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Competition Profile: CREDIT AGRICOLE 2007




Description
Written by Wicky (2007-01-26 21:52)
Translated by Jelle Berghuis (2007-01-26 21:52)

Crédit Agricole scored a nice total of seven individual wins in the 2006 ProTour. A very good result, but there was only one man who was able to claim those wins: Norwegian powerhouse Thor Hushovd. That makes the 2006 result a little less shiny. Despite of a number of good riders it is the Norwegian who has to defend the teams honour.


And so he did. He made his stand in the Tour by wearing the yellow jersey, winning the prologue and finishing his tour with the final stage win at the Champs Elysées. Besides excelling in the Tour he also delivered great work in the Vuelta, Gent-Wevelgem, Dauphiné Libéré and the Catalonian Tour.


The green-white jersey has to be shown by a lot more riders this season. With the new asset Furlan (Selle Italia) and Dean, Hinault, Bonnet and Renshaw who were already riding for C.A. manager Roger Legeay will be able to vary his tactics. Renshaw and Bonnet are suspected to make a big leap forwards this season. Dean and Hinault will be Hushovd’s lead out to the sprint wins and they’ll get a shot at the win themselves by absence of the topsprinter. Furlan will have to do it all on his own after a positive Domina Vacanze year followed by the quiet season at Selle Italia.


The same thing goes for his compatriots Belloti and Caucchioli. They'll get an attacking role in races like the Giro. That about sums up all the big names in the farmersbank team. Saul Raisin won't be the man with a lot of pressure on him after his miraculous comeback. It's great if the American can just enter some of the races this season, but even that's doubtful.


While there’s a lack of big new names in this team, the responsibility to make this year a succesful one is once again Thor Hushovd's. The gap Kirsipuu left after his retirement will be filled by Bonnet and Renshaw, but these youthful riders will have to show themselves more (and more often) to take the load of Hushovd's back. The Norwegian will cope with the pressure like he always does. He’ll prefer a stagewin in this years Giro but he has also pointed out some other goals, like the green jersey in the Tour and wins in the classics Milan-San Remo, Flanders Tour and Paris-Roubaix.


New:
Angelo Furlan (Selle Italia), Christophe Kern (Bouygues Telecom), Christophe Laurent (Agritubel), Nicolas Roche (Cofidis), Pierre Rolland (neo)


Departed:
Kilian Patour (TIAA-CREF), Sébastien Portal (Caisse d´Epargne), Nicolas Vogondy (Agritubel), Jaan Kirsipuu (retired)

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