With Garmin-Cervélo’s 2012 launch taking place in five days time, Dutch rider Thomas Dekker looks to be moving closer to signing with the team for next season. According to De Telegraaf, he will attend the team’s training camp in Boulder next week and is hopeful that he will return to the UCI WorldTour with it next year.
Although Dekker served a long suspension for EPO use, team manager Jonathan Vaughters has said that he wants to give the rider another chance providing he can show that he is now racing clean.
The 27 year old has competed with the team’s development squad this season, Chipotle Sugarlabs. While his results have been mixed, he won the Duo Normand time trial with Paris-Roubaix champion Johan Vansummeren.
He had hoped to contend in the Chrono des Nations but crashed in the run up to that time trial, injuring his coccyx. As a result he missed the race against the clock.
Meanwhile the team’s top-ranked rider on the UCI rankings, Dan Martin, will miss the team presentation due to a clash in dates. The Irishman is currently in South Africa where he will attend the wedding of Daryl Impey, a close friend from the peloton and fellow Girona resident.
Martin won a stage and finished thirteenth overall in the Vuelta a España this year, with his other WorldTour results including second in the Tour de Pologne, second in the Giro di Lombardia and third in the Volta a Catalunya.
Although he didn’t ride the Tour de France, the points picked up in other races ensured he finished ninth in the 2011 WorldTour rankings.
Martin told VeloNation in a recent video interview that he believes Classic wins and Grand Tour podium finishes are realistic career targets.