Seven months after the departure of Matt White from Garmin-Cervélo, the team has announced that it has signed up fellow Australian Allan Peiper to play a similar role with the team next season. The former pro will move across to the team from the HTC Highroad setup, with which he worked for several years, and which will wind down at the end of this season.
“Garmin-Cervélo is a team that has had a lot of success, and more importantly, I share their philosophy on sport and innovation,” he said today. “They've always been at the forefront of change in the sport, and I respect that immensely.”
White’s role was taken over on a temporary basis by team CEO Jonathan Vaughters, who said he would hold the position until a replacement was found. He was aided during the northern Classics by Peter Van Petegem, who guided the riders during Paris-Roubaix, the Tour of Flanders and other events, and by Erik Van Lancker, who took over for the Ardennes Classics.
Now he has found a longer-term replacement. “We are thrilled that Allan will be working with us starting in 2012,” said Jonathan Vaughters, CEO, Slipstream Sports, suggesting it is a multi-year role. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for what he's accomplished, and I am excited by the experience he will bring to our team.”
Peiper was a professional between 1983 and 1992, competing with the Peugeot, Panasonic and Tulip teams. His career highlights include prologue victories in Paris-Nice and the Dauphiné Libéré races, as well as stage wins in the Giro d’Italia, Nissan Classic and Tour of Britain.
His title will be Director of Competition, and the team said that he would work ‘hand in hand’ with Vaughters plus the team’s directeurs sportifs.
“I have had many great experiences over the last few years and I've learned a lot,” he said. “I am very thankful for that and I look forward to this new chapter. For me, coming from a team that shares the same ideals makes this an ideal move."
The Garmin-Cervélo team has had its best-ever season, with its victories including Paris-Roubaix plus four stage wins in the Tour de France. It also won the team classification there, held yellow for a week with Thor Hushovd and placed Tom Danielson in the top ten.