Peiper joins Garmin-Cervelo for 2012

Allan Peiper will join Garmin-Cervelo for 2012. The Australian, who has been an instrumental part of HTC-Highroad's success over the last few years, is a former professional rider and joins on a two-year deal. Next season he will base himself in Girona, Spain, where Garmin has their European headquarters.

"I've had my eye on Allan for a long time but I never wanted to interfere with HTC so I waited until there was an opportunity with him and I'm very happy to have him on board," Garmin's Jonathan Vaughters told Cyclingnews.

"Allan will manage the riders' schedules, helping me manage the group as a whole and help with the logistics. Obviously he'll be in the car at key events as well and more than anything else he'll work at making sure that the communications between the directors and the riders is really top notch."

After Matt White's departure at the start of the year Vaughters assumed a greater share of the responsibility when it came to directing the team. He also brought in specialists like Peter Van Petegem, who helped lead the team to a sensational win in Paris-Roubaix.

Vaughters' patience to fill the role on a permanent basis appears to have paid off, with HTC-Highroad set to wind up at the end of this season, leaving Peiper and other experienced directors on the market.

"It was a case of finding the right person and I wasn't going to settle for anything less. They had to have a similar vision to me and had to be someone that I trusted 100 percent because I wanted someone that could help with the responsibility, the tactics and strategy at events."

Peiper is looking forward to the challenge: "Garmin-Cervelo is a team that has had a lot of success, and more importantly, I share their philosophy on sport and innovation. They've always been at the forefront of change in the sport, and I respect that immensely," said Peiper. "I have had many great experiences over the last few years and I've learned a lot - I am very thankful for that and I look forward to this new chapter. For me, coming from a team that shares the same ideals, makes this an ideal move."

Garmin's recruitment policy might not be finished. With Lionel Marie set to leave and join up with Matt White at GreenEdge, Garmin potentially has another spot to fill. However Vaughters will urge on the side of patience again.

"We've got Geert Van Bondt at the Eneco Tour and he's someone that we're testing out, but we may look for another position. We'll see how Geert works out but maybe there's space for one more."