The Fresno Bee talks to Jonathan Vaughters about team strategy in general and what Garmin-Slipstream’s plan will be for the Amgen Tour of California.
“While some teams will enter the Tour of California with one pre-selected leader, others designate two or three potential leaders and wait to see how the race unfolds before settling on one.
“Garmin-Slipstream, for example, has a bona fide leader in Christian Vande Velde, who was fifth in last year’s Tour de France. But Vande Velde might not be in peak form this early in the season, so fellow American David Zabriskie could wind up as team leader.
“And if neither Vande Velde nor Zabriskie are feeling it, Vaughters might elevate one of his two young, up-and-coming climbers, Tom Peterson or Trent Lowe, to team leader.
” ‘Everyone’s got a speciality, based on what their strengths are on the bike,’ Vaughters said. ‘We try to exploit that and try to create a team that addresses all the weak points by having different riders with different strengths.’ “
