Cannondale-Garmin unveils 2015 line-up

Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling has been confirmed as the name of the team formed through the merger of US WorldTour outfit Garmin-Sharp and its Italian counterpart, Cannondale Pro Cycling.

Dan Martin and Ryder Hesjedal remain the star names in the team whose licence will be held by Garmin-Sharp’s management company, Slipstream Sports, but otherwise there is a strong focus on up-and-coming names among the complement of 27 riders.

Those include the Italian, Moreno Moser, who won Strade Bianche from Cannondale team met Peter Sagan – now headed to Tinkoff-Saxo – in 2012 – plus Garmin-Sharp rider Dylan Van Baarle, surprise winner of September’s Tour of Britain.

As part of the merger, title sponsor Cannondale has taken a stake in the management company, although Jonathan Vaughters remains CEO of Slipstream Sports as well as the team itself.

He said: “I’m very excited about our 2015 team. We began as a small group with the mission of developing young riders and we have stayed true to that mission year after year, even as we have grown. 2015 is our youngest group of athletes yet, and it’s also young in that it’s a new team, and we have joined forces with Cannondale.

“That gives us huge opportunities. What you can expect to see is an extremely talented group of young riders who will benefit greatly from the leadership and guidance of more experienced guys like [Sebastian] Langeveld, Martin, Hesjedal and [Andrew} Talansky.

“This is a team that will come into racing with a lot of enthusiasm and spirit, and will rely on teamwork, tactics, perseverance and creativity to give great performances.”

Charly Wegelius stays on as sports director. He said: “Anytime you have the benefit of youth and experience, you are poised for growth and opportunity.

“Every rider on this team is capable of greatness, and together as a team, we have huge potential.

“Our goal will be to harness that potential, relying on our more experienced guys, to create a very exciting year.”

Team Sky recently undertook a team-building exercise with the help of British Sailing, and Cannondale-Garmin are also taking to the water.

However, their location may prove to be more clement than the waters off Portland Bill at this time of year.

Vaughters said: “Like cycling, sailing is a team sport.

“The idea with sailing and living on the boats is to take these guys totally out of their comfort zone and get to know each other and work together under difficult circumstances.

“For many if not most, this will be a totally foreign activity – so they will need to support each other just as they will all season during races.”

Here is Cannondale-Garmin Pro Cycling’s roster for 2015:

Janier Acevedo
Jack Bauer
Alberto Bettiol
Nathan Brown
André Cardoso
Tom Danielson
Joe Dombrowski
Davide Formolo
Nathan Haas
Lasse Hansen
Ryder Hesjedal
Alex Howes
Ben King
Ted King
Kristjian Koren
Sebastian Langeveld
Alan Marangoni
Dan Martin
Matej Mohoric
Moreno Moser
Ramunas Navardauskas
Kristoffer Skjerping
Tom Jelte Slagter
Andrew Talansky
Dylan Van Baarle
Davide Villella
Ruben Zepuntke