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Voeckler named in Europcar team despite injury

Last year's fan favourite Thomas Voeckler will start this year's Tour de France for the Europcar team, despite his recent struggle with injury.

The Frenchman rode his heart out in the 2011 edition of the world's most prestigious cycling race to finish fourth after holding le maillot jaune for 10 days.

This season, however, he has been forced to abandon the Critérium du Dauphiné and the Route du Sud with an inflammation of his right knee.

Having spent a week off the bike, though, he has been given the all clear to help the team who figured prominently 12 months ago throughout the race.

The other team leader is Pierre Rolland, who claimed the white jersey for best young rider in 2011. Rolland has recovered in time from his own knee injury, but 2012 King of the Mountains Anthony Charteau will miss out due to knee troubles of his own.

Europcar team: Thomas Voeckler, Pierre Rolland, Christophe Kern, Cyril Gautier, Giovanni Bernaudeau, Yukiya Arashiro, Yohann Gène, Vincent Jérôme and Davide Malacarne

Elsewhere Alejandro Valverde will start for Movistar in his first Grand Tour since finishing a two-year suspension at the expense of Spanish champion Francisco Ventoso.

Valverde finished second in the Tour Down Under behind Simon Gerrans and Movistar believe they can put him in the mix for the yellow jersey.

Movistar team: Alejandro Valverde, Juan Jose Cobo, José Joaquín Rojas, Rubén Plaza, Vasil Kiryienka, Iván Gutiérrez, Imanol Erviti, Vladimir Karpets and Rui Costa.

Meanwhile, promising Estonian rider Rein Taaramae will join veteran David Moncoutié in the Cofidis team after he narrowly missed out on the white jersey last year.

Cofidis team: David Moncoutié, Rein Taaramae, Remi Di Grégorio, Samuel Dumoulin, Nicolas Edet, Julien Fouchard, Jan Ghyselinck, Luis Angel Mate and Romain Zingle.

Finally Irish rider Nicolas Roche will lead the AG2R La Mondiale team alongside Jean-Christophe Péraud with both targeting a top-10 GC finish.

AG2R La Mondiale team: Maxime Bouet, Mikael Chérel, Hubert Dupont, Blel Kadri, Sébastien Minard, Lloyd Mondory, Jean-Christophe Péraud, Christophe Riblon and Nicolas Roche.