A former world champion time trialist. A stage winner in all three major European tour races. A five-time Tour de France rider. Some of the best young talent from the United States. Boulder-based Team Slipstream/Chipotle unveiled its team Friday at the U.S. Pro Championships in Greenville, S.C., and, at least on paper, it is serious in its dream of racing in next year’s Tour de France.
“We’re sort of like the punchy underdog nipping at the heels,” team director Jonathan Vaughters said.
The roster looks good. So does the image. Initiating a revolutionary drug-testing program in which all cyclists are tested weekly by an independent agency has drawn international interest and praise. However, it won’t mean anything to the Tour de France if they don’t perform on the road.
That’s where the roster comes in. The new big three are Scotsman David Millar, 30, a former world time trial champion; David Zabriskie, 28, a winner in Tours of France, Spain and Italy; and Christian Vandevelde, 31, a five-time Tour de France rider.
They will lead a relatively young squad toward filling an American void with the Discovery Channel dropping its sponsorship of the team that had two of the last three Tour de France winners.
“I think with the absence of Discovery,” Vaughters said, “there’s not going to be an American team in the Tour de France if we don’t do it.”
Here’s what Slipstream/ Chipotle must do: The Tour de France will take 16 major teams from the Pro Tour and is considering upping its wild-card spots from two to four or five. One wild-card team will likely return. Barloworld of Great Britain won two stages and won king of the mountain jersey. The other, Agritubel, is French and is biggest of the minor-league Continental teams, but may have sponsorship problems.
“We’re in the remaining two or three slots,” Vaughters said. “Who are we fighting against? I think we have a much stronger position than any team out there.”
The race to Paris starts today. And if the wild-card entries don’t increase, Slipstream/ Chipotle must really impress.
On Saturday, Zabriskie defended his time trial title at the USA Cycling Professional Championships in Greenville, S.C. Zabriskie edged Danny Pate of Colorado Springs by one second, covering the 18.7-mile course in 39 minutes and 34 seconds. Tim Duggan of Boulder was third in 39:42.
A strong showing in the Tour of Missouri Sept. 11-16 could earn the team an invitation to the Road Cycling World Championship in Stuttgart, Germany, Sept. 25-30.
Then comes an important spring. Three races will likely determine their fate: Paris-Nice and Criterium International in March and Paris-Roubaix in April.
In a way, Slipstream/Chipotle is carrying the U.S. banner. With Discovery out, the only other American teams concentrate on the lesser-known American circuit. An American team has competed in the Tour de France every year since 1985, from 7-Eleven to Motorola to U.S. Postal Service to Discovery Channel.
“I think our team competing in the Tour de France next year is really vital to the credibility of American cycling worldwide,” Vaughters said. “If we blow it, I think it’s a really big blow to American cycling in general.”
Some of the other top riders include Tyler Farrar, whom Vaughters says is America’s best young sprinter, Jason Donald, Irishman Daniel Martin, Swede Magnus Backstedt, Kilian Patour and Tom Peterson, 20, “the most talented young American stage racer,” Vaughters said.
“If we have a top-10 finisher in Paris-Nice and/or win a stage, we do the same in Criterium International and we get Magnus Backstedt in the top 10 in Paris-Roubaix,” Vaughters said, “we’ll be golden.”
Staff writer John Henderson can be reached at 303-954-1299 or jhenderson@denverpost.com.
