Team Garmin-Sharp Tour de France Roster
Five years ago, while Alberto Contador was riding to victory in the Tour de France, Andrew Talansky was scratching out a living in races across the United States. Last month, Talansky secured the overall victory at the Critérium du Dauphiné on the final stage putting more than a minute into overnight leader Contador. Today, the 25-year-old Talansky is ready to lead Team Garmin-Sharp in pursuit of the Tour de France yellow jersey.
Andrew 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.
David Millar pulled from Garmin-Sharp Tour de France squad with illness.
“Selecting the final 9 for the Tour de France is a very difficult task, this year, we come into the Tour with a team built around Andrew Talansky. said Director Charly Wegelius. “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.”
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