Millar left out of Garmin-Sharp's Tour de France team
Squad built around Talansky's overall ambitions
The Garmin-Sharp team announced the team which will support American Andrew Talansky in his bid for the overall classification of the Tour de France. One rider missing was David Millar, who dropped out of the British national championships with a cold.
Millar has not missed a Tour de France since his ban for admitted EPO use ended just prior to the 2006 Tour.
"In years past we have approached the Tour with multiple leaders, and multiple goals," team CEO Jonathan Vaughters said. "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. We wish things were different for David, but as we look ahead to the Tour, we believe we have selected a strong team and we are committed to helping Andrew build on last year's success."
Talansky's increased his odds for the Tour de France after putting in a strong performance in a breakaway to snatch the Critérium du Dauphiné from favorites Alberto Contador and Chris Froome. He is hoping to imrove upon a 10th place overall in his Tour debut last year.
He will be joined by fellow Americans Ben King and Alex Howes, both Tour de France debutants. Tom-Jelte Slagter, new Dutch champion Sebastian Langeveld, Johan Vansummeren, Lithuanian time trial champion Ramunas Navardauskas, Jack Bauer and Colombian climber Janier Acevedo are also included in the squad.
Team Garmin-Sharp for the Tour de France: Janier Acevedo, Jack Bauer, Alex Howes, Ben King, Sebastian Langeveld, Ramunas Navardauskas, Tom-Jelte Slagter, Andrew Talansky, Johan Vansummeren
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