Laurens ten Dam’s one year deal with Giant Alpecin signifies a bold new step in the veteran rider’s career, and one that will see him compete on both sides of the Atlantic in 2016.
Having left Lotto Jumbo this year, the former Tour de France top-10 finisher was keen to dovetail a race programme in the US with major European events mixed in. Giant Alpecin, who have shifted focus and will have a more all-round team with objectives in the sprints and in stage races, stepped in and offered ten Dam the chance he had been looking for.
Although his race programme has yet to be fully defined – and may rely on UCI rules that govern WorldTour riders competing in US domestic races – ten Dam believes that the switch will work.
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“There were quite a few pluses from my point of view as to why I’ve gone there,” he told Cyclingnews on the eve of his transfer being made official.
“Sometimes when you’re looking for the ideal scenario it takes a little bit longer and this has turned out to be ideal for me and the team. It’s all come together in the end.”
Ten Dam’s long association with LottoNL-Jumbo dates back to their Rabobank days and in that time the Dutch rider firmly established himself as one of their most consistent performers in three-week races. However, and by his own admission, this year’s Tour de France was a disappointment with a finish outside of the top 80 places in GC. That, coupled with a training crash in which he was hit by a vehicle, led him to reassess his ambitions in both his life and his profession.
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