BMC Racing hope Damiano Caruso and Nicolas Roche can lead general classification hopeful Richie Porte through the tough mountain stages of the Tour de France and towards Paris after announcing their lineup for the start of the Grand Tour in Dusseldorf, July 1.
The Australian looks set to battle it out with three-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome (Team Sky) and Nairo Quintana (Movistar) for the maillot jaune throughout July and BMC sports director Fabio Baldato believes they are in a strong position.
"We expect Damiano Caruso and Nicolas Roche to be the last two teammates with Richie in the big mountains," Baldato said. "We have riders like Alessandro De Marchi and Amaël Moinard who will be crucial before and between the medium mountains.
"For the flat stages when the race is fast and difficult, we have our rouleurs; Stefan Küng, Michael Schär, Greg Van Avermaet and Danilo Wyss. These are the riders who will protect Richie and bring him to the line safely."
Porte, who won this year's Tour Down Under and Tour de Romandie, finished fifth overall in last year's tour after losing almost two minutes due to a mechanical problem on stage two but he hopes to take confidence from his fine form this year, which included second overall at the Critérium du Dauphiné.
"The Tour de France is the big goal of the season and it has been a great season so far. I can definitely take confidence from my races and I feel like I'm where I need to be knowing that July is when I need to perform. BMC Racing Team has put a great team together around Greg Van Avermaet and me. I think we have strength in all of the areas needed," Porte said.
"I am definitely a mix of excited and nervous. You can't deny that the Tour de France is the biggest goal of the season, but that means it's also another level of stress. It's a balance of being well-prepared and fresh enough to race at the highest level across 21 stages, but I feel like I'm in that position now."
BMC Team
Damiano Caruso, Alessandro De Marchi, Stefan Küng, Amaël Moinard, Richie Porte, Nicolas Roche, Michael Schär, Greg Van Avermaet, Danilo Wyss.