Read the two, daily interviews with the Big Loop's sporting or team managers. For the letour.fr site, they set out their aims and strategy and review the form of their riders.
"Jan will have to keep an eye on everyone"
Rudy Pevenage (T-MOBILE TEAM)
Jan Ullrich is the only past winner of the Tour present in the pack. Does he have what it takes to pull off a second victory this year?
I think in any case he’s in better shape than last year. It hasn’t been easy because the beginning of his season was very worrying. His knee problems kept him out and he had to postpone his return. But since then the work he’s put in has been very efficient and we were able to see the progress made on the Tour of Italy, where he brought off an impressive time trial in Pontedera, then on the Swiss Tour. So, as usual, he’s up among the favourites, with perhaps a little more chance than on other years.
What will the team strategy be?
To begin with, everyone will have to stay focused up to the first time trial. We have very good flat racers in the team, such as Rogers or Honchar. They will certainly have their work cut out, with other teams of course, to prevent any breakaways becoming dangerous. Then, Jan will have to put in a good time trial since this is one of the stages on which he can create a gap. In the mountains, he can count on the support of reliable team partners such as Guerini, Kloden, Mazzoleni or Sevilla. With their help, he’ll have to try and control his opponents and respond to attacks when that’s necessary. We’ll have to adapt to circumstances.
On these stages, the rivalry with Ivan Basso promises to be intense…
Yes, but I don’t think the Tour can be boiled down to a match between Basso and Ullrich. There are other favourites, and Jan will have to keep an eye on everyone. There’ll be no question of neglecting riders like Landis, Popovych, Valverde or Evans.
The team: Jan Ullrich (Ger), Giuseppe Guerini (Ita), Serhiy Honchar (Ukr), Matthias Kessler (Ger), Andreas Klöden (Ger), Eddy Mazzoleni (Ita), Michael Rogers (Aus), Oscar Sevilla (Spa), Patrik Sinkewitz (Ger).
"Mayo has the spirit of revenge"
Miguel Madariaga (EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI)
What are your aims for your sixth participation in the Tour?
We have a good team and our aim is to work collectively to achieve at least one stage victory. We’ve brought a lot of enthusiasm with us this year, even if we know we don’t have the means to fight and defend ourselves at general classification level. It’s clear that Iban (Mayo) is our leader and everybody will be working for him. But, if needs be, he’ll also be ready to help out the team.
Your group has three newcomers to the Tour. Are you afraid that there’ll be a lack of experience in the team?
Since the beginning, we’ve always been a team that relies on young blood and training. On this score, we have the same outlook as the Atletico de Bilbao. So we often bring young riders in. On the Tour, it’s true that it’s a little more complicated, but the newcomers, Lopez, Verdugo and Hernandez, do have a few references. They have been professionals for two or three years and have already taken part in stage races. David Lopez, for example, finished the last Giro and almost brought off a stage before being caught up 2 kms out.
This renewal doesn’t stop us from being ambitious. We are thinking a lot about the two Pyrenees stages, but if opportunities come up in the Alps, we’ll be trying to pull something off. We’re in for the whole race and not just the Pyrenees stages.
The team: Iban Mayo (Spa), Iker Camano (Spa), Unai Etxebarria (Ven), Aitor Hernandez (Spa), Inaki Isasi (Spa), Inigo Landaluze (Spa), David Lopez (Spa), Gorka Verdugo (Spa), Haimar Zubeldia (Spa).
