Cannondale-Garmin manager Jonathan Vaughters says Pierre Rolland has made such a big improvement this offseason that fans should expect big things from the talented French climber.

“The amount of improvement that that guy still has available to him was astounding to us and our sports scientists,” Vaughters told VeloNews. “He was training like someone was training in 1975. He’s really made some big improvements and that will be interesting to see this season. We were able to make larger improvements than I’ve ever seen, even with continental riders we are not able to improve them that much. It was just a massive improvement in his aerodynamics. Hopefully that will translate to the road, we don’t know yet, not until the first time trial of the year.”

Vaughters isn’t just helping the 29 year old to improve his ability against the clock, but is prepping him to survive the hard, windy and flat stages of the Tour de France by giving him protection from guys like Langeveld, Bauer and Dylan Van Baarle.

“Just from a tactical standpoint, if we can have more powerful riders around him to keep him positioned well then it’s a game changer for him. If Pierre can start the mountains with a three-minute deficit and not a 13-minute deficit, then he becomes a genuine threat to the podium.”

Rolland will follow a French program, with Paris-Nice, the Dauphine and the Tour de France big goals in his season.