André Greipel gets his first taste (Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Going into the Dauphiné Libéré, High Road is targeting stage wins rather than the overall classification. The team has options for sprint, mountain and time trial stages.
"We don't have a rider for the general classification here," said Allan Peiper, who is co-directing the team with Jan Schaffrath. "Michael Rogers is still heading back into top condition and George Hincapie isn't yet in his best form either after his break after the Classics. But what we have got is a lot of options on the stage wins, starting with Michael and George for the opening prologue."
"George wasn't so far off the pace in the opening short time trial of the [recent] Tour of Catalunya, so we're reckoning he's got a good chance. And Mick's getting better all the time. Then we've got André [Greipel] for the two sprint stages that follow. For the Wednesday time trial Bert Grabsch, George, Adam Hansen – who did an excellent Giro – and Michael should all have strong options."
Moving to the mountains, High Road will look to Michael Barry. "He should have won a stage in Catalunya, he was in a long break through the hills that almost stayed away, and if he can shift up another level for the Dauphine he'll definitely be on the hunt for a stage victory," said Peiper. Young American climber Craig Lewis will join Barry in France after riding well at a recent training camp in the Pyrenees.
The team is anticipating a tough edition of the Dauphiné Libéré. "It is much harder than in previous years, with four difficult mountain stages. Even the two sprint stages have a lot of small climbs in them," said Peiper. "It really is going to be like the mini-Tour de France they always used to call it."
High Road for Dauphiné Libéré: Michael Barry, Scott Davis, Bert Grabsch, André Greipel, Adam Hansen, George Hincapie, Craig Lewis, Michael Rogers
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