Danielson leads Garmin-Barracuda at Le Tour de Langkawi

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Tom Danielson returns to Le Tour de Langkawi where he will lead the Garmin-Barracuda outfit, nine years after his overall win with Saturn.

"This race is close to my heart. I made my career there," commented Danielson, who had only just made the switch from mountain to road riding when he won the race at the age of 25 in 2003. This performance allowed him to build his career with top teams Fassa Bortolo, Discovery Channel and now Garmin.

"Danielson is now established as one of the world's best riders for stage races," the chief operating officer of Le Tour de Langkawi Emir Abdul Jalal said. "We're honoured that he remembers Malaysia where it all started for him. His strong showing here in 2003 paved the way for him to join the world's best teams. It's also an important sign of faith to us that Garmin-Barracuda has decided to come back this year. We were the first organizers of a UCI H.C. race to invite them when they stepped up to Pro Continental level in 2007."

Newly-appointed team manager Allan Peiper stated that Le Tour de Langkawi will be the first race of the year for Tour de France riders Danielson and David Zabriskie who will fly directly from the United States to Malaysia, as they have chosen to avoid the cold training and racing conditions in Europe in February. "I'm convinced that we'll have a very competitive team at Le Tour de Langkawi," Peiper said.

Zabriskie will be one of the favourites to wear the first yellow jersey of the Malaysian race, with the opening stage 20.3 km individual time trial in Putrajaya beginning proceedings on Friday.

Garmin-Barracuda team for Le Tour de Langkawi: Tom Danielson (USA), Nathan Haas (Aus), Alex Howes (USA), Raymond Kreder (Ned), Thomas Peterson (USA), David Zabriskie (USA).