Rosters come together for Lotto-Belisol and Saxo Bank
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Wiggins, Porte and Boasson Hagen on the podium(Image credit: José António Fernandes)
Bradley Wiggins(Image credit: Team Sky)
Chris Froome(Image credit: Team Sky)
Despite his efforts Greg Henderson couldn't reach the lead group and lost his lead today.(Image credit: Mark Gunter)
Early stage 4 escapees Lars Bak (Lotto-Belisol) and Miyataka Shimizu (Bridgestone Anchor).(Image credit: ASO)
Nick Nuyens(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Paris-Nice will start on Sunday, March 4, and the teams are beginning to finalize their rosters for the next WorldTour stage race. Team Sky will bring a powerful team with Volta ao Algarve winner Riche Porte joined by Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome, the pair who stood on the Vuelta a España podium last year.
Wiggins, after taking the time trial in Algarve, is hoping to keep up the team's winning momentum in the Race to the Sun. "It's the first big WorldTour race of the season in Europe and we'll just look to continue the momentum - that's the goal," Wiggins said on teamsky.com.
The 31-year-old said the team's new recruits like Kanstantsin Siutsou, who joined after the demise of HTC-Highroad, and Porte, who came across from Saxo Bank, have integrated well into the team.
"Everything about this team is just snowballing and getting better and better, race after race. We're becoming more consistent too, it's more of a habit now. So everything we go to, one thing leads to another and we've also got an incredibly strong squad at Tirreno-Adriatico which takes place around the same time as Paris-Nice.
"It's great to be part of it and I'm just looking forward to Paris-Nice now and my next few races after that."
Team Sky for Paris-Nice: Chris Froome (GBr), Christian Knees (Ger), Danny Pate (USA), Richie Porte (Aus), Kanstantsin Siutsou (Blr), Geraint Thomas (GBr), Rigoberto Uran (Col), Bradley Wiggins (GBr)
Lotto-Belisol will also split its squad between Tirreno-Adriatico and Paris-Nice, with Kiwi Greg Henderson the protected sprinter for the French race while Andre Greipel heads to Italy.
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Lars Bak is on the start list despite a crash in the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and subsequent abandon from Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne. He suffered from pain in his left wrist, but no fractures were found and the Dane hopes to be recovered for Sunday.
Lotto-Belisol for Paris-Nice: Lars Bak (Den), Gaetan Bille (Bel), Adam Hansen (Aus), Bart De Clercq (Bel), Greg Henderson (NZl), Olivier Kaisen (Bel), Gianni Meersman (Bel), Maarten Neyens (Bel).
Defending champion of the Tour of Flanders Nick Nuyens will lead the Saxo Bank team in Paris-Nice. He will be joined by sprinter Juan Jose Haedo and climber Daniel Navarro, formerly a mountain domestique for the now-suspended Alberto Contador.
Saxo Bank for Paris-Nice: Nick Nuyens (Bel), Jonas Aaen (Den), Juan Jose Haedo (Arg), Kasper Klostergaard (Den), Karsten Kroon (Ned), Jaroslaw Marycz (Pol), Michael Morkov (Den), Daniel Navarro (Spa).
