Team Sky have denied that an 11-man shortlist of riders for the Tour de France that they published on their website denotes their final squad.
The list was printed on the Team Sky website under the Tour de France race section but later taken down, according to Wales online.
The squad, which will be narrowed down to nine riders before the Grand Départ on 4 July, surprisingly omitted the experienced Irish rider Nicolas Roche, son of the 1987 Tour winner Stephen Roche, who has 13 Grand Tours under his belt and finished fifth in the 2013 Vuelta.
Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas are among five British riders on the list, which also included the other near-certainties Ian Stannard, Peter Kennaugh, Richie Porte and Luke Rowe.
Also included were Danny Pate, Mikel Nieve, Leopold König, Sergio Henao and Wout Poels.
Four of the riders – Thomas, Porte, Kennaugh and Stannard – rode alongside Froome in his 2013 victory in the Tour de France, Porte and Froome also being part of Bradley Wiggins’s win the year before.
Team Sky possible squad
Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas, Ian Stannard, Peter Kennaugh, Richie Porte, Luke Rowe, Danny Pate, Mikel Nieve, Leopold König, Sergio Henao, Wout Poels
