For the first time the BMC Racing Team is going into the Tour de France without Cadel Evans as their team leader. This year Tejay van Garderen gets his first chance as the undisputed captain but his team manager Jim Ochowicz refuses to make a clear goal for the young American.

Since the team first did the Tour de France in 2009, BMC have always had Cadel Evans at the helm in the Tour de France but after the Australian failed to live up to expectations in last year's race, the Australian has been asked to focus on the Giro d'Italia. Instead, Tejay van Garderen has taken over the captiancy role in the world's biggest race.

Van Garderen finished fifth in 2012 but had a disappointing race 12 months ago. He broke his hip in the Tour de Romandie and didn't show his best form in the Criterium du Dauphiné. Hence, his manager Jom Ochowicz is reluctant to make any specific goals.

"We won't make a specific target as to where he needs to finish in the GC," he told CyclingQuotes in Leeds. "We only expect the team to be riding consistently well and then we'll see how far he gets. It's very unpredictable and we will take one step at a time.

"First we need to get out of England and then out of Belgium and then I think things will calm down a bit when we reach France. We will definitely have a selection, not because of bad performances but because of bad luck. We just hope that we will be among the lucky ones when we leave Belgian and the race hits the mountains. That's another part of the race and then we'll have to see how it goes."

Ochowicz is especially focused on the hilly stage 2.

"The course has a lot of climbing and narrow roads," he said. "And most of the riders don't know the area. Even though everybody has done a recon of the stage, it is not the same as in the Pyrenees where everybody really knows the climbs. I think we will have a selection in the GC.

Greg Van Avermaet and Marcus Burghardt are both great riders for the cobbled classics and may fancy their chances in stage 5. However, Ochowicz has not yet decided whether they will be given carte blanche to chase a result.

"We will make a decision after the first few stages," he said. "If Tejay van Garderen is in a good position, we may let some of the guys go for the stage victory because they are really good at this kind of racing."