PHOTO: COURTESY OF BMC/Tim De Waele
Van Garderen has the all-around skills (speed, endurance and climbing) to win the Tour de France in the years to come.
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of California, the first major race in the United States since Armstrong’s unraveling, van Garderen was asked about the sport’s future. He paused, then said: “I’d like to hope that the fans can move past what’s happened in that era of cycling,” he said. “I think it’s a long time ago now. I think the sport of cycling has taken its hits, but hopefully they (the fans) don’t lose faith in us now. “I think you’re going to see on Mount Diablo (the stage 7 mountaintop finish). There’ll be a million people there. You’re going to realize the sport of cycling is still strong. People still love it. They’re still going to be out there running half-naked next to us.” Van Garderen’s squad will be among the 22-team, 198-rider field from more than a dozen countries competing in the Tour de France as it celebrates its 100th anniversary. For the first time, the three-week event will visit Corsica. The island on the southeastern corner of France will host the first three stages. The race then advances into the country’s mainland for long, flat stretches through cornfields and vineyards and to the iconic peaks of the Alps and Pyrenees.
To commemorate the race’s 100th running, organizers have incorporated several specialty days, including the ascent of the famous steep climb to the skiing village Alpe d’Huez twice in one day. The race’s final day, as per tradition, will take the riders to the cobblestoned roads of the Champs Elysees. But for the first time the stage will be held at night. Van Garderen was born in Tacoma, Wash., but he spent his youth in Bozeman, Mont. When he was age 10, his father noticed his cycling skills blossoming quickly. Two years later, with his tall, thin and strong frame developing, van Garderen won the first of his 10 junior national titles. He turned pro in 2010. Van Garderen again rapidly excelled, with second overall at the Tour of Turkey and third in the early season French stage race Critérium du Dauphiné. The following season van Garderen was runner-up overall at the Volta ao Algarve in Spain and third overall in the inaugural weeklong USA Pro Challenge in Colorado. He also claimed his first pro win in 2011 in the individual time trial at the Tour of Utah.
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