BMC name team for USA Pro Challenge

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Tejay van Garderen will lead the BMC team at the USA Pro Challenge, which begins next week. The defending champion will be looking to repeat his performance of 12 months ago that saw him beat his teammate Mathias Frank to overall victory.

Van Garderen had a rough start to the year, but things picked up in July when he took fifth at the Tour de France. The race is Van Garderen’s first since completing the Tour. The American will be happy to see that the 16-kilometre time trial in Vail is back for another year. Van Garderen beat fellow American Andrew Talansky (Garmin-Sharp) to victory by four seconds.

Joining Van Garderen in Colorado will be Peter Stetina and Michael Schär, who supported him at the Tour de France. Along with Schär, Brent Bookwalter is the only other rider from last year’s squad to return to the race. Rick Zabel will be making his debut at the race, after a good showing at the Tour of Utah. Zabel is in his first year as a professional, as BMC look to develop him into a classics rider. Martin Kohler is also a first timer at the race, while Ben Hermans returns for the first time since 2011.

BMC team for USA Pro Cycling Challenge: Brent Bookwalter, Yannick Eijssen, Ben Hermans, Martin Kohler, Michael Schär, Peter Stetina, Tejay van Garderen and Rick Zabel.