Tour de France Maillot Vert contender Tyler Farrar will get his season underway in just over a week’s time when he and six other Garmin-Cervélo riders line out in the Santos Tour Down Under. The race will mark the 2011 debut for the American, although the other riders from the squad have already been competing in the Southern-hemisphere.
Farrar’s companions for the race will be the Australians Jack Bobridge, Brett Lancaster, the brothers Cameron and Travis Meyer and Matt Wilson. Former New Zealand road race champion Julian Dean is also scheduled to take part and is likely to fill a leadout role for Farrar.
The seven riders will take part in the Adelaide Cancer Council Classic on January 16th, using the traditional warm-up event to put the finishing touches to their form. Two days later they will begin stage one of the Santos Tour Down Under, beginning the American ProTeam’s bid for its first victories of what promises to be a very big season for the team.
“I’m excited to kick off my 2011 season at the Tour Down Under," said Farrar, who is full of motivation after his off-season break and subsequent training. “It’s a great race and the worlds best will be there competing – I’m proud to be a part of it. We’ll be bringing a strong team to Australia and we’ll be looking at all kinds of opportunities.”
Farrar will have plenty of strong support, with the team likely to put all their efforts into supporting him in the race. He will be up against the same big sprint rivals that he will take on in the Tour de France, namely Mark Cavendish (HTC Highroad), André Greipel (Omega Pharma Lotto), Robbie McEwen (Team RadioShack), Allan Davis (Astana) and others. Greipel and Davis have won the past three titles between them, but Farrar would love to spoil the party in 2011.
“We are proud and excited to bring Tyler, one of the worlds best sprinters, along with a great team, to the Tour Down Under,” said Matt White, Competition Director for Team Garmin-Transitions. “As usual, we will look to animate the race and we're confident that with Tyler and the rest of our squad, we'll do just that."
The overall team features its strongest-ever lineup in 2011, with an influx of successful riders from the Cervélo Test Team plus the maturation of young Garmin Transitions riders from 2010 combining to form a squad that could challenge for the world number one slot. That’s the goal of team CEO Jonathan Vaughters and a successful performance in the Santos Tour Down Under would be a perfect start.
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Team Garmin-Cervélo for Santos Tour Down Under:
Jack Bobridge (AUS)
Julian Dean (NZ)
Tyler Farrar (USA)
Brett Lancaster (AUS)
Cameron Meyer (AUS)
Travis Meyer (AUS)
Matt Wilson (AUS)