Injured Brit Steve Cummings will miss the Tour de France for the second consecutive year after suffering a broken elbow at the Baloise Belgium Tour in May.
Cummings had been scheduled to ride the Tour after a storming start to the season, during which he won the Tour Mediterraneen and finished second in the Tour of Dubai behind team-mate Taylor Phinney.
However, the Wirral-born rider suffered a heavy fall on the opening stage in Belgium, losing control of his bike when disposing of a drinks bottle.
As a result, he is not among the riders named by BMC Racing who are set to support American Tejay van Garderen at the Tour.
Van Garderen, who made a moderate return to form at the Criterium du Dauphine after suffering a heavy crash in the prologue of the Tour de Romandie a month earlier, will lead the American team’s GC charge.
Second on Alpe d’Huez last year, van Garderen – who won the white jersey in 2012 – otherwise suffered a frustrating Tour last time out but has bounced back with some strong rides this season.
He will be backed by three riders from Cadel Evans’ 2011 Tour-winning team, Marcus Burghardt, Michael Schar and Amael Moinard.
Tour debutants Darwin Atapuma and Peter Stetina are also included, while Daniel Oss, Greg van Avermaet, Peter Velits and Michael Schar complete the line-up.
Taylor Phinney, who broke his leg in the American national road race is another big name to miss out through injury, while former world champion Philippe Gilbert – who won the ZLM Toer last week – will not be on this year’s start line.
Sports manager Allan Peiper said: “We put together a well-balanced team of climbers and helpers to support Tejay on all terrain and, at the same time, we want to be able to try for stage wins on specific days.”
Van Avermaet will be among the riders fancied for the cobbled stage five, having finished second at the Tour of Flanders and the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad back in the spring.
Meanwhile, van Garderen will enjoy strong support in the mountains as he looks to prove his worth as team leader in the absence of Cadel Evans, who – as had already been announced – will not ride the Tour for the first time in ten years.
And van Garderen is in buoyant mood about his chances, saying: “I have trained hard and have a solid base and solid foundation of training. It’s just a matter of not having any bad luck.”
BMC Racing squad for the 2014 Tour de France
Tejay Van Garderen (USA)
Darwin Atapuma (COL)
Marcus Burghardt (GER)
Amael Moinard (FRA)
Daniel Oss (ITA)
Michael Schar (SUI)
Peter Stetina (USA)
Greg van Avermaet (BEL)
Peter Velits (SVK)
