“He has spent most of his career in Italy and he knows Italian cycling inside out. Culturally he’ll fit in with our quirky but professional organisation,” said Garmin’s Jonathan Vaughters.
Wegelius will join a reshuffled directorial line up at Garmin, with Allan Peiper joining and Lionel Marie departing for GreenEdge. Adrie van Diemen, Johnny Weltz and Bingen Fernandez remain at the team.
“We’ve got experienced guys who have been doing this for years. When I look for directors I look for something very specific and Charley has that. I need them to be of a certain mentality and you can build the experience around that but that unique instinct to communicate, you’ve either got that or you don’t.”
Wegelius forged a career in the pro ranks as a dedicated and dependable domestique. His climbing skills saw him work for several Giro winners and although he missed out on winning a professional race, Vaughters is certain that he will improve the team.
“He was a talented climber, a dedicated domestique. He was a hard working guy and that’s what I want in directors. You want guys that understand the racing. Sometimes you have to be a guy who has suffered during races and a guy that can’t afford to make mistakes. Charley has seen the race from all sides. You look for the smartest guys, not the ones with the best VO2 max.”
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Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
