Johan Bruynnel: "Just like every year"

The team built around Lance Armstrong has gone through a few changes...

For the most part, it’s the same team as last year, with riders who’ve got lots of Tour experience. Two guys aren’t here, though: Landis, who’s left us, and Ekimov, who’s injured. But we’ve replaced them with Popovych et Savoldelli, who are both great riders and at least as good. So we’ve got a really solid team together and we’re ready to start the Tour.

How have his preparations gone?

What I saw in the Dauphiné was very good and the same goes for the period after that. He feels he’s in great shape. We started off reconnoitring the stages in the Pyrenees, then the Alps, and after that we had a look at the time trial in Saint-Etienne before finishing in La Vendée. We’ve studied all the key stages, just like we do every year.

Ullrich says he’s in the best form of his career. Will this be their closest-ever duel?

I think it will certainly be a great contest because Ullrich’s team is very strong as well. But we mustn’t forget Basso, who’s also got a great team on his side. Add Vinokourov into the mix and I think those four will be the ones competing for victory in this Tour.

Does the fact he has announced his retirement make his task all the harder?

That changes nothing for the moment, neither for him nor for the team. As soon as he decided to prepare for and take part in the Tour de France, his goal has been to win it and he’s really fired up. I can’t see any difference between this year and all the others. As for the emotional side, I don’t think we’ll see that until the last day. Right now, we’re here to win and everyone is focused on the race. Just like every year.

The team

Lance Armstrong (USA), Jose Azevedo (POR), Manuel Beltran (ESP), George Hincapie (USA), Benjamin Noval (ESP), Pavel Padrnos (CZE), Jose Luis Rubiera (ESP), Yaroslav Popovych (UKR), Paolo Savoldelli (ITA)

Jean-René Bernaudeau : "No regrets in Paris"

Are you preparing another surprise for the 2005 Tour after Voeckler’s heroics last year?

We’re one of the biggest French teams involved in the Tour, so we owe it to ourselves to try and do something special. The Voeckler story last year was an exception, though. I don’t think we can achieve anything quite as big again, but we might come up with something all the same. It will just be different.

What is your strategy going to be?

The team has no leader going into the race, so the key will be to seize every opportunity. After that, the field is open to write a new story and start again. In any case, this team’s only real goal is to improvise because that’s the spirit it was founded on. And to make sure we don’t let any chances go begging, we’ll have to be opportunistic, concentrated and rigorous. The most important thing of all is that we don’t arrive in Paris with regrets, because we’re not The Discovery Channel or T-Mobile, or even Crédit Agricole and FDJ, who can challenge for the green jersey with Hushovd and Cooke. Our team set-up is totally different and we’ll have to grab chances as they arise.

A stage in La Vendéé, your own part of the world, could be a great opportunity...

I like the Challans – Les Essarts stage a lot, but it’s tailor-made for the sprinters. We’ll be the local team, but the reality of the Tour is sure to prevail. The stages in the east of France are far more suited to us, because our team members are all very similar and they’ve all got the talent to do something. We’ll make the Tour risky and exciting, but Bouygues Telecom won’t be changing the course of the race. We don’t have a leader, our jersey is our leader, so we hope to entertain all those people who love attacking cycling.

The team

Walter Bénéteau (FRA), Laurent Brochard (FRA), Pierrick Fedrigo (FRA), Anthony Geslin (FRA), Laurent Lefèvre (FRA), Jérôme Pineau (FRA), Didier Rous (FRA), Matthieu Sprick (FRA), Thomas Voeckler (FRA)

Marc Sergeant: "The route doesn’t favour pure sprinters"

The team’s objective is the green jersey...

That’s the goal because McEwen is the current holder of the green jersey, but if we’re going to win it again we have to start with a victory in one of the stages. He’s showed he’s still capable of that, especially during the Giro, but the difference this year is that the route doesn’t favour pure sprinters. There are less stages for them so it will be harder, even though I’m convinced he’s one of the three fastest men in the pack.

Do you see Tom Boonnen as the man to beat?

Yes, he’s the man everyone’s waiting for because what he’s achieved in the classics this year shows without doubt that he’s progressed. But the Tour is going to be very different, and I remember that Pettachi began last year’s Tour as the sprint favourite and didn’t win a single stage. So it’s hard to make predictions even among the sprinters.

What will the team’s strategy be after the first week?

There’s a lot of stages on the cards for the aggressive riders. Perhaps someone like Axel Merckx or Leon Van Bon, and why not even Johan Van Summeren, will get their chance to shine. As for the overall standings, we’re counting on Cadel Evans, who has a huge potential in the big races after wearing the pink jersey for two days at the end of the 2002 Giro. Unfortunately, his preparation has been hampered by a broken collarbone he picked up while we were on reconnaissance in the Pyrenees. But he’s a lot better now and in the mountains he’ll be helped out by Axel. I imagine he’ll finish in the top 10, in fact, I’m really hoping he’ll finish closer to fifth than tenth.

The team

Mario Aerts (BEL), Christophe Brandt (BEL), Cadel Evans (AUS), Robbie McEwen (AUS), Axel Merckx (BEL), Fred Rodriguez (USA), Leon Van Bon (HOL), Wim Vansevenant (BEL), Johan Van Summeren (BEL)

Pietro Algeri: "You’ll see our jersey a lot"

You have an ideal candidate for the white jersey… That’s definitely the goal for Jose Angel Gomez Marchante, who’s a talented youngster full of promise and who’s got everything it takes to finish the Tour as best young rider. He’s also Spanish champion and had a good Giro this year, so why not start aiming for a Top 10 finish in the Tour?

Your team boasts a few sturdy climbers...

I think you’ll see our jersey a lot in the mountains. We’ll be doing our best to figure in the breakaways because in addition to Gomez Marchante we’ve also got Fritch, who’s a real competitor whenever the temperature rises, and Piepoli, an experienced climber who’s in his element in the really steep climbs. I think the American Chris Horner could surprise a few people as well, as he won the very difficult mountain stage in the last Tour of Switzerland. In general, though, we don’t know what’s going to happen. We can’t challenge over the whole race, that’s for sure, but we can take advantage of circumstances to achieve as much as we can.

The team

Davis Canada (ESP), Inigo Cuesta (ESP), Nicolas Fritsch (FRA), Juan Manuel Garate (ESP), Jose Angel Gomez Marchante (ESP), Chris Horner (USA), Leonardo Piepoli (ITA), Manuel Quinziato (ITA), Constantino Zaballa (ESP).

Giuseppe Martinelli: "This could be a chance for all the guys"

Your team has been hit by two major withdrawals… It’s true that it’s hard to start the Tour de France without Damiano Cunego and Gilberto Simoni, two riders of real quality who each could have played an important role and would have motivated the whole team. But Damiano has been struck down by glandular fever and Gilberto was so disappointed with his performance in the Giro that he needs more time to prepare for a big race. His goal now is the Vuelta. So, naturally, we don’t harbour any real ambitions as far as the general classification goes. The difficulty for us will be finding a way of figuring among the race leaders each day.

Who could you send out in front?

Eddy Mazzoleni is riding very well. He had a knee problem at the start of the season but he’s recovered well since then and so he’ll be the team leader for this Tour. Otherwise, Commesso’s capable of winning a stage and Bortolami could try something in the flat stages. And perhaps this will be Evgueni Petrov’s chance to have a go. Last year he played a back-up role to Simoni and Cunego, but this time he’ll be free to prove what he can do. In fact, this could be a good chance for all the guys. Personally, I just hope there’ll be a few surprises.

The team

GianLuca Bortolami (ITA), Salvatore Commesso (ITA), Gerrit Glomser (AUT), David Loosli (SWI), Eddy Mazzoleni (ITA), Evgueni Petrov (RUS), Daniele Righi (ITA), Alessandro Spezialetti (ITA), Gorazd Stangelj (SLV)