Liquigas-Cannondale go into the Tour with Peter Sagan a favourite for numerous stage wins and possibly the green jersey and will have Vincenzo Nibali chasing yellow. Providing support to Nibali will be Ivan Basso in his quest for a second Grand Tour win. Sagan will have support in the sprints but has shown that he can fend for himself when the going gets tough.
Depending on how these two riders fare Liquigas-Cannondale look likely to shift their attention if one rider is having a bad Tour. Sagan is making his debut in the Tour and a stage win looks more than likely for the Slovakian. Sagan made his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta in 2011 where he won three stages. Up against Cavendish, Kittel, Goss and Greipel will be major test to the 22 year old but Sagan has continued to win again and again even against the top sprinters. Nibali showed the potential he has as a GC man by winning the 2010 Vuelta but has failed to win another Grand Tour since. A second and third placing at the Giro in 2010 and 2011 is the closest he has come since.
Sagan is undoubtedly the brightest star on the Liquigas-Cannondale team but won't be their only avenue to success. Basso may snare a stage win if his GC position is low and is allowed to chase a win without threatening the overall GC. Nibali looks like he can finish in the top ten but a podium finish looks beyond the Sicilian. In this case Sagan looks like the best chance Liquigas-Cannondale will have for success in 2012.
Liquigas-Cannondale 2012 Tour de France Team
Depending on how these two riders fare Liquigas-Cannondale look likely to shift their attention if one rider is having a bad Tour. Sagan is making his debut in the Tour and a stage win looks more than likely for the Slovakian. Sagan made his Grand Tour debut at the Vuelta in 2011 where he won three stages. Up against Cavendish, Kittel, Goss and Greipel will be major test to the 22 year old but Sagan has continued to win again and again even against the top sprinters. Nibali showed the potential he has as a GC man by winning the 2010 Vuelta but has failed to win another Grand Tour since. A second and third placing at the Giro in 2010 and 2011 is the closest he has come since.
Sagan is undoubtedly the brightest star on the Liquigas-Cannondale team but won't be their only avenue to success. Basso may snare a stage win if his GC position is low and is allowed to chase a win without threatening the overall GC. Nibali looks like he can finish in the top ten but a podium finish looks beyond the Sicilian. In this case Sagan looks like the best chance Liquigas-Cannondale will have for success in 2012.
Liquigas-Cannondale 2012 Tour de France Team
Ivan Basso
Federico Canuti
Kristijan Koren
Dominique Nerz
Vincenzo Nibali
Daniel Oss
Peter Sagan
Sylvester Szmyd
Alessandro Vanotti
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