20 February 2017, Santa Rosa, California (USA)
Tejay van Garderen will make his 2017 debut this week when he headlines BMC Racing Team’s eight-rider roster at the UCI World Tour race, Abu Dhabi Tour.
Sports Director Jackson Stewart said that BMC Racing Team is taking a competitive team to the four-day stage race.
“With Abu Dhabi Tour now part of the UCI World Tour, there will be added pressure for everyone however we have a strong team surrounding van Garderen, who, as always, has prepared well for the season ahead.”
“Nicolas Roche, who was second here last year, and Samuel Sánchez, have both shown early season form and will be able to play a crucial support role on the steeper stage or step up if needed. We have already seen some fast finishes in Dubai and Oman, so I think we can expect that here too. Our team is definitely up to the challenge, and each rider is capable of aggressive racing when it makes sense.”
For van Garderen, this is the first opportunity of the year to put his off-season training to the test.
“I’m excited to get my 2017 season underway at Abu Dhabi Tour. It will be a very competitive race, especially as there are also UCI World Tour points on the line this year. I’ve worked hard this winter, and I hope to be able to prove this and to be up there on the General Classification.”
Abu Dhabi Tour (23 – 26 February)
Rider Roster: Alessandro De Marchi (ITA), Manuel Quinziato (ITA), Nicolas Roche (IRL), Samuel Sánchez (ESP), Manuel Senni (ITA), Dylan Teuns (BEL), Tejay van Garderen (USA), Loïc Vliegen (BEL)
Sports Directors: Jackson Stewart (USA), Max Sciandri (ITA)
