One of the freshest faces at the Vuelta a Espana this year is US pro cyclist Tejay van Garderen, who is making a mark at his first Grand Tour.
In Tuesday's hard-fought Stage 4 with its steep climb at the finish, for instance, Van Garderen finished just 8 seconds behind the day's winner, Igor Anton (Spain) of Euskaltel Euskadi.
That helped preserve the 22-year-old cyclist's position in the Top 10 for the fourth day. He's currently sitting in 6th place, 29 seconds behind overall leader Phillipe Gilbert of Omega Pharma-Lotto.
Washington state
Already in his third season of professional cycling, Van Garderen has his roots in the Pacific Northwest. He was born in Tacoma, Washington, but spent most of his childhood in Bozeman, Montana.
He broke into the pro ranks in 2008 when he joined Rabobank's Continental cycling team, and joined HTC-Columbia in 2010.
Van Garderen already has a good resume. He finished 2nd overall at the Tour of Turkey and 3rd overall at the prestigious Criterium du Dauphine this year. Although he finished down in the field at the Tour of California this year, he worked to ensure teammate Michael Rogers won the race.
Prospects
At the Vuelta, his first Grand Tour, Van Garderen made a trip to the podium after Stage 1 on Saturday when HTC-Columbia won the team time trial. How far can he go?
HTC-Columbia sport director Tristan Hoffman told Andrew Hood at VeloNews that because he's young, the team doesn't want to put too much pressure on him.
“He’s confident, he’s motivated and he’s really excited to be here. He has the right attitude and he’s really nice to work with. I hope he has a big future, but we’ve seen many guys who we thought could make it and they didn’t. Just to make it for three weeks is not the goal for a rider like him. He’s not here just to follow and look around. He wants to be part of the race, to get into a breakaway, to push himself.”
It will be interesting to see if Van Garderen finishes the Vuelta. But more interesting will be watching him progress as a talent in the coming years.
More information about Stage 4 at CyclingNews.com/
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