Directeur sportif Nicolas Portal runs through options to support Froome
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Chris Froome and Team Sky roll along during stage 1(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Team Sky lined up for Chris Froome at Volta Catalunya(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Chris Froome sits in the bunch with teammate Michal Kwiatkowski(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Chris Froome is protected by his teammates(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Chris Froome models Team Sky's special edition white jersey for the Tour de France(Image credit: Team Sky)
Chris Froome (Sky) celebrates his first maillot jaune of the 2016 Tour de France
White jerseys,white bikes, and now the likely possibility of sparkly new white offices. But while Team Sky work on their attire and new headquarters, they also face the much more important task of selecting their final nine-rider line-up for the Tour de France.
At present, the British WorldTour team has a long list of around 13 riders but in the coming weeks the team management will narrow the group down to nine - eight of whom will ride in support of Chris Froome as he embarks on the challenge of winning his fourth title and his third in three years.
Thomas and Landa
Poels will line-up alongside Thomas in France. The Welshman is over his Giro d'Italia crash and has trained well over the last few weeks. According to the team, he is highly motivated for the Tour de France and could even be the team's plan B for the overall classification.
Landa's place within the team is slightly more complex. There is no doubting the Spaniard's talent but there are question marks about his commitment. After the Giro – in which he saved Team Sky with a stage win and the mountains jersey - he stated that he would prefer to ride the Vuelta for GC and that Team Sky might make him ride the Tour de France.
That approach, coupled with the fact that he is out of contract and linked to several other teams, could be taken into consideration. Team Sky will want eight riders fully committed to Froome and will be unwilling to take any passengers.
However, for now, Portal is confident that Landa has a place.
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
