Garmin-Barracuda didn’t have a big-name general classification contender coming into this season, but found one in Ryder Hesjedal after his surprising Giro d’Italia victory. They announced that Hesjedal would be the leader of their team and that the team would be focusing on riding for him at the Tour de France.
Tour de France 2012: Garmin-Barracuda Riding For Giro Winner Ryder Hesjedal
Before Hesjedal won the Giro, the position of GC contender for Garmin-Barracuda was up for grabs, but Tom Danielson and Christian Vande Velde lost out to the first man to win a major tour for the team, and will now ride in support roles.
“We have put together a well-balanced team with an emphasis on support for our leader, Ryder. We have Christian (Vande Velde) and Tom (Danielson), both excellent climbers who each have had great GC rides in the Tour and have shown their strength in recent racing.”
It makes sense that Garmin-Barracuda wants to stick with the man who won the Giro, but as Podium Cafe points out, it’s rare for anyone but truly elite riders to do well in both the Giro and the Tour in the same year. Alberto Contador did reasonably well at the Tour last year after winning the Giro, but the previous two winners, Ivan Basso and Denis Menchov, didn’t look their best in the second grand tour of the season.
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