Five new additions to Garmin-Sharp team for 2013

Nuyens, Morton, Von Hoff, Fairly and Dennis come on board

Former Tour of Flanders winner Nick Nuyens is the oldest and most experienced of five new signings for the Garmin-Sharp team in 2013, with the additions adding new firepower to the American squad.

The WorldTour team today confirmed its complete 29 man lineup for 2013, with Nuyens, Lachlan Morton, Steele Von Hoff, Rohan Dennis and Caleb Fairly all coming on board.

Nuyens’ signing comes over a year and a half after he won the Ronde van Vlaanderen, and follows a frustrating 2012 season. He crashed during the opening time trial in Paris-Nice in March, fracturing his hip, and had to have surgery in September in order to correct lingering issues.

Dennis is regarded as one of Australian cycling’s best young talents and the 22 year old’s acquisition by the team is a major plus for Garmin-Sharp. The Jayco AIS rider won the Under 23 road and time trial titles at the 2012 Australian nationals, was first overall in the Thuringen Rundfarht and placed a superb fifth overall in the Santos Tour Down Under. He also won the best young rider and best climber classifications in the latter.

Morton is seen as another star for the future and has spent the past two seasons as a rider with the Chipotle squad, Garmin – Sharp’s development team. The 20 year old Australian has shown flashes of excellence and rode well as a stagiaire with the WorldTour team this autumn.

Von Hoff was with the Chipotle team for a year and also proved his worth on a trial with the top squad in the autumn. He was second to world champion Mark Cavendish on stage four of the Tour of Britain, was third on a stage of the Tour of Britain and placed sixth in the World Ports Classic.

In an interview this month with VeloNation, he made clear that he was pleased with how things went in 2012 and that he is looking forward to stepping up a level in the months ahead.

The fifth new signing also has experience of the team, with Caleb Fairly having ridden as a stagiaire in the autumn of 2010. However he moved to the HTC Highroad team instead and after a year with the SpiderTech C10 squad, he’s pleased to return to Jonathan Vaughters’ setup.

Vaughters commented on what will be the youngest-ever team Garmin – Sharp has fielded, saying that the American squad wants to continue picking up pace. “We had our strongest season in the history of the team in 2012, with our first Grand Tour win at the Giro,” he said. “We’ll be looking to build on that success in 2013.

“Our roster has an outstanding mix of new and returning riders, but with a focus on the next generation of riders. Slipstream’s roots are in developing young talent and with additions like Rohan Dennis, Lachlan Morton and the return of Caleb Fairly, we’re poised to continue that tradition and fortify the future of cycling.”

Many of the big names remain from the 2012 season, including the team’s first Grad Tour winner. “Canadian Ryder Hesjedal is eager to defend his Giro d’Italia title,” stated the team, “Andrew Talansky and Dan Martin are poised to continue their strong stage race results, Tyler Farrar is the man for the sprint finishes and all of the ‘argyle armada’ will be ready to take up the mantle in the year to come.”

Also returning are Christian Vande Velde, Dave Zabriskie and Tom Danielson. The three experienced riders are currently suspended from racing due to their admissions in the USADA investigation into the US Postal Service team. They are eligible to return to racing in March and will don the team jersey once again.

Garmin – Sharp roster for 2013:

* New signings
** Currently suspended, can race again in March 2013

Also see:

Lachlan Morton Interview: Big name to watch
Steele Von Hoff Interview: Garmin-Sharp’s new signing gunning to show his speed
Caleb Fairly Interview: Second chance at Garmin-Sharp for psyched Texan