The first inkling of what a post-Lance Armstrong Discovery Channel Tour de France team looks like has been revealed by La Gazzetta dello Sport. The Italian newspaper interviewed Paolo Savoldelli, who finished fifth in the Giro d'Italia, about his role in the race. Together with George Hincapie, Yaroslav Popovych and Jose Azevedo, Discovery will have four riders capable of riding for the classification.
According to Savoldelli, it will be the road that decides "who shines the most and who will be supported for an important result."
As for Savoldelli's chances in the Tour, 'il Falco' commented, "The Giro was really hard with many long climbs; now I will find a more suitable parcours for my abilities. Last year in Revel, I won a stage working for Armstrong, who was going for the record of seven consecutive wins."
The favourite for the Tour is Jan Ullrich, reckons Savoldelli, despite the dominance shown by Ivan Basso in the Giro. "[Basso] showed great self control and has the mental energy to try to double it with the corsa rosa," said Savoldelli. "Ullrich is, however, facing the chance of a lifetime after having lived for many years under the dominance of Armstrong in a race that he has already won nine years ago...Landis, Vinokourov and Valverde will also have good chances."
