Garmin-Sharp will line up a team that is fully devoted to Andrew Talansky when they go the start of this year's Tour de France. In the mountains, the American can count on support from Janier Acevedo and Tom-Jelte Slagter while a sick David Millar has been left off the roster and will miss his farewell Tour.
Team Garmin-Sharp today announced its much-anticipated 2014 Tour de France Roster.
The team features 25-year-old American, Andrew Talansky, recent winner of the 2014 Critérium du Dauphiné. Talansky was the best-placed American in the 2013 Tour de France, earning 10th overall in his Tour debut.
Talansky will be supported by a strong argyle squad, including fellow young Americans Ben King and Alex Howes, both making their Tour de France debuts this year. Howes has been a part of the Slipstream organization since he was a junior in 2004. Tom-Jelte Slagter comes off a strong season to-date with stage wins at Paris-Nice and top-ten finishes in La Fleche Wallone and Liege-Bastogne-Liege.
Sebastian Langeveld, the newly crowned Dutch National Road Champion, has netted top-ten finishes in this year's Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders. The team is rounded out by 2011 Paris-Roubaix winner, Johan Vansummeren; Janier Acevedo, 9th overall in the recent Tour de Suisse and the Tour of California, Ramunas Navardauskas, 2014 Lithuanian National Time Trial Champion, and Jack Bauer, who won the Prologue of the 2014 Herald Sun Tour.
"Selecting the final 9 for our Tour is a very difficult task,” said Director Charly Wegelius. “This year, we come into the Tour with a team built around Andrew Talansky.
"Had David Millar been healthy, he would have been a phenomenal team member. We would have loved to have him. Unfortunately, as seen over the weekend, David is sick, so we were forced to make a difficult and sad decision.
"That said, I am confident that we have put together an excellent group of riders that will be best equipped to ride a great race and support Andrew. Its going to be an exciting Tour and as always, we will look to animate the race and bring excitement home to our fans.”
“In years past we have approached the Tour with multiple leaders, and multiple goals,” said Jonathan Vaughters, CEO, Team Garmin-Sharp. “This year, we approach it with one clear leader, Andrew Talansky, and our roster is designed to give him the best support possible.
"We are very sorry to leave David Millar home due to illness. His experience is unparallelled and his contributions to the sport and our team are undeniable. We wish things were different for David, but as we look ahead to the Tour, we believe we have selected a strong team and we are committed to helping Andrew build on last year's success."
Team Garmin-Sharp 2014 Tour de France Roster
Janier Acevedo
Jack Bauer
Alex Howes
Ben King
Sebastian Langeveld
Ramunas Navardauskas
Tom-Jelte Slagter
Andrew Talansky
Johan Vansummeren
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