Team Garmin-Barracuda confirms three previous doping convicts to its 2013 roster
American side, Team Garmin-Barracuda has announced its final roster for the season ahead and former Lance Armstrong teammates, Tom Danielson, Christian Vande Velde and David Zabriskie have been confirmed to join the team in March.
The three cyclists are currently serving a reduced six-month doping ban after they confessed their wrongdoings and helped USADA in building a stronger case against Lance Armstrong.
The trio will join Jack Bauer, Thomas Dekker, Rohan Dennis, Caleb Fairly, Tyler Farrar, Koldo Fernandez de Larrea, Nathan Haas, Ryder Hesjedal, Alex Howes, Robbie Hunter, Andreas Klier, Michel Kreder, Raymond Kreder and Martijn Maaskant.
Dan Martin, David Millar, Lachlan Morton, Ramunas Navardauskas, Nick Nuyens, Jacob Rathe, Sebastien Rosseler, Peter Stetina, Andrew Talansky, Johan Vansummeren, Steele VonHoff, Fabian and Wegmann will also ride through the team in the season ahead.
Team Garmin had a mixed 2012 season securing a total number of 762 UCI points with Ryder Hesjedal (241 UCI points), Daniel Martin (186 UCI points), Andrew Talansky (145 UCI points), Heinrich Haussler (70 UCI points), Christophe Le Mevel (40 UCI points) making
the maximum contributions.
Team Sky leads the category with Team Katusha, Team Liquigas-Cannondale, Team Omega Pharma, Team Movistar, Team Orica-GreenEdge, Team BMC and Team Rabobank achieving the next seven positions.
Danielson, Vande Velde and Zabriskie were amongst the 11 cyclists that admitted doping during their stay with the former side, Team US Postal including Frankie Andreu, Michael Barry, Tyler Hamilton, George Hincapie, Floyd Landis, Levi Leipheimer, Stephen
Swart and Jonathan Vaughters.
"It was not enough that his team-mates give maximum effort on the bike, he also required that they adhere to the doping programme outlined for them or be replaced,” USADA mentioned in its report.
"He was not just a part of the doping culture on his team, he enforced and re-enforced it,” it continues.
“Armstrong's use of drugs was extensive and the doping programme on his team, designed in large part to benefit Armstrong, was massive and pervasive”.
"Armstrong and his co-conspirators sought to achieve their ambitions through a massive fraud now more fully exposed. So ends one of the most sordid chapters in sports history".
It will be interesting to see if the American team find the right momentum earlier on the 2013 season to improve its World Tour ranking in the season ahead.
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