Garmin-Sharp has announced its team for the Vuelta a Espana, and as expected Andrew Talansky will lead the team's overall ambitions. The recent winner of the Tour de l'Ain will be joined by a mix of experience and youth, including Christophe Le Mevel, Johan Van Summeren and Martijn Maaskant.
Thomas Dekker will make his long awaited return to three-week racing. The Dutch rider served a two-year suspension for EPO use but returned to the sport this year. The Vuelta will mark his first Grand Tour since competing in the 2007 Tour de France for Rabobank.
"We have a strong line-up for the Vuelta and Andrew Talansky is our leader. No doubt, the competition will be tough with so many teams sending hugely talented squads, but we are focused and we know what Andrew is capeable of. This is a team with a lot of depth and we look forward to the race getting underway," Jonathan Vaughters told Cyclingnews.
The rest of the American team includes specialist climber Tom Peterson, who rode as support for Ryder Hesjedal at the Giro d'Italia. Koldo and the Kreder brothers, Raymond and Michel make up the rest of the nine-man team.
Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription
Try your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1
Daniel Benson is the Editor in Chief at both Cyclingnews.com and BikePerfect.com. Based in the UK, he has worked within cycling for almost 15 years, and he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he has reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he runs the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.