The Omega Pharma team has announced a strong 9 man team that will surely animate the Tour throughout July. Reigning ITT world champion Tony Martin will be looking for a clean sweep in the three ITT stages, Sylvain Chavanel will again be an attacking force and Peter Velits is a genuine top ten GC candidate who will be complimented by the American Levi Leipheimer. The team is one of the more balanced in this year’s Tour and look like taking several stages beyond the time trials with extensive Tour experience across the team.
With all the riders having ridden at least two Tours, when the going gets tough Omega Pharma will be one of the teams to take control while looking at ease. Several top riders have missed out on selection after having promising beginnings to their seasons, while others have opted not to ride in order to focus on the Olympics and races later in the season. Such riders as Niki Terpstra, Gerald Ciolek and Gert Steegmans are all unlucky to miss out. Coincidently these three riders have all had four previous Tour starts. The big omission for Omega Pharma will be Tom Boonen who is one rider opting to skip the Tour and finalise his preparations in order to take home the road race Gold medal in London. Since 2007 Boonen has only featured on two occasions in the Tour in 2009 and 2011. However on both occasions he did not finish the race. It would be fair to say he has had an underwhelming last few appearances at the Tour. Although with five stage wins and a win in the points classification in 2007, the last year he finished the Tour, Boonen has a strong Tour pedigree.
In the absence of Boonen, Omega Pharma-Quick Step will still be more than capable of winning stages. Chavanel, Leipheimer and Martin have all won stages at the Tour and will be looking to add to their tallies. As well as stages, a stage or two in yellow also looks realistic, especially following the Prologue in Liege where Martin is a red hot favourite for the win. In the mountains Jerome Pineau will look for another opportunity to wear the maillot pois after two stints in the climber’s jersey during the 2010 edition.
The experience and balance of the Omega Pharma team should see them as primary animaters of the 2012 Tour and regular appearances upon the podium await. There is little pressure upon the team to produce a strong GC performance but Peter Velits should be capable of a top ten finish not only due to his own qualities but also due to the depth, versatility and experience of his team. As the team has no single objective a fluid approach looks to be taken on and depending on how Velits, Martin and Leipheimer are riding, a decision will be made on who will be the ‘protected rider.’ This approach should shed any weight of expectation from the rider’s shoulders and let them focus on riding their best Tour as possible. With a distinctive light blue jersey, Omega Pharma-Quick Step will be more than noticeable throughout July. Even with the absence of their star rider Boonen.
With all the riders having ridden at least two Tours, when the going gets tough Omega Pharma will be one of the teams to take control while looking at ease. Several top riders have missed out on selection after having promising beginnings to their seasons, while others have opted not to ride in order to focus on the Olympics and races later in the season. Such riders as Niki Terpstra, Gerald Ciolek and Gert Steegmans are all unlucky to miss out. Coincidently these three riders have all had four previous Tour starts. The big omission for Omega Pharma will be Tom Boonen who is one rider opting to skip the Tour and finalise his preparations in order to take home the road race Gold medal in London. Since 2007 Boonen has only featured on two occasions in the Tour in 2009 and 2011. However on both occasions he did not finish the race. It would be fair to say he has had an underwhelming last few appearances at the Tour. Although with five stage wins and a win in the points classification in 2007, the last year he finished the Tour, Boonen has a strong Tour pedigree.
In the absence of Boonen, Omega Pharma-Quick Step will still be more than capable of winning stages. Chavanel, Leipheimer and Martin have all won stages at the Tour and will be looking to add to their tallies. As well as stages, a stage or two in yellow also looks realistic, especially following the Prologue in Liege where Martin is a red hot favourite for the win. In the mountains Jerome Pineau will look for another opportunity to wear the maillot pois after two stints in the climber’s jersey during the 2010 edition.
The experience and balance of the Omega Pharma team should see them as primary animaters of the 2012 Tour and regular appearances upon the podium await. There is little pressure upon the team to produce a strong GC performance but Peter Velits should be capable of a top ten finish not only due to his own qualities but also due to the depth, versatility and experience of his team. As the team has no single objective a fluid approach looks to be taken on and depending on how Velits, Martin and Leipheimer are riding, a decision will be made on who will be the ‘protected rider.’ This approach should shed any weight of expectation from the rider’s shoulders and let them focus on riding their best Tour as possible. With a distinctive light blue jersey, Omega Pharma-Quick Step will be more than noticeable throughout July. Even with the absence of their star rider Boonen.
Omega Pharma-Quick Step 2012 Tour de France Team
Sylvain Chavanel
Kevin De Weert
Dries Devenyns
Bert Grabsch
Levi Leipheimer
Tony Martin
Jerome Pineau
Stijn Vandenbergh
Peter Velits
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