Two days into the new season, more photos of 2012 team kits continue to emerge. The Saxo Bank team of triple Tour de France winner Alberto Contador has been gradually releasing more images of its riders in a reworked team strip, which uses a deeper base colour of blue than last season.
This has generally been given the thumbs up by the general public over social media networks, and appears to be one of the most popular of the new team colours.
The team will be spearheaded by Contador in 2012, although his participation in races depends on the outcome of the CAS hearing dealing with a WADA and UCI appeal against his clearing by the Spanish federation RFEC. He tested positive for Clenbuterol during the 2010 Tour de France, and will learn the CAS decision later this month.
While the outcome remains very uncertain, and could be open to appeal whatever the result, Contador is working on the basis that he will be cleared. He has trained hard and has said that he intends to fully target the 2012 Tour de France. “I have only one thing in mind – fighting for the victory,” he told
CAS decision permitting, Contador is due to begin competition later this month in the Tour de San Luis, then will go on to the Challenge Mallorca races and the Volta ao Algarve. He intends to deviate from his usual early-season programme of Paris-Nice in favour of Tirreno-Adriatico, then to ride the Volta Catalunya and the Vuelta al Pais Vasco prior to a break and then training camp.
His final countdown to the Tour envisages riding the Criterium du Dauphiné, the national championships and then the Tour itself.
Pictured below are two of his team-mates, namely the sprinter Juan Jose Haedo and Tour of Flanders winner Nick Nuyens.
For bigger shots of these and more riders, click on one of the thumbnails below to progress to that section.