Janier Acevedo (Garmin-Sharp)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Janier Acevedo (Garmin) goes back to the car for bottles(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
Janier Acevedo (Garmin-Sharp) in action during stage 2 at the Tour de San Luis(Image credit: Bettini Photo)
Janier Alexis Acevedo (Cannondale - Garmin)(Image credit: Courtesy of Polartec-Kometa)
Tom Danielson (Garmin-Sharp) leads Tejay van Garderen (BMC) and Janier Acevedo (Jamis) on the way to Beaver Creek.(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
Janier Acevedo (Jamis-Hagens Berman) rode strong today to remain in fourth place in the overall.(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Janier Acevedo will not renew with the WorldTour team Cannondale-Garmin and instead will return to the US-based Continental outfit Jamis for the 2016 season. The addition of Acevedo completes the Jamis team's 10-man roster for the upcoming season.
“We are really excited to have Janier Acevedo back into the Team Jamis program. He only raced one year with us, but people are still talking about him and his performances of 2013," said the team's manager and director Sebastian Alexandre. “Janier is a very talented cyclist and we are confident that he will continue to perform at a very high level."
Acevedo is known for his talents in the mountains. He spent two seasons with the Colombia-based team Gobernation de Antioquia-Indeportes Antiquia (2011 and 2012) before he was picked up by Alexandre to race with Jamis in 2013.
During that one season in the US he had some of the best results of his career, all in the so-called big-three stage races: Tour of California, Tour of Utah and the USA Pro Challenge.
Acevedo started that season with a victory in stage 1 at the Tour of the Gila atop Mogollon and placed fifth overall, which was just a taste of what the team and the domestic racing scene would see of his climbing skills.
At the Tour of California, he won stage 2 in Palm Springs, place second in stage 7 atop Mount Diablo and took third overall at Tour of California, behind overall winner Tejay van Garderen (BMC) and runner-up Michael Rogers (Tinkoff-Saxo). In Utah, Acevedo placed third overall behind winner Tom Danielson (then Garmin-Sharp) and runner-up Chris Horner (then RadioShack), and he went on to win stage 4 into Beaver Creek and place fourth overall at the USA Pro Challenge, behind Van Garderen, Mathias Frank and Danielson.
The results caught the attention of Jonathan Vaughters, who scooped him up under a two-year deal with his Garmin program.
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During his time with Garmin-Sharp (2014) and Cannondale-Garmin (2015), Acevedo had the opportunity to compete in two Grand Tours: the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia, along with one of the Monuments, Il Lombardia, however, his role was predominantly filled as a helper for riders like Ryder Hesjedal, Dan Martin and Andrew Talansky. He also had a top-10 results at the Tour de Suisse. The experience will no doubt contribute to Jamis' ambitions for stage racing in 2016.
Acevedo expected to lead Jamis in top American stage races
During the 2016 season, Jamis will target all of the major stage races across the US, and they will also compete in the Tour de San Luis held in Argentina in January.
"We have built a strong stage race team and our boys are really motivated to have a great season," Alexandre said.
The signing of Acevedo completes Jamis' 2016 roster that includes another returning rider, Ruben Companioni, and new riders Eric Marcotte, Kyle Murphy, Stephen Bassett and Brayan Sanchez. Returning riders are Luis Amaran, Sebastian Haedo, Carson Miller and Stephen Leece.
“Ruben is coming back after taking a year to focus on criterium racing,” Alexandre said. “He raced with Jamis for two years, and I know his abilities. Ruben is from Cuba, and is a huge talent, with a big future ahead of him. It is my hope that we can continue Ruben’s development, in order to help him reach a new level in his career.”
The team's speed will come from Haedo, Marcotte, Companioni and Amaran, while Acevedo will be supported in the mountains by compatriot Sanchez, along with Murphy and Miller.
"Sanchez is a very good climber coming from Orgullo Antioqueno Team, where he won the KOM Jersey at the Vuelta Juventud 2014, which is the biggest U23 race in Colombia," Alexandre said. "And Kyle has a very aggressive style of racing which will provide us more options during the stage races we will do."
Not returning to the team are their top climbers Daniel Jaramillo, who signed with UnitedHealthcare, and Gregory Brenes, along with Ben Jacques-Maynes, Ian Crane, David Williams and Gaston Trillini.
Jamis roster for 2016: Janier Acevedo, Luis Amaran, Stephen Bassett, Ruben Companioni, Sebastian Haedo, Stephen Leece, Eric Marcotte, Carson Miller, Kyle Murphy and Brayan Sanchez.
Kirsten Frattini is the Deputy Editor of Cyclingnews, overseeing the global racing content plan.
Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science. She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races, reporting on the WorldTour, Spring Classics, Tours de France, World Championships and Olympic Games.
She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006. In 2018, Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy, race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023.
