French team Ag2r will be hoping it can repeat its successful 2006 Tour de France, when it pushed Cyril Dessel and recently crowned French champion Christophe Moreau into the top 10 overall.

The team’s dream run through the 2006 Tour – which also included a one-day run in yellow by Dessel and a stage victory by Sylvain Calzati into Lorient in stage eight – helped take the sting out of losing the services of team leader Francisco Mancebo, who was implicated in the pre-Tour Operación Puerto purge.

While many of the other French teams are on a youth movement, the 36-year-old Moreau seems to have found a new gear following his dramatic victory at the Dauphiné Libéré last month. He underscored his winning form with victory Sunday in the French national championship.

Moreau – typically the top French rider until Dessel usurped his hold on the distinction last year – is still dreaming of a Tour podium.

It will be interesting to see if Moreau hasn’t peaked too soon and whether Dessel can repeat his phenomenal overall performance from last year.

Spanish veteran José Luis Arrieta – a winner of a stage last year at the Vuelta a España – Aussie sprinter Simon Gerrans and Swiss headbanger Martin Elmiger will give the team more options for stage victories.

Jean-Patrick Nazon – a former Tour stage winner and winner of a stage this year at Paris-Nice – was not included for the Tour selection.

Tour de France 2007: French teams dreaming big

Ag2rChristophe Moreau (F)Cyril Dessel (F)John Gadret (F)José Luis Arrieta (Sp)Stéphane Goubert (F)Martin Elmiger (Swi)Ludovic Turpin (F)Sylvain Calzati (F)Simon Gerrans (Aus)

Casar leads FDJeux
Sandy Casar will be hoping to fulfill his promise with a strong performance in the Tour as he leads the GC hopes for Française des Jeux.

With prologue favorite Brad McGee not starting due to ongoing back problems, the French team will bring a mix of young up-and-comers to support Casar’s bid to finish among the top 10.

Casar, 28, was sixth overall in last year’s Giro d’Italia and rode to 16th in the 2004 Tour, fueling hopes among French fans still looking for their first national Tour winner since Bernard Hinault became the last Frenchman to win in 1985.

The team brings four Tour rookies, with Sebastien Chavanel, Mickael Delage, Remy Di Gregorio and Matthieu Ladagnous all making their first shot at Tour glory. The much-hyped Di Gregorio is being called France’s best climber since Richard Virenque and won the best climber’s jersey at the Dauphiné Libéré.

The team will be looking for a stage victory with Belgian attacker Philippe Gilbert and Swedish hope Thomas Lovkvist. Sebastian Joly announced last week he couldn’t race because he’s been diagnosed with a tumor.

Française des JeuxSandy Casar (F)Sebastien Chavanel (F)Mickael Delage (F)Remy Di Gregorio (F)Philippe Gilbert (B)Lilian Jegou (F)Matthieu Ladagnous (F)Thomas Lovkvist (S)Benoit Vaugrenard (F)

Hushovd dreams of green for CA
Norwegian sprint king Thor Hushovd will be looking for his second green jersey as he headlines Crédit Agricole’s Tour hopes with a real GC contender.

The team will have to do without the services of GC/stage-hunter leader Pietro Caucchioli, who came down with a lung infection following the Giro d’Italia last month.

Hushovd enjoyed a phenomenal Tour last year, winning the opening prologue and the final stage on the Champs Élysées. The Norwegian sprinter shook off a painful cut to his right arm in stage one that left him with a deep gash and bleeding profusely on the finish line when he collided with a fan leaning over the barriers.

Hushovd, winner of the green jersey in 2005, has been suffering through a rare winless 2007 campaign. He came down with a stomach flu that DQ’d his classics season and he rode through the mountainous Giro for the first time but couldn’t score a stage win in what was an effort to regain fitness ahead of the Tour.

French attackers Patrice Halgand, Sebastian Hinault and Christophe Le Mevel will have freedom to sneak into breakaways while under-rated Russian climber Alexandre Botcharov and Kazakhstan’s Dmitriy Fofonov will be looking for glory when the road turns uphill.

Tour de France 2007: French teams dreaming big

Crédit AgricoleWilliam Bonnet (F)Alexandre Botcharov (Rus)Anthony Charteau (F)Julian Dean (NZ)Dmitriy Fofonov (Kz)Patrice Halgand (F)Sebastien Hinault (F)Thor Hushovd (N)Christophe Le Mevel (F)
ReservesLaszlo Bodrogi (Hun)

Stage-hunters fill Bouygues
A stage victory of any sort would make the 2007 Tour a success for French outfit Bouygues Telecom.

Former world champion Laurent Brochard was left off the nine-man selection after he finished well off the pace in Sunday’s French national championship.

Instead, the team will be on the attack to try to repeat its stage victory last year into Gap by Pierrick Fedrigo. Thomas Voeckler, the popular Frenchman who defended the yellow jersey for 10 days in the 2004 Tour, will be looking for an elusive stage victory along with improving Jérôme Pineau.

The French team brings two foreign riders, with Swiss rider Johann Tschopp and Clásica San Sebastian winner Xavier Florencio of Spain earning bids.

Bouygues TelecomPierrick Fedrigo (F)Anthony Geslin (F)Laurent Lefevre (F) Jérôme Pineau (F)Matthieu Sprick (F)Thomas Voeckler (F)Stef Clement (Nl)Xavier Florencio (Sp)Johann Tschopp (Swi)

Agritubel brings climbers
French wild card Agritubel is bring its Spanish mountain goats to bolster its bid to win a stage in la Grande Boucle.

Juan Miguel Mercado won stage 10 into Pau last year to prove the French continental team deserved its Tour invitation and he will be back to lead the team’s chances for another stage victory. He will be joined by compatriots Moise Dueñas and Eduardo Gonzálo.

The team will likely be well-represented in the breakaways, with such earnest attacks as Nicolas Vogondy, Nicolas Jalabert and newcomer Romain Feillu sure to be on the move. Feillu will be making his Tour debut along with Cedric Hervé and Freddy Bichot.

Tour de France 2007: French teams dreaming big

AgritubelFreddy Bichot (F)Moise Dueñas (Sp)Romain Feillu (F)Eduardo Gonzálo (Sp)Cedric Hervé (F)Nicolas Jalabert (F)Juan Miguel Mercado (Sp)Benoit Salmon (F)Nicolas Vogondy (F)