'That crash' in Liége-Bastogne-Liége remains one of the most astonishing and agonising moments of the entire season but it was Martin's Giro fall that had the most implications for the team's season. In the blink of an eye and the width of a drain cover, the fall not only took out the team's overall leader but injured a number of riders on the team and saw Ryder Hesjedal lose significant time.
Post Tour and the team appeared to find more of a groove. Dylan Van Baarle came from nowhere to win a genuinely exciting Tour of Britain, Tom Danielson picked up a stage and the overall at the Tour of Utah, Alex Howes took a popular stage win at the US Pro Challenge and the Vuelta a España saw Hesjedal win a stage and Martin finish inside the top 10. They closed out the season in even stronger fashion with two wins at the Tour of Beijing - courtesy of Martin and Farrar – while Haas won the Japan Cup and Martin won Il Lombardia.
Biggest loss: On paper David Millar's experience will be missed but the team still have the likes of Hesjedal and Danielson to remind them of what racing the Classique des Alpes and Midi-Libre was like in the early 2000s. The measure of Farrar's departure will be entirely dependable on the American's transition at MTN but the mid-season move for Rohan Dennis could be the biggest loss. The talented Dennis made Vaughters' Tour de France cut in 2013 after a highly mature ride in that year's Dauphiné but the mid-season move from BMC sees the rider link up with another American team. Vansummeren's move to AG2R lightens the team's Classics experience but Marangoni and Bauer will try and cover the grunt work the Belgian used to do when it comes to riding 200km-plus on the front.
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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.
