Katusha have formally announced their team for the Tour de France. Led by the Sport Directors Valerio Piva, Dmitry Konyshev and Torsten Schmidt, the riders will be: Giampaolo Caruso, Oscar Freire, Vladimir Gusev, Joan Horrach, Aliaksandr Kuchynski, Denis Menchov, Luca Paolini, Yuriy Trofimov and Eduard Vorganov. Menchov, who will lead the team, said, ‘The team is great; we selected the riders very carefully, I talked a lot with the Sport Directors, so I think that’s the best possible team having in mind our shape and the profile of the competition. We have good domestique’s, and Freire during this season proved to be in a good shape. I’m very satisfied with the final roster, and I’m sure we will obtain some great results’ and on the subject of his own ambition? ‘it will be my first big stage race with the team of my country, so I’ll give my best in order to win. Moreover, the Tour de France is the only competition between the Grand Tours that I still haven’t won… it would be the crowning achievement of my career…’
