Tejay van Garderen is hoping to get his career back on track in 2018 following a rough year.
The BMC ridervan Garderen will return to the Tour de France for the first time since 2016 but this time in a support role for Richie Porte.
“I will go to the Tour with the idea of being Richie’s helper,” van Garderen said. “I have to prove myself again. There are some other races where I can be the team captain, and at the Tour, I’ll be there for Richie. I’m OK with that.”
His family will be moving to Europe in 2018 in a bid to create a home environment.
“I’m not going to say that this is going to fix everything or be the key. But I was spending a lot of time away from the family, and when they would come and visit they would be in a jetlagged state. It wasn’t working, trying to live on two different continents. I was thrilled when they would come over, but it was tough and it was hard when they would leave. I think that this will solve a lot of the issues that came up and how it was lonely to be on my own in an apartment in France. It’s going to be great to have that family support network in Europe.
“I can’t promise anything for next year, but all I can say is that I’m motivated to do my best. This commitment we’re making shows how serious my family are about my career. If I can do the work and have the passion and support, it’s going to work out.”
