Lawson Craddock is part of the next generation of American talents that are coming through to replace the likes of Zabriskie, Vande Velde and Rodriguez.

The youngster signed for Giant-Shimano after top ten finishes at the Tour of California and the USA Pro Challenge, although he had been on the team’s radar considerably longer.

“I talked to [general manager] Iwan [Spekenbrink] as early as March 2013. I felt really good vibrations from the team. It was the right fit. This really was a no-brainer to me. This team can help me become the best cyclist I can possibly be,” he told Cyclingnews at the teams launch in Holland. 

He has been on the Junior World Championships TT podium twice, with silver in 2009 and bronze in 2010. 

“That is still my number one dream, to win a world title. To be the best in the world. I have come so close in the past but I have also been working on my climbing. Our team manager Axel [Merckx] always made fun of me and called me little fatty. I lost some weight last year, especially the baby fat, and it helped me improve on the climbs.”

He was part of the highly successful Bontrager development squad tht over the past few years have sent Craddock, Nathan Brown, Antoine Duchesne, Jasper Stuyven, Alex Dowsett, Taylor Phinney, Ben King, Jesse Sergent, Ian Boswell and Joe Dombrowski to the WorldTour.

“Bontrager-Livestrong was a great team to be with,” Craddock said. “It was all very relaxed. Even before the big races like Tour of California or the USA Pro Challenge, we didn’t have the jitters or something. We were just laughing and having fun together. That attributes to the success of the team.”

Craddock will start his season in Dubai before doing the Circuit de la Sarthe and the Three Days of West Flanders. “The Tour of California will be one of the main goals of this season. The first half of the year will be about learning and focusing on shorter stage races. I have shown I can be successful in those but I’d love to ride a Grand Tour at the end of the year, to be on the Vuelta squad."