Belgian could guide team in Classics
After yesterday’s disclosure that Peter Van Petegem may be in the running for a directeur sportif role on the Garmin-Cervélo team, another former Classic winner Eric Van Lancker has said that he is being considered for such a role.
“I certainly have something to teach the team,” the former Lotto manager told Het Nieuwsblad. “I have indeed spoken with team manager Jonathan Vaughters. He thinks I can play a role in the whole spring, to Liège-Bastogne-Liège. I see such a job.”
The 49 year old Belgian was a professional between 1984 and 1996, competing with teams such as Panasonic, Festina and WordPerfect. His wins include Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Amstel Gold Race and the Wincanton Classic, as well as stages in the Giro d’Italia, the Tour de Suisse, Paris-Nice, the Tour of Belgium and the Vuelta al País Vasco.
“I was at Lotto until 2006 and the following year, I worked at Navigators, which has since stopped. Now I work for the Flemish Cycling school, but I think I can bring something to Garmin,” he said.
Vaughters is currently looking to fill a gap left after the sacking of Matt White from the team. He was dismissed in January after he broke team policy by referring a rider, Trent Lowe, to a doctor who had not been approved by management.
Van Petegem is, like Van Lancker, a Belgian who has taken several important pro victories. He was reported yesterday as saying that he had also been in talks with the team. “I first spoke to Jonathan Vaughters in Paris,” he told Het Nieuwsblad. “There he proposed to me that I might like to guide Hushovd in the early season Flemish Classics.”
He added that he had been offered a role spanning the entire season, but would have to weigh it up because of other commitments.
It is not clear if the team could take both Van Petegem and Van Lancker on, or if it would be the case of one or the other.
The Garmin-Cervélo team is set to have an increased emphasis on the Classics this season. Tyler Farrar and other riders are continuing to develop and improve, while seven riders have come across from the Cervélo Test Team. These include world champion Thor Hushovd and today’s Tour of Qatar stage winner Heinrich Haussler.
The American ProTour team is the most successful thus far of 2011. It has taken seven wins at all, including three by Cameron Meyer (stage and overall in Tour Down Under, national TT championships), two by Tyler Farrar (Trofeo Cala Millor and Trofeo Palma de Mallorca), today’s stage win by Haussler and Jack Bobridge’s national road race title.