This morning it was confirmed that the Cervélo Test Team of Thor Hushovd and 2008 champion Carlos Sastre had been given a wildcard slot for this year’s Tour de France. The Swiss outfit will join with Garmin-Transitions, Team RadioShack, BMC Racing and Katusha in the top contest in pro cycling, making the cut ahead of others such as Skil-Shimano and Vacansoleil.
"This is fantastic news for our team," said Cervélo Test Team general manager Joop Alberda, giving his reaction. "We know that the invitation is based in part on our performance last year, with stage victories by Heinrich Haussler (Ger) and Thor Hushovd (Nor), and the green jersey.
“We are also glad that we have a good relationship with ASO and that they are giving us the opportunity to show ourselves again in 2010. The Tour de France is a major event for our whole organization, so this is great news for our riders, staff members and partners."
The news of the team’s selection will be a relief, in that competition has been fierce and Cervélo has not performed as well as it did by this time last year. It’s two main Classics riders have been hampered in their early-season campaigns; Thor Hushovd was ill and is a few weeks behind in his preparation, while Heinrich Haussler has been forced to scrap his spring Classics ambitions due to a knee injury.
Like Haussler, Andreas Klier also confirmed today that he would give races like the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix a miss. He suffered a concussion in a crash in the E3 Prijs on Saturday.
Cervélo’s Tour bid was complicated by the fact that 2008 Tour winner Sastre has still not confirmed that he will ride. He has only committed to the Giro d’Italia thus far. In theory, throwing his weight behind the Tour team should have boosted Cervélo’s chances yet further.
This year's Tour de France begins in Rotterdam on July 3, with the GC contenders going head to head in an eight km prologue. The race finishes three weeks later in Paris.