New Zealand cyclist Julian Dean will be chasing a fast start to the 97th Tour de France that starts in Rotterdam, Netherlands on Sunday (NZ time).
Dean lines up for his sixth Tour de France with the major goal of leading out big American sprinter Tyler Farrar to stage wins for their Garmin Transitions team in the first week of the Tour.
Half of the flat stages fall in the first week which suit the big sprinters who will chase stage wins and battle for the green jersey as the best fast man at the end of the 3642km journey consisting of one prologue and 20 stages through Netherlands, Belgium and France.
It's a balancing act for Dean, rated one of the best lead-out riders in the sport.
"Our objective is to work for Tyler in the first week. We want to hit the ground running so you have to be in top form from the start. If you can hang on to your form after that, then it's great. But for us it's really important to target those first few days," Dean said.
"It's a totally different approach to a GC rider (General Classification) who is looking to find his best form in the last week and targets the Alps and the Pyrenees which are so important for them.
"For us obviously the sprints in the first week are what it is all about for our part of the team. So we have to enter the Tour in our top condition and then try to hold on.
"First of all we will target stage wins for Tyler. We will start with the objective of winning the green jersey but so many factors come into that for the team and for Tyler to get to the finish."
That's something Farrar has not achieved and if he does not remain in the green jersey race, then it might open up opportunities for Dean to strike out for a stage win later in the Tour.
Dean is the only New Zealander lining up after Hayden Roulston (HTC Columbia) and Greg Henderson (Team Sky) narrowly missed out on selection.
"It was a pity that Roly and Hendy missed out because with three of us in the race it would have created more interest back home, which is important to us."
The addition of the true mountains in the Tour began in 1910 with the first visit to the Pyrenees. To commemorate that centenary, there's a touch of the past and some stern mountain tests in the 2010 edition.
The early stages include parts of some of the Classics including the Liege Bastogne Liege and even some cobblestone sections on stage three.
While the Tour heads to the Alps, the most testing mountain stages come on the final week in the Pyrenees including a double assent of Tourmalet – stage 16 to Pau with four mountain passes including Tourmalet and d'Aubisque and stage 17 with the mountain top finish on Tourmalet at 2115m.
"It's a daunting prospect when you think of what is ahead of you. You just have to break it down into the job you have to do, day in and day out," Dean said.
As a sprinter the tough kiwi has remarkable endurance. He was the only leading professional to complete all three Grand Tours last year comprising the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana. The rigours of that task – more than 10,000kms of racing over nine weeks – left Dean drained and he struggled to achieve his usual levels of performance in off-season base training.
He re-found excellent form in recent weeks but despite his experience in the tour, Dean still has his doubts.
"Things have been good. The last week is always hard because you start to question yourself. People say you've done a few tours now, so you must know what to do. But you always question yourself if you have done things right or you could have done things better."
The tour begins with a 9km prologue in Rotterdam on Sunday (NZ time) and four days in Netherlands and Belgium before entering into France. There are two stages in the high mountains of the Alps at the end of the first week before transition stages through to the Pyrenees with four huge days at the start to the final week.
