HTC-Columbia issues long list for Tour de France

Team HTC-Columbia has released its long list for the Tour de France, featuring former World time trial champions Michael Rogers and Bert Grabsch, and both sprinters Mark Cavendish and Andre Greipel.

The US-based team told Cyclingnews Monday afternoon that it has 15 riders on the list: Michael Albasini, Lars Ytting Bak, Mark Cavendish, Bernhard Eisel, Maxime Monfort, Mark Renshaw, Andre Greipel, Haydon Roulston, Adam Hansen, Michael Rogers, Bert Grabsch, Tony Martin, Peter Velits, Kanstansin Sivtsov and Frantisek Rabon.

The final decision as to which nine will ride in France will be made after the Tour de Suisse. “We will probably announce after the Tour de Suisse and Dauphine are finished, like we did last year,” Kristy Scymgeour told Cyclingnews.

The team's biggest decision will be selecting which of its two sprinters to take to the Tour. Cavendish won six stages at the Tour last year, but got off to a slow start in 2010. He has since found some form, recently winning a stage in the Amgen Tour of California. Griepel currently leads the peloton with 12 wins so far this season.