# Garmin-Transitions Tour squad ?



## moonmoth (Nov 8, 2008)

Ah yes, time for the annual speculation for Garmin-Transition's Tour de France team. Dauphine and Tour of Switzerland will shape this up, of course, as well as some injury progress reports (VdV and Danielson).

Vaughters typically brings along a rider or two that finished the Giro but I can't think of anyone that fits that description. I believe they'll not start Dan Martin in two successive Grand Tours because of his young age.

I've got five locks (marked with star), and four probable's (marked with +)

David Zabriskie*
Christian Vande Velde*
Tyler Farrar*
Julian Dean*
David Millar*

Martin Maaskant+ (good on flats, cobbles)
Robbie Hunter+ (another helper for Farrar)
Ryder Hesjedal+ (climbing help, having a good year, no TdF last year)
Tom Danielson+ (here we go again, will he finally get a TdF start?)

Outside looking in:

Danny Pate (consistent Grand Tour finisher, MIA this year)
Johan Van Summeren (all 'round help from a strong rider)


----------



## bobinvirginia (Apr 14, 2006)

Nice summary...I agree with your thoughts. Good all around team. Will be interesting to see if JV selects TD. Along the same idea...what are people's thoughts about the Radio Shack Squad. My best guesses:

Locks: Seems like these 5 are sure things. Lance is very comfortable with all of them. Previous successful Tours. 
Lance 
Jani
Kloden
Levi
Popo

Contenders: Plenty to choose from. Probably need some strong men for the flats/cobbles. I wonder if this will hurt the chances of two of Lance's favorites (Horner/Chechu). Will definitely be interesting to see the final roster.
Horner
Muravyev
Paulinho
Rast
Rosseler
Chechu
Steegmans
Vaitkus
Zubeldia


----------



## Rosicky (Mar 30, 2005)

Rosseler has his place in the team if can get over his wrist problems


----------



## Mootsie (Feb 4, 2004)

Something tells me that Pate doesn't make the tour squad this year. He didn't ride the Giro or the TOC. He's been making a few comments on Twitter sort of dissing the team. I think somethings up. Maybe JV told him they are not renewing his contract or something.


----------



## Ray_from_SA (Jun 15, 2005)

According to Robbie, his got word he'll be doing the tour this year.


----------



## spade2you (May 12, 2009)

Ray_from_SA said:


> According to Robbie, his got word he'll be doing the tour this year.


That's what I heard, too. He's a great sprinter, but not bad in a TT, or helping team mates in a climb. Definitely not a GC guy, but I think he might surprise us with his overall utility.


----------



## leadag (Jan 4, 2005)

Ryder Hesjedal has been the team's best rider aside from Farrar so far this year - easy lock.

I would also guess Johan Van Summeren and Robbie are a pretty sure bet.. that fill up the roster yet??

r.e. disco, i mean RS :hand: , count Chechu as a lock - one of Lance's best helpers from the glory years. i would think Horner is also in for certain this time around, baring a crash..


----------



## moonmoth (Nov 8, 2008)

bobinvirginia said:


> Along the same idea...what are people's thoughts about the Radio Shack Squad. My best guesses:
> 
> Locks: Seems like these 5 are sure things. Lance is very comfortable with all of them. Previous successful Tours.
> Lance
> ...


I'd have to consider Horner a lock right now, sealed by his overall Basque Tour victory. That was a tough stage race! It's his to lose right now so let's hope CH can avoid the crashes and cheeseburgers 'til July.


----------



## coop (Jun 8, 2008)

moonmoth said:


> Ah yes, time for the annual speculation for Garmin-Transition's Tour de France team. Dauphine and Tour of Switzerland will shape this up, of course, as well as some injury progress reports (VdV and Danielson).
> 
> Vaughters typically brings along a rider or two that finished the Giro but I can't think of anyone that fits that description. I believe they'll not start Dan Martin in two successive Grand Tours because of his young age.
> 
> ...



Your 5 locks are good, but I think that both Hesjedal(who did ride the TDF last year) and Dean are locks as well. Dean and Farrar seem to be working very well this season.

That leaves 2 spots for 4-5 riders. Maaskant and Van Summeren seem to be solid choices if not only to protect VDV during the cobbled stage, although Hesjedal, Farrar, and Millar aren't too bad themselves. Hunter would surely be a good help in the leadout for Farrar. Tommy D and Fredrik Kessiakoff could be of goo help to VDV in the mountains. Kessiakoff was actually supposed to be the protected rider for the Giro at the beginning of the year, but has been lacking form.

I suppose it comes down to the team goals. If VDV is healthy and they think he has a good chance of being on the podium, I think they'll bring one, if not both of the climbers. If they want to give Farrar a chance for the Green Jersey, I think you'll see Hunter and Maaskant. It'd be hard to go after both goals, but my belief is that is what they'll do. My picks, Tommy D and Robbie Hunter with Maaskant being the reserve.


----------



## moonmoth (Nov 8, 2008)

coop said:


> Your 5 locks are good, but I think that both Hesjedal(who did ride the TDF last year) and Dean are locks as well.


 Whoops, thanks for the correction!


----------



## teffisk (Mar 24, 2006)

No way they will start Tom Danielson. He has shown no European results in who knows how long. And he definitely has no consistency. No TdF for him. I am really curious about VDV's form because I think that will effect the teams goals a lot. I believe otherwise they will have quite a bit riding on Farrar and their spinting team. I am also really excited to see Ryder in this year's Tour. He has shown himself to be a great rider. 

My picks:
Farrar
Dean
VDV 
Ryder
Millar
Zabriskie
Van Summeran
Hunter
then either Maaskant or hopefully Pate


----------



## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

What's up with Pate this year? Where has he been?


----------



## coop (Jun 8, 2008)

teffisk said:


> No way they will start Tom Danielson. He has shown no European results in who knows how long. And he definitely has no consistency.


As opposed to who else on the team? If you look at Tommy D's results and consistency from last year and this they compare favorably to anyone else we're considering. Of the 6 locks I think we can all agree on, here are their CQ rankings from last year to this


VDV (09) 177 - (10) 208 (Days raced-28)
Zabriskie (09) 87- (10) 101 (26)
Farrar (09) 9- (10) 6 (41)
Millar (09) 183- (10) 55 (33)
Hesjedal (09) 100- (10) 36 (37)
Dean (09) 588- (10) 391 (40)

Of the 3 remaining spots (I counted wrong earlier) and the riders competing for them they stack up like this.

Danielson (09) 234 - (10) 284 (22)
Pate (09) 223 - (10) 684 (28)
VanS (09) 244 - (10) 536 (32)
Maaskant (09) 195 - (10) 485 (31)
Hunter (09) 257 - (10) 321 (34) 
Kessiakoff (09) 145 - (10) 505 (9)

CQ is a very good judge of long term consistency based on it's points system. Of the 6 you'll see that Hunter and Danielson have the least amount of drop off. The 2 classic guys have already gone through the meaty part of there season and still managed to drop considerably. Pate has been on bad form all year, and Kessiakoff has been dealing with health issues. 

As far as Danielson's consistency, He finished 12th at the Tour de Med, 12th at Haut Var, 52nd at Paris Nice (only Millar finished better for Garmin), and was sitting in the top 10 at ToC until he had to withdraw because of injury he sustained before the race. I'd say he's been fairly consistent by comparison to the rest.:thumbsup:


----------



## russman (Apr 25, 2005)

I hope Cozza makes it on the Tour team. I like his 'stache.

http://www.slipstreamsports.com/garmin-slipstream-pro-team/steven-cozza


----------



## moonmoth (Nov 8, 2008)

teffisk said:


> No way they will start Tom Danielson


TD can clinch a TdF starting spot, or lose it at the Dauphine starting on Sunday.


----------



## JohnHemlock (Jul 15, 2006)

moonmoth said:


> TD can clinch a TdF starting spot, or lose it at the Dauphine starting on Sunday.


I have a feeling the highlight of his July will be destroying me on the Mt Evans Hill Climb.


----------



## moonmoth (Nov 8, 2008)

moonmoth said:


> TD can clinch a TdF starting spot, or lose it at the Dauphine starting on Sunday.


 Make that the Tour of Switzerland. TD has been moved there to give him more time to recover from that ToC training crash.


----------



## robbyracer (May 30, 2007)

russman said:


> I hope Cozza makes it on the Tour team. I like his 'stache.
> 
> http://www.slipstreamsports.com/garmin-slipstream-pro-team/steven-cozza


Heheh. Respect the pornstache!!

Can't wait to see how our US teams will do in LeTour this year.


----------



## coop (Jun 8, 2008)

So half way through the Dauphine "tryout" for the TDF squad and what have we learned? Millar can still put up a decent TT, but why does he still think he can put up a gc result at this race? Pate got into a break and then painfully cracked on the last climb, we won't be hearing anymore from him this week. Van S. and Kessiakoff save Millar from losing any more time, and they look the part of domestique. 

Now the other "tryout" begins with the Tour Du Suisse. I'd say that 6 of the 8 riders have TDF on their minds, and 3 of those are locks. Maaskant, Danielson, and Hunter are in tryout mode. I see Maaskant playing leadout man for Hunter, but wonder if Tommy D is going to be given the green light for a GC run, or if he plays the role of helper? VDV, Hesjedal, and Zabriskie are probably in it for the training miles so I guess we'll see.


----------



## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

coop said:


> Now the other "tryout" begins with the Tour Du Suisse. I'd say that 6 of the 8 riders have TDF on their minds, and 3 of those are locks. Maaskant, Danielson, and Hunter are in tryout mode. I see Maaskant playing leadout man for Hunter, but wonder if Tommy D is going to be given the green light for a GC run, or if he plays the role of helper? VDV, Hesjedal, and Zabriskie are probably in it for the training miles so I guess we'll see.


Danielson was looking strong to me b/4 dropping out of ATOC. I hope he has the strength to go for GC. He just bombs on the TdF but should be able race a decent one week race at this point.


----------



## AdamM (Jul 9, 2008)

At this point who on Garmin is even close to looking like a top 20 GC contender? Maybe I'm missing something, but at this point, it looks like the teams chances to even be competitive in the GC are slim to none. 

I think the odds are a lot better at getting Farrar wins in the sprint stages and building the TDF line up around that strategy than hoping one of the GC guys finds his missing form in the next two weeks.


----------



## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

AdamM said:


> At this point who on Garmin is even close to looking like a top 20 GC contender? Maybe I'm missing something, but at this point, it looks like the teams chances to even be competitive in the GC are slim to none.
> 
> I think the odds are a lot better at getting Farrar wins in the sprint stages and building the TDF line up around that strategy than hoping one of the GC guys finds his missing form in the next two weeks.


Yeah, unless VdV gets some form they don't have anyone for the GC. So they should concentrate on a sprint train.


----------



## teffisk (Mar 24, 2006)

You're probably right. Maybe they will have some success in the TTs but even there they haven't been looking that good. I would put my money to their success in the sprints.


----------



## moonmoth (Nov 8, 2008)

teffisk said:


> You're probably right. Maybe they will have some success in the TTs but even there they haven't been looking that good. I would put my money to their success in the sprints.


Garmin was lifeless at this point in the season last year, too. I almost think that their GC'ers like VdV, Zabriskie, and Hjesdal are being told to take it easy and just go along for the ride. I'll agree that their emphasis will be on getting Farrar a stage or two, and that they'd be ecstatic if VdV made the top-10 or Farrar got green.


----------



## coop (Jun 8, 2008)

I was going to get all over Garmin for being a no show on the Queen stage of the TDS, until i saw that Tommy D was in the lead GC group and flatted out, got a bad neutral wheel, and had to wait for a new bike. What happened to Hesjedal though? He was looking pretty good in the overall until stage 5 when he lost time, and then lost like 20 minutes yesterday. Did he crash or something?


----------



## rhdahl (May 14, 2009)

What about Fischer as another part of the Garmin train for Tyler?


----------



## coop (Jun 8, 2008)

rhdahl said:


> What about Fischer as another part of the Garmin train for Tyler?



I think that I read somewhere that Pate mentioned they were going to bring 3 sprinters. Dean and Farrar are like Cav and Renshaw, so that leaves one spot. Hunter seems pretty certain that he's going so that leaves Fischer out. Over on cycling news JV was saying that Tommy D wasn't originally in the plans but they may reconsider. It's gonna be a stressful week for about 4 or 5 guys.

VDV, Millar, Z, Farrar, Dean, Hunter, Hesjedal, and 2 from Maaskant, Van S, Tommy D, Pate, and maybe Kessiakoff.


----------



## Mootsie (Feb 4, 2004)

I am guessing Pate is out. He posted on Twitter last night that he is back in Colorado. If he was doing the Tour, he would have stayed in Euro Land.


----------



## Geoffersonspin (Feb 12, 2010)

A top 10 for VdV is not out of the question by any stretch. He was 4th in 2008 and 8th in 2009. Pretty good if you ask me. 

I think Farrar is looking pretty good this year too. I like him and would love to see him beat up on Cav this year.


----------



## Eric_H (Feb 5, 2004)

VDV, Dave Z, Millar, Hesjedal - all locks, rode in 2008 and 2009.
Farrar, Hunter, Dean - the sprint train, all locks.

Leaves two spots:

Van Summeren - he'll get the nod as he's very versatile as a domestique. He can pull in the sprint but also do useful work early on the mountain days. He did solid work for Evans when they both rode for Lotto.

So that leaves it between Maaskant and Tommy D for the final spot. My money is on Maaskant, he has ridden the Tour twice and knows his role. He also showed good form at the Tour de Suisse. Tommy is just too fragile physically and mentally for the Tour pressure-cooker and JV knows it. Could he realistically go back to the car and get bottles and then work his way back to the front of the field? Maybe if his old shepherd Michael Barry looked after him . But realistically he is dead weight as a Tour selection. Not good enough as a domestique, not consistent enough to even threaten a top 15 GC, and not exactly a guy who might win a stage either.


----------



## moonmoth (Nov 8, 2008)

Eric_H said:


> My money is on Maaskant, he has ridden the Tour twice and knows his role. He also showed good form at the Tour de Suisse.


He (and Van Summeren) also know the cobbles and northern Euro roads well, and could help keep VdV and Farrar out of trouble in the opening stages.

Agree with you on Danielson, likely no TdF for him but I'm sure he'll get the Vuelta again as a consolation.


----------



## coop (Jun 8, 2008)

Tommy D tweeted that he's hanging out with the family, didn't say where but I'd bet CO. My final 9. VDV, Farrar, Millar, Hesjedal, DZ, Dean, Hunter, Maskaant, Van S.


----------



## moonmoth (Nov 8, 2008)

Masskant it was! Here's the official Garmin lineup: 

* Tyler Farrar (USA)
* Christian Vande Velde (USA)
* Julian Dean (NZL)
* Ryder Hesjedal (Can)
* Robert Hunter (RSA)
* Martin Maaskant (Ned)
* David Millar (GBR)
* Johan Van Sumeren (Bel)
* Dave Zabriskie (USA)


----------



## JSR (Feb 27, 2006)

That's a good looking squad. I have to admit, though, that when Velonews calls Millar the team's "road captain" I kind of cringe. He's not the most level-headed guy in the peloton.

JR


----------



## coop (Jun 8, 2008)

That squad tells me that they're not really putting too much faith in VDV for anything more than getting into the top10. It's all about Farrar and breaks. If Garmin thought that VDV had a chance to fight for the podium, they would have brought another climber. No offense to the rest of the squad, but Hesjedal is the only guy on the squad who has a track record of being around in the big mountains. Zabriskie may surprise and stick his head into the wind for awhile, but Millar is delusional to think he's a climber.


----------



## coop (Jun 8, 2008)

VDV's performance today pretty much settles it. Garmin doesn't really have any GC aspirations this year unless they want to let DZ or Ryder have a go and see what they can do. It's all about Farrar and the Green Jersey. Hope he gets it!


----------

