Confirming today’s earlier news that Peter Van Petegem has signed a short-term contract with the Garmin-Cervélo Team, CEO Jonathan Vaughters has said that the former Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix winner will be a very important addition to the team’s staff this spring.
Van Petegem is one of the few riders two win both Northern Classics in the same season and has a huge amount of experience in racing on the cobbles. Vaughters has high hopes that Garmin-Cervélo can win one or both of the races this year, not least because of the addition of world champion Thor Hushovd and Milan-Sanremo runner-up Heinrich Haussler, plus Classics specialists Andreas Klier, Roger Hammond and Gabriel Rasch to the team. They all races with the Cervélo Test Team in 2010.
With Tyler Farrar, Martin Maaskant and others already part of the lineup, the squad will have arguably the greatest strength in depth of all the ProTeams when it comes to those two races. Van Petegem will give important strategic input.
“We’ve said all along that we've wanted to become stronger in the Classics and now we're coming 2011 with one of the strongest Classics line-ups in the peloton, with one of the best advisors,” said Vaughters today. “Having never ridden the Cobbled Classics myself, I thought it was important to have someone else in the car with that experience. Van Petegem’s expertise on the roads, the tactics, the equipment and Classics strategy will be invaluable for us as a group.”
Vaughters is temporarily taking over the head directeur sportif role after the departure of Matt White. The team is expected to recruit someone to that slot later this season but, for now, Van Petegem and Vaughters will oversee the riders.
Van Petegem will come on board before Milan-Sanremo and stay until after the cobbled Classics in April. “I am very excited to work with such a talented group of riders,” he explained. “I am sure that our combined expertise will strengthen the team and I can’t wait to get back on the road with Team Garmin-Cervélo.”
The team has had its most successful season start ever, clocking up nine wins since the start of the year.