Phonak going for the win in Paris-Nice

After Floyd Landis' win in the Tour of California, Team Phonak is going to Paris-Nice (March 5-12) full of confidence and aiming for the overall victory. The team will be quite similar to the one used in California, with Landis again serving as team captain. He will be joined by Aurélien Clerc, Martin Elmiger, Robert Hunter, Nicolas Jalabert, Axel Merckx, Koos Moerenhout, and Alexandre Moos, with John Lelangue, Juan Fernandez, and Jacques Michaud directing and managing the team.

Having arrived in Europe at the beginning of the week, Landis hopes to become acclimatised by Sunday. "Paris-Nice isn't the most important race of the season for me," he said. "I'll take it day by day and give it my best. But I'm sure that a strong team will be supporting me."

The race does not feature a long time trial, which is one of Landis' strengths. Instead, it features a mixture of sprint and mountain stages. Phonak will bet on Robert Hunter and Aurélien Clerc in the first two flat stages, but after that will aim to get in the winning moves in the mountains.