, Laurent Didier, Markel Irizar, Bob Jungels, Bauke Mollema, Gregory Rast and Haimar Zubeldia.
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