Cadel Evans's prospects of a successful Tour de France have improved with confirmation at the team's training camp in Spain that star recruits Thor Hushovd and Philippe Gilbert will sacrifice personal goals to ride for the Australian.
Norway's Hushovd has twice won the Tour's green sprinter's jersey, while Belgian Gilbert was last season's general classification hope for Lotto.
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Australia's Cadel Evans believes recent additions to his BMC team will play a vital role as he tries to make his mark in cycling history by defending his Tour de France crown in July.
Evans, speaking at a BMC training camp in Spain, welcomed the arrival of Thor Hushovd and Philippe Gilbert
Belgian Gilbert and Hushovd, from Norway, have both won Tour de France stages.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
"To win a Tour de France you need every strong guy you can have on your team and, yes, the introduction of Phil (Gilbert) and Thor (Hushovd) it's a welcome introduction - what did I say? introduction? - it's a welcome acquisition to our team. I initially look forward to working for Phil in the Ardennes week. I hope he can repeat his Ardennes week. I hope I can be a part of that and a useful teammate there. When we get to the Tour (de France) it's all about repeating the result of 2011. We have a better team, we have a stronger team so I look forward to the challenge."
SUPER CAPTION: Cadel Evans, 2011 Tour de France winner
Evans recalled that he had competed against the Norwegian for many years.
Now he was happy to be riding with him.
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"Thor, I've raced against him for a long time, more than 10, 13, 14 years or something I've been racing against him and to have him on the team - we're yet to race together - it will be a little while until we do race together. But, like I said, every strong rider you can have on your team for the Tour is important."
SUPER CAPTION: Cadel Evans, 2011 Tour de France winner
Hushovd himself was asked whether the presence of so many stars in one team would create tension in the team and tension between them.
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"No, not all. I mean we are professional, we know how the sport works. Sometimes you have to sacrifice yourself. One day it's going this way, one day it's the other person so I think it's no problem. We just want to the both of us, or the whole team, we just want to go to the races, race hard, have fun and try to win them."
SUPER CAPTION: Thor Hushovd, BMC
Just six days after the curtain comes down on the Tour, Hushovd will line up among the contenders for victory at the London 2012 Olympics road race, even if he insists that the Tour is the priority.
Given the nature of the course and after celebrating his 34th birthday two weeks ago, however, Hushovd is aware that London 2012 may well be his final opportunity to taste Olympic success.
Hushovd's 2012 season gets underway at the Tour of Qatar on Sunday (5th February).
