Tour de France General Classification "Captains" by Team

[christopherrowe]

This post represents an ongoing project to forecast what 22 men will be the best placed riders for each team in the 2014 Tour de France. It will be updated as circumstances warrant. Note that the number in parentheses after each man's name is his CQ points total as of 8th June 2014.

AG2R La Mondiale
Romain Bardet (875)
1 pro win. 1 Grand Tour participation.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.
418 2014 CQ points in 38 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: 1st Youth Classification Oman (2.HC) | 1st Valence Drome Classic (1.1) | 2nd Stage 4 Catalunya (2.WT)

or

Jean-Christopher Peraud (700)
3 pro wins. 4 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.
607 2014 CQ points in 41 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: 1st Stage 5 Méditerranéen (2.1) | 2nd GC Méditerranéen (2.1) | 1st GC Critérium International (2.HC) | 3rd GC Pais Vasco (2.WT)

Astana Pro Team
Vincenzo Nibali (1288)
24 pro wins. 11 Grand Tour participations (Vuelta '10 winner, Giro '13 winner).
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.
226 2014 CQ points in 41 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: 3rd Stage 4 Oman (2.HC)

Belkin-Pro Cycling Team
Bauke Mollema (1291)
4 pro wins. 7 Grand Tour participations.
Scheduled for Tour de Suisse.
410 2014 CQ points in 27 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: 2nd Stage 1 Andalucia (2.1) | 1st Stage 4 Norway (2.HC) | 3rd GC Norway (2.HC)

BMC Racing Team
Tejay Van Garderen (907)
7 pro wins. 4 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.
442 2014 CQ points in 29 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: 2nd Stage 5 Oman (2.HC) | 2nd GC Oman (2.HC) | 1st Stage 4 Catalunya (2.WT) | 3rd GC Catalunya (2.WT)
Notes: Crashed out of Romandie and now says he suffered a small hip fracture.

Cannondale
Damiano Caruso (305)
1 pro win. 3 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.
122 2014 CQ points in 44 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: None

FDJ.fr
Thibaut Pinot (786)
6 pro wins. 3 Grand Tour participations.
Scheduled for Tour de Suisse.
268 2014 CQ points in 29 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: 2nd Stage 2 Bayern Rundfahrt (2.HC) | 1st Youth Classification Bayern Rundfahrt (2.HC)

Garmin Sharp
Andrew Talansky (458)
3 pro wins. 3 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.
189 2014 CQ points in 27 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: None

Team Katusha
Simon Špilak (611)
8 pro wins. 4 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.
534 2014 CQ points in 33 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: 1st Stage 3 Romandie (2.WT) | 1st Stage 5 Dauphiné (2.WT)

or

Joaquim Rodríguez (1983)
34 pro wins. 19 Grand Tour participations.
Not scheduled for any races before the Tour.
420 2014 CQ points in 33 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: 1st Stage 3 Catalunya (2.WT) | 1st GC Catalunya (2.WT)
Notes: Said to be riding TdF as form-building for the Vuelta.

Lampre - Merida
Rui Costa (1913)
16 pro wins. 5 Grand Tour participations.
Scheduled for Tour de Suisse.
556 2014 CQ points in 35 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: 2nd Stage 1 Algarve (2.1) | 2nd Stage 2 Algarve (2.1) | 2nd Stage 4 Algarve | 3rd GC Algarve (2.1) | 2nd Stage 6 Paris-Nice (2.WT) | 2nd Stage 7 Paris-Nice (2.WT) | 2nd GC Paris-Nice (2.WT) | 3rd Stage 3 Romandie (2.WT) | 3rd GC Romandie (2.WT)

Lotto Belisol
Jurgen Van den Broek (112)
1 pro win. 9 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.
76 2014 CQ points in 41 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: None

Movistar Team
Alejandro Valverde (2804)
50 pro wins. 14 Grand Tour participations (Vuelta '09 winner).
Scheduled for Route du Sud.
1209 2014 CQ points in 27 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: 1st Prologue Andalucia (2.1) | 1st Stage 1 Andalucia (2.1) | 1st Stage 2 Andalucia (2.1) | 1st GC Andalucia (2.1) | 1st Murcia (1.1) | 3rd Strade Bianche (1.1) | 1st Roma Maxima (1.1) | 1st Miguel Indurain (1.1) | 2nd Stage 1 Pais Vasco (2.WT) | 2nd Stage 4 Pais Vasco (2.WT) | 2nd Stage 5 Pais Vasco (2.WT) | 1st Flèche Wallone (1.WT) | 2nd Liège-Bastogne-Liège (1.WT)
Notes: Hasn't raced since 27th April, chose less competitive Route du Sud as Tour prep

Omega Pharma - QuickStep
Michal Kwiatkowski (1701)
7 pro wins. 2 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.
1197 2014 CQ points in 36 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: 1st Serra de Tramuntana (1.1) | 1st Stage 2 Algarve (2.1) | 1st Stage 3 (TT) Algarve (2.1) | 3rd Stage 4 Algarve (2.1) | 1st GC Algarve (2.1) | 1st Strade Biache (1.1) | 1st Stage 1 (TTT) Tirreno-Adriatico (2.WT) | 2nd Stage 3 Tirreno-Adriatico (2.WT) | 3rd Stage 1 Pais Vasco (2.WT) | 3rd Stage 2 Pais Vasco (2.WT) | 3rd Stage 3 Pais Vasco (2.WT) | 3rd Stage 5 Pais Vasco (2.WT) | 3rd Stage 6 (TT) Pais Vasco (2.WT) | 2nd GC Pais Vasco (2.WT) | 3rd Flèche Wallone (1.WT) | 3rd Liège-Bastogne-Liège (1.WT) | 1st Prologue Romandie (2.WT)

Orica GreenEdge
Simon Gerrans (1069)
24 pro wins. 12 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.
904 2014 CQ points in 36 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: 1st National Championships of Australia Road Race | 1st Stage 1 Tour Down Under (2.WT) | 2nd Stage 2 Tour Down Under (2.WT) | 3rd Stage 5 Tour Down Under (2.WT) | 1st GC Tour Down Under (2.WT) | 1st Liège-Bastogne-Liège (1.WT)

Team Sky
Christopher Froome (2317)
21 pro wins. 7 Grand Tour participations (Tour '13 winner).
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.
730 2014 CQ points in 24 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: 1st Stage 5 Oman (2.HC) | 1st GC Oman (2.HC) | 2nd Stage 3 Romandie (2.WT) | 1st GC Romandie (2.WT) | 1st Stage 1 (TT) Dauphiné (2.WT) | 1st Stage 2 Dauphiné (2.WT)

Team Giant - Shimano
Simon Geschke (469)
2 pro wins. 5 Grand Tour participations.
No scheduled races between now and the tour.
443 2014 CQ points in 52 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: 2nd Stage 5 Tirreno-Adriatico (2.WT) | 2nd Stage 11 Giro (2.WT) | 1st GP Kanton Aargau - Gippengen (1.HC)

Team Europcar
Thomas Voeckler (616)
30 pro wins. 16 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.
127 2014 CQ points in 46 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: 3rd Stage 7 Catalunya (2.WT) | 2nd Stage 4 Romandie (2.WT)

or

Pierre Roland (474)
6 pro wins. 7 Grand Tour appearances.
Not scheduled for any races before the Tour.
368 2014 CQ points in 51 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: 3rd Stage 16 Giro (2.WT)

Tinkoff - Saxo
Alberto Contador (1723)
48 pro wins. 10 Grand Tour participations (Tour '07 and '09 winner, Giro '8 winner, Vuelta '08 and '12 winner)
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.
1206 2014 CQ points in 30 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: 3rd Stage 2 Algarve (2.1) | 1st Stage 4 Algarve (2.1) | 2nd GC Algarve (2.1) | 1st Stage 4 Tirreno-Adriatico (2.WT) | 1st Stage 5 Tirreno-Adriatico (2.WT) | 1st GC Tirreno-Adriatico (2.WT) | 2nd Stage 3 Catalunya (2.WT) | 3rd Stage 4 Catalunya (2.WT) | 2nd GC Catalunya (2.WT) | 1st Stage 1 Pais Vasco (2.WT) | 2nd Stage 6 (TT) Pais Vasco (2.WT) | 1st GC Pais Vasco (2.WT) | 2nd Stage 1 (TT) Dauphiné (2.WT) | 2nd Stage 2 Dauphiné (2.WT)

Trek Factory Racing
Haimar Zubeldia (160)
2 pro wins. 22 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.
63 2014 CQ points in 38 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: None

or

Fränk Schleck (197)
12 pro wins. 13 Grand Tour participations.
Scheduled for Tour de Suisse.
197 2014 CQ points in 35 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: None

or

Andy Schleck (98)
6 pro wins. 8 Grand Tour participations (Tour '10 winner).
Scheduled for Tour de Suisse.
15 2014 CQ points in 31 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: None

Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
Daniel Navarro (383)
3 pro wins. 9 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.
64 2014 CQ points in 24 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: None

or

Rein Taaramäe (304)
4 pro wins. 6 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.
220 2014 CQ points in 34 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: 1st Stage 3 Turkey (2.HC) | 2nd GC Turkey (2.HC)

IAM Cycling
Mathias Frank (1098)
6 pro wins. 5 Grand Tour participations.
Scheduled for Tour de Suisse.
537 2014 CQ points in 38 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: 1st Stage 3 Critérium International (2.HC) | 2nd GC Critérium International (2.HC) | 1st Stage 2 Bayern Rundfahrt (2.HC) | 2nd GC Bayern Rundfahrt (2.HC)

Bretagne - Séché Environnement
Eduardo Sepúlveda (284)
0 pro wins. 0 Grand Tour participations.
Scheduled for Route du Sud.
226 2014 CQ points in 36 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: 2nd Stage 5 Méditerranéen (2.1) | 1st Youth Classification Méditerranéen (2.1)

Team NetApp - Endura
Leopold König (410)
3 pro wins. 1 Grand Tour participation.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.
119 2014 CQ points in 23 days of racing.
Notable 2014 results: 2nd Stage 1 (TT) Trentino (2.HC) | 3rd Stage 2 Bayern Rundfahrt (2.HC)

 

[LaFlorecita]

I hope Giant bring Warren Barguil. He could do well. Not top 10 though.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Ag2r: JCP and Bardet
Netapp: Konig
Trek: Schleck

 

[Netserk]

*Insert July season meme*

 

[Gotland]

IAM Cycling - Frank, think he will be top 10. Just gets better and better each season. Looks like decent support but they are mostly there for stage wins.
Katusha - Spilak but think he will be just outside top 10 since he doesn't impress in Dauphiné. Looks like he lost some shape after his good spring

 

[Dazed and Confused]

IAM Cycling - Frank, think he will be top 10. Just gets better and better each season. Looks like decent support but they are mostly there for stage wins.

Yep, I would bring Reichenbach along for the ride too.

 

[Gotland]

Yep, I would bring Reichenbach along for the ride too.

Yeah, but don't think he is up for three weeks yet. He will proally shine in a stage or two but he is to young and his TT is too weak.

 

[christopherrowe]

Here's another pass at the list updated with some of your suggestions and with some more information. The number in parentheses is each rider's current CQ rating from the CQ Rankings website. I also drew on information from the Pro Cycling Stats site for information about pro wins, past Grand Tour participations, and current or scheduled races.

Still not sold on the "captaincies" of all these guys, and still missing any candidate at all for Cannondale.

-----

AG2R La Mondiale | Romain Bardet (875)
1 pro wins. 1 Grand Tour participation.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Astana Pro Team | Vincenzo Nibali (1288)
24 pro wins. 11 Grand Tour participations (Vuelta '10 winner, Giro '13 winner).
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Belkin-Pro Cycling Team | Bauke Mollema (1291)
4 pro wins. 7 Grand Tour participations.
Scheduled for Tour de Suisse.

BMC Racing Team | Tejay Van Garderen (907)
7 pro wins. 4 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Cannondale | ???

FDJ.fr | Thibaut Pinot (786)
6 pro wins. 3 Grand Tour participations.
Scheduled for Tour de Suisse.

Garmin Sharp | Andrew Talansky (458)
3 pro wins. 3 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Team Katusha | Alexander Kristoff (1415)
17 pro wins. 3 Grand Tour participations.

Lampre - Merida | Rui Costa (1913)
16 pro wins. 5 Grand Tour participations.
Scheduled for Tour de Suisse.

Lotto Belisol | Jurgen Van den Broek (112)
1 pro win. 9 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Movistar Team | Alejandro Valverde (2804)
50 pro wins. 14 Grand Tour participations (Vuelta '09 winner).
Scheduled for Route du Sud.

Omega Pharma - QuickStep | Michal Kwiatkowski (1701)
7 pro wins. 2 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Orica GreenEdge | Simon Gerrans (1069)
24 pro wins. 12 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Team Sky | Christopher Froome (2317)
21 pro wins. 7 Grand Tour participations (Tour '13 winner).
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Team Giant - Shimano | Warren Barguil (414)
2 pro wins. 1 Grand Tour participation.
Scheduled for Tour de Suisse.

Team Europcar | Thomas Voeckler (616)
30 pro wins. 16 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Tinkoff - Saxo | Alberto Contador (1723)
48 pro wins. 10 Grand Tour participations (Tour '07 and '09 winner, Giro '8 winner, Vuelta '08 and '12 winner)
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Trek Factory Racing | Haimar Zubeldia (160)
2 pro wins. 22 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Cofidis, Solutions Crédits | Daniel Navarro (383)
3 pro wins. 9 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

IAM Cycling | Mathias Frank (1098)
6 pro wins. 5 Grand Tour participations.
Scheduled for Tour de Suisse.

Bretagne - Séché Environnement | Arnaud Gerard (323)
1 pro win. 4 Grand Tour participations.
No currently scheduled races but I'll be surprised if he doesn't do Rout du Sud.

Team NetApp - Endura | Leopold König (410)
3 pro wins. 1 Grand Tour participation.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

 

[Afrank]

I hope Giant bring Warren Barguil. He could do well. Not top 10 though.

I think I remember reading somewhere that Barguil was frustrated they weren't bringing him to the Tour. Could be wrong though.

 

[Afrank]

Aside from those already mentioned to add, I'd include Caruso for Cannondale and Geschke for Giant.

Taaramae for Cofidis too.

 

[deValtos]

I think JCP will be the team captain for AG2R over Bardet.

Also for Katusha may aswell just put Jrod in over Kristoff, I bet he won't take it as easy as he's supposed to (probably to his own detriment)

... or at least trofimov/losada/spilak, kristoff is a sprinter & classics tough man but not a GC guy.

 

[Netserk]

Surely Sagan is the captain for Cannondale?

edit: only saw the 2nd list...

 

[Ruby United]

Well, if oge can hang on to the yates brothers, in two years they can have a gt contender, especially if wiggo fills in the gap in the meantime. And though I'd love to see the next big British gt riders with sky I don't want sky to get yates and make them doms for froome, Porte...

 

[ILovecycling]

Well, if oge can hang on to the yates brothers, in two years they can have a gt contender, especially if wiggo fills in the gap in the meantime. And though I'd love to see the next big British gt riders with sky I don't want sky to get yates and make them doms for froome, Porte...

Yeah,but lets hope they won't ride any gt this year.Just focus to be leader in smaller stage races and learn how to win them

I've got to tell you that your signature is truly epic

 

[Ruby United]

I know that not all twenty-two teams lining up in Leeds have realistic hopes of high places in the general classification. They don't even all have realistic hopes of a top-22 finish. But it seems like the directors always at least claim to the media that they have a GC "captain" (or two), just as they always claim to have a sprinter, even when they don't have anyone on their squad who's likely to figure in the fast group finishes.

That said, it's at the least good theater to pretend that each team has a sole GC leader chosen in advance of the Tour and to that end, I'd like to get an idea of who those twenty-two men are (even if, as I said, there's really no such group of twenty-two).

Here's my first pass at trying to figure out the list on my own. As you can see, I get a bit ragged when it comes to the Pro Continental teams and the teams that are likely to be here just for the Green Jersey. What do you all think?

AG2R La Mondiale | Betancur is almost certainly out, so, Romain Bardet?
Astana Pro Team | Vincenzo Nibali
Belkin-Pro Cycling Team | Bauke Mollema
BMC Racing Team | Tejay Van Garderen
Cannondale | Peter Sagan for the Green Jersey obviously, but who for GC? Anyone?
FDJ.fr | Thibaut Pinot
Garmin Sharp | Andrew Talansky
Team Katusha | Alexander Kristoff, despite the fact that Joaquim Rodríguez is riding?
Lampre - Merida | Rui Costa
Lotto Belisol | Jurgen Van den Broek
Movistar Team | Alejandro Valverde
Omega Pharma - QuickStep | Michal Kwiatkowski
Orica GreenEdge | I guess Simon Gerrans? Man, they really do need a Grand Tour GC man, don't they?
Team Sky | Christopher Froome
Team Giant - Shimano | Um, besides big bad German sprinters, who are they bringing?
Team Europcar | Thomas Voeckler
Tinkoff - Saxo | Alberto Contador
Trek Factory Racing | Haimar Zubeldia, maybe?
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits | Daniel Navarro or Rein Taaramäe?
IAM Cycling | Haven't a clue. They've got two or three guys who could go top 30?
Bretagne - Séché Environnement | At a guess, Arnaud Gerard. He seems to do okay in shorter stage races, anyway, and has at least ridden in some Grand Tours, unlike most of their guys.
Team NetApp - Endura | Tiago Machado I guess? (Hey! Two Portuguese GC captains if so!)

For trek you'd have to say the schlecks,
For iam I am () guessing chavanel for a stage and top fifteen for frank if he's racing
Omega pharmas will be Cavendish for sure with kwia secondary (though I suspect a top ten is easily possible for him)
Lotto will be Greipel. Jvdb will be a free rider but the team can't risk riding full out for him
For netapp I would rate konig above machado any day. Ninth In the vuelta last year and a stage win compared to machados best gt result of 19th in the 2011 Giro.
Katusha will rely more on purito whether he goes for the gc or focuses more on stages than winning than kristoff. However if one rider is as versatile as sagans it is kristoff. Maybe even moreno has a shot for team leader of purito doesn't go for gc.
For.europcar I thought that Rolland might race. If he does he is Team leader.
For bretagne maybe the feillu brothers for stage wins?

These are the changes I would make. Your list isn't bad though.

 

[Pricey_sky]

Yeah,but lets hope they won't ride any gt this year.Just focus to be leader in smaller stage races and learn how to win them

Yes I agree, hopefully just let them concentrate on the smaller stage races this year, they could go to the Tour of Britain in September then maybe they could be ready for a GT next year. Vuelta might be a good bet?

 

[christopherrowe]

Thanks everybody. I'm updating the list to include riders mentioned in posts from various folks, and have included a couple of "or" options for some teams. But I'm recasting this somewhat in my mind to think of it as a guessing/prediction game of what rider will finish highest on GC for each team. More or less the same thing, but without the built-in assumptions about working and planning that describing each rider as a "captain" carry. I'm definitely going to fine it down to one rider per team before the start is taken next month.

------------

AG2R La Mondiale
Romain Bardet (875)
1 pro win. 1 Grand Tour participation.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

or

Jean-Christopher Peraud (700)
3 pro wins. 4 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Astana Pro Team
Vincenzo Nibali (1288)
24 pro wins. 11 Grand Tour participations (Vuelta '10 winner, Giro '13 winner).
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Belkin-Pro Cycling Team
Bauke Mollema (1291)
4 pro wins. 7 Grand Tour participations.
Scheduled for Tour de Suisse.

BMC Racing Team
Tejay Van Garderen (907)
7 pro wins. 4 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Cannondale
Damiano Caruso (305)
1 pro win. 3 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

FDJ.fr
Thibaut Pinot (786)
6 pro wins. 3 Grand Tour participations.
Scheduled for Tour de Suisse.

Garmin Sharp
Andrew Talansky (458)
3 pro wins. 3 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Team Katusha
Alexander Kristoff (1415)
17 pro wins. 3 Grand Tour participations.
Scheduled for Tour de Suisse.

or

Joaquim Rodríguez (1983)
34 pro wins. 19 Grand Tour participations.
Not scheduled for any races before the Tour.

Lampre - Merida
Rui Costa (1913)
16 pro wins. 5 Grand Tour participations.
Scheduled for Tour de Suisse.

Lotto Belisol
Jurgen Van den Broek (112)
1 pro win. 9 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Movistar Team
Alejandro Valverde (2804)
50 pro wins. 14 Grand Tour participations (Vuelta '09 winner).
Scheduled for Route du Sud.

Omega Pharma - QuickStep
Michal Kwiatkowski (1701)
7 pro wins. 2 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Orica GreenEdge
Simon Gerrans (1069)
24 pro wins. 12 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Team Sky
Christopher Froome (2317)
21 pro wins. 7 Grand Tour participations (Tour '13 winner).
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Team Giant - Shimano
Warren Barguil (414)
2 pro wins. 1 Grand Tour participation.
Scheduled for Tour de Suisse.

or

Simon Geschke (469)
1 pro win. 5 Grand Tour participations.
Currently only scheduled for the Gippengen one-day race right now before the Tour.

Team Europcar
Thomas Voeckler (616)
30 pro wins. 16 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

or

Pierre Roland (474)
6 pro wins. 7 Grand Tour appearances.
Not scheduled for any races before the Tour.

Tinkoff - Saxo
Alberto Contador (1723)
48 pro wins. 10 Grand Tour participations (Tour '07 and '09 winner, Giro '8 winner, Vuelta '08 and '12 winner)
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Trek Factory Racing
Haimar Zubeldia (160)
2 pro wins. 22 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

or

Fränk Schleck (197)
12 pro wins. 13 Grand Tour participations.
Scheduled for Tour de Suisse.

or

Andy Schleck (98)
6 pro wins. 8 Grand Tour participations (Tour '10 winner).
Scheduled for Tour de Suisse.

Cofidis, Solutions Crédits
Daniel Navarro (383)
3 pro wins. 9 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

or

Rein Taaramäe (304)
4 pro wins. 6 Grand Tour participations.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

IAM Cycling
Mathias Frank (1098)
6 pro wins. 5 Grand Tour participations.
Scheduled for Tour de Suisse.

or

Sylvain Chavanel (1002)
17 pro wins. 16 Grand Tour participations
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

Bretagne - Séché Environnement
Arnaud Gerard (323)
1 pro win. 4 Grand Tour participations.
No currently scheduled races but I'll be surprised if he doesn't do Rout du Sud.

Team NetApp - Endura
Leopold König (410)
3 pro wins. 1 Grand Tour participation.
Currently riding in the Critérium du Dauphiné.

-------

Again, the numbers in parentheses are the rider's current CQ ranking from the cqranking.com site and I gathered information about past wins and current and future race participations from procyclingstats.com.

 

[Afrank]

I demand Andy Schleck be inserted into that list!!!!!

 

[christopherrowe]

I demand Andy Schleck be inserted into that list!!!!!

Edited to include Andy, because, as the Mountain Goats sang, "when you punish a person for dreaming his dream, don't expect them to thank or forgive you."

 

[Afrank]

Now the list is complete. Now it's a sure thing the ultimate winner will be someone on the list.

 

[christopherrowe]

Now the list is complete. Now it's a sure thing the ultimate winner will be someone on the list.

There are thirty riders on the list (for now), representing a smidge over thirty percent of the starting field, assuming all those listed take the line. I'm confident you're right! In fact, I would bet a non-trivial number of US dollars that the winner of the 2014 Tour de France's name is in there somewhere.

 

[Rajna31]

If this is seriously the list of GC guys of each team, please remove Kristoff. He has a shot to make top150, but surely won't be a top100 and doesn't want to be. Katusha's guy is Spilak, maybe Purito if he's alright, but the tough start doesn't favour his chances.

Also, Chavanel is most likely not going for the GC so he can make breakaways. Frank is the GC guy for IAM, if not Reichenbach.

Bretagne's leader is Sepulveda, Gerard is a classics guy. Maybe Brice Feillu if he's in top shape. But most likely they will go stagehunting, even though Sepulveda might not be far away from the white jersey (but it would be a bit surprising if he could do that well in his first GT).

Other than this, the list seems to be OK, though Cannondale, Giant and Orica are definetely not riding for GC at all (unless a very strange situation occurs and a breakaway gets a huge advantage early on, which they happen to be a part of).

 

[johnymax]

If this is seriously the list of GC guys of each team, please remove Kristoff. He has a shot to make top150, but surely won't be a top100 and doesn't want to be. Katusha's guy is Spilak, maybe Purito if he's alright, but the tough start doesn't favour his chances.

I think Katusha's highest placed man on GC will be Trofimov in the end. Purito said he won't ride for GC and will hunt stages. Spilak said the same so I doubt he'll even try to compete for high GC place. Kristoff is for me one of the favourites for the green jersey. I agree he has a shot to make top150
Trofimov was 13th at last year's Giro so maybe he can top15 in the Tour.

 

[karlboss]

I think Katusha's highest placed man on GC will be Trofimov in the end. Purito said he won't ride for GC and will hunt stages. Spilak said the same so I doubt he'll even try to compete for high GC place. Kristoff is for me one of the favourites for the green jersey. I agree he has a shot to make top150
Trofimov was 13th at last year's Giro so maybe he can top15 in the Tour.

I doubt it, he didn't have anyone to ride for in the mountains last year, this Tour there'll be Spilak, Rodriguez, and maybe even Moreno shooting for stage and or GC, (they say they aren't doing GC, but i really don't believe that, especially for Spilak). Even if none are shooting for GC, I can't see Katusha saying, "don't bother working for these guys, have a crack at anonymously cracking the top 15".

 

[johnymax]

I doubt it, he didn't have anyone to ride for in the mountains last year, this Tour there'll be Spilak, Rodriguez, and maybe even Moreno shooting for stage and or GC, (they say they aren't doing GC, but i really don't believe that, especially for Spilak). Even if none are shooting for GC, I can't see Katusha saying, "don't bother working for these guys, have a crack at anonymously cracking the top 15".

As far as I know Moreno won't be doing the Tour. Let's say Purito will be the captain in the mountains, while Kristoff will be the captain on flat stages, with Spilak having a free role. So I agree with your last sentence. Although did you see how is Spilak riding in Dauphine? He's nowhere to be seen. He needs to show something if he wants that role. On the other hand Trofimov had a fantastic win yesterday, showing that he is in good form.