Dave Brailsford confident in Team Sky squad ahead of Tour de France

BySportsbeat

Updated 30/06/2016 at 14:47 GMT

A star team will always beat a team of stars, according to Team Sky team manager Dave Brailsford – and he believes that is exactly what his squad have got as they gear up for another assault on the Tour de France title.

Chris Froome celebrates

Image credit: AFP

Chris Froome is seeking to defend the crown he regained 12 months ago and will become just the eighth man in history to win Le Tour on three occasions if he is successful.

The 31-year-old will be supported in France by a team full of Grand Tour experience – Geraint Thomas, Mikel Landa, Wout Poels, Sergio Henao, Mikel Nieve, Luke Rowe, Ian Stannard and Vasil Kiryienka.

Froome described gunning for a third victory at the race – which begins this Saturday and runs until July 24 – as the toughest challenge in his career to date.

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But Brailsford is adamant his man has all the tools to succeed and is now counting down the hours until Le Tour begins in Mont Saint-Michel.

"This is one of the high points of the year for us and on the eve of the Tour de France there's always that usual mix of anticipation and excitement," said Brailsford.

"One of the defining factors for me this year is the strength of the team we've pulled together.

"I'm pretty sure that at one point or another every one of the guys has led Team Sky in their own right, so each one of them knows what it's like to have a team of riders riding for them.

"Now the challenge is to come together and really fulfil the team's functions, and to make sure that, while we've got the strongest team on paper, we've got the strongest team on the road too.

"We all know that a star team will always beat a team of stars. From our point of view it's about coming together and trying to achieve that now.

"In Chris we've got a fantastic leader, and I think it's fair to say he's taken a slightly different approach to the start of the season than we have traditionally.

"He's coming up to top form a bit later and he'll try to hold onto that through to the Olympics and the second part of the season."

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