When Tony Martin packed up shop and headed to Katusha for 2017, Quick-Step Floors manager Patrick Lefevere had the difficult job of replacing the highly decorated German.
A like-for-like signing was an unattainable impossibility, but in Jack Bauer the team have certainly signed a rider capable of closing part of the void.
Making his full WorldTour debut for his new team at the Tour Down Under, the recently crowned national time trial champion explained his role during the Australian race and for the rest of the first half of the season.
"I'm here to support the guys we have here for GC, Petr Vakoc. It would be nice if I could get up the road in a break or two but we're here more or less to support Petr Vakoc. He's been here since before the New Year, getting ready for the event, so it's all guns blazing for him," the 31-year-old told Cyclingnews.
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Vakoc, 24, finished 26th in the Tour Down Under in 2016 but Quick Step have high hopes for his development and he certainly comes into this year's race without the media gaze that has focused on more established riders.
"There are many teams here with clear cut and potential winners. It's nice to fly under the radar for a guy like Petr. The team has a lot of confidence in him."
Bauer's move to the Belgium WorldTour team came after five years riding at Garmin and Cannondale. He closed out his time on the American team with a fine stage win at the Tour of Britain last year, a victory he secured just three days after signing with Lefevere's men.
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