At the end of 2011 there was speculation that the Australian contingent on the team would jump ship to ride for the new Australian team for the 2012 season. The only Australian rider not to leave the team was Heinrich Haussler who has now announced he will be riding for the new Swiss IAM Cycling team from 2013. The team has always had a strong of Australian riders and in 2013 they will still have three Australians. Although the number of riders who left for GreenEdge was significant, the loss of Hushovd to BMC was the biggest casualty to the team. After the merger of the Cervélo team with Garmin several riders from the Cervélo team found they weren't receiving the same support in races that they had become accustomed to. The team in 2012 was largely content with the services they were being offered and there was little issue with racing schedules as the Cervélo riders moved onto to other teams or altered their ambitions. With this harmonious feeling surrounding the team Garmin who have become to be known as a supportive team had their most successful year by an individual with Hesjedal winning the Giro d’Italia on the last day of the race.
The team had won several stages at the three Grand Tours as well as the team classification at the 2011 Tour de France but never the overall. Garmin to many was more of team who could win multiple stages of a Grand Tour and lead the jersey classifications in the first week of a Grand Tour and place a rider in the top ten but a GC victory was a step to far. At the Tour in 2009 Bradley Wiggins surprised many by riding into fourth place overall and was joined by Christian Vande Velde in the top ten as he finished eight. However a podium finish seemed beyond the Garmin riders who consistently had a high finishes but were a level below the riders such as Alberto Contador, Andy Schleck and Cadel Evans.
The season began once again at the Tour Down Under were Cameron Meyer had won the race last season. The win was slightly overshadowed by the firing of Matt White who was the team director for the race as it was announced he had referred former rider Trent Lowe to Dr Luis Garcia del Moral who had links to doping. Garmin had no success at the Tour Down Under in 2012 and their first win of the season wouldnt come until the Tour of Qatar which began a successful month of February. Michel Kreder won two stages at the Tour Méditerranéen and the young rider classification. Ramūnas Navardauskas had won the young rider classification at the Tour of Qatar while David Zabriskie took out Stage 1 of the Tour of Langkawi but the biggest win of the month was at Omloop Het Nieuwsblad.
Sep Vanmarcke won his first race for Garmin at the Flanders Classic over Tom Boonen who went on to dominate the other cobbled classics in 2012. Vanmarcke will be riding for the Rabobank team in 2013 and is a promising young Belgian talent whose win wasn’t the season highlight of Johan Vansummeren’s Paris–Roubaix win of 2011 but nevertheless was a personal season highlight and capped off a successful February for Garmin.
After the one day classics of the spring the team began to focus on the Giro and selected Rider Hesjedal as its leader. Hesjedal had ridden his first Grand Tour at the Giro back in 2005 but had withdrawn from the race. It wouldn’t be until the Vuelta of 2006 that he rode another Grand Tour which he also didn’t complete. In the 10 Grand Tours that Hesjedal has started he has only completed six of those with five Tours’ and one withdrawal, three Giros’ and one withdrawal and he is yet to finish a Vuelta from two participations. Hesjedal was a cross country cyclist before his switch to the road with his biggest result a silver medal at the 2003 cross country world championships. In 2005 Hesjedal turned professional with the US Postal team and rode his first Grand Tour and has been steadily improving as a Grand Tour GC candidate ever since.
After finishing sixth at the 2010 Tour de France Hesjedal became a rider to watch and was seen as a potential Grand Tour winner. He wasn’t able to back up his result of 2011 the next year, finishing 18th overall at the Tour in the only Grand Tour he rode that year and after crashing out of the Tour this year, 2013 may seen the Canadian once again focus on the French Grand Tour. Prior to the Giro, Ivan Basso, Joaquim Rodriguez, Michele Scarponi and Damiano Cunego were seen as the big pre-race favourites. The race became a battle royale between Hesjedal and Rodriguez who swapped the maglia rosa between each other from stage 7 till Stage 21 in Milan where Rodriguez rode the final ITT in the leaders jersey but lost the race by only 16 seconds.
Garmin won the stage 4 TTT and had Ramūnas Navardauskas pull on his first maglia rosa which he held for two days. He also led the young riders classification for those two stages so never wore the white jersey on the road although teammate Peter Stetina wore the jersey on Stage 7. As well as the individual jerseys, Garmin led the Trofeo Super Team Classification for the entirety of the race as well as leading the team classification for the first seven stages. When Navardauskas collected his first maglia rosa from the podium he became the third Garmin rider behind Christian Vande Velde and David Millar to wear the pink jersey and the first Lithuanian to do so. Garmin lost the maglia rosa for one stage before Hejesdal wore his first maglia rosa until losing it to Joaquim Rodriguez.
During the Giro, the Garmin team was also racing at the Tour of California where David Zabriskie won Stage 5. During May the Glava Tour of Norway was also being held were Garmin added another win when Raymond Kreder won his first stage of the season by taking out Stage 2 and leading the young rider classification on Stage 3. This was his first win for the Garmin team after moved up from the Chipotle Development Team.
Stage 10 at the Giro was won by Rodriguez who was rewarded with his first leaders jersey of the race as he took over the GC lead from Hejesdal. He held onto the jersey until Stage 14 when Hesjedal made up the 16 second deficient and held a 9 second lead for just one stage in his second stint in the maglia rosa. Rodriguez took back the maglia rosa and would wear it all the way to Milan except for the final ceremony. Hesjedal had three stints in the maglia rosa compared to Rodriguez's two but he spent half as much time wearing the jersey with only five days in pink.
The GC win was the biggest win of the season for the team and will become a platform for future success with several young riders ready to step up to the next level. Hesjedal’s Giro win was his only win of the year but was worth several smaller victories and will be a major confidence boost for the Canadian and also Garmin. A crash at the Tour disrupted his ambition for another top ten result as well as affecting his race schedule for the rest of the season. He found form after his comeback to finish 6th at the Giro di Lombardia behind Rodriguez as Hesjedal's season highlight was the amazing final day Giro win.
After the Giro the team went into the Tour confident of success with Hesjedal among the nine riders looking to repeat the outstanding success of the 2011 Tour. 2012 saw only one stage win which was the highlight. David Millar won a breakaway sprint on Stage 12 on the anniversary of Tom Simpson's death but there was no repeat of the overall Giro success. After the Tour the team cleaned up at the USA Pro Cycling Challenge with three stage wins, the overall and the points classification. It was a similar story at the Tour de L’Ain as Andrew Talansky won Stage 4, the overall as well as the points classification. These results were bookended by the TTT win at the Tour of Utah and Dan Martin’s mountain classification win at the Tour of Beijing.
A distraction that gained traction from the Tour de France was the Lance Armstrong doping scandal which affected several riders racing schedules before their announcement of doping prior to joining the team. The USADA reasoned decision contained the affidavits of Tom Danielson, Christian Vande Velde, Dave Zabriskie and team manager Jonathan Vaughters. All had confessed to doping while on the US Postal team and has resulted in Danielson, Vande Velde and Zabriskie losing any results from when they admitted to doping. All three are now serving six month suspensions, reduced for the willingness to provide affidavits and will be welcomed back to team when the suspensions end on 1 March 2013.
Breakout Rider: Although Hesjedal was a known quality before his maiden Grand Tour win 2012 was still a breakthrough for the Canadian. After his sixth placing in the 2010 Tour de France, Hesjedal proved the switch in cycling disciplines was worth it and that big GC results wouldn’t be beyond him. Now a stage winner at all three Grand Tours, Hesjedal has created a piece of Canadian cycling history that could encourage a generation of young Canadian cyclists to take up the sport professionally and emulate their countryman.
Two breakout riders did appear in 2012 who had shown promise in 2011 and went on to surpass those achievements this year. The 23 year old Andrew Talansky looks like being the next big American GC rider who could just be battling Tejay Van Garderen for Grand Tour wins in years to come. 25 year old Michel Kreder was the other rider who notched up wins this season and in 2013 looks likely to challenge for overall honours in one week races and perhaps co-leadership with Talansky at the Vuelta. Both riders rode the Vuelta this season and Talansky who finished in seventh place showed he has the legs for three week Grand Tours. Kreder finished in 96th position in only his second Grand Tour and will have gained invaluable experience for having done so. Kreder's younger brother Raymond won his first race at the Glava Tour of Norway and will be hoping to notch up a few more in 2013.
After the Giro the team went into the Tour confident of success with Hesjedal among the nine riders looking to repeat the outstanding success of the 2011 Tour. 2012 saw only one stage win which was the highlight. David Millar won a breakaway sprint on Stage 12 on the anniversary of Tom Simpson's death but there was no repeat of the overall Giro success. After the Tour the team cleaned up at the USA Pro Cycling Challenge with three stage wins, the overall and the points classification. It was a similar story at the Tour de L’Ain as Andrew Talansky won Stage 4, the overall as well as the points classification. These results were bookended by the TTT win at the Tour of Utah and Dan Martin’s mountain classification win at the Tour of Beijing.
A distraction that gained traction from the Tour de France was the Lance Armstrong doping scandal which affected several riders racing schedules before their announcement of doping prior to joining the team. The USADA reasoned decision contained the affidavits of Tom Danielson, Christian Vande Velde, Dave Zabriskie and team manager Jonathan Vaughters. All had confessed to doping while on the US Postal team and has resulted in Danielson, Vande Velde and Zabriskie losing any results from when they admitted to doping. All three are now serving six month suspensions, reduced for the willingness to provide affidavits and will be welcomed back to team when the suspensions end on 1 March 2013.
Top Five Results
Giro d'Italia overall Ryder Hesjedal
Giro d’Italia Stage 5 TTT
Tour de France Stage 12 David Millar
USA Pro Cycling Challenge Stage 1,3 & 5, Overall & Points classifications
Giro d’Italia Trofeo Super Team
Breakout Rider: Although Hesjedal was a known quality before his maiden Grand Tour win 2012 was still a breakthrough for the Canadian. After his sixth placing in the 2010 Tour de France, Hesjedal proved the switch in cycling disciplines was worth it and that big GC results wouldn’t be beyond him. Now a stage winner at all three Grand Tours, Hesjedal has created a piece of Canadian cycling history that could encourage a generation of young Canadian cyclists to take up the sport professionally and emulate their countryman.
Two breakout riders did appear in 2012 who had shown promise in 2011 and went on to surpass those achievements this year. The 23 year old Andrew Talansky looks like being the next big American GC rider who could just be battling Tejay Van Garderen for Grand Tour wins in years to come. 25 year old Michel Kreder was the other rider who notched up wins this season and in 2013 looks likely to challenge for overall honours in one week races and perhaps co-leadership with Talansky at the Vuelta. Both riders rode the Vuelta this season and Talansky who finished in seventh place showed he has the legs for three week Grand Tours. Kreder finished in 96th position in only his second Grand Tour and will have gained invaluable experience for having done so. Kreder's younger brother Raymond won his first race at the Glava Tour of Norway and will be hoping to notch up a few more in 2013.
With Hesjedal now a Giro winner the knowledge he can pass onto these two young riders should see them come on in leaps and bounds. Michel Kreder has also shown he can match it in one day races and with Hesjedal having posted several top ten finishes in big one day races like Giro di Lombardia, Kreder has a great role model within the team to help him fulfil his potential and justify his switch from the track to the road.
Disappointing Rider: Heinrich Haussler had a memorable 2009 season riding for the Cervélo team in which he won a stage of the Tour, finished as a photo finish runner up at Milan-San Remo as well as finishing second at The Tour of Flanders and performing consistently across the season. In his first season at Garmin, Haussler won the points classifications at the Tour of Qatar and Paris-Nice and won three stages after coming back from illness and a knee injury. However 2012 was win free with the four second places behind Peter Sagan at the first four stages of the Tour of California the closest he came to a win. With several third and fourth place finishes Haussler showed he was close but just couldn’t quite get a win. 2012 was going to be a year in which the now Australian rider would recapture his 2009 form and remind Garmin of his worth as a top class sprinter across one day races and Grand Tours.
Disappointing Rider: Heinrich Haussler had a memorable 2009 season riding for the Cervélo team in which he won a stage of the Tour, finished as a photo finish runner up at Milan-San Remo as well as finishing second at The Tour of Flanders and performing consistently across the season. In his first season at Garmin, Haussler won the points classifications at the Tour of Qatar and Paris-Nice and won three stages after coming back from illness and a knee injury. However 2012 was win free with the four second places behind Peter Sagan at the first four stages of the Tour of California the closest he came to a win. With several third and fourth place finishes Haussler showed he was close but just couldn’t quite get a win. 2012 was going to be a year in which the now Australian rider would recapture his 2009 form and remind Garmin of his worth as a top class sprinter across one day races and Grand Tours.
Haussler moves onto a new team in 2013 and hopefully can recapture his form of 2009 and parts of 2010. Johan Vansummeren won Paris-Roubaix last year in what was a rare win for the Belgian and it was accepted that a back to back victory was unlikely for a rider whose wins can be counted in one hand. Garmin didn't have very many disappointing riders in 2012 but the announcements of Danielson, Zabriskie and Vande Velde all being handed six month suspensions for doping was a low-light for the team.
How 2013 looks: Having not lost any of it sponsors after the admission of doping by the three riders and team manager ,Garmin are showing the cycling world that casting out dopers is not the only answer to eradicating doping from the sport. David Millar in particular has been a staunch anti-doping advocate after his return from his suspension while riding for Cofidis. The team has proven to be a welcoming environment to those with murky pasts but admission of guilt and willingness to absolve oneself for doping has been welcomed by Vaughters et al on the team. The team will be slightly disrupted by not having the three American’s until March but the preparation for Hesjedal's Giro defence and the classics campaign should be largely uninterrupted. It will be the early stage races of the season in Australia, Qatar and Oman where their absence will be felt but will allow for others riders to step up in their place and push for protection and leadership in bigger races than they may otherwise be given. Nathan Haas may just be one rider who benefits from this as could new sprinter Steele Van Hoff who will move up from the Chipotle Development Team.
How 2013 looks: Having not lost any of it sponsors after the admission of doping by the three riders and team manager ,Garmin are showing the cycling world that casting out dopers is not the only answer to eradicating doping from the sport. David Millar in particular has been a staunch anti-doping advocate after his return from his suspension while riding for Cofidis. The team has proven to be a welcoming environment to those with murky pasts but admission of guilt and willingness to absolve oneself for doping has been welcomed by Vaughters et al on the team. The team will be slightly disrupted by not having the three American’s until March but the preparation for Hesjedal's Giro defence and the classics campaign should be largely uninterrupted. It will be the early stage races of the season in Australia, Qatar and Oman where their absence will be felt but will allow for others riders to step up in their place and push for protection and leadership in bigger races than they may otherwise be given. Nathan Haas may just be one rider who benefits from this as could new sprinter Steele Van Hoff who will move up from the Chipotle Development Team.
The signature of Nick Nuyens who will be moving across from Saxo Bank-Tinkoff Bank will strengthen the team’s classics campaign as well as covering the loss of Vanmarcke and Haussler. Talansky and both Kreder's will be expected to continue where they left off in 2013 and move up a level to challenge for more illustrious results. Rohan Dennis the Australian under 23 road race and ITT national champion will also be joining the team and he will be looking to add to his already impressive palmares with his first Pro Tour team. There will undoubtedly be a focus on another Grand Tour win after making the step up from Grand Tour stage winning team to GC winning team. The Giro will be a season goal and the team knows they can win that race so expect the experience of this year to really work in their favour. Particularly with Hesjedal only snatching victory in the final ITT of the race, the team will know they can deflect some of the pressure that comes with having a rider in a leaders jersey or challenging for the GC.
2012 will be looked back as the year that Garmin broke their Grand Tour duck but it won’t be without some controversy that has come about due the US Postal doping scandal. Vansummeren’s Paris-Roubaix win last year was a one day race highlight for the team who now can say they have the best of both worlds, a squad which can compete for honours at one day classics, one week stage races and Grand Tours.
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