The Saxo Bank team took responsibility for the chase.(Image credit: Isabelle Duchesne)
Fabian Cancellara (Saxo Bank) during his 10km solo effort to the finish of Flanders(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Eyes on the prize: Frank Schleck on his way to taking the overall at Suisse(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Luxembourg's champion, Andy Schleck (Saxo Bank)(Image credit: sirott)
Team Saxo Bank has named their nine riders for this year's Tour de France, with Australian veteran Stuart O'Grady securing a place ahead of time trialist Gustav Larsson.
The nine riders are: Fabian Cancellara, Andy Schleck, Fränk Schleck, Jens Voigt, Stuart O'Grady, Matti Breschel, Chris Anker Sørensen, Jakob Fuglsang and Nicki Sørensen. Larsson will remain on standby in case of injuries before the start of the Tour de France in Rotterdam on July 3.
O'Grady fractured his collarbone on stage five of the Tour of California but has made a rapid recovery and secured his place thanks to helping Fränk Schleck win the Tour de Suisse.
"We have ten riders on our team, of which all are ready and fit to do the race, and that has made the job of selecting the line-up extremely difficult. That's why the decision has been made of tactical reasons," team owner Bjarne Riis said in a statement issued by the team.
"It has been a problem of pure luxury but it's not easy telling a rider to stay home when you know he would have done a great job in the race. However, we are now looking forward to a Tour de France with Team Saxo Bank in front of the race."
Saxo Bank will target overall victory at the Tour de France with Andy and Fränk Schleck. Fabian Cancellara is the big favourite for the 8.9km prologue in Rotterdam and the final time trial in Bordeaux.
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Stephen is the most experienced member of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. He has been Head of News at Cyclingnews since 2022, before which he held the position of European editor since 2012 and previously worked for Reuters, Shift Active Media, and CyclingWeekly, among other publications.
