Tour de France: Discovery Channel Squad Announced
Levi Leipheimer leads the team in blue and black, Hincapie, Contador and Yaroslav Popvych...

Discovery Channel
Tour de France Squad
Levi Leipheimer
Alberto Contador
George Hincapie
Yaroslav Popovych
Vladimir Gusev
Egoi Martinez
Sergio Paulinho
Tomas Vaitkus
Benjamin Noval

The Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team (DCPCT) announced today its roster of riders who will compete in the 94th edition of the Tour de France, beginning in London, England on July 7th and finishing in Paris on July 29th. DCPCT Sports Director Johan Bruyneel made the announcement today by phone to the media and listed the nine-rider team as follows: Levi Leipheimer, Alberto Contador, Vladimir Gusev, George Hincapie, Egoi Martinez, Benjamin Noval, Sergio Paulinho, Yaroslav Popovych and Tomas Vaitkus.

The nine-man DCPCT squad will be led by 2007 Amgen Tour of California Winner Levi Leipheimer and backed by a mix of seasoned Tour de France veterans and rising talent. In 2007, Team Discovery Channel will focus on a high overall placing for Leipheimer, as they did with seven-time Tour winner Lance Armstrong, however, the DCPCT does have other goals.

Johan Bruyneel
“I am going into this Tour de France with three goals in mind. First, and most important, I want to have Levi on the podium in Paris. He has been three times in the top-10 and I think he has the form and experience to be there,” said Sport Director Johan Bruyneel. “Beyond that, I would like to win at least one stage and also have Alberto Contador win the Best Young Rider competition. That is of course a lot to ask of one team but I think it is possible given the amount of talent we have on our roster. I would even say that a fourth goal is to wear the leaders jersey too, but for me that is not a major focus unless it is because we are wearing it into Paris.”

The 2007 Tour de France route is 3,547 km in length (2,204 miles) and consists of one prologue time trial and 20 stages broken down as: eleven flat stages, six mountain stages (three mountain-top finishes), one medium mountain stage and two individual time trials.

Levi Leipheimer
“This is my year to make that next step and be a true contender at the Tour de France. I feel like the past five years have been an education in how to race and prepare for the Tour and now I am 100% ready. Johan has selected an amazing group of riders to support me and I could not be happier,” stated Levi Leipheimer.

“There is no race out there like the Tour de France and until you have been through it you cannot know how hard it is and how best to prepare. There are more guys ‘peaking’ for the Tour than in any other race, and if you are not on top of your game you will be left behind. I have had a great season so far and done a lot of work on my time-trialing, both in the wind tunnel and in my workouts. I will be ready to go in London.”

Experience and youth will play a vital role in the team’s success in 2007. Team Discovery Channel’s Tour de France roster has 44 “grand tours” under their belt, 25 of those coming from Tour de France participation. George Hincapie leads the team having competed in 11 Tours. To date, in 2007, the 29-man Discovery Channel Team has compiled five overall (stage race) victories, 14 stage wins and 44 total podiums.

Tailwind Sports:
Tailwind Sports owns and operates the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team. Founded in 1989, the team has established itself as one of the best in the world and is the only American team to have won each of the sports’ premier events: the Tour de France, Tour of Spain and Tour of Italy, including Lance Armstrong’s historic seven consecutive victories at the Tour de France.
Tailwind has partnered with Capital Sports & Entertainment (CSE), an experiential event and sports marketing firm based in Austin, Texas to manage the sponsorship and operations of the team. Tailwind supports both USA Cycling and the USA Cycling Development Foundation to help identify and develop future American cyclists. Find out more about the Team and CSE at: www.thepaceline.com  and www.planetcse.com

About Discovery Communications
Discovery Communications is the number-one nonfiction media company reaching more than 1.5 billion cumulative subscribers in over 170 countries. Through TV and digital media, Discovery's 100-plus worldwide networks include Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Discovery Health, The Science Channel, and Discovery HD Theater. Discovery Communications is owned by Discovery Holding Co. (NASDAQ: DISCA, DISCB), Advance/Newhouse Communications and John S. Hendricks, Discovery's founder and chairman. For more information please visit www.discovery.com