Maser (Treviso) 06 July, 2019 – From Brussels to Paris, from July 6th to the 28th, it’s going to be 21 stages of effort, thrills, victories, defeats and definitely lots of surprises. The Sidi team is starting out with some important names, all vying to make it to the final podium in Paris, possibly even all the way to the top step in the yellow jersey. But aspirations also include stage victories and the jerseys for the other prestigious classifications in the Tour, especially the polka-dot jersey for the best climber.
There are 22 teams lining up for the start, for a total of 176 riders. 39 of these athletes, distributed across 11 teams, use Sidi shoes. The Shot and Wire 2 Carbon are the top models in the road cycling collection worn by Sidi champions.
Here’s a list of the most important names for Sidi in the Tour. There are two teams that are sponsored entirely by Sidi, Team Bahrain Merida and Team Katusha Alpecin.
On Team Bahrain Merida all the attention is being focused on Vincenzo Nibali, who was already a winner here in 2014; his portfolio boasts 1 Tour de France, 2 Giri d’Italia and 1 Vuelta Espana, which makes him one of just 7 riders in the history of cycling who has managed to win all three major Tours. There are important men on his team, like time trial World Champion Rohan Dennis, Damiano Caruso, Sonny Colbrelli, Matej Mohoric and Dylan Teuns.
On Team Katusha Alpecin, Russia’s Ilnur Zakarin is a name that stands out for the classification; this year he already won a nice mountain stage in the Giro. Beside him, some other noteworthy names include Britain’s Alex Dowsett and Portugal’s Jose Goncalves, both fresh off of winning the National Titles in the time trial events of their respective countries.
On Team Ineos, Sidi can count on some very high profile names. Colombian Egan Bernal is showing up strong after a great performance and ultimate victory in the Tour de Suisse. He was supposed to be the team captain at the Giro d’Italia, but an injury forced him to change his plans. In the tour he will be starting side by side with the winner of last year’s edition, Britain’s Geraint Thomas…but it will be the road that determines which role the young Egan Bernal will end up playing. On Team Ineos, Sidi will also be keeping a close eye on Poland’s Michal Kwiatkowski and Italian Gianni Moscon.
On Team Mitchelton-Scott, Sidi can count on both of the Yates twins. After Adam, who has already been a Sidi rider for several seasons, now Simon, winner of the 2018 Vuelta, has joined the Sidi team. The British twins are two riders who always know how to stand out at the major tours in which they participate. In addition to them, there is current European Champion Matteo Trentin, who has already won two stages on the roads of the Tour de France during his career.
Sidi also has one of the riders in the pack who is most popular with French fans, Warren Barguil (Arkea Samsic). Among other things, he will have the privilege of racing in the French National Champion jersey he has just won. And another hometown crowd favourite who is eager to put on a good show on the French roads is Lilian Calmejane (Total Direct Energie).
Sidi will also be keeping a close eye on two riders in the ranks of team EF Education First. We’re referring to Rigoberto Uran, second on the final podium in the 2017 Tour, and Italian Alberto Bettiol, winner of this year’s Ronde Van Vlaanderen.
For Sidi and anyone who loves great cycling, these names are sure to deliver fantastic thrills.