Saxo Bank confirm Contador
Three-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador has been confirmed in the Saxo Bank-SunGard team for this year's event.
Last Updated: 22/06/11 2:00pm
Three-time Tour de France champion Alberto Contador has been confirmed in the Saxo Bank-SunGard team for this year's event.
The Spaniard, who will be defending his title in the race, is still waiting for a Court of Arbitration for Sport hearing into his positive test for clenbuterol at the 2010 Tour.
He was cleared by the Spanish cycling federation but could still face a sanction after the UCI - cycling's governing body - and the World Anti-Doping Agency appealed the decision to the CAS.
The hearing was originally scheduled for June but has now been postponed until August 1-3.
Contador won the Giro d'Italia earlier in the year and is bidding to become the first rider to complete the Giro-Tour double for 13 years.
Team-mates
He will be joined in the nine-man team by fellow Spaniards Jesus Hernandez, Dani Navarro and Benjamin Noval, who all moved from Astana along with Contador at the start of the year.
"We've obviously tried to pick the team that fits best to our overall strategy," Saxo Bank team owner Bjarne Riis said.
"It is no secret that we are in the race to win it, so our job has been to identify the rider group that will be able to give Alberto the best possible support through the three weeks.
"We have come up with a team that can both protect and be aggressive and defend, and we are strong both on the flat roads and in the mountains. I think it's an exceptionally strong team."
He added: "It's never an easy job to tell people they didn't make the team. Some of the riders that we turned down really deserved a spot on the team."
Saxo Bank-SunGard team: Alberto Contador (Spain), Jesus Hernandez (Spain), Dani Navarro (Spain), Benjamin Noval (Spain), Richie Porte (Australia), Chris Anker Sorensen (Denmark), Nicki Sorensen (Denmark), Matteo Tosatto (Italy) and Brian Vandborg (Denmark).
