Cycling Pro Road & Mtb

Vacansoleil – DCM Pro Cycling Team presented in Rotterdam

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Parent Category: Cycling Pro Road & Mtb

Category: News Cycling Pro Road & Mtb 2011

Published on Monday, 10 January 2011 20:24

Written by Luca Salvatelli

The Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team was presented to the press at AHOY Rotterdam. After being a second division team in 2009 and 2010 the team is one of the eighteen WorldTour teams in 2011. This give the team permission to start in all races of the WorldTour calendar. The international team consists of 28 riders among which are nine Dutch, five Belgium and seven Italian riders. Besides the new status of the team also the name and bike supplier changed. The Belgium DCM became second title sponsor and will like bike supplier Ridley and title sponsor Vacansoleil hit the road with the team for the next three years.

Team manager Daan Luijkx is happy with the ambitious partners: “In 2009 we aimed to be ready for the highest division by the end of 2011. The fast development of the team, the ambitious sponsors and the 12th spot in the sporting hierarchy of the UCI accelerated our growth. The license and sponsor contracts will last three years. This gives us plenty of opportunities to look ahead.”

Sport director Hilaire Van Der Schueren is happy with the already known program: “In 2010 we had 74 top-3 spots with 19 different riders, this made me really happen on the eagerness of the riders. Our 2011 squad most be able to compete in all sort of races. With the WorldTour license riders we can show ourselves in all big races and rider like Devolder, Leukemans, Riccò, Hoogerland and Bozic can aim for a specific goal. Besides that of course we want to keep our attrative and eager way of racing by a fair competition for the last spots in big races.” The goals of the Belgium are clear: “Last year we aimed for a top-3 spot in a classic and we just missed out with Leukemans at Flanders, now we want to win a classic and finish top-3 in the GC of a Giant Tour.

Besides sport director Jean Paul van Poppel the team has new riders like Stijn Devolder, Thomas De Gendt, Pim Ligthart, Martijn Keizer and Ezequiel Mosquera. Currently the UCI is researching if Mosquera, in whoms urine HES was found after the Tour of Spain 2010, is quilty or not. Meanwhile according to the UCI regulations the rider is free to compete in all races and the team awaits the result of the investigation.

Sport Michel Cornelisse left AHOY to go straight to Australia for the First WorldTour race of the season. The Amsterdam sport director is looking forward to it: “It will be great to be there from the beginning of the season and surely we will show ourselves.”

Team 2011:

Santo Anzà (Italy), Borut Bozic (Slovenia), Maxim Belkov (Russia), Matteo Carrara (Italiy), Thomas De Gendt (Belgium), Stijn Devolder (Belgium), Romain Feillu (France), Gorik Gardeyn (Belgium), Michal Golas (Poland), Johnny Hoogerland (The Netherlands), Martijn Keizer (The Netherlands), Sergey Lagutin (Uzbekistan), Björn Leukemans (Belgium), Pim Ligthart (The Netherlands), Marco Marcato (Italy), Wouter Mol (The Netherlands), Ezequiel Mosquera (Spain), Jens Mouris (The Netherlands), Alberto Ongarato (Italiy), Marcello Pavarin (Italy), Ruslan Pidgornyy (Ukraine), Wout Poels (The Netherlands), Riccardo Riccò (Italy), Rob Ruygh (The Netherlands), Mirko Selvaggi (Italy), Joost van Leijen (The Netherlands), Frederik Veuchelen (Belgium) and Lieuwe Westra (The Netherlands).