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.
"A fresh challenge"
Johan Bruyneel (DISCOVERY CHANNEL)
With the retirement of Lance Armstrong, the Discovery Channel team lines up with a new frame of mind…
In fact, there is both a lot of change and very little. Even if Lance has gone, the riders who will be on the start line in Strasbourg are all experienced and know how to deal with the Tour de France. Of course, we don’t have the same ambitions because we no longer have the huge favourite in our ranks. But preparation has been similar throughout the season and I think that the riders are in excellent shape. Talking about final victory wouldn’t be realistic, but several guys are capable of finishing in the Top 10.
So you haven’t named a leader…
No. Actually, there are four team-partners with more or less the same level - Popovych, Hincapie, Savoldelli and Azevedo. The aim is for one of them to finish in the Top 5. This in itself would be a victory for me. We can forecast all the scenarios we want, but we know very well that, once on the road, things can often take a different turn.
So the "all-for-one" strategy is a thing of the past for Discovery. What’s the new one?
I find myself in the position that my opponents were in, hoping that the favourite will not be as strong as Lance. This is fairly exciting since I have confidence in my riders’ qualities. Before, they knew just what their job was. Now, they have to work out their own race, and there are no complaints coming from the most ambitious. It’s a fresh challenge.
There have been a lot of changes for AG2R over the last year. How is the 2006 Tour shaping up?
Yes, in 2005 we were a guest team on the Tour and we had to prove we were worthy of our place up among the best. By finishing 10th in the general team classification, we showed that our ambitions were realistic. Since then, the team has been considerably enhanced, especially with the recruitments of Francisco Mancebo and Christophe Moreau, and we’ve taken part in all the year’s major races, so the objectives are no longer the same. Since we’re aiming at the general classification, trying to follow in the slipstream of every attempt to pull something off will be out.
Does the red polka-dot jersey mean a lot to him?
I know he’s thinking about it and that he enjoys the challenge. But sometimes things can hinge on a breakaway, as they did last year, for example, with Rasmussen in the Vosges. So forecasting is difficult and he’ll have to adapt to circumstances if he’s to go after the jersey. In any case, Christophe is a class rider who’s currently brimming with confidence. So we’ll be seeing him pull off some fine achievements.
