My Five- Who The Hell are These Guys Edition

It would probably take an act of Jens! for these guys to wear any jersey other than the one the team gave them. But when the team leaders do well, these will be some of the first guys to get pats on the back. As we've seen in last years Tour, and this years Giro, a seemingly harmless stage can cause big problems for a rider that finds himself on the wrong side of a split. WIth the expected carnage expected on Stage 3 this year, these guys are going to be key to keeping there leaders protected. They will be the guys driving the break or chasing it down. When someone punctures, these will be the guys bringing them back to the peloton. They might not be likely to stick around long after the roads turn upward , they're jobs will be getting their men into position when the climbing starts. Any of them could win a stage, and I'll be a little surprised if none do, but that's not why they're here

Two Belgians, two Germans, one Swiss. Who could they be? Jump to find out.

Probably the most heralded rider of my bunch. Burghardt - who turns 27 on June 30-  won a Tour stage in 2008, while riding for Columbia. A stage in which he outsmarted and overpowered breakaway companion Carlos Barredo He's done well on the cobbles, winning Gent-Wevelgem in 2007. Last season he was 5th at Het Nieuwsblad and 7th at both Gent-Wevelgem and Ronde van Vlaanderen. In his first season at BMC he has finished 22nd at MSR and 20th at Ronde van Vlaanderen which he would probably admit is a bit below expectations. His form is improving at the right time as he is coming off a great Tour de Suisse- where he won 2 stages and the Sprinters Jersey. You can bet Cadel will never be far from Marcus Burghardt on Stage 3.

Gregory Rast- Radio Shack

The 30 yeard old Rast is a kid by RS standards. He is also one of the least experienced RS riders in the Tour, looking to complete just his second Tour de France. He was the Swiss RR champ in both 2004 and 2006. According to his bio on the team website he started his career riding cyclocross then focussed on the road after winning the Swiss U23 RR  in 2002. He won the overall in the Tour of Luxembourg in 2007, so he can climb a fair bit. However Team Radio Shack looks to be strong in the mountains and likely will be relying heavily on Rast to be the big motor on the flats and over the cobbles. He's had a solid 2010 with a 9th place at  Kuurne-Brussel-Kuurne,  16th at E3 Pris, and 11th at Paris Roubaix. So he climbs well enough to win Luxembourg (too be fair Erik Larsson, Bert de Waele and Thomas Rohregger- noted non climbers- all were within a minute), has a cyclocross background and finished 11th at Roubaix. He may be the least known rider on The Shack, but he'll have a big role to play.

Johan Vansummeren- Garmin

Initially Johan made his mark in the Ardennes, winning the U23 event in 2003. He won the Tour de Pologne in 2007, beating the likes of Gesink, Kirchen and Wegmann. In 2008 he took a liking to the cobbles, finished 8th at Paris-Roubaix followed by a 17th at Amstel Gold. Also in 2008, after helping Cadel Evans to a second place finish, Paul Sherwen was impressed enought to say "I would like to nominate Johan Vansummeren as the number one teammate of this year's Tour."

In 2009 he finished 5th at Roubaix and became part of any conversation about the favorites of the race.

This season he came to Garmin, and his results have not been what the last few years would predict. His best result being a 21st at Gent-Wevelgem. I suspect he will be looking for redemption in his first Tour with Garmin, and he should find himself very useful as an early lead out for Farrar. I think Garmin will be looking to exploit any advantages they can in order to steal Christian Vande Velde some valuable seconds during the first week and they'll be looking to Johan Vansummeren to do much of the heavy lifting.

Andreas Klier- Cervelo

Heralded by his teammates for his ability to read a race, the 34 year old Klier is surprisingly riding in only his third Tour de France (2000, 2009). A seasoned Spring Classics rider, his first big success as a pro was winning the 2003 edition of Gent-Wevelgem. Teammate João Correia related this experience from the Tour de Suisse in his blog: 

With about 5k to go Andreas, came up to Thor and said, "Let's move up." On a small false flat section when everybody kept the same rhythm, Andreas moved us up to the very front in a way that only a guy with that experience can do. He just knew the right spot to go past 50 guys without really making much of an effort.

His palmares also includes a Vuelta stage in 2007 and second places at E3 Pris Vlaanderen and Ronde Van Vlaanderen in 2005. The Cervelo team seems focused on Thor and the Green Jersey and Klier is well suited to helping in that respect. But at least until Carlos Sastre's form is seen, expect Klier to be shepherding Carlos through the first week.

Stijn Vandenbergh- Katusha

I have an admitted bias towards experienced riders, but I can't deny that the 26 year old from Oudenaarde has been impressive this season. He hasn't won anything, but he's always in the mix. Just look at these results:

• 9th          Dwars door Vlaanderen - Waregem
• 34th        E3 Prijs Vlaanderen - Harelbeke
• 12th        Driedaagse De Panne - Koksijde
• 12th        Ronde van Vlaanderen
• 37th        Paris - Roubaix
• 40th        4 Jours de Dunkerque
• 27th        Critérium du Dauphiné, Stage 5 : Serre-Chevalier - Grenoble
• 36th        Critérium du Dauphiné, Stage 6 : Crolles - Alpe-d’Huez

Nothing spectacular by itself, but pretty astonishing when looked at as a group. I wonder how many riders could finish top 40 in Paris-Roubaix and on Alpe-d'Huez? I can't think of many... Vandenbergh has one Tour finish (2009) under his belt and having proved he can make it to Paris, I expect Katusha to be relying on him heavily in this Tour de France.