Tejay van Garderen sets his sights on 2011 Giro d'Italia
American rider Tejay van Garderen has said he aims to make an impact at the 2011 Giro d'Italia after a promising first season with HTC-Columbia.
van Garderen, who rode for Rabobank during the 2008 and 2009 seasons, impressed HTC-Columbia managers Bob Stapleton and Rolf Aldag by winning the team time-trial at the Vuelta a Espana in September. He
also finished sixth in the fourth stage of the race.
"I’ve got a schedule of all the races that the team will be doing [in 2011]," van Garderen told
Cyclingnews, adding that his personal schedule had not yet been set. "I don’t think it will be confirmed until the first camp in December but my coach and I have made a rough outline of what I’d like to do."
After impressing at the start of this year's Vuelta before tiring during the latter stages of the three-week event, the 22-year-old said he was aiming to race in the 2011 Giro d'Italia.
"It’s definitely a hard route. No grand tour is easy but the Giro is renowned for having the most brutal courses. It’s nerve-wracking to see that but it doesn’t play too much into my selection for which
races I want to do," explained the rider, who added that he was ready to take what he deemed to be the next logical step on the Grand Tour.
"I just see it as an obvious stepping stone from doing the Vuelta, which is the more relaxed grand tour and then moving to the Giro which is harder. Maybe after that I can do the Tour de France."
Aims for Giro top 10
Despite only having three professional seasons under his belt, van Garderen said he had high expectations on his own performance at next year's Giro — should he be selected for the HTC-Columbia lineup.
"Next year in the Giro I’m going to be really aiming for the top ten. It’ll be a disappointment if it doesn’t happen."
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