After an exceedingly disappointing performance in 100 edition of Tour de France brightened only by Teejay van Garderen’s second place claimed on epic double l’Alpe  d’Huez stage , and rapidly followed by a departure of John Lelange from management set-up, riders of the American team managed to bounce back and achieve some noticeable results.

Performance director of BMC team, Allan Peiper, praises his riders for their efforts in the second half of the 2013 season. Former Australian cyclist believes, that whole team learned an important lesson during hard times they were given in last edition of the Tour the France, even though the pressure created by media and bad publicity flown in the process have made it extremely difficult.

“We were pushed right into a corner at the Tour de France with the press and the public not talking so positively about us and not having any good results. Sometimes that’s what you need though, you need your backs against the wall,” Peiper told Cyclingnews.

“We had that in the Tour and I think the boys came out fighting after that. They came out fighting and we won three stages in Poland, and three in Austria. The boys put on the boxing gloves and came out fighting."

Peiper also admits, that required changes within team’s management played an important role in the visible improvement of BMC’s results during second part of the season, beginning with Tour the Pologne, where Thor Hushovt took two stage wins, although the one won by Taylor in Katowice will remain as the most remarkable.

“The public saw in the last three months of this year that we did race differently,” Peiper said.

“We did have guys winning races and we were in every breakaway in the Vuelta. There wasn’t a break that went away that we weren’t in. We don’t race like that every time but we want to be an offensive team, especially in the Classics because if you have strength in numbers that’s where you can go on the offensive.”

Performance manager of BMC concerns spring classics among US-registered team’s main objectives for the upcoming season, should Philip Gilbert and Taylor Phinney lead the strong American squad throughout spring campaigns.

Norwegian Thor Hushovd and Italian Alessandro Ballan, both recovering after numerous health issues, are other riders expected to achieve satisfying results during 2014 season, while Peiper has a strong belief in a great potential accumulated in every member of American-based team.

“Thor is back to where he was. He is really strong again when he showed that in Poland. A good preparation and start to the season and he could be on fire for the Classics. But Thor realises that with the depth in the team that there are other guys who could play a critical role in the Classics. Daniel Oss was fourth in Harelbeke, Taylor was seventh in Milan San Remo and that could make us stronger and more unpredictable. I think Thor is fine with that because strength in numbers is always something to take in the finale of a Classic."

“The team we have, and the depth we have on a number of fronts, means we have a strong potential. It’s up to the management and the sports science team to get the best out of that potential. It’s a gold mine that hasn’t been brought up to full production yet."

Ballan, the former World Champion missed most of 2013 season because of the injuries sustained during a training ride. Although Ballan remains with a doping allegations in a background for four consecutive seasons as a result of a Mantova case’s slow development, BMC team is still supporting an Italian rider.

“I don’t know about the ban or how it’s going to work out but we have him down to race from January and that’s going to be a good start for him,” said Peiper.

"We’re standing behind Alessandro at the moment because of his accident last year, and we’ve stood behind riders before who have been sick and it’s not for us to make a decision about that case in Italy. That will come out by itself without it having any affect on it."