The Argos-Shimano team(Image credit: Luca Bettini)
Thomas Peterson with his new colours(Image credit: Pasados de Volta)
The Argos-Shimano team has named its nine rider for the Vuelta a España, opting for a mix of young and experienced riders instead of its big-name sprinters Marcel Kittel and John Degenkolb.
Degenkolb won five stage last year and Kittel took one stage in 2011. Both German sprinters rode the Tour de France this year, with kittle winning four stages, while Degenkolb also won a stage at the Giro d'Italia. They will ride a different programme in the final part of the season, with Ramon Sinkeldam and Reinardt Janse van Rensburg and recent Arctic tour of Norway stage winner Nikias Arndt targeting the Vuelta sprints.
The USA's Tom Peterson is also part of the squad. He joined Argos-Shimano from Garmin-Sharp for the 2013 season.
“After the sporting successes of winning stages in both the Giro d'Italia and Tour de France we are of course aiming for further success at the Vuelta. But the development of our young talents is also very important to us,” team manager Iwan Spekenbrink said in the team's announcement of the Vuelta squad.
“Right from the birth of this team we adapted a strategy to develop riders with intensive support from our coaching team so they can grow into riders that can compete at the highest level possible. Our young talents have developed very well this year and have shown their potential, so they deserve their Vuelta a España selection. Their selection is for both the present and the future: they will contribute to the team’s performance, and the Vuelta will support their development.”
Team coach Christian Guiberteau gave details of the riders in the team.
“We head to Spain with a diverse young line-up with different riders who can be successful in both the flat and the hilly or mountainous stages,” he said.
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“For the flat stages we have fast guys like Ramon Sinkeldam, Reinardt Janse van Rensburg and Nikias Arndt. This year’s Vuelta parcours is very tough with several uphill finishes and we are prepared for these with talented riders Warren Barguil and Georg Preidler who can handle themselves in these kind of stages. By using an offensive strategy they can show the progress we have made with them this season."
"The more experienced riders in the team like Johannes Fröhlinger, Tom Peterson, Tom Stamsnijder and Thierry Hupond are eager to look for chances to get into the breaks or to support the team as best as possible."
Argos-Shimano for the Vuelta a España: Nikias Arndt, Warren Barguil, Johannes Fröhlinger, Thierry Hupond, Reinardt Janse van Rensburg, Tom Peterson, Georg Preidler, Ramon Sinkeldam and Tom Stamsnijder.
Reserves: Will Clarke, Koen de Kort and François Parisien.
Stephen is one of the most experienced members of the Cyclingnews team, having reported on professional cycling since 1994. Before becoming Editor-at-large, he was Head of News at Cyclingnews. He has previously worked for Shift Active Media, Reuters and Cycling Weekly. He is a member of the Board of the Association Internationale des Journalistes du Cyclisme (AIJC).
