Simon has been named in Team SKY’s nine-man team to compete in the 2010 Tour de France, starting on the 3rd of July in Rotterdam, Holland.
“I’m very happy to be selected in Team SKY for the Tour de France. The team has put together an excellent group of guys that will play various roles to support team leader Bradley Wiggins. It’s a great feeling to be named in such a strong line up. I’m really pleased to be back racing the Tour in 2010” the 30-year-old said.
After a solid performance at the Tour of Switzerland including three top 10 finishes, Simon showed he has done all the hard work and is ready to make his fifth appearance at le Grande Boucle. His opening time trial was outstanding achieving 9th place, over 15 seconds in front of Tour de France favourites Lance Armstrong and Frank Schleck.
“I was satisfied with my performance at Suisse especially in the first trial trial. To perform that well against such a quality field was a great measure of my form. It was a tough race with terrible weather and challenging parcours”.
After winning stages in each of the last three Grand Tours he has participated in, Simon has set his sights on the team’s big objective of having Wiggins on the podium in Paris.
“The major objective of the team will be to assist Bradley with the general classification. I expect to play a key support role especially in the medium to high mountain stages”.
Joining Simon in SKY's nine-man team is Michael Barry, Steve Cummings, Juan Antonio Flecha, Edvald Boasson Hagen, Thomas Löfkvist, Serge Pauwels, Geraint Thomas and Bradley Wiggins.
Simon will spend the next week at home in Monaco recovering from the Tour of Switzerland while also putting the finishing touches on his form before heading to Belgium to join the team for a reconnaissance over the stage two pave.
