Porte and van Garderen will lead BMC at Tour de France

BMC Racing today announced the seven riders who will support Richie Porte and Tejay van Garderen at the Tour de France.

The team had a difficult time choosing from the long list of potential riders, said director Yvon Ledanois, but he is confident the team has picked the right combination of riders to support the co-leaders.

Taking two leaders into the Tour de France can sometimes be a dicey proposition, but BMC Racing General Manager Jim Ochowicz said it puts the team in a strong position.

Van Garderen, who recently finished sixth at the Tour de Suisse after winning the queen stage, said he is taking confidence from that result as he heads into the Tour.

"Especially with the team that we are taking," he said. "I've already raced the Tour de France a couple of times with most of these guys, so I couldn't be happier to line up with them once again. I'm in great shape, I'm really motivated, and I'm looking forward to rolling out in a little over a week."

BMC Racing roster for Tour de France: Brent Bookwalter, Marcus Burghardt, Damiano Caruso, Rohan Dennis, Amaël Moinard, Richie Porte, Michael Schär, Greg Van Avermaet, Tejay van Garderen