Tejay van Garderen has had two of his bikes stolen from a storage unit near his home in the United States, both of which are prized possessions. 

The American is in the process of moving to Denver, Colorado, so stored his bikes with other belongings in the unit while he settled in to his new house. However, thieves broke into the storage unit, stealing what they could.

Van Garderen posted four days ago that a five-year anniversary gift from his wife, a custom titanium bike built from his first sponsor Strong Frames, was stolen from the storage unit.

He said on Instagram: "If anyone in the Denver area sees this bike, has this bike, wants to return it, I will offer a reward no questions asked.

"You can recognize it easily with the V (for 5 year anniversary), with my wedding date written in Roman numerals. It has a picture of Mt. Daly (the mountain we named my youngest daughter after). An R for Rylan, my first born, with Roman numerals of her birthday, as well as a heart shaped picture by Rylan, saying 'go Dadda go.'

"Out of everything that was stolen, I really want this back! Please."

The 33-year-old then posted on Instagram again yesterday, highlighting that a second bike, the one he rode when he won the white jersey for best young rider at the Tour de France in 2012, was also taken. 

He said: "This bike was also stolen. Only rode it one time, I bet you can guess when. Still has (had) the race number on it. Would be nice to get this one back too."

Van Garderen rode for BMC Racing Team between 2012 and 2018, before finishing his career at EF Education-Nippo, where he retired this year. He will stay on with the team as a sports director in 2022. 

During his career, Van Garderen won a stage on the 2017 Giro d'Italia, both the 2013 and 2014 USA Pro Cycling Challenge, and the 2013 Tour of California. He retired after finishing third in the time trial at the USA National Road Championships.

Tejay van Garderen has announced he will become a sports director with his team EF Education-Nippo in 2022.

The American retired in June after the US National Championships, having felt at the Giro d'Italia he could no longer perform at the level he wanted to, calling time on a professional career that began in 2008.

“At the Giro, I spoke to Matti Breschel and he was the one telling me, ‘If opportunities come, say yes. You might think you want to take a year off and figure things out but opportunities don’t come very often.’” Van Garderen said. “It all happened really fast. I almost still can’t believe I’m not a bike racer anymore but I’m really excited with the direction everything’s taken.”

During his career, Van Garderen won the Tour of California, in 2013, and twice finished in the top five of the Tour de France.

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“When you’re a bike racer, you think, ‘Once I’m done racing I’m just going to put the sport behind me’ and start the next chapter. But when I was facing my own cycling mortality, I realised I’m still not done with the sport," Van Garderen explained. "I want to stay involved, I want to stay connected, I want to be with the guys and help in any way I can and if I can’t help with my legs anymore, then I want to help with my mind and my experience. Being a director, that’s the best way to do it.

“I’ve crashed out of a big event, I’ve had a few pretty epic fails, so I’d probably be the perfect guy to talk them through it and say, ‘This happens to everyone, don’t let it define you.’”

Van Garderen will start learning the ropes as soon as the 2021 Vuelta a España, where he will shadow the team ahead of stepping up to the full sports director role next season.

Tejay van Garderen will retire from professional cycling this weekend, saying that he is unable to ride with the best in the world anymore.

In an unexpected announcement, the EF Education-Nippo rider confirmed that this weekend’s US National Championships will be his final race of a professional career that began in 2008.

The 32-year-old most recently rode the Giro d’Italia in support of Hugh Carthy, and it was during the Grand Tour that he came to the decision to bring his career to an end.

“The honest truth is that I don’t feel super effective as a bike racer anymore,” he told his team’s website.

“Once your ability starts to be less than it was, you have to find a way to make yourself effective.

“I was really motivated by the rise of Hugh Carthy, and I wanted to be able to mentor him and help him.

“I said, ‘Okay, I’m still a good climber. Maybe I can stay with him in the high mountains and give him support.’

“But the truth is I wasn’t able to just climb into a group of the 20 best anymore, to be able to give a leader like Hugh support in the high mountains.

 “So I was riding around thinking, well, what do I do? How am I effective in the race? I really took a good, honest look in the mirror and said, 'Well, if you have eight people to fill a roster, I could name eight people that would serve a purpose better than I could serve that purpose'.”

Van Garderen twice finished fifth at the Tour de France and back in 2012 was identified as the most likely threat to Bradley Wiggins’ successful attempt to win the race.

The American won a stage of the Giro in 2017 and also won the 2013 Tour of California. In total, he claimed 16 professional wins.

He admitted that he didn’t perhaps reach the heights expected of him, but he can leave the sport satisfied with what he did.

He added: “I can understand why a lot of people are probably going to be left wanting more because they saw the results I achieved at a really young age.

“I stayed consistent for a number of years at a high level, but I never really broke through to that next level. That’s what people wanted to see. I understand that. That’s okay for them to want because people like their winners.

 “I’m extremely proud of everything I accomplished in my career. I know personally how hard I worked to achieve what I’ve achieved, and I know what level I was able to hit. Results aside, I know that I got the best out of myself. 

“I wish there were times that I had got to that level just a bit more often or more frequently. But, I know what level I was able to hit. I’m certainly happy with what I’ve done.”

The US Nationals are taking place in Knoxville, Tennessee where Van Garderen will be aiming to claim the stars and stripes for the first time.

Tejay van Garderen (EF Education First) has revealed he is set to play a support role for team-mate Rigoberto Uran at this year's Tour de France.

"I was pleased to have everything just come together and feel like I had good form in California," van Garderen said, "but I had bad luck with the crash which affected me a bit in the closing days and I couldn’t quite close it out.

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"So to finally do that at the Dauphiné, I was able to capitalise on some good form."

The former Tour de France white jersey winner has made his mark on new team EF Education First, which he moved to from the now defunct BMC team last year.

"It’s been tremendous, I’ve enjoyed all the riders and all the staff. It’s a lot different from BMC but at the end of the day the goals and the missions are the same and that is to get out there and win bike races," the American said.

Despite a stirring performance at the 2019 Critérium du Dauphiné where he finished second, 20 seconds down on Jakob Fuglsang (Astana), the American will have to play second fiddle and support Rigoberto Uran who will be the team's designated leader.

"We have a lot of faith in him [Uran] and believe he can have a good ride. But we are going to have multiple goals going into the Tour," van Garderen said.

"The first one being the stage two team time trial and then Michael Woods is really good at jumping in breakaways and racing really aggressively. I think he showed last year at the Vuelta a España that he can win a big summit finish from the breakaway but also offer really good climbing support for Rigo."

Rigoberto Uran finished second to Chris Froome (Ineos) at the 2017 Tour de France by only 54 seconds, his highest ever placing in the French Grand Tour. The Colombian also finished runner up at the Giro d'Italia for two consecutive years, in 2013 and 2014.

Van Garderen continued: "There will be opportunities for everyone at the Tour with the main goal being placing Rigo as high as we can. The one thing that is always predictable about the Tour is how unpredictable it is, you’ve got to be ready for all scenarios and just adapt. I think we are lucky to have a team as we do and a leader as strong as Rigo."

Currently based at altitude in Andorra, van Garderen will head to Girona in the coming days to link up with his EF Education First team-mates for a team time trial camp, a major early target for the team.

"We definitely have the riders, equipment and the motivation to pull out a good one, which will certainly put us in the hunt and anything can happen on the day," van Garderen said, "so we just have to go with the idea that we have the chance to win and then if we can win then that would start the Tour off on such a positive note and get the ball rolling."

The peloton was resigned to a controversial UCI ruling that saw Tejay van Garderen dismissed and then reinstated multiple times as Tour of California race leader on Wednesday.

International UCI officials deliberated at length in the immediate aftermath of the crash-marred fourth stage in which the 3km rule was effectively stretched to include the American and erase his time deficit.

>>> Controversy at Tour of California as Tejay van Garderen allowed to keep leader’s jersey despite losing time

Van Garderen (EF Education First) was chasing back from a crash and off-course incident, in sight of but not with the peloton when a mass pile-up in the bunch just outside of 3km to go blocked the road and delayed him further.

Speaking before the start of stage five on Thursday, the 30-year-old said he had been as confused as everyone else.

“To me I thought that’s the nail in the coffin, I’m going to lose the jersey. But they awarded those guys the same time and I think they thought it was only fair that they gave me the same time,” he said.

“As I was showering, they [UCI judges] said you need to hurry because you need to go to podium, you still have the jersey. And then before I even got out of the shower they came in again and said actually they changed their mind. Then as I was getting dressed, they said no you’re back in yellow.”

Kasper Asgreen (Deceuninck-Quick-Step) had been provisionally declared the new race leader after stage four. A team spokesman declined to comment but sports director Wilfred Peeters did protest.

Jumbo-Visma climber George Bennett sympathised with EF Education First’s position but also questioned the UCI’s logic that he suggested undermined the costly work of his team.

“I think that was a crazy decision because it sets a dangerous precedent. I just think, like today, I can roll in at that back and if something goes wrong in the last 8km I’m safe. That’s good to know that’s going to be the way forward,” Bennett said dryly.

The 2017 tour champion’s view was compounded after he lost key team-mate Timo Roosen to the crash. Roosen was hospitalised last night and did not start stage five along with David de la Cruz (Ineos), who was also injured in it.

“The other thing is I knew how hard that finish was and how dangerous it was as we’ve done it before, so I burnt my whole team to put me on the front,” Bennett continued.

“At one stage I was even riding on the front at 3km to go. I lost a man because of it. He broke his collarbone risking to help me be at the front. We really put all our energy into it and it’s not a coincidence, it wasn’t lucky that I was at the front, it was because I was good at that kind of thing."

Fellow overall contender Richie Porte (Trek-Segafredo) understood both sides.

“I’ve seen it before in the Giro 2015 and Paris-Nice 2015. It’s I guess the commissaires’ discretion and it’s just how it is. But at the same time Tejay is a good friend and I wouldn’t like to see him lose a race because there is an unfortunate incident like that,” Porte said.

Ineos sports director Brett Lancaster agreed, after his rider Gianni Moscon, who suffered skin abrasions in the crash, maintained his top three position on the general classification.

“They made their decision and there is no point complaining now you can’t change anything,” said Lancaster.

Van Garderen leads the Tour of California ahead of the penultimate stage to Mt Baldy tomorrow, which will likely decide the race. Asgreen collected an intermediate prime to move from third to second overall ahead of Moscon following stage five.

EF Education First-Drapac have confirmed the signing of Tejay van Garderen from BMC Racing for 2019.

The American has spent the last seven seasons with BMC, having joined with the prospect of being a future Grand Tour winner in the making.

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Van Garderen finished fifth twice at the Tour de France in his time with the team in 2012 and 2014, but failed to push on in general classification contention after that.

He took a stage win at the Giro d'Italia in 2017 after falling out the overall fight, but has enjoyed GC success with an overall win at the Tour of California in 2013.

The 29-year-old will now move on to what he called "America's team" with the American registered BMC squad combining with Polish out CCC Sprandi for next season.

Van Garderen said it was a "necessary" change and that he needed "a fresh environment, fresh faces, some new ideas" to help rejuvenate his career.

“I’m looking forward to being a part of ‘America’s’ team,’’ van Garderen said.

“I’m certainly not a young rider anymore, but I’m still way too young to be put out to pasture. I’ve had some good results, some ups and downs, and I’m still interested in exploring the capacity of what I have to give, however that translates.

"Whether it’s helping a teammate or grabbing results for myself. Whether it’s Grand Tours or one-week stage races. I still think there’s a lot more I can offer.

“I think it was a necessary thing to do,” van Garderen added.

“I’m definitely going to look back on my years on BMC positively. I’ve accomplished a lot with that team. But at a certain point sometimes you just need a fresh environment, fresh faces, some new ideas."

Team CEO Jonathan Vaughters, who has known van Garderen since he was a junior, believes the team can help him add to his 15 professional career wins, which include stages at the Tour de Suisse and Volta a Catalunya, in a similar way to how they've handled riders like Ryder Hesjedal, Christian Vande Velde and Rigoberto Uran who all improved in the latter part of their careers.

“Tejay exhibited incredible potential in his younger years. He’s been riding under very high pressure for years as he was pegged as America’s next great cyclist. That’s been tough billing to live up to, and it would have been for anyone," Vaughters said.

“We’ve shown a long and successful history of taking underrated riders later in their careers and pulling out the best of them in the second half of their careers.

“Hopefully we’re able to do that with Tejay, too, using a fun, grounded approach toward racing.”

Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing) has been forced to pull out of Paris-Nice following two crashes on the opening stage, the second of which involved another team car.

Van Garderen crashed twice in wet conditions on the 135km stage one between Chatou and Meudon, the first being a run-of-the-mill crash with other riders fighting for position, before a more serious crash after the American crashed into the back of a stationary team car while looking down to examine the damage to his bike.

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"The initial crash wasn't so bad," van Garderen explained. "It was on a wide road when everyone was fighting for position and my tire was caught on a lip. The roads were wet and my wheel slipped out.

"I was able to get back up, and get going but I had trouble putting my chain back on and I noticed other damage with my gears and a puncture, so I thought I would have to change bikes.

"I was looking down to see what the damage was and next thing I knew I was on the ground as I had crashed into the back of a team car that had stopped on the road. I don't know if anyone was at fault as they had stopped for their rider."

Watch: Paris-Nice stage one highlights

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmcRJI1C8To

Van Garderen was immediately taken to hospital following the second crash, where x-rays revealed a cervical sprain (a sprain in the upper spine), but no fractures or concussion.

BMC Racing doctor Dr Michel Cerfontaine said that the 29-year-old will be able to resume training in three to four days, before undergoing another x-ray next week to see how the injury is healing.

In a BMC press release on Sunday evening, van Garderen said that race medics had examined him for concussion after the crash, but that he had realised fairly quickly that he hadn't sustained any serious injuries and was disappointed to not be able to continue.

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"I had the wind knocked out of me and I couldn't breathe. I also had pain in my upper back and neck so I couldn't really sit up," van Garderen explained.

"When the medics arrived and saw my helmet smashed and that I was having trouble breathing, they put me straight into the ambulance. After a few minutes, I realized it wasn't so bad.

"The medics went through some concussion protocols and I didn't show any signs of concussion. Fortunately, X-rays showed no fractures.

"It's good to take precautions but in the end, maybe I could have been able to continue. I have pain in my neck and a bit of a headache, but I don't feel nauseous. Above all, I'm really disappointed. I had good form at Volta ao Algarve and I was hoping to be able to capitalise on that."

BMC Racing says that cool-headedness and some luck saved Tejay van Garderen's day on the Vuelta a España's stage six to Sagunt.

The American crashed, chased back on a broken frame, and crashed again – and stopped for a puncture – but only lost 20 seconds to Vuelta leader Chris Froome (Sky). Van Garderen, who began the day second at 10 seconds, currently sits fourth overall at 30 seconds.

"When you receive the information that a rider has crashed over race radio, you need to stay calm because after a crash it's normal that a rider will be nervous but you need to stay calm and talk slowly with the guys," BMC sports director Yvon Ledanois said.

Ledanois called van Garderen over the team radio when he heard about the crash at 37.1 kilometres to race.

Van Garderen said, "It's OK, I'm going" as he remounted his bicycle and took off to chase the leaders. He had been riding away alongside Froome in the slipstream of Alberto Contador's attacks.

When Ledanois caught up with Van Garderen, he ordered him to stop right away.

"I saw that the frame was broken and he was descending on it, so we said, 'Stop now stop now!' And we changed the bike."

It seems almost impossible to imagine that van Garden limited his damage to 20 seconds. However, because of Contador's violet efforts, many star riders were behind him when he crashed and remounted.

"In the next kilometres, I told him, don't worry that we would assess the situation after the descent. After the descent we looked at the gaps to the Froome group and thought about the plan," Ledanois continued.

"Nicholas Roche was in the front for us and he wasn't pulling and just staying in the wheels. In the group with Tejay, there were Steven Kruijswijk, Wout Poels and different teams were pulling. So it was not bad. Trentin was also there trying to pull David De La Cruz back."

Van Garderen whirled away on his trainer nearby this morning before stage seven. He smiled and looked over and made a joke. After stage six his mood was quiet different when he arrived to the bus on Roche's spare bike with his jersey ripped to pieces.

"He was unlucky yesterday because he had a puncture as well with five kilometres to go. His other bike was broken so he had to take Nicholas Roche's bike. It's more or less the same size and for three kilometres, is not a problem."

Watch: Vuelta a España stage six highlights

At that point, on his own, van Garderen worked his way through the slipstream of the team cars to re-join. The television never showed any of his chase and only flashed his time once, when was 1-12 minutes behind. When it did finally show him, he was sliding and falling while going around a roundabout.

"Everything was not bad given the bad circumstances. Only losing 20 to 30 seconds was fine. The most important thing yesterday after the first crash was that he had a group going and working. If no one worked with him then it would be a problem. If this is the worst day in the Vuelta for him, then we will take it."

Some may think that sticky bottles or magic spanners could have helped van Garderen re-join so quickly. Ledanois explained that they played by the rules.

"We respect the jury. I don't want our riders holding on to the cars. And we don't fix his bike as he's going along beside the car," added Ledanois.

"We have to respect the race because everybody remembers Vincenzo Nibali and team Astana from 2015.

"Tejay understands this and stayed group. And look at him today he's in a good mood smiling."

Tejay van Garderen and his BMC Racing team remain optimistic that he will recover to fight with the leaders in the Vuelta a España despite crashing twice in the sixth stage to Sagunt on Thursday.

The American fell near the top of the final climb with 37.1 kilometres to race. Some reports say that the road was raised at points due to tree roots underneath. Carlos Betancur (Movistar) fell with van Garderen.

"It was a bumpy road and I must have just hit something in my hand slipped off the bars," van Garderen explained after the stage. "It all happened kind of fast. I have to watch the video to really see how it happened but I don't want to watch the video! It will kind of be a mystery for me."

>>> Watch: Bizarre crash takes out Tejay van Garderen and Carlos Betancur at Vuelta a España

"I knew the [BMC team] car was going to be behind me and I had to get on the damaged bike. And I had to get a bike change but once I did that and we are off the descent, I thought now it's time to go into damage control."

Prior to the incident, van Garderen said that he was happy to be with the select group of favourites, including race leader Chris Froome (Team Sky).

"I felt great today and obviously the pace was very hard and I was on the limit but when I looked back and saw the selection being made that I was a part of it, I thought that was a good way to cement my spot on the GC."

>>> Five talking points from stage six of the Vuelta a España 2017

"I think I showed that I am good form and injury is minor. The legs are good and my morale's good. We will move forward and try to take advantage of any opportunity we get."

BMC sports director Yvon Ledanois told Cycling Weekly that van Garderen did well to limit his time loss.

"We are lucky because with two crashes we only lost 20 or 30 seconds to Froome," he said.

"OK, he would've been better if he didn't crash and finished in the front, but he's lucky because we didn't lose a lot of time in this crash. We need to see with the doctor, but it looks like he didn't fracture anything in it came out OK."

Van Garderen slipped again in a roundabout racing to trying to rejoin the lead group containing Froome. Amazingly, he only lost 20 seconds at the line. He fell from second overall at 10 seconds to fourth overall at 30.

The 29-year-old arrived to the team bus on Nicolas Roche's spare bike and with his jersey and shorts ripped in every imaginable spot.

"It's not the best scenario but hopefully crash is nothing much and he will be able to be up there again," Roche said.

"What happens tonight? I think that Tejay will be fine. It's not the first time that he has crashed. I'm pretty sure that he will be angry about it, but he only lost around 25 seconds.

"Today he was one of the very few that could follow both Contador and Froome. It was disappointing for him to lose that time, but I am pretty sure he will be up there for the rest of the week."

The race has only covered six of its 21 days and only one of its nine summit finishes so far. Also in van Garderen's favour, stage 16 features a 40.2-kilometre time trial.

"You saw the race today and you can imagine the race is far from finished. This was another hard stage and look at the results," Ledanois added.

"We know the race is not over yet. For sure, the first thing that important is that Tejay has not broken anything."

Stage six of the Vuelta a España saw a strange incident when Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing) and Carlos Betancur (Movistar) crashed on a seemingly innocuous stretch of road on a descent.

Footage of the incident is inconclusive as to what caused the crash, but it appears to have been some sort of defect in the road with two other riders having crashed at the same point.

Axel Domont (Ag2r La Mondiale) and Jesper Hansen (Astana) had already crashed on the same stretch of road on the descent of the second-category Puerto del Garbi with just under 40km to go in the stage.

Footage appears to show van Garderen, sitting in third wheel behind Chris Froome (Team Sky) and the Trek-Segafredo duo of Alberto Contador and Jarlinson Pantano, losing control of his bike, taking out Betancur, then crashing to the side of the road.

Van Garderen was the best-placed of the crashing riders going into the stage, in second place just 10 seconds behind race leader Froome.

Tejay van Garderen, Rohan Dennis and Samuel Sanchez have all been given free roles in the upcoming Vuelta a España after BMC announced their line up for the year's last Grand Tour.

In the same vein as their double pronged attack at the Giro d'Italia earlier this year, the American team has opted to keep their options open with the three riders.

Despite an early crash wiping Rohan Dennis from the Giro d'Italia and some tough racing dropping Van Garderen down the overall rankings, BMC managed some notable success with two stage wins in Silvan Dillier on stage six and van Gardern on stage 18.

The American rider hasn't finished the Vuelta since his debut appearance in 2010 where he finished 35th.

"It's a tough course with lots of steep uphill finishes that lends many different opportunities for attacks and an explosive style of racing" Van Garderen said.

He also spoke of his ambitions for overall. "I'd like to try and climb as high as possible on the general classification, and hopefully challenge for a stage victory" he said.

After crashing out of the Giro, Rohan Dennis missed the Tour de France but is now back with some "loose" objectives. "I am lining up at the Vuelta a España with a pretty loose general classification objective.

"My goals are going for some stage wins and hopefully I will be able to test myself in the mountain stages against the General Classification guys” he explained.

Spanish stalwart, Samuel Sanchez, will also be aiming for whatever he can get as he returns for his ninth Vuelta, a race he does quite well in recording six top-10s with no fewer than two podium finishes.

"We will have to live day by day as many stages will require superior mental and physical strength," Sanchez said.

"For me, this is a chance to forget last year’s bad experiences and do a good result this year."

Whether BMC will form a solid overall challenge remains to be seen but with a wealth of talent, the American team will be up for a fight when it comes to stage hunting.

BMC Racing Vuelta a España line up:

Damiano Caruso

Alessandro De Marchi

Rohan Dennis

Kilian Frankiny

Daniel Oss

Nicolas Roche

Samuel Sanchez

Tejay van Garderen

The Vuelta a España starts on August 19 in Nîmes, France running until September 10 2017 where it will finish in Madrid, Spain.

American Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing), winner of the Giro d'Italia's Dolomite stage to Ortisei on Thursday, refuses to give up on racing for classification in Grand Tours despite some recent hard times.

Van Garderen began the Giro for the first time after recent Tour de France disappointments as the team's overall classification leader.

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However, he slipped away as soon as the road tilted upwards. Stage 18's win from an escape group, climbing over three passes over 2000 metres, rejuvenated his hopes.

"I'm going to try again for the GC in a Grand Tour," van Garderen said.

"This is definitely a good feeling, but I know I can do a GC in a Grand Tour. I've done it before, there's no reason I can't do it again.”

The 28-year-old from Colorado placed fifth in the Tour de France early in his career with BMC in 2012.

He also took home the white jersey of best young rider that year and placed fifth again in 2014. Since, he has bad luck or bad legs.

"These past years haven't gone my way, but I'm going to try to get it back on track and fight again another day," van Garderen added.

"It feels good for me [to win a stage], it's good to know that I'm still capable of doing a ride like that. Now, I have to just put it all together over three weeks like I've done in the past, like I know I can do again."

Van Garderen says that he plans on riding the Vuelta a España later this summer, but not the Tour. He crashed and abandoned the 2015 Spanish tour and in 2016, abandoned "due to fatigue."

The team suggested this year that he refocuses on the Giro. Australian Richie Porte will lead the team in the Tour de France.

The stage win was his first in a Grand Tour and the first for a US cyclist since Chris Horner won two stages en route to the 2013 Vuelta a España overall title.

Van Garderen escaped early on in a group that included three Team Sky riders. He and Sky's Landa edged away on the final descent and rode together to Ortisei, where van Garderen sprinted ahead.

"What happened over past two weeks? That's a good question. I am going to try to figure that out over the next few weeks," he added.

"It's incredible to win. I came here with GC ambitions, and that didn't materialise, but I tried to keep the morale high. I'm eight years professional, first Grand Tour stage victory.

“It's emotional because I've had so many trials the past few years. Sometimes things go up, sometimes things go down. Today was definitely [up], and hopefully we can keep that trajectory."

Starting this Friday, May 5 six American riders and two Canadians from five different teams will be on the start line for the grande partenza of the 100th running of the Giro d’Italia in Alghero, Sardinia.

>>> Giro d’Italia odds: Who are the bookmakers tipping for victory?

For the BMC Racing Team, Tejay van Garderen will co-lead with Australian Rohan Dennis after finishing strong at the Tour de Romandie last week with a third in the final time trial, catapulting him into sixth overall by day’s end.

Van Garderen has never started the Giro, but will look for some success as he’s had disappointing Grand Tour performances at the Vuelta a España and Tour de France in the past few years.

Joey Rosskopf finished last year’s Giro in 85th and is coming off good climbing form that nabbed him fifth in the mountains classification at last week’s Tour de Yorkshire.

Van Garderen will look to him for support in the mountains during the final week of the race if he’s still in contention.

The Cannondale-Drapac squad hopes to build off a strong spring Classics campaign in the season’s first Grand Tour. They’re sending the young Joe Dombrowski and Alex Howes, competing in their second and first Giro’s respectively.

Dombrowski finished 34th in the general classification, 12th in the mountains jersey and fifth in the young riders competition as well as taking third on the penultimate, mountainous day into Sant'Anna di Vinadio in the 2016 edition.

The team is heading into the race without a designated leader, so this could be a great opportunity for Dombrowski to take the reins.

Canadian Michael Woods (Cannondale-Drapac) has had a very successful season thus far and will being ride in his first Grand Tour, likely with the opportunity to go for key stage wins.

Peter Stetina (Trek-Segafredo) will be riding in his fourth Giro since 2011. He finished 21st in the general classification that year and has slipped into a domestique role for the Dutch rider Bauke Mollema, who has his eyes set on an elusive Grand Tour podium in only his second Giro appearance.

The German registered Team Sunweb features American Chad Haga, starting his third consecutive Giro and riding in support of pink jersey hopeful Tom Dumoulin.

Canadian veteran Svein Tuft (Orica-Scott), riding in his sixth Giro, will assist the young sprinter Caleb Ewan seeking stage wins in the first week as well as help Adam Yates aim for the white jersey and top-10 in the general classification during the final, mountainous stages heading into Milan.

On wet roads in Aigle, Switzerland at the Tour de Romandie, Giro d’Italia hopeful Tejay van Garderen crashed during the 4.8km prologue.

>>> Former pro Phil Gaimon goes hunting for more Strava KOMs in latest ‘worst retirement ever’ video

Clearly frustrated after the finish of his brief ride today, van Garderen was witnessed throwing his helmet to the ground after returning to the BMC Racing team bus. Although this is not the end of his hopes for the overall title, it will require some work on his part to fight back into competition.

He finished 113th, 35 seconds down from the winner Fabio Felline (Trek-Segafredo).

His young Swiss teammate, Tom Bohil, had the best result for BMC finishing in eighth, just 10 seconds down. Australian Richie Porte finished only one second ahead of van Garderen in an overall disappointing opening day for the team.

This is not the first time van Garderen has had a difficult opening day at the Tour de Romandie.

In the 2014 edition, he fell hard in the 5.57km prologue in Ascona, ultimately finishing, albeit in last place and 3 minutes 51 seconds down from that day’s winner Michał Kwiatkowski (then riding for Omega Pharma - Quick-Step).

He fractured his hip in that crash, but initial reports suggest that today’s fall is much less serious and he should be able to continue the stage race tomorrow.

“Tejay van Garderen suffered some contusions on his hip, knee, and elbow as a result of his crash during today’s prologue,"  team doctor Dr. Dario Spinelli said.

"His injuries look only superficial at the moment, so we will keep an eye on them but I do not expect there to be any other problems as a result.”

Both Van Garderen and Porte will look to move up in the general classification during Wednesday’s mountainous stage one which features five categorized climbs and finishes in the small mountain village of Champéry.

Temperatures are predicted to drop and snowfall is anticipated above 2,500 feet which will make for challenging conditions for the second straight day.

“The road was really slippery, and on the third corner, Tejay van Garderen unfortunately crashed," sports director, Fabio Baldato said afterwards.

"There isn’t much more to say about it really. Everyone was at their limit, and it was a difficult point on the course.

"After that, though he recovered well and he was pulling back time quickly. For me, his condition looked strong, and his form was there, and it was just a shame that he crashed. But, this can happen to anyone.

"It’s all about taking risks, and sometimes you can pay. Right now, it looks like nothing serious which is good as we need Tejay.”

In what is quickly becoming an ongoing saga that shows no sign of abating, the Movistar rider who was at the centre of the pushing incident at the Volta a Catalunya says that BMC Racing's Tejay van Garderen should be disqualified from the race.

José Joaquin Rojas was caught on camera during Tuesday's team time trial pushing two of his teammates en route to the Spanish team crossing the line two seconds faster than their nearest challengers, BMC.

BMC were furious at infringement of rules - the UCI stipulate pushing in TTTs is not allowed - and after a series of mixed messages and mistranslation, they got their wish, with the whole Movistar squad being deducted at least a minute; Rojas had already had three minutes added onto his stage and overall time.

Van Garderen and his BMC colleagues hailed the "correct" decision, but Movistar were adamant that they had done nothing wrong, publishing a detailed response to their penalisation.

>>> Movistar say penalty imposed after Catalunya TTT ‘sets a dangerous precedent for the future’

But in yesterday's stage four, race leader van Garderen - who is well-placed with three days left to take the biggest GC victory of his career - was captured on camera taking his helmet off in the peloton to remove his cap.

Under UCI rules, such actions are forbidden and comes with a fine of 100 Swiss Francs and automatic qualification, something Rojas was keen to point out.

Van Garderen didn't rise to the bait, but Rojas was back again, tweeting the American the UCI rules, while also tagging the governing body in his post.

Today's fifth stage of the race held in Catalonia, Spain, concludes atop the 1,000m Lo Port (Tortosa). The summit finale will go along way in deciding the GC with just two days remaining afterwards.

After a difficult 2016 season that saw him finish 29th in the Tour de France and abandon the Vuelta a España, Tejay van Garderen has said that he is not surprised to find himself below Richie Porte in the BMC Racing pecking order.

The 28-year-old, who has twice finished fifth at the Tour in the past, will likely lead BMC at the Giro d’Italia in 2017, with Porte given the leadership in July.

>>> BMC: ‘We can win the Tour de France with Richie Porte’

“It didn’t come as a shock,” said the American about the meeting where team management told him he would not be leading at the Tour.

“It’s clear that Richie deserves his chance. It was expressed to me that for the Tour that Richie was going to be the sole leader, and I understood that and I’m ok with that.

“It was said to me in a positive way, like ‘take some time away to see what you want to do’, not ‘you’ve lost your position so this is what you’re left with’.”

Speaking at his team’s pre-season training camp in Spain, van Garderen sounded down about losing leadership for the Tour, but looked on the positive side when talking about his Giro prospects.

“The Giro’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a while, it just never worked out," he said.

“It’s something I’ve never done, it’ll be a new experience and help to keep me motivated, plus the number of time trial kilometres certainly favours me.”

However, even if the Giro is van Garderen’s focus in 2017, his long term goal remains a Tour de France yellow jersey, and for the moment he seems confident that BMC is the right place to go about pursuing that.

“I still hope to win the Tour at some point in the future. Whether that’s an attainable goal with this body and this mind, I don’t know. I’m still going to try.

"There’s plenty of room for both me and Richie in this team. I think we can make it work in the coming years.”

It's the off season and for those professional riders who aren't inclined to a bit of mud-filled cyclocross racing, it's the time of year to put the bike down and find a way of switching off without losing every bit of fitness they've got.

In that sense, it seems running is the answer, with a number of pros frequently uploading their runs to Strava.

So if you've ever wanted to beat a professional cyclist, then this might be your best opportunity. Time to get your running shoes on.

Here are five pros who've been pounding the streets this autumn.

Tejay van Garderen

American BMC Racing pro Tejay van Garderen doesn't just like riding his bike up mountains, he apparently likes running up them too. An impressive run with 'Pete from @StrafeOuterwear' posted by van Garderen on October 29 saw him ascend around 850 metres in a 12.9km run – straight up and down a mountain.

The 28-year-old's 2016 Grand Tour campaign may have faltered – he finished 29th in the Tour de France – but he's evidently getting good shape for next season.

Arnaud Démare

Milan-San Remo winner Arnaud Démare was not lounging around on his holiday on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe, instead exploring the tropical paradise in his running shoes.

The FDJ Frenchman enjoyed a strong cycling season, not only winning Milan-San Remo but also stages of Paris-Nice, Route du Sud and Tour Méditerranéen.

>>> Which is best – cycling or running?

Lars Petter Nordhaug

Nordhaug likes running so much that he is even listed on Strava as a 'professional runner' rather than cyclist. The Team Sky rider has posted some impressive runs, too, with one of 20km in his native Norway – just short of half marathon distance.

The 2015 Tour de Yorkshire winner will leave Sky at the end of the year after two years with the British team, moving to new Irish Pro Continental outfit Aqua Blue Sport.

Tiesj Benoot

Benoot is one of Belgium's great hopes for the future, with the 22-year-old continuing to impress in his second year as a professional with Lotto-Soudal.

Third in Omloop Het Nieuwsblad and the best young rider classification in the Volta ao Algarve show what a versatile rider he is. As Benoot takes a short break before the 2017 season, he's indulging in a few runs to keep himself in shape.

Jan Bakelants

While some of his peloton comrades have been hot-footing it, Jan Bakelants has taken a more leisurely approach to foot-based exercise, posting his dog walk on Strava.

The Belgian pro went on a 7.2km trot with his dog on October 30. Bakelants renewed his contract with French WorldTour team Ag2r La Mondiale for 2017.

Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing) took the honours on stage seven of the 2016 Tour de Suisse as Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) once again struggled towards the end of the stage.

The long and arduous final climb, covering 12.3km at an average of 10.4 per cent, proved every bit as gruelling as the organisers probably hoped and saw riders scattered down the road with sizeable time gaps between them.

The leader's jersey changes hands again and some riders may be questioning their progress ahead of the Tour de France in July.

Overnight leader Wilco Kerlderman (LottoNL-Jumbo) looked in trouble as Vasil Kiryienka (Team Sky) set his characteristic tempo on the front, with Kiryienka's team leader Thomas safely on his wheel.

Not long after Kelderman's exit from the group of favourites and with 7km to the summit, the GC contenders passed Iljo Keisse (Etixx-Quick Step) who was going backwards fast. By now the riders were under the clouds and the rain was falling.

With 5.5km left to the top, Matthias Brändle's tortuous adventure came to an end as the Kiryienka-powered group passed him without a second glance.

Looking comfortable throughout the climb, van Garderen showed his strength with an attack 4km from the finish line. The American soon gained a 20 second advantage, before Warren Barguil (Giant-Alpecin) was the first to try and follow.

Jarlinson Pantano (IAM Cycling) pulled away from the now hugely reduced GC group with 2.5km to go and quickyl had Barguil in his sights. All the while, van Garderen held his gap around the 20 second mark.

Kiryienka's huge turn finished 2km from the finish line, as the sun began to shine on the top of the mountain.

Pantano and Barguil worked together as the following group fragmented. Thomas looked uncomfortable again after his bad day on stage six and was passed by some of his rivals.

Miguel Lopez (Astana) bridged across and then attacked straight away. This left Pantano behind but Barguil was able to follow.

Despite the injection of speed from Lopez, van Garderen held on for stage honours.

Earlier in the day, leaders Keisse and Brändle held a lead of over 11 minutes ahead of the peloton with 43.5km to go, .

In contrast for most of the race so far, the sun came out and the riders saw fit to leave the warmers and jackets behind.

Most of the stage took place across the border in Austria, but finished nearer to the start of stage eight, back in Switzerland, than it started.

With under 20km to go and the road heading for the final climb, the GC teams massed on or near the front of the peloton, with Astana, Giant-Alpecin and LottoNL-Jumbo taking turns on the front.

With 16km to go, Keisse and Brändle held a gap of 8-04 over the main bunch. The final climb of the day, the Rettenbachferner started with 12.3km to go.

The climb, with an average of 10.4%, soon saw the advantage of the leaders whittle away. It quickly became clear that Brändle - perhaps wanting to perform on home Austrian roads - was the stronger of the two, and didn't so much as attack but rather just rode away from Keisse.

Back in the peloton, Max Richeze (Etixx-Quick Step) came to the front to gain some points on the intermediate sprint and extend his lead over Peter Sagan (Tinkoff), who won the points competition on the last four occasions.

With the peloton 9km away from the summit finish and still under settled skies, the snow began to fall at the finish line.

The racing livened up and the sun came back out as the GC battle got underway.

Result

Tour de Suisse 2016 stage seven, Arbon to Sölden, 224.3km

1. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing, 6-26-12

2. Miguel Lopez (Col) Astana, at 16s

3. Warren Barguil (Fra) Giant-Alpecin, st

4. Jarlison Pantano (Col) IAM Cycling, at 31s

5. Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale, at 33s

6. Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha, at 43s

7. Rui Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida, at 49s

8. Jon Izaguirre (Esp) Movistar, st

9. Victor de la Parte (Esp) CCC–Sprandi–Polkowice, at 59s

10. Jan Hirt (Cze) CCC–Sprandi–Polkowice, st

Overall standings after stage seven

1. Warren Barguil (Fra) Giant-Alpecin, at 29-09-53

2. Miguel Lopez (Col) Astana, at 21s

3. Andrew Talansky (USA) Cannondale, at 24s

4. Jon Izaguirre (Esp) Movistar, at 55s

5. Jarlison Pantano (Col) IAM Cycling, at 1-06

6. Simon Spilak (Slo) Katusha, at 1-07

7. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing, at 1-31

8. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky, at 1-36

9. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo, at 1-36

10. Rui Costa (Por) Lampre-Merida, at 1-55

Tejay van Garderen has withdrawn his name from consideration for the USA team for the Olympic Games this August due to concerns at the risks posed by the Zika virus to his pregnant wife.

Pregnant women have been warned not to travel to the Games in Rio de Janeiro because the mosquito-borne virus can cause birth defects and lead to developmental problems in babies.

But van Garderen, who would have been considered among the favourites for both the road race and the hilly time trial, is not willing to risk bringing the disease back from Brazil.

"Although the risks associated with the Zika virus can be minimal and precautions can be taken, my wife Jessica is pregnant, and I don't want to risk bringing anything back that could potentially have an effect," Van Garderen said in a statement through USA Cycling.

"If circumstances were different I would have loved to be selected again to represent the USA, but my family takes priority and it's a decision that I'm completely comfortable with.

"I hope that I'll be in the position to race at the 2020 Olympic Games."

Tejay van Garderen's BMC Timemachine

Van Garderen is the first American athlete, and the first cyclist, to confirm he will not be attending the Olympics because of Zika. Golfer Rory McIlroy said that he was monitoring the threat of the disease but has subsequently said his fears had eased.

>>> Rio Olympics should be cancelled because of Zika virus, says public health expert

The World Health Organization revised its guidance for people travelling to countries where Zika is prevalent, stating that people should wait a full eight weeks to have unprotected sex or attempt to conceive a baby, after returning, even if they show no symptoms of the disease.

Men who show symptoms of Zika should practice safe sex or abstain completely for at least six months, the new guidelines state.

Last week, 150 public health experts wrote an open letter to WHO calling for the Games to be moved or cancelled, but this was rejected by the organisation.

Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) won the final stage of the Ruta del Sol on Sunday and with it took the overall victory in the Spanish stage race.

The 35-year-old Spaniard attacked on the final climb to secure the stage victory and overhaul overnight leader Tejay van Garderen at the top of the general classification. Van Garderen had to settle for second place overall, with Bauke Mollema (Trek-Segafredo) in third.

Former race leader Ben Swift (Team Sky) had been part of an early 13-man move, but that was caught by the peloton as the race worked its way over a series of classified climbs in the mid-section of the 164km stage.

Nicolas Roche (Team Sky), Tim Wellens (Lotto-Soudal) and Jerome Baugnies (Wanty-Groupe Gobert) then escaped inside the final 50km on the first of two ascents of Peñas Blancas.

>>> Ruta del Sol 2016: Latest news, reports and info

By the base of the final turn up Peñas Blancas, the trio's advantage was just 10 seconds and they were mopped up as the road started to rear up with 14km to go.

Team Sky hit the front of the peloton for Poels, with time trial world champion Vasil Kiryienka setting a tough pace to prevent attacks. The number in the lead group quickly got whittled down to around 20 riders.

Daniel Moreno (Movistar) attempted to break free of Sky's clutches, but Mikel Nieve (Team Sky) ground out a pace to reel him back in. All the while, van Garderen was keeping in touch with the lead group, letting Sky do the work.

Valverde was the next to put in an attack, and swiftly opened up a gap of just under a minute over van Garderen and Poels. With 3km to go, van Garderen decided enough was enough, and he started to chase after Valverde with Rafal Majka (Tinkoff) and Mollema  following his wheel.

Try as he might, van Garderen simply couldn't close the gap to Valverde and the Movistar rider was free to take a solo stage win and the overall win.

Van Garderen was ultimately passed by Mollema and Majka too, placing fourth on the stage. Despite their earlier efforts, Sky ended the day empty handed except for Swift's points classification lead.

Results

Ruta del Sol 2016, stage five: San Roque to Peñas Blancas, 164km

1. Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar

2. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo at 36 secs

3. Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff at 42 secs

4. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing at 48 secs

5. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff at 1-07

6. Daniel Navarro (Spa) Cofidis at 1-08

7. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo at 1-16

8. Igor Anton (Spa) Dimension Data at 1-19

9. Mikel Nieve (Spa) Team Sky at 1-27

10. Luis Angel Mate (Spa) Cofidis at 1-30

Final general classification

1. Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar

2. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing at 26 secs

3. Bauke Mollema (Ned) Trek-Segafredo at 52 secs

4. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo at 56 secs

5. Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff at 1-11

6. Roman Kreuziger (Cze) Tinkoff at 1-37

7. Wout Poels (Ned) Team Sky at 1-42

8. Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC Racing at 2-03

9. Daniel Navarro (Spa) Cofidis at 2-14

10. Mikel Nieve (Spa) Team Sky at 2-45

Tejay van Garderen (BMC) took the lead in the 2016 Ruta del Sol ahead of Sunday's final stage, after winning the individual time trial on stage four ahead of Wilco Kelderman (LottoNL-Jumbo).

The American set off 24th from last on the 21km course in Alhaurín de la Torre and it quickly became apparent that the pace he was setting would be the time to beat.

He eventually rolled across the finish line of the undulating course with a time of 27-05, but had to wait for a number of GC hopefuls, including Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) and Wout Poels (Team Sky) to take to the course.

Neither of those two were able to do anything about Van Garderen moving up the standings though, as they finished 27 and 20 seconds down respectively, damaging their hopes of making losses back on the final stage's summit finish.

Dutchman Kelderman came closest to deposing Van Garderen from top spot, narrowly missing out on the win by two seconds.

The biggest disappointment of the day came from time trial world champion Vasil Kiryienka (Team Sky), who was unable to get close to the podium in his specialist discipline, finishing 40 seconds of the pace. His teammate Ben Swift, who lead the race after Friday's third stage, was also unable to hold on to his lead as he finished way down the rankings.

Van Garderen's win though, sets things up nicely for the fifth and final stage on Sunday, which will see the riders traverse five categorised climbs on a 164.2km route, including a huge summit finish to Alto Peñas Blancas.

Result

Ruta del Sol 2016 stage four, Alhaurín de la Torre - Alhaurín de la Torre (21km), ITT:

1. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC, in 27-05

2. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo, at 2 secs

3. Jerome Coppel (Fra) IAM Cycling, at 7 secs

4. Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC, at 15 secs

5. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Direct Energie, at 17 secs

6. Wout Poels (Ned) Team Sky, at 20 secs

7. Samuel Sanchez (Esp) BMC, at 21 secs

8. Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar, at 22 secs

9. Javier Moreno (Esp) Movistar, at 24 secs

10. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Giant-Alpecin, at 34 secs

General Classification

1. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC, in 12-53-57

2. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo, at 2 secs

3. Jerome Coppel (Fra) IAM Cycling, at 7 secs

4. Brent Bookwalter (USA) BMC, at 15 secs

5. Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Direct Energie, at 17 secs

6. Wout Poels (Ned) Team Sky, at 20 secs

7. Samuel Sanchez (Esp) BMC, at 21 secs

8. Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar, at 22 secs

9. Javier Moreno (Esp) Movistar, at 24 secs

10. Tobias Ludvigsson (Swe) Giant-Alpecin, at 34 secs

Tejay van Garderen has committed his future to BMC, signing a contract extension with the American team, dispelling rumours that he would leave at the end of the season.

The day before the 2016 season kicks off, van Garderen and BMC penned a new contract which runs beyond the end of the year. With BMC Switzerland agreeing to continue as title sponsor, the team is in a position to plan it's long-term future.

Trek-Segafredo were linked with a move for the 27-year-old, who has twice finished fifth at the Tour de France, but this latest development will see van Garderen race in black and red for the foreseeable future.

"This will be my fifth year with the team so when you get to know everyone so well over a period of time you become more like family," he said. "I really like the way the team operates. I like all of the guys and I definitely think this is the perfect environment for me to flourish with my career.

"My main goal is the Tour de France, it is the pinnacle of the season and I'd like to shoot for the podium or victory over the next few years.

"I think BMC Racing Team offer a higher level of support than what you get at other teams. The training camps, the altitude camps, wind tunnel testing, there is no stone left unturned."

Tejay van Garderen's BMC Teammachine

Van Garderen joined BMC after two years racing with HTC High Road and finished fifth at the Tour in his first season. Since then he has struggled with illness and injuries in the Grand Tours, withdrawing from both the Tour and Vuelta a España in 2015.

"Both Tejay and BMC Racing Team continue to strive towards reaching some of our goals which have not yet been accomplished together," said BMC general manager Jim Ochowicz. "It also solidifies his leadership in the team, in that Tejay is one of our captains.

"It's important for the team as a whole to have Tejay continue on with us as a leader of the organization and completes what we started with him four years ago.

"We've recently announced the extension beyond 2016 and Tejay is part of that extension. We are happy to be able to announce today that he'll be continuing on with us in the future."

Jasper Stuyven (Trek Factory Racing) took the sprint win from a depleted lead group on a ragged day at the Vuelta a España.

Stuyven's Trek team took up the pace in the closing kilometres to discourage any attacks, and despite a couple of futile attempts from the likes of Adam Hansen (Lotto-Soudal), this worked and their man delivered.

After a crash with 50km remaining on the stage that forced the withdrawal of Tejay van Garderen (BMC), Daniel Martin (Cannondale-Garmin), Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) and Kris Boeckmans (Lotto-Soudal), the peloton raced up the finishing circuit.

Attacks went and were brought back, but as teams formed on the front it was clear that we'd get a bunch sprint (of sorts) to finish the day.

A possible favourite for the day, Peter Sagan, was taken out of contention in a crash that reportedly involved a race vehicle or motorbike. His anger at the crash was clear and there are likely to be repercussions as a result.

The general classification contenders all finished together to retain the same time gaps, but with some reshuffling of positions as a result of the abandonments.

How the day unfolded

An early breakaway of six never looked likely to last and the involved riders hastened their own catch when they started a very early session of cat and mouse.

The break split apart leaving just Ángel Madrazo (Caja Rural-Seguros RGA), Jasper De Buyst (Lotto Soudal) and Alex Howes (Cannondale-Garmin) out front.

Howes then hit out on his own, but misjudged a corner and got tangled up with a roadside barrier. He was unharmed and was able to start riding almost straight away, but by then the damage was done and he was soon passed by Madrazo.

Madrazo's solo effort didn't last long and the peloton soon came past.

It was during this time that the large crash had happened, which may have given the breakaway a lifeline but did not make much difference to their inevitable fate.

Vuelta a España stage eight Puebla de Don Fadrique to Murcia, 182.5km

1. Jasper Stuyven (Bel) Trek Factory Racing, 4:06:05

2. Pello Bilbao (Esp) Caja Rural

3. Kevin Reza (Fra) FDJ

4. Giovanni Visconti (Ita) Movistar

5. Kristian Sbaragli (Ita) MTN-Qhubeka

6. Tosh van der Sande (Bel) Lotto-Soudal

7. Julien Simon (Fra) Cofidi

8. Pieter Serry (Bel) Etixx - Quick-Step

9. JJ Rojas (Esp) Movistar

10. Nicolas Roche (Ire) Team Sky, all same time

Overall classification after stage eight

1. Esteban Chaves (Col) Orica Greenedge

2. Tom Dumoulin (Ned) Giant-Alpecin), at 10 seconds

3. Nicolas Roche (Irl) Team Sky, at 36 seconds

4. Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar, at 49 seconds

5. Joaquim Rodriguez (Esp) Katusha, at 56 seconds

6. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar, at 57 seconds

7. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana, same time

8. Daniel Moreno (Esp) Katusha, at 1-18

9. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2r-La Mondiale, at 1-19

10. Mikel Nieve (Esp) Team Sky, at 1-21

Selected other
11. Chris Froome (GB) Team Sky, at 1-22

Tejay van Garderen (BMC) has been forced to abandon the Vuelta a España with a suspected broken collarbone on stage eight. The BMC team leader went down in a large crash with approximately 50km left to race and remained on the ground for a long time.

When he sat up, his body language indicated a broken collarbone, but this has not been confirmed.

The incident continues an unfortunate season for the American after he was forced out of the Tour de France in July due to illness when a podium finish in Paris was potentially within his reach.

Also involved in the crash was Kris Boeckmans (Lotto-Soudal) who was reportedly left unconscious on the ground and in need of medical attention.

His team later tweeted an update:

Continuing his crash affected season, Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis) was taken down in the crash but was seen to be chasing back to the peloton soon after remounting his bike. However, he later had to call time on his race as it became clear that his injuries would not allow him to continue with the Vuelta.

Dan Martin (Cannondale-Garmin) was caught up in the incident and it has been confirmed that he was also forced to withdraw from the race.

Tejay van Garderen is an optimist. Only two days after dropping out of the Tour de France, while sitting third overall, he had moved on. He set his sights on the Vuelta a España, where he has been racing for the last week.

The American of team BMC Racing dropped out of the Tour in its third week, midway through the Pra Loup stage, due to a respiratory infection. He sat third overall behind leader Chris Froome and Nairo Quintana.

"It was a disappointment, but if you dwell on it too much it doesn't do anyone any good," van Garderen told Cycling Weekly yesterday.

>>> Vuelta a España 2015 coverage: news, reports, photos and more

"I went back to my place in Nice, Jessica changed her ticket flew over and met me the next day. It was good to have her company and we just took it as a holiday. I was upset there for a day or two, but then having here there with me, we were able to switch off. We didn't have our daughter, so we could just spend time together, that was nice.

"Once I stated focusing on this race, the Tour was behind me.”

After twice finishing fifth overall in the Tour, he and BMC hoped that this would be the year. They aimed for a podium, or better, but then it unravelled in the mountains of the second week.

"I had no second thoughts about abandoning. I was in a bad way that day. I had been fighting a respiratory infection since the Plateau de Beille stage, then I had a fever on the [second] rest day," he added.

"I hoped for the best, I prepared the best way I could, but my body just switched off."

>>> Trek Factory Racing cool on Tejay van Garderen talk

He left the Tour on July 22, spent around a week in Nice and travelled home to Aspin, Colorado. He began healing, training and thinking of the Vuelta – a rematch with Froome and Quintana.

Van Garderen sits one minute and 16 seconds overall behind leader Esteban Chaves (Orica-GreenEdge) ahead of the first big mountain stage tomorrow to La Alpujarra, at 1565 metres.

He said that it should give followers an idea of who can win the race.

"Am I capable of beating Froome? Hopefully, down the line, I think so. In three weeks' time? We'll see. I don't know."

Having abandoned the Tour de France on stage 17, Tejay van Garderen has turned his attentions to the Vuelta a España, starting on August 22.

It will be van Garderen's first appearance in the Spanish Grand Tour since 2010, where he finished 35th overall and sixth on stage four.

He was initially hesitant about racing in Spain because the race clashes with the USA Pro Challenge, a race he's won in the past two years, but has decided he needs to attempt the bigger race.

"After looking at the route and considering what happened at the Tour, all things just seemed to point in the direction that the Vuelta was the path to take," he said. "The more I have thought about it, the more excited I am about doing it. It is a great new challenge.

"This is 100 percent my decision. It would be nice to go out and try to win the USA Pro Challenge again. But after what happened at the Tour, I need to prove myself on a bigger scale."

Van Garderen will be joined by Samuel Sanchez, the five-time Vuelta stage winner, who raced alongside the American at the Tour and finished 12th overall.

"I think Samuel is going to be motivated to do his own GC there," van Garderen said. "I definitely do not have time to prepare for it the same way I did for the Tour de France, doing the reconnaissance, etc. But I am absolutely going to show up motivated. I am not going to give anything away."

Trek Factory Racing today scotched rumours that Tejay van Garderen will join the American team in 2016.

Van Garderen, who was on course for a Tour de France podium finish before illness forced his withdrawal on Wednesday, is believed to have one year left on his contract with BMC after signing a contract extension in October 2012.

However, Team Sky’s Richie Porte is set to join the Swiss team next season in a big-money move and BMC’s future post 2016 is currently uncertain; two things that could pave the way for van Garderen riding elsewhere. Rumours at the Tour de France have linked the 26-year-old to Trek.

“We believe Tejay van Garderen has a year left on his contract,” a Trek spokesperson told Cycling Weekly today.

Under UCI rules, teams are not permitted to announced rider transfers until August 1. “We don’t comment on transfer rumours or speculation,” added BMC’s Chief Communications Officer Georges Lüchinger.

BMC manager Jim Ochowicz told Cycling Weekly earlier this week that Porte’s much-speculated arrival at the team will no impact on van Garderen’s Grand Tour leadership ambitions.

“He’s matured, he’s not over reacting to situations that happen every day and he’s leading the team. He’s moving people around in the race – they respect him for that – and with the pre-race strategy we put in place each day, he’s part of that decision making about how it’s going to happen and then he’s part of the decision making as the race matures each day.”

CW also understands that BMC were also unsuccessful in a bid to sign promising British youngster Tao Geoghegan Hart, who is set to sign for Team Sky in 2016.

Tejay van Garderen's BMC Timemachine

Tejay van Garderen's Tour de France came to an abrupt end as the American was forced to abandon the race due to a respiratory infection that he battled over the last week.

BMC Racing's captain, third overall at the start of the day behind overall leader Chris Froome (Team Sky), abandoned with 70 kilometres to race on the 17th stage to Pra Loup because of the resulting fatigue.

He arrived to the team bus after the stage and under pouring rain, he climbed out of the team car with a towel over his head and stepped onto the bus without saying a word.

>>> Chris Froome fends off attacks in the Alps to retain Tour de France lead

Van Garderen never emerged to explain what happened, but team officials came out before the bus rolled down the road towards their hotel in Sisteron.

"From the start of the stage, he didn't feel good. He was developing a headache, he couldn't push on the pedals and couldn't develop any power," Doctor Max Testa told press huddled under the awning to escape the late afternoon rain.

"He has been fighting a respiratory infection since stage 13. He could manage it for a few days, and we hoped the rest day [yesterday] would help, but today was very hard at the start. So the combination and the fatigue that built-up in the last days cost him the race.

Van Garderen twice finished fifth in the Tour and had hoped for podium spot in 2015. He lost time to Nairo Quintana (Movistar), but appeared to be on his way to a top-three in Paris this Sunday.

In quickly became apparent however that the 26-year-old was not able to hold the pace of the peloton on the first day of the Tour in the Alps, and was forced to climb off on the category two Col de la Colle-Saint-Michel.

"This morning, he was feeling pretty good, not 100%, but not worse than the days before," Testa continued.

"Honestly, no, I didn't see this coming. I was hoping that he was over the worst part."

Though deciding not to poke his head out of the bus to say good-bye today, van Garderen met with the press yesterday in Sisteron down the road from Team Sky's hotel. He gave no indication that he would suffer so much today.

"I talked to him afterwards, when he came here. Now he is clearly shocked because he had to give up the race," Testa said. "Now it is more a psychological thing, physically now he is OK."

Van Garderen was dropped once and then again later in the 17th stage. When he stopped, he embraced Sports Director Max Sciandri and sat down in the red and black team car.

"It's a lot for anybody to take on their shoulders," general manager, Jim Ochowicz said at the bus.

"He is disappointed. He would have liked to have finished the Tour. The team has worked hard for him for two weeks now. He has a lot of pressure on his shoulders right now.

"I know he is feeling the pain, but he is an athlete, a professional athlete. He understands you win and lose and he'll bounce back from this."

It is too early to say if van Garderen will bounce back and race the Vuelta a España in August. Next year, in addition to van Garderen, the team are rumoured to have the services of Richie Porte, who is set to leave Team Sky at the end of this season.

Tejay van Garderen's BMC Timemachine

Tejay van Garderen, who sat third in the general classification, has pulled out of the Tour de France after struggling on stage 17.

The BMC leader lost time almost from the off, dropping nearly four minutes back from the peloton. As his teammates were instructed to head back up the road, van Garderen climbed into the team car with 70km to go on the stage to Pra-Loup.

Van Garderen was on course to record his highest ever Tour de France finish, having placed fifth twice already in 2012 and 2014. Sitting 30 seconds ahead of fourth-place rider Alejandro Valverde, the American proved over the first two weeks of competition that he could compete with the 'big four' contenders.

His BMC team have gained three stage wins through the first 16 stages, including the team time trial on stage nine, where they beat Team Sky by a solitary second.

It is reported that van Garderen was suffering from illness on stage 17 and had to be consoled by BMC staff as he pulled up at the side of the road and got into the car.

BMC Racing have backed Tejay van Garderen as their ongoing Tour de France team leader amid reports of Grand Tour aspirant Richie Porte leaving Sky for the squad next season.

Van Garderen entered the Tour with podium ambitions that are on track despite the American slipping from second to third overall after stage 14 on Saturday, and before the race hits the Alps.

The 26-year-old succeeded former team-mate Cadel Evans as BMC Tour top dog last year where for the first time he had the outright support of the outfit at the race.

Porte has outwardly stated his desire to step-up as a Grand Tour team leader and the reports that link the Australian with BMC prompt questions as to van Garderen’s future captaincy at the Tour, which general manager Jim Ochowicz has indicated is secure.

“He doesn’t have to prove himself,” Ochowicz said of van Garderen. “He did it last year, this year he is doing it better and I would suspect next year it will be even better again.

“He’s matured, he’s not over reacting to situations that happen every day and he’s leading the team. He’s moving people around in the race - they respect him for that - and with the pre-race strategy we put in place each day, he’s part of that decision making about how it’s going to happen and then he’s part of the decision making as the race matures each day.”

Under UCI rules, BMC and other teams cannot discuss rider transfers until August 1, although Porte did admit earlier in the Tour that he would be leaving Team Sky at the end of the year.

Ochowicz said BMC, who have won three stages and with Grand Depart winner Rohan Dennis marked a stint in the yellow jersey, have exceeded their race expectations, but one objective, with van Garderen, remains.

“We had set goals prior to getting here and we haven’t achieved them all yet because one of them doesn’t happen until Paris,” he said.

“We wanted to get the jersey one day, we wanted a stage win and we got the jersey and three stage wins so we’re two ahead right now but we’re still fighting for the podium.”

Porte’s departure from Sky could also make way for the British squad to blood another Grand Tour leader.

The 30-year-old has performed as a super domestique to 2013 Tour winner and current maillot jaune Chris Froome but has also had his own opportunities, this year notably at the Giro d’Italia where he abandoned a title bid on the second rest day following a series of set-backs.

Welshman Geraint Thomas has had a focus on the spring classics and smaller stage races in recent years but has shown, especially at this Tour where he currently sits sixth overall, the capacity to fill the spot.

“I will think about it next year,” Thomas said. “I’d love to do that one day but we’ll see how that goes.”

The peloton still has stage 16 on Monday, plus the Alps to conquer before arriving in Paris for the conclusion of the 102nd edition of the Tour, where planning for the 2016 race will commence.

Watch highlights from stage 15 of the Tour de France

Waking up on the Tour’s first rest day in Pau sitting pretty in second place, Tejay van Garderen is now a genuine Tour de France contender. The young American hasn’t put a foot wrong through the opening nine stages and trails Sky’s Chris Froome by just 12 seconds.

Froome himself has said the BMC leader is currently his biggest rival, and van Garderen has admitted to being ‘irritated’ by his exclusion from The Big Four - the group of pre-race favourites that includes Froome, Alberto Contador, Vincenzo Nibali and Nairo Quintana

Defending champion Nibali struggled on the Mur de Bretagne, while Quintana lost out in the crosswinds; all the while van Garderen was sitting at the front of the race perfectly protected by his team mates and matching Froome pedal stroke for pedal stroke, save the last few hundred metres on the Mur de Huy.

Bouyed by his performances in one of the toughest opening weeks in recent Tour history and victory in the team time trial, van Garderen is now showing the confidence to demand inclusion in the elite group.

"Those guys have that tag, The Fab Four, which is getting a little irritating hearing that. I'm not offended not to be named in that. All those guys in the Fab Four have won grand tours." Van Garderen said.

"If I'm not spoken about as much as those guys are, I understand. That doesn't mean I'm going to be intimidated by them, and [that] I'm not here to race against them or try to beat them," he said. "The Backstreet Boys had five guys.”

Not that van Garderen is unproven at the Tour. At the age of 23 he finished fifth behind Bradley Wiggins in 2012 having initially gone to support defending champion Cadel Evans. He then equalled that result in 2014 behind Nibali.

However, van Garderen hasn’t won a grand tour, and has never won an individual stage. Meanwhile The Big Four have won 12 grand tours between them.

During the rest day in Pau today, the press attendance for the BMC conference filled just half the space that it had occupied for Froome three hours earlier. It seemed that even few American journalists - now deprived of a winner since 1990 - arrived to quiz van Garderen on his impressive ride so far. But according to the Colorado native, that's the way he prefers it.

"It's better to fly under the radar. I'm not offended," he said. "We all started from zero when the Tour began in Utrecht."

Van Garderen often refers to the Tour as a marathon. He said that while he would take opportunities, he would mostly let those further down, like Nibali and Quintana, attack in the Pyrenees.

"My strength is not being able to fly up the road and drop Contador and Quintana, it's my consistency. I have the feeling they will have to jump and jump, but if can stay calm, I think my consistency will become a factor the third week," he said.

"The real race is going to happen in the last week. You have to keep your powder dry until then, until La Toussuire or Alpe d'Huez."

The Tour resumes on Tuesday with stage ten and the first of three mountain stages in the Pyrenees. The riders tackle 167km from Tarbes to La Pierre-Saint-Martin, a stage that features three small fourth category climbs before the first summit finish at the top of the 15.3km Col de Soudet.

Chris Froome (Team Sky) retained the overall race lead in the 2015 Tour de France after Sky finished just one second slower than stage nine team time trial winners BMC Racing in Plumelec on Sunday.

Tejay van Garderen of BMC sat 13 seconds behind Froome at the start of the day, and his team needed to make up the deficit during the hilly 28-kilometre test against the clock to put the American in the coveted yellow jersey.

Intermediate time checks showed that the squads were neck and neck, with BMC one second faster than Sky after 10km, but Sky was one second quicker after 20.5km. However, it was all about accumulated fatigue after eight days of hard racing and the energy-sapping final climb up Côte de Cadoudal, and it was BMC that prevailed to take the stage.

Van Garderen led the pace of BMC's five remaining riders over the line, but Sky looked slightly less organised with the team's fifth man, Nicolas Roche, visibly struggling on the draggy final few hundred metres. No matter, Sky did what they had to do to not only retain the race lead but also not give away any meaningful time to any of Froome's rivals.

Froome now sits 12 seconds ahead of van Garderen overall, with Greg Van Avermaet (BMC) up to third overall at 27 seconds.

Several teams had trouble keeping formation over the testing course, with both Vincenzo Nibali's Astana and Nairo Quintana's Movistar squads breaking their line and losing time as they regrouped.

Movistar and Quintana came out pretty well considering, finishing third behind BMC and Sky at four seconds. Alberto Contador and his Tinkoff-Saxo finished fourth to lose 28 seconds to BMC and 27 seconds to Sky. It was more bad news for defending champion Nibali, as he once again lost time to his rivals. The Italian's Astana squad finished 35 seconds down on BMC and 34 seconds down on Sky.

Contador is now in fifth place overall, 1-03 behind Froome with Quintana in ninth at 1-59. Nibali is still out of the top 10 in 13th place, 2-22 behind the British leader. Only time will tell whether those gaps are meaningful as the race heads south towards the Pyrenees and Alps.

The Orica-GreenEdge team, including British brothers Adam and Simon Yates, rode very conservatively as they only started with six of their original nine riders after losing Simon Gerrans, Daryl Impey and Michael Albasini to injury. The six finished together, ensuring that Michael Matthews - still riding with fractured ribs - made the stage time cut.

>>> Simon Yates calls Tour de France time trial ‘a rest’ for his stricken team

The riders will now travel south to Pau, for the first rest day of the 2015 Tour on Monday. Then it's into the mountains with a 15km climb to the finish in La Pierre-Saint-Martin on Tuesday's stage 10.

>>> Tour de France 2015 stage 10 full preview

Results

Tour de France 2015, stage nine: Vannes to Plumelec, 28km

1. BMC Racing Team in 32-15

2. Team Sky at 1 sec

3. Movistar at 4 secs

4. Tinkoff-Saxo at 28 secs

5. Astana at 35 secs

6. IAM Cycling at 38 secs

7. Etixx-QuickStep at 45 secs

8. Lampre-Merida at 48 secs

9. LottoNL-Jumbo at 1-14

10. Ag2r La Mondiale at 1-24

Overall classification after stage nine

1. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky in 31-34-12

2. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing at 12 secs

3. Greg Van Avermaet (Bel) BMC Racing at 27 secs

4. Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo at 38 secs

5. Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo at 1-03

6. Rigoberto Uran (Col) Etixx-QuickStep at 1-18

7. Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar at 1-50

8. Geraint Thomas (GBr) Team Sky at 1-52

9. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar at 1-59

10. Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Etixx-QuickStep at 1-59

Other

13. Vincenzo Nibali (Ita) Astana at 2-22

Chris Froome has challenged and pushed Tejay van Garderen to a new level ahead of the 2015 Tour de France, starting in Utrecht today. The American leader of BMC Racing tweaked his training after placing second in the Critérium du Dauphiné to Froome in order to be ready for the challenges at the Tour.

Van Garderen, fifth in last year's Tour, led the Dauphiné last month until the last day when Froome rode away. That race reminded him that he must improve his power to be able to handle those attacks.

Over the winter, and again after the Dauphiné to freshen up, BMC simulated the accelerations that van Garderen would face from Froome and others.

"I have worked on a few things in training – accelerations, rhythm changes – to try to be more well-rounded to go with those pure climbers," van Garderen said.

"I was training with some team-mates, we would do some race simulation where they would come from behind and they would attack me and I would have to get on their wheels as fast as I could. And then different things, intervals, looking at your power doing 40 seconds as hard as you can, then recovering for 20 seconds. Then 40 again as hard as you can.

>>> Tejay van Garderen defends links to Lance Armstrong

"Often, people think power to weight ratio, that's your winning formula for the Tour, but it's so much more dynamic and complex."

Van Garderen has finished fifth on two occasions in the Tour and won the white jersey of best young rider. This year, based on his lead-up without injuries and increased team support, he explained that he feels more confident in his abilities. That showed in the Critérium du Dauphiné in mid-June, when he pushed Froome until the last day for the overall win.

"The Dauphiné raised my confidence; I was able to play on that level. When he was attacking me, normally, he'd be able to ride away and I'd never see him again, but this time it was always 10 or 12 seconds,” Van Garderen added.

"It was narrow margins that I was beaten by, I even got the better of him on Pra Loup. I saw him start to fade. I thought, he's Froome, he doesn't fade, so it was a bit surprising when I caught him. I thought, 'OK, I'm going to beat Chris Froome.' That's pretty cool.

"On any given day, I can be right there with him, or that he might not be that far ahead. In a three-week race, if it's a tug of war like that then anything's possible."

BMC Racing said that its aim is to put the American on the podium, as close as possible to the top. As van Garderen said, anything is possible.

Tejay van Garderen has defended his decision to accept the help of Lance Armstrong, claiming if you were to take away everyone in cycling with a tainted history, there would be very few people left.

The 26-year-old American courted controversy in November 2014 when it was revealed he was being motorpaced by Armstrong in his home town of Aspen, Colorado.

But van Garderen says that while he's not trained with the 1993 World Champion since, he was more concerned about his training than the negative headlines that would come out of the partnership.

"I’ve not really done any motorpacing with Lance since [November]," he told reporters ahead of the Tour de France. "Not because of any worries about what people might think, but he has kids who go to school in Texas, so most of the year he’s in Austin.

"We happen to run into each other every now and again if we’re both in Aspen, but it’s rare.

"As far as what I was doing with him – we are both top level cyclists, former and current, living in a very small town. It’s hard to avoid each other, so to avoid an awkward situation we’d chat and go for a ride every now and then.

"He offered to motorpace me when my usual pacer was out of town and I didn’t see any harm in it. He told me there was a camera crew coming and that I could duck out if I wanted, but I was more interested in my training."

Van Garderen admits he knew the collaboration with Armstrong, who had his seven Tour de France titles stripped after the USADA investigation into him, would cause controversy, but maintains that the Texan shouldn't be made a scapegoat.

The BMC rider cites many other figures still in the sport with chequered pasts, and questions why Armstrong is treated differently to the likes of Astana manager Alexander Vinokourov.

"I don’t think it sends the wrong message as there’s plenty of people in the sport who have dodgy pasts and admitted it," he added.

"If you want to take away every single person who’s ever done anything in the past you’re basically getting rid of everyone.

"Vinokourov has a team, lots of the sports directors out there [have doped], George Hincapie has a Gran Fondo and a development team, Jonathan Vaughters runs a team. To have that double standard isn’t very fair, so I didn’t think anything of training with Lance.

"Just because Lance was the most successful cyclist it doesn’t make what he did any more wrong than what those other guys did."

 Cycling Weekly's experts discuss the 2015 Tour de France Grand Départ

"The latest news about Tejay? He's fine, he's OK, he didn't hurt himself and that is the most important thing. This is only a bike race."

So said BMC directeur sportif Yvon Ledanois after his team's leader Tejay van Garderen had crashed into and over a guardrail coming down a mountain descent during stage three of the Volta a Catalunya.

"There was a 10-metre drop on the other side of the armco and anything could have happened," added Ledanois, "so it was a relief that he only had some scratches. For him, the general classification is finished. But I told him that there were still stages to go for, that he needed to prove to the team that he was a real leader and he had to show that on the road."

Presciently, Ledanois was speaking in Tona, before the start of the only mountain-top finish of the seven-stage WorldTour race, at the ski station of La Molina. A little over five hours later, van Garderen was crossing the finish line with his arms in the air, punching the sky, having attacked then held off Team Sky's fast-finishing Richie Porte and resisted the counter-attack of Alberto Contador of Tinkoff-Saxo. If Ledanois was hoping that van Garderen would 'bounce back' then he couldn't have wished for a much better response.

"I had it my mind to go for it today, Yvon (Ledanois) said that because the classification was done for me I would get a little bit of freedom from the rest of the bunch and if I saw a chance, I should really go for it," said van Garderen later.

"I did this race in my neo-pro year with High Road in 2010 and I just remember finishing every stage on my hands and knees, it was one of the hardest things I've done. I've been going well since the start of the year, I showed the form I had in Paris-Nice and in Oman and it was good to show it here, but I just needed a bit of luck."

When van Garderen was talking about 'luck' he probably didn't have in mind the fact that he fell off a mountain the previous day, but he acknowledged his good fortune.

"I can't believe how lucky I was yesterday, the worst of it was just scratches from thorns in the bushes, but I landed in a bunch of soft branches and when you go over a guardrail like that, you never know what can happen. I have one of my best friends (team mate) Taylor Phinney who had a very unfortunate incident with a guardrail at the US national championships." (where he badly broke his leg)

Tejay van Garderen wins summit finish on Volta a Catalunya stage four

Van Garderen's winning attack - inside the final two kilometres as the pre-race favourites sized each other up - was a bold move and one that paid off. Van Garderen overhauled Dan Martin (Cannondale-Garmin) and Vasil Kiryienka (Team Sky) but when Contador attacked, it looked like the American was going to be caught by the Spaniard, with the Tinkoff-Saxo man racing for both the stage and to move up on general classification.

"I knew Alberto was coming up, as much as you try not to look back in these situations. I tried not to focus on him, sometimes its really hard not to look back, but I tried to stay focused and look at the road in front of me, when I saw 400 metres to go I just thought, 'Aw, I can't let anybody deny me this win'."

Earlier that morning, Ledanois, a former pro, railed against the obsession with power outputs and watts in racing. "In modern cycling, I understand that power meters are very useful in training, but in a race you just need to listen to your heart and your legs and attack on feel. It's… it's panache, you know? Panache!"

When van Garderen attacked and won, there was a little panache on show that would have brought an approving nod from his directeur sportif. Train with watts, but win with panache.

Tejay van Garderen (BMC) took his second career WorldTour victory on the summit of La Molina on stage four of the 2015 Volta a Catalunya, with Team Sky's Richie Porte coming in second ahead of Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo).

The American slipped out of GC contention on Wednesday's stage three having crashed on a descent, but seemed to use the 15 minute deficit to his advantage as he attacked with only around 3km to go and wasn't immediately pursued by the overall contenders.

Contador was the first of those to respond to Van Garderen's move but was tracked by his BMC teammate Darwin Atapuma.

Vasil Kiryienka (Team Sky) who had already made an earlier move up the category one climb, was able to use his position to help bridge Porte over to Contador, with the Tasmanian then attacking as the road rose up again in the final 500 metres to put five seconds into the Spaniard.

But Porte's move was too late to catch Van Garderen, who crossed three seconds ahead to add the stage win to his other mountain top victory in the same race last year.

Overall leader on the road, Pierre Rolland (Europcar) was unable to hold onto his jersey, getting dropped early on the climb, and slipping out of the top 10 by the time he crossed the line five minutes later.

Porte's attack wasn't enough to quite see him to the top of the GC, as Rolland's stage one breakaway companion, Bart De Clercq (Lotto-Soudal) finished well enough on the stage to maintain a 21 second gap and take the leader's jersey.

Dan Martin (Cannondale-Garmin), who had attacked with around 5km to go, managed to fight his way back to finish level with Contador, and now sits fourth in GC.

Friday's stage five looks less likely to have a major influence on the overall standings, but features a category two climb close to the finish to present yet another difficult finale in this race.

Result

Volta a Catalunya 2015 stage four (188km), Tona - La Molina

1. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC, in 5-00-36

2. Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky, at 3 seconds

3. Alberto Contador (Esp) Tinkoff-Saxo, at 8 seconds

4. Daniel Martin (Ire) Cannondale-Garmin, st

5. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo, st

6. John Darwin Atapuma (Col) BMC, at 11 seconds

7. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2r-La Mondiale, at 15 seconds

8. Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar, at 19 seconds

9. Vasil Kiryienka (Blr) Team Sky, at 21 seconds

10. Rafael Valls (Esp) Lampre-Merida, st

Overall

1. Bart de Clercq (Bel) Lotto-Soudal, 18-32-02

2. Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky, at 21 seconds

3. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2r-La Mondiale, at 26 seconds

4. Daniel Martin (Ire) Cannondale-Garmin, at 27 seconds

5. Alberto Contador (Esp) Tinkoff-Saxo, at 28 seconds

6. Rigoberto Uran (Col) Etixx - Quick-Step, at 45 seconds

7. Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana, at 48 seconds

8. Wilco Kelderman (Ned) LottoNL-Jumbo, at 51 seconds

9. Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Movistar, at 52 seconds

10. John Darwin Atapuma (Col) BMC, at 54 seconds

Tejay van Garderen admits he expected the backlash that came his way after the news emerged that he has been motorpaced by Lance Armstrong.

The American racer, who finished fifth in the 2014 Tour de France, insists he wasn’t trying to court controversy by working with the Texan, simply making use of a local resource.

But the 26-year-old, who is replacing Cadel Evans as the BMC team leader in 2015, feels Armstrong is being overly persecuted for his role in the US Postal doping scandal.

“It [the criticism] is kind of what I expected to hear,” he said at the BMC training camp in Spain.

“At the end of the day I just feel that it isn’t really fair that we can go to George Hincapie’s Gran Fondo, we accept that Christian Vandevelde can be our commentator, we have interviews with Frankie Andreu, but Lance is the evil guy.

“He lives a couple of blocks away from me, so it wasn’t like I was trying to make some big statement by having him motorpace me.

>>> Emma O’Reilly: Lance Armstrong is paying the price for being a bully

“It was really just that my normal motorpacer was out of town, he was a couple of blocks down the road, he has a Vespa and free time.

“People can think what they want, but the story is old enough now and with all the other riders in his position, I think he’s been punished enough.”

Having secured his second top-five finish in the past three Tours de France, van Garderen is disappointed the ASO have not included a long time trial in the 2015 Tour.

BMC will enter the stage-nine team time trial as one of the favourites, given their win at the Road World Championship Team Time Trial in September.

But despite the lack individual miles against the clock, van Garderen is confident of gaining time on the favourites on the challenging first-week stages.

>>> Riders react to 2015 Tour de France route presentation

He said: “Christian Prudhomme was quoted as saying that the winner of the Tour should be the most complete rider, which is why he put in the stages in the Ardennes and the stage with the cobbles and the big mountains.

“I agree with that but he is missing one key element to make a truly complete rider.

“That being said, I think there are plenty of chances, that we can take time on some of the pure climbers like on some of the crosswind days and the cobblestones.”

Banned former rider Lance Armstrong has been helping BMC Racing Team's Grand Tour contender Tejay van Garderen with his training by motorpacing him.

Armstrong revealed his role in van Garderen's race preparations during an interview with Rouleur magazine #51, published today (Friday).

Armstrong spoke to Danish journalist Morten Okbo at his home in Aspen, Colorado, where Okbo spent three days with the Texan along with photographer Jakob Kristian Sørensen.

During a car journey to a restaurant, Armstrong spoke to his partner Anna Hansen on the phone, saying "Hi, baby. Yeah. I’m with the Danes now. They’re dressed like the Blues Brothers, man! Crazy shit. What? No. I just motor-paced Tejay for an hour. My ass is about to fall off."

Armstrong is currently serving a lifetime ban from competition after admitting to doping during all of his seven Tour de France victories, which were all subsequently stripped from him. The ban extends to all sports and USA Cycling sanctioned events outside of racing. He was blocked from riding in George Hincapie's Gran Fondo in October.

Now, though, it appears that he is playing a role in assisting  a rider in a new generation of American Grand Tour contenders. Armstrong has a connection with van Garderen's BMC Racing team in life-long friend Jim Ochowicz, the squad's manager. Armstrong's role in assisting with van Garderen's training will undoubtedly raise some eyebrows.

Despite his continuing involvement with parts of the sport, Armstrong did not hold back in his scorn for professional cycling and how he has been treated, which he feels is unfair in comparison to some of his peers who have also been found guilty of doping.

"The sport is so weak," Armstrong said of professional cycling. "Just fundamentally weak. From the unity standpoint. From a rider’s standpoint. The teams. They have no authority. No power. So when you have a shit show like we’ve seen with me, someone from the outside can just step in, go back 12 years in time, and royally screw a sport and a new generation that deserves none of this. Cycling and its hypocrisy is off the charts."

Armstrong in his garage. Photo by Jakob Kristian Sørensen for Rouleur

Armstrong did admit that he has regrets over being "aggressive" during his career, and the lengths that he went to to cover up and deny his doping, a cover-up which he said became "bigger than the races".

Okbo asked him whether he would make different decisions in his career if he could go back and start again.

"Making the decision to dope? Well, we all made that decision," said Armstrong. "Once we realised – this was when we arrived in Europe and got our asses kicked – that we had brought knives to a gun-fight, we all went out and got guns. So virtually everybody in the business made that decision.

"My set of options was to go back to the US and work in a bike shop. Well, I didn’t take that option. So this was the times of the sport. But don’t f**king over-apologise about it. Everyone is now going; ‘oh, I’m so sorry…’ I can’t take that narrative and run with it.”

Lance Armstrong attempts to qualify for the Beer Mile World Championships, and fails (video)

The banned cyclist pulls out after one lap and one beer.

Lance Armstrong says cycling is still in a mess after drugs confession

Lance Armstrong admits that he rarely rides his bike any more and wants to move on with his life after

USA Cycling block Armstrong participation in Hincapie Gran Fondo

Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing) successfully defended his USA Pro Challenge title on Sunday, finishing in sixth place on the final stage in Denver to secure the overall victory.

The American completed the seven-stage, UCI 2.HC-ranked race with a one minute and 32 second advantage over Garmin-Sharp's Tom Danielson. Romanian Serghei Tvetcov (Jelly Belly) completed the podium in third.

Top-placed British rider was Richard Handley (Rapha Condor JLT) in 43rd place, with team-mate Hugh Carthy one place further back in 44th.

Alex Howes (Garmin-Sharp) took the final stage victory, book-ended the race with success after also winning the opening stage.

The race will be remembered as much for one other factor: it was veteran German Jens Voigt final race as a professional cyclist before retirement. The ever-popular Voigt was, of course, part of the day's escape group and netted the race's prize for most aggressive rider.

USA Pro Challenge 2014
Final overall classification
1. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing in 20-05-42

2. Thomas Danielson (USA) Garmin-Sharp at 1-32

3. Serghei Tvetcov (Rou) Jelly Belly at 1-45

4. Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo at 1-49

5. Matthew Busche (USA) Trek Factory Racing at 3-11

6. Joseph Rosskopf (USA) Hincapie Sportswear Development at 3-31

7. Bartosz Huzarski (Pol) Netapp-Endura at 3-35

8. Carter Jones (USA) Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies at 3-43

9. Ben Hermans (Bel) BMC Racing at 3-44

10. Bruno Pires (Por) Tinkoff-Saxo at 5-35

American Tejay van Garderen is set to defend his race title at the upcoming USA Pro Challenge that has this year attracted five WorldTour teams.

Van Garderen finished fifth overall at the Tour de France last month in what was his first stint as a Grand Tour leader at BMC and has raced San Sebastian, in which he placed 58th, in the interim to the August 18-24 'home' event.

The 24-year-old is set to have strong support with Tour of Utah stage winner Michael Schar amongst those named on a provisional team line-up. Van Garderen however will face strong opposition in Ivan Basso (Cannondale) as well as Frank Schleck (Trek), Rafal Majka (Tinkoff-Saxo), not to mention title hopefuls from the four Professional Continental teams, including Leopold Konig (NetApp-Endura), and the seven Continental due to compete.

“I’m really looking forward to defending my race title in Colorado this year,” said van Garderen. “Because it starts in my hometown, it’s different and more relaxed. To race in front of my family and friends is always special. We are bringing a really motivated team and with a summit finish this year, it promises to be another hard race.”

The seven-stage event that traverses the Colorado Rockies will also mark popular German veteran Jens Voigt’s last race before retirement. It’s understood his team and technical sponsor Trek is to host a suitable party in Denver to acknowledge the super domestique’s long contribution to the sport.

“I chose the Pro Challenge as my final race because of the fans,” Voigt said. “The fans in Colorado love outdoor activities, so they are all experts. They know exactly how hard it is to go up those crazy-long climbs. It’s a beautiful state and I just always love the warm welcome and the support I get from the fans.”

For more information visit the USA Pro Challenge race website.

Tejay van Garderen and Cadel Evans at crossroads with BMC

Tejay van Garderen confident he can be a Tour de France contender

Big interview: Tejay van Garderen

Tejay van Garderen won the US Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado and the Tour of California this season. He's stronger,

American Tejay van Garderen is gaining valuable experience at the Tour de France as BMC leader whilst former race winner and team-mate Cadel Evans considers his future with the lucrative WorldTour outfit.

Evans realised a long-standing goal with the team winning the maillot jaune at the 2011 edition just a year after signing with what was then a Pro Continental squad.

However, the 37-year-old Australian was not selected for the Tour this season with BMC opting for van Garderen. Van Garderen extended his contract with the team in 2012 with this year’s opportunity serving as incentive.

“October we decided the programme that Cadel was going to be riding the Giro and I was going to be leading the Tour,” he said. “I pretty much had the whole year from then on knowing that this my focus.”

Off-contract Evans raced the Giro d’Italia in May, in which he finished eighth and had a stint in the maglia rosa, at the team’s request and is due to compete at the Vuelta a Espana in support of Samuel Sanchez. He has been in Australia this month promoting a new one-day race named in his honour.

“Cadel is evaluating his season next year at the moment,” BMC manager Jim Ochowicz told Cycling Weekly. “Whether he is going to continue or not continue that’s Cadel’s decision to make in the coming months. We know he is doing the Tour of Utah and the Vuelta and the World Championships so I’m going to see him in Utah and at the Vuelta. We’ve already started some dialogue about next year and what that might be or not. No decisions have been made.

“We’ve talked about some possibilities, some scenarios, that might work for everybody,” he continued.

Van Garderen cracked under the pressure of a relentless Movistar offence in the first day of competition in the Pyrenees yesterday and currently sits in sixth place – nine minutes and 25 seconds adrift of race leader Vincenzo Nibali (Astana). Whether the 25-year-old holds post as Tour leader beyond this season remains to be seen.

“He’s the leader right now,” Ochowicz said. “We can’t evaluate his overall performance until the race is over. It’s a learning curve he’s going through right now. He’s done Grand Tours before but never as a leader so he’s managing the expectations of his riders in the team plus his reactions. The way he manages his time and efforts, not just on the bike but off the bike, affect the 25 staff members, so indirectly he’s managing the whole group. We’re assisting in the places where we have to help to facilitate what he has to get done.”

Ochowicz said team goals had not shifted despite the loss of riders and van Garderen’s current position, which he may be able to improve with two more days in the Pyrenees and a long time trial to come before the peloton reaches Paris.

“We came in thinking we’d like to get a stage and we’ve come close a few times,” Ochowicz said.

“We’re not putting a number on Tejay’s finishing position. There’s no real definitive number on how to finish this race but everyday doing a good job.”

Twitter: @SophieSmith86

Tejay van Garderen confident he can be a Tour de France contender

Tejay van Garderen downplays Tour de France stage seven crash

The BMC rider lost over a minute and the services of team-mate Darwin Atapuma in the fall approaching Nancy.

BMC rider Tejay van Garderen downplayed the crash which saw him concede over a minute to his GC rivals and lose team-mate Darwin Atapuma en route to Nancy this afternoon.

The American fell when placed at the head of the peloton with just over 15 kilometres remaining, and crossed the line 1-03 after stage winner Matteo Trentin.

Having previously fallen on stage two into Sheffield and twice on Wednesday, this latest crash saw the 25-year-old slip to 18^th overall, over three minutes behind race leader Vincenzo Nibali. He finished the stage upon the bike of team-mate Peter Velits.

“The time loss isn't as big as the crash itself,” he said. “I've got a bit of road rash, a sore shoulder which is nothing major, so I'll definitely be fine to start tomorrow.

“I was on my team-mate Mickey's [Michael Schär] wheel, but I don't know. It felt like someone hit the brakes in front, so I had to hit the brakes, then I was taken out a little bit from behind. It all happened so fast, I'm not really sure. I'd have to look at the video footage to tell you.”

Colombian climber Atapuma fell in the same crash as van Garderen, and was forced to abandon his first Tour.

“This is definitely not a good day for the team,” added van Garderen. “We were keeping Atapuma out of the wind and keeping him fresh for the mountains. I hear he banged his knew pretty hard.”

Team manager Yvon Ledanois said that BMC's tough day came at the end of a largely positive week for the team.

“One minute is nothing. For sure, it's not a good result today, but we look ahead,” he said.

“If you have one climber less, that's never good for the team. The first week for Tejay and the team has not been bad. Today was just one bad day.”

Tejay van Garderen doesn’t have overly fond memories of last year’s Tour de France but stands to benefit from wholesale internal changes that a lacklustre team performance there provoked.

The American is set to essentially succeed 2011 champion Cadel Evans as BMC leader at the Tour next month and will approach the Criterium du Dauphine, which starts Sunday, as a dress rehearsal. Van Garderen has had a mixed season but is confident he can perform at the Dauphine and as a Tour de France contender in July.

BMC has employed and adhered to a much more structured, no-nonsense approach to performance since the 100th Tour that served as a catalyst for change.

“We hit rock bottom in the Tour last year and had to climb out of that,” sporting manager Allan Peiper said.

“We went to the Tour de France and it was a fiasco – Cadel wasn’t where he should have been, Tejay lost time for whatever reason and the team time trial was a disaster. We lost a wheel somewhere and we needed to have a real hard think about what we were doing.”

Van Garderen’s succession was in the pipeline long before the 2013 Tour. Leadership there will still be a milestone undertaking though one he seems up for as BMC strives for an improved outcome.

The 25-year-old, through illness and injury, has raced less than previous years in the lead-up to both the Dauphine and Tour but is confident in his ability to perform off the back of training. Van Garderen withdrew via injury from April’s Tour of Romandie and has trained and embarked on Tour course reconnaissance since.

“I train well and I can simulate racing pretty well in training,” he said.

“I’m not going to go to the Dauphine with expectations to just win it easily or anything like that, especially considering the competition. We want to treat it as a dress rehearsal for the Tour de France. I’ll definitely be going for as high a GC place as possible and try to test my limits and the team.”

The inclusion of Evans in van Garderen’s Tour arsenal is unclear though doubtful given the Australian's standing and maglia rosa assault at the Giro d’Italia where he finished eighth overall following an early stint in pink. So far BMC has avoided headship controversy akin to that of Bradley Wiggins and Chris Froome at Sky.

Van Garderen said he may call on Evans for leadership tips in the run to the Yorkshire Grand Depart where he is sure to be surrounded by a promising squad ready to test the likes of defending champion Froome and in-form antagonist Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo).

“I haven’t really spoken with Cadel. He’s been busy with his own programme racing the Giro and now that it has finished I think he’s pretty keen to take a little rest,” he said. “Maybe as the Tour approaches and we get closer I might reach out to him for a little advice.

“I’m definitely confident in my ability to be a Tour de France contender,” he continued.

“Last year things just started falling apart. I didn’t have any trouble all season, I was always on the podium at every race I did and then all of a sudden everything unraveled at the Tour and it was the worst time to have that happen … But you’ve got to put that behind you and move forward and use it as motivation.

“The complete [Tour] team hasn’t been named yet but barring injury or illness there’s a few guys I’m pretty sure will be there. The guys on the classics side being Micky Schär, Greg Van Avermaet and Marcus Burghardt will be key players for the flat stages, and even Micky Schär for some of the mountain stages. That guy can kind of do it all.

“As far as the mountain climbers go we’re still in the process of picking the team and probably a lot more will be known after the Dauphine, but certainly Peter Velits is a key guy for the mountains.”

Twitter: @SophieSmith86

Read more in the June 12 edition of Cycling Weekly

Tejay van Garderen (BMC Racing) claimed stage four of the 2014 Volta a Catalunya on Thursday, conquering the race's queen stage at Vallter 2000 in misty, freezing conditions.

It's van Garderen's first victory of the 2014 season, and the American can be rightly satisfied to have beaten Grand Tour rivals Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo), Joaquim Rodriguez (Katusha), Nairo Quintana (Movistar) and Chris Froome (Sky) in one of the year's first big mountain tests.

Van Garderen out-paced fellow escapee Romain Bardet (Ag2r) to take the victory, with Contador coming home in third. British hope Chris Froome finished in seventh.

Rodriguez's fourth spot was enough for him to hang on to the overall race lead ahead of Contador by a slim four-second advantage. Van Garderen moves up to third overall whilst Froome drops a place to sixth, 17 seconds behind Rodriguez.

The race concludes on Sunday, March 30, with few opportunities left for the other contenders to overhaul Rodriguez's lead overall.

Results
Volta a Catalunya 2014, stage four: Alp to Vallter 2000, 166.4km
1. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team in 4-49-30

2. Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale at same time

3. Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo at 3 secs

4. Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Katusha at 4 secs

5. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar at 5 secs

6. Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin-Sharp at 8 secs

7. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky at same time

8. Warren Barguil (Fra) Giant-Shimano at 15 secs

9. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2r La Mondiale at 16 secs

10. Robert Kiserlovski (Cro) Trek Factory Racing at 21 secs

Overall classification after stage four
1. Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Katusha in 17-47-34

2. Alberto Contador (Spa) Tinkoff-Saxo at 4 secs

3. Tejay van Garderen (USA) BMC Racing Team at 7 secs

4. Romain Bardet (Fra) Ag2r La Mondiale at 10 secs

5. Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team at 10 secs

6. Chris Froome (GBr) Team Sky at 17 secs

7. Andrew Talansky (USA) Garmin-Sharp at 18 secs

8. Domenico Pozzovivo (Ita) Ag2r La Mondiale at 26 secs

9. Warren Barguil (Fra) Giant-Shimano at 42 secs

10. David Arroyo (Spa) Caja Rural at 45 secs

Joaquim Rodriguez wins Volta a Catalunya stage three to take race lead

Chris Froome attacks in final kilometre but no-one can stop Joaquim Rodriguez

Tejay van Garderen remains confused as to why he faltered in the Pyrenees but is optimistic about opportunities in the third week of the Tour de France that hits Mont Ventoux today.

Many expected the 24-year-old to shine in the first mountain test of the Tour given his impressive campaign last season in which he won the white jersey and finished fifth overall - two places ahead of an ill BMC leader Cadel Evans.

But the American's shot at a white jersey title defence went in stage eight to AX 3 Domaines where he lost contact and finished the day 12 minutes and 38 seconds in arrears of race leader Chris Froome (Sky). An attempt to make the break the next day didn't work.

"It's been a bit of a mental struggle. I was expecting more out of myself but I think I'm bouncing back OK and excited to try something," he told Cycling Weekly before the start of stage 14 yesterday.

"It certainly wasn't my level - getting dropped off the back at a power that normally I could easily do in training. It was kind of confusing as to why that happened. But there's still a lot of racing to go so there's still plenty of opportunities.

"Sometimes you just have to try as much as you can because those breaks are so hard to get in to and they are so unpredictable that you kind of just have to go for it whenever you see the opportunity. If you put everything into the one it might not work."

Van Garderen was part of the 18-man break that comprised yesterday's defining move. He has earmarked a few stages and remains confident he can return to the race as a genuine general classification in the near future.

"[Tuesday's] stage into Gap looks like an interesting one. And pretty much every stage from today on is going to be hard," he said.

Van Garderen entered the Tour with aspirations to defend the white jersey but primarily to support Evans in another maillot jaune bid. He appeared on track to do so finishing second overall at the Tour de San Luis in January, fourth at Paris-Nice, first at the Tour of California and seventh at the Tour de Suisse.

"I don't think last year's result was a fluke," he said. I think I've proven at other races that I can fight up there for GC on any sort of terrain. So next year I want to prove that I can be a GC contender here."

Evans, 36, competed at the Giro, finishing third overall, before his Tour assault in an effort to compensate for the race days he lost last year due to illness. The Australian is currently 13th in the general classification, 6:54 adrift of Froome.

"He still has a chance to get into the top 10, which would be important but not exactly what we were aiming for," van Garderen said. "We have a lot of freedom to try something whenever we see the opportunity."

Tour leadership was not an issue Evans or van Garderen stirred in the lead-up to the race. However, it is set to be something the latter pushes for next season.

"I think next year I should have a bit more of the team's backing and full support. This year was Cadel's, not necessarily last chance but we gave Cadel 100 per cent of the team support," van Garderen said.

"I'm signed through 2016 so this is definitely a long term project that I have with them. I think I'll have plenty of opportunities to lead the team in the Tour."

Follow @SophieSmith86