Jim Ochowicz believes that Tejay van Garderen will win a WorldTour stage race before the 2018 Tour de France, where the American will ride as a domestique for Richie Porte.
Van Garderen has endured a difficult few years as a GC rider after two top-five performances at the Tour de France earlier in his career. He faded in the Giro d'Italia in 2017 despite winning a stage, then claimed 10th at the Vuelta a Espana, but will not target the overall classification in a Grand Tour in 2018.
"I'll tell you this right now, Tejay will win a WorldTour stage race before we get to the Tour de France. He will. He's got a responsibility to live up to that position. I think we're on a new track to fix things," Ochowicz told Cyclingnews at BMC Racing's recent training camp in Calpe, Spain.
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With Porte set to lead BMC at the Tour de France and Rohan Dennis provided with an opportunity at the Giro d'Italia, van Garderen finds himself facing a demotion. That said, the American will target a number of week-long stage races in the first half of the season before heading to the Tour and at 29, and in a contract year, he knows that this could be final chance to prove his worth at the team.
The American is certainly making sacrifices. He and his young family are set to pack up their home in the US and make Spain their permanent abode. The move, Ochowicz thinks, will help the rider focus and keep him on track during the year.
"He's in the perfect place. I think you're going to see more from Tejay in 2018 than you've seen in his career so far. This is going to be his year," Ochowicz told Cyclingnews.
Riding for Richie
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