INTERVIEWER: Throughout 2013 the financial security
of team Tinkoff-Saxo was uncertain.
SUBJECT: For the first 20 minutes Alberto, Roman
You guys are in the front.
INTERVIEWER: Then, towards the end of the year,
Russian businessman, Oleg Tinkov had a change of heart
and announce he would purcchase the team,
securing the future of the club and giving the cycling world
notice that he intended to be a major factor on the tour,
adding talent and resources.
And in 2014, they will look to have results as well.
The early impressions from training camp, the team
appears built to win the Tour de France,
and will once again be led by Alberto Contador.
ALBERTO CANTADOR: I think that the training camp
doubt in this moment, is very important to our group,
to our family.
Because you will be a lot of time
with this family in the race.
INTERVIEWER: In 2013, the Spanish rider
endured a frustrating first season
back after his two-year ban from cycling.
However, this year, things look very different for Contador.
He starts this season fresh and with more focus.
The verteran has also changed his training and race programs,
and looks to prove he could still
be the rider of reference in the peloton.
SUBJECT: I'm training long days, very long climbs, more time.
I think that this will help to me for the tour.
INTERVIEWER: As training camp draws close to its end,
the chaotic pace of the season nears.
This training ride, in the hills of Las Palmas
doubles as a last chance to present the team to the media,
giving sponsors and journalists their first look at the 2014
team Tinkoff-Saxo.
The outlook for the star-studded Omega Pharma quick-step
team on the upcoming season is equally optimistic.
The team upgraded its roster in the off-season
and through three weeks of training camp,
the group's progress has the team confident
heading into their first competition.
MARK CAVENDISH: We're going to Argentina
to where the San Luis starts.
I won the first stage there last year.
Going there, there's myself.
There's Tom Boonen and [INAUDIBLE]
We've got a strong team there.
And as you can see, the vibe in the team
is pretty awesome right now.
So we're pretty excited to get the season underway now.
INTERVIEWER: With the season so close,
and time always a factor, press for the team
is handled in one casual affair, giving the international media
a chance to meet this year's Omega Pharma quick-step team.
MARK CAVENDISH: We have a team press conference here.
It's really so we can get everything done.
It's planned in, so we're not doing bits and bobs
here and there.
So on the other days we can actually race and recover,
you know.
INTERVIEWER: Framed by the lavish Villa Fenaroli Palace
Hotel in Italy, team Astana takes a more formal approach
to their team presentation.
JAKOB FUGLSANG: I think it's important, especially
for the sponsors, for them, once and for all,
to see the whole team.
It's one of the only times where we as a team are all together.
INTERVIEWER: For team Astana their focus
is firmly on the Tour de France.
And the team is willing to sacrifice
other ambitious for grand Tour success.
VINCENZO NIBALI: [SPEAKING ITALIAN]
INTERVIEWER: Despite the enormity of the Tour de France,
cycling has always remained a grassroots sport.
The journalists who cover it, the fans who support it,
and the riders they follow all share the same passion.
That enthusiasm helps create one of the closest
communities in the sporting world.
MARK CAVENDISH: In a way, it's what makes cycling beautiful.
It's that accessibility.
It's that groundedness of the athlete.
As a spectator you can be amongst the actual race.
That was the appeal to me when I was a kid.
Just how close I could get to the athletes.
It wasn't this gladiatorial sport.
No, you're part of the arena.
That's what makes cycling like it is.
It's close to the people.
It's the working man's sport.
INTERVIEWER: Both teams and fans alike eagerly look forward
to the drama and glory only professional cycling can
create.