Sir Bradley Wiggins named in Team Sky line-up for Paris-Nice
Tuesday 3 March 2015 17:44, UK
Sir Bradley Wiggins will be part of a strong Team Sky line-up for Paris-Nice, which starts on Sunday.
Wiggins will continue his preparations for his main 2015 target, the Paris-Roubaix one-day classic, in the eight-day race he won in 2012.
The world time-trial champion will have two chances to impress against the clock - the opening 6.7km prologue on Sunday and closing time-trial up the Col d'Eze - and he will be joined in France by 2013 winner Richie Porte and Geraint Thomas.
Porte is expected to lead the team, although Thomas has also been in fine form in 2014 and celebrated overall victory in last month's Volta ao Algarve. Nicolas Roche is also part of the Paris-Nice squad. along with sprinter Ben Swift.
Chris Froome will lead the team's assault on Tirreno-Adriatico, where he will take on chief grand tour rivals Alberto Contador, Nairo Quintana and Vincenzo Nibali in a star-studded field.
Froome, who won Ruta del Sol last month on his 2015 bow, will have a strong set of climbing lieutenants alongside him, including winter signings Leopold Konig and Wout Poels.
Mikel Nieve and Peter Kennaugh, who finished in the top 10 alongside Froome in the Andalucian race, also take part in Italy along with sprinter Elia Viviani.
Omloop Het Nieusblad winner Ian Stannard will join Viviani in the line-up for Strade Bianchi classic on Saturday.
Stannard finished 16th in the unique contest, run in part on white gravel roads, last season, five places behind Salvatore Puccio, who will be back to try and improve on that result.
And Team Sky will send a squad to Le Tour de Langkawi for the first time, with young climber Sebastian Henao leading a six-strong team at the Malaysian race.
Henao is joined in the team by Australian sprinter Chris Sutton and Irishman Philip Deignan.
Team Sky line-ups:
Strade Bianche (March 7): Andy Fenn, Peter Kennaugh, Christian Knees, Salvatore Puccio, Ian Stannard, Elia Viviani and Xabier Zandio.
Le Tour de Langkawi (March 8-15): Ian Boswell, Philip Deignan, Nathan Earle, Sebastian Henao, Danny Pate and Chris Sutton.
Paris-Nice (March 8-15): Bernhard Eisel, Lars-Petter Nordhaug, Richie Porte, Nicolas Roche, Luke Rowe, Ben Swift, Geraint Thomas and Sir Bradley Wiggins.
Tirreno Adriatico (March 11-17): Chris Froome, Peter Kennaugh, Leopold Konig, Mikel Nieve, Wout Poels, Salvatore Puccio, Ian Stannard and Elia Viviani.
