The tough task to select the Sky team for this year's Tour de France in which they are aiming to win the yellow and green jersey's is close to being finalised, says British team's general manager David Brailsford. Bradley Wiggins is primed for a serious crack at the yellow jersey of overall winner and Mark Cavendish is on course to defend the green jersey as points competition winner. What remains to be decided is who will be their support riders. "Its narrowing down. It's getting down to the final few now ... We have a strong team for the Tour, but it's the engine room, the middle of the team that's going to make the difference. That is where we are still looking at who we are going to go with," Brailsford said this week. "We will go with guys who have the strength, the ability to recover, the ability to work hard repetitively and of course can play a great role from the team perspective. Brailsford even made it clear that personality and character will add weight into a rider's candidacy for a Tour berth, especially when it comes to deciding the final places which often see two or three riders of similar ability in contention. The actual group dynamic over a three week race in what is a demanding environment is very, very important and shouldn't be overlooked," Brailsford said. "I don't think you can underestimate the ability to work, the ability to be a team [player, and have] a positive influence in the group ... to bring energy to the group ... [to have] guys who know what they have to do and get on with it, not hesitate and not think ' well, but ...' or 'yes but'. Just get on with it. That is a very important part of our selection." Lucky 13 ... Hansen hopes it is

Don't be surprised to see Australian Adam Hansen throw caution to the wind in Friday's 121km 13th stage of the Giro d'Italia from Savona to Cervere. When the Herald spoke to the Queenslander last Friday after stage six to Saint'Elpidio, he said he was planning on seizing opportunities for a stage win later in the week. Asked if he had any stage in mind, he said he did, but couldn't recall exactly which one that was; which is not surprising considering he was speaking just after he had finished a tough and hot day in the saddle. But he said he would get back to us and let us know. The other day at the start, Hansen (Lotto-Belisol) rode passed on his way back to his team bus and with a grin yelled out "13" as he did. Which is as good a clue as anyone could get that he was talking about stage 13, a tough stage which could end in a sprint, but also with a breakaway staying away. Breakaways have gone away every day so far, and only once has one held off the peloton: on stage six to Sant'Elpidio where Columbian Rubiano Chavez (Androni Giocatolli) won. But by the end of the second week of a grand tour when fatigue increases, controlling the race with chases can be harder to co-ordinate for the sprinters' teams. Hansen knows this as good as anyone as he usually leads out sprints for the German Andre Greipel. But with Greipel not at the Giro, Hansen has a rare opportunity to win for himself, and knows what type of break will work. His last win was in the 2010 Ster Elektrotoer in the Netherlands and Belgium that he won overall after a strong prologue, and a stage win by outsprinting a small group. "I am perfect at nothing, but I can do some things," Hansen said. "I'm not bad at stage races. I have a pretty good recovery rate. Like, in the Tour de France in 2008, I rode pretty much the whole grand tour at the front of the peloton for [former Columbia-Highroad teammate Mark Cavendish]. I don't mind the climbs," said Hansen, who this year has a 4th place in the national road title to his credit and started the Giro off the back of a strong Tour of Turkey performance where a crash cruelled his overall hopes.

Grand tour numbers In a three week grand tour like the Giro d'Italia, teams are mass consumers. Here are some trivia facts that might be worth noting. According to team LeOpard, in last year's Tour de France, they used 3000 water bottles, 280 cotton cycling caps, 80 sets of wheels, 30 road bike frames and about 18 time trial frames. What they said: "I really wanted to win a stage because I wanted to show that I had the legs to win a stage that day [stage 3]. I didn't mean to do what I did, and I'm still apologising for what I did. Unfortunately, it was the kind of manoeuvre that happens a lot in a sprint and we only talk about them when there's a crash." - Italian Roberto Ferrari (Andrea-Geocatolli) on the importance of his stage 11 win after causing Mark Cavendish to crash on stage 3 at Hosens.