Tinkoff 2016 Tour tilt led by Contador and Sagan

To the surprise of absolutely no one, Alberto Contador and Peter Sagan will lead Tinkoff at the 2016 Tour de France.

Alberto Contador will dig deep for a third Tour de France title (Getty) Source: Getty Images

The 33-year-old Spaniard, is taking part in his ninth Tour, with two career wins to his credit, while Sagan will be targetting a fifth successive green jersey and stage victories.

"This will be a very important Tour de France for all of us," Contador said. "It will be the Tour in which we would like to show Oleg Tinkov our gratitude for his support all these years.

"I'm exceptionally motivated for this race and we have been working throughout the year thinking about the Tour de France. Hopefully, everything will play out the way we want."

Both riders will have the support of a deep roster containing Rafal Majka, Roman Kreuziger, Robert Kiserlovski, Maciej Bodnar, Oscar Gatto, Matteo Tosatto and Michael Valgren.

"The team was built around providing support both for Alberto and Peter, sport director, Steven De Jongh said.

“We have guys that can support both riders. With Bodnar, Gatto, Tosatto and Valgren we have strong rouleurs that will play an important role on the flatter stages, and then Gatto will be a good support rider for Peter in the finals. Tosatto’s experience will also be important in playing the bodyguard role for Alberto in these stages.

 

“Then for the mountains, Majka, Kreuziger and Kiserlovski will be there to support Alberto. The last week in the Alps will be very hard and they will play an important part on these kind of tough stages. I think it will be an exciting Tour, with two not so flat ITTs, and a large number of GC contenders coming into the race.”

World road champion Peter Sagan will be hard to deny in the green jersey competition (Getty) Source: Getty Images

While Sagan has team support, his talent is such that he will likely freestyle a result for himself depending on the shape of a stage.

“I have no particular selected day that suits me, but I am convinced that this year's route includes stages that conform to my style of racing," Sagan said. "Of course the green jersey is for me a big challenge."