True to his tendency to bring new talent forward, Garmin Sharp team manager Jonathan Vaughters took a young and rather inexperienced team to the Tour de France to support Andrew Talansky in his Tour campaign.

Winner of the Criterium du Dauphine, the American, 10th a year ago, is among the contenders capable of battling it out with the arch-favourites, Vincenzo Nibali and Alberto Contador. 

“It's a team that might lack experience but makes up for it by its enthusiasm. I'm sure that they're 100 pc behind Andrew,” said Vaughters, who had to do without three key riders in his squad, the injured Dan Martin, Canada's Ryder Hesjedal and British veteran David Millar.

Instead were picked Tour rookies Alex Howes, Ben King and Dutchman Tom-Jelte Slagter.

“In the same time we have a super-clever road captain in Sebastain Langeveld and an experienced rider in Johan Van Summeren, a former Paris-Roubaix winner,” Vaughters said.

Both confirmed their importance in the team on the cobbles of stage 5 when they helped Talansky take some time off some of his main rivals, to the notable exception of Vincenzo Nibali.

“Not sure if it got shown on TV but the team rode like a band of brothers today. Can't wait to repay their hard work in the mountains,” Talansky wrote on his Twitter account.

"Now it's Astana versus everybody else," said Vaughters. "We're going to be looking for opportunities and for moments when Astana are a bit off their game."

In the mountain, Talansky will be supported by Colombia's Javier Acevedo and all-rounder Slagter.