American BMC Racing Team riders look to 2012
American trio Taylor Phinney, Tejay Van Garderen and George Hincapie are counting down the weeks until the 2012 season begins, with new addition Van Garderen joining the other two in the BMC Racing Team lineup.
The two younger riders can expect to move up a level this season, with Phinney heading into his second year as a pro and Van Garderen ready to build on his time with the HTC Highroad squad. They are just 21 and23 respectively, and typically should keep improving for several more years.
Phinney admitted midway through last season that he had been underprepared and didn’t work hard enough during his first few months with the team; he’s determined to do things differently this time round.
“I’m really looking forward to a solid year and am excited to ride with the new guys – especially Thor [Hushovd], [Philippe] Gilbert and my good friend, Tejay, whom I had as a team-mate as a junior,” he said. “I made a few mistakes last year and had some injuries, but I’m hoping to be ready to go. I really want to show my stuff and prove my worth to the team this year.”
Despite those errors, his first season was still a very promising one. He won the prologue of the Eneco Tour and finished fourth overall, was second in the prologue of the Tour de Romandie, fourth in the time trial in the Tour of Austria and fifth on the stage ten TT in the Vuelta a España, his first Grand Tour.
Van Garderen is another big talent for the future, as evidenced both by his third place overall in the 2010 Critérium du Dauphiné and his performances this year. He was second in the Volta ao Algarve and in the prologue of the Tour de Suisse, won the stage 3 TT in the Tour of Utah, was third overall in the USA Pro Cycling Challenge and fifth in the Tour of California. He was also best young rider in the latter two.
Big wins appear likely in 2012, but he has put the focus on aiding others. “I’m really excited to help out the team however I can,” he explained. “Hopefully I’ll get to help Gilbert out in the Ardennes Classics and I want to make the team for the Tour to help out Cadel in the high mountains.”
Hincapie is at the other end of the scale, nearing the end of his career while the other two are starting. He’s about to start his nineteenth pro season and will set a new record for Tour participation if he’s at the Grand Depart. He’d be the only rider in history to start the race seventeen times.
“My career is a lot longer than I could have imagined,” he said, looking back. “I’ve learned not to take anything for granted in the sport I love. That’s probably why I’ve been able to do it so long.”