Cycling Pro Road & Mtb

BMC Racing for 2010 Tour Down Under...

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Parent Category: Cycling Pro Road & Mtb

Category: news2009

Published on Thursday, 24 December 2009 07:12

Written by Marcella Crisanti

BMC Racing for 2010 Tour Down Under

Riders

Cadel Evans (Aus), George Hincapie (USA), Karsten Kroon (Ned), Danilo Wyss (Swi), Martin Kohler (Swi), Mauro Santambrogio (Ita) and Thomas Frei (Swi)

Directeur Sportif

John Lelangue

Line-Up Team Caisse d’Epargne Tour Down Under

Riders: Mathieu Drujon, Vicente García Acosta, Iván Gutiérrez, Mathieu Perget, José Joaquín Rojas, Luis León Sánchez, Alejandro Valverde

Director: Neil Stephens

Robbie McEwen returns for Jayco Bay Classic

The opening stage of the 2010 Jayco Bay Cycling Classic on Saturday 2 January will see Robbie McEwen ride his first race in more than seven months after a season plagued by injury. McEwen hit a street sign with his left knee in the second stage of the Tour of Belgium, on May 28. The crash fractured his shinbone near the knee and sliced through ligaments resulting in a year he would rather forget. “It’s been the worst season of my whole career because of that injury,” McEwen said. “But look on the bright side of things I’m back in training. I’m right to go and starting to get seriously fit and think I’ll be a contender at the Bay Crits and everything that comes after that.” It has been an extensive period of rehabilitation for the Queenslander who has had his knee operated on by a surgeon in Sweden and regularly session with Monaco based physiotherapist Victor Popov. Despite having won the Jayco Bay Cycling Classic six times McEwen say the 21st edition of the race may be the most important one he has raced. “In 2010 the Bay Crits are going to be more important for me than ever,” the triple Tour de France green jersey winner said. “Because I had my injury in May and then missed the whole season these criteriums are going to be really important to build my race condition to be ready for the season so I think they’re something I really need to do. “Not only will I be racing them to get condition, I’m really itching to win a race again and the sooner the better.” And at 37-years-of-age whether or not he can find that winning feeling again is likely to influence where to from here in a career that dates back to his professional debut in 1996 and includes 12 Tour de France stage wins. “Obviously you think about when it might be but I still enjoy riding and I’ve missed a whole season so I feel like I’ve got a season I’ve got to catch-up on again,” he said. “Plus I’m not sick of it yet and I think I’m still going to be pretty good at it so I may ride again in 2011 but I’ll know that by August. “I still enjoy cycling but the enjoyment level is dependent on how you’re travelling physically. “If I’m not achieving what I want to achieve like I have been able to in the past and having fun then I’m not going to do it anymore. That’s why I’ve done it for so long, because I enjoy it.”  With a strong Mazda team to support him in the Jayco Bay Cycling Classic there is every chance he will find that winning feeling. The key team-mate riding alongside McEwen will be Greg Henderson. At the 2009 Tour of Spain Henderson became just the second New Zealander to win a stage at one of cycling’s three grand tours (France, Italy and Spain). For the past two seasons Henderson has ridden for Team Columbia as a key lead out man for Mark Cavendish making him the perfect lieutenant to assist McEwen in his bid to win the Jayco Bay Cycling Classic for a seventh time. Henderson, who will be moving to the Team Sky in 2010, has won the sprinters classification and finished second overall previously in the series prompting McEwen to say the Mazda team will be taking a two pronged attacked rather than just focusing on himself.

2010 Jayco Bay Cycling Classic

Saturday 2 January

Stage 1 – Geelong, Eastern Park

Times: 12:30pm - Support Men

1:30pm - Elite Women

2:30pm - Elite Men

Sunday 3 January

Stage 2 – Geelong, Eastern Park

Times:  8:30am - Amy's Ride

1:30pm - Support Men

2:20pm - Elite Women

3:10pm - Elite Men

Monday 4 January

Stage 3 – Geelong, Eastern Beach, Ritchie Boulevard

Times:  5:00pm - Support Men

6:00pm - Elite Women

7:15pm - Elite Men

Tuesday 5 Jan

Stage 4 – Williamstown

Times: 12:30pm - Support Men

1:30pm - Elite Women

2:30pm - Elite Men

UnitedHealthcare Presented by Maxxis blends veterans with up-and-coming riders for 2010

The UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis returns a solid core of veterans to work with a strong new crop of young riders for the 2010 season. “One of the things this organization has always done well, from day one, is to blend veteran professionals with younger riders into consistently strong teams,” said team directeur sportif Mike Tamayo. “The new group we have coming in has a lot of talent. When you put them together with guys like Rory (Sutherland), Tim (Johnson) and Chris (Baldwin), they not only have a chance to learn how to race from some of the best, most professional riders in the country, but also how to win.” Leading the new group will be young sprinters Jake Keough and Eric Barlevav. At 22, Keough comes to the team from Kelly Benefits, for whom he put up strong results in 2009, including three stage wins at the Vuelta Ciclista del Uruguay. The 23-year-old Barlevav, in his first pro season with Mountain Khakis in 2009, showed that he was turning into a formidable sprinter, winning the finale of the USA Crit Series, while showing consistency throughout the year. They’re joined by another young fast man, Jonny Clarke, who, despite just turning 25, has a wealth of experience at the pro level, particularly in his time racing with the South Australia-AIS squad. In 2007, he delivered a stage win in the Jayco Tour Down Under, and he’s shown that he’s more than capable of winning sprints or providing lead-outs. “We’re excited about these three young guys,” Tamayo said. “Eric and Jake both have really good speed, and Jonny has a good sprint and is solid tactically. He’s still finding where he fits in with his talent, and we’re looking forward to shaping his career.” UnitedHealthcare Presented by Maxxis has also bolstered its stage-racing team with four additions to the squad, led by Morgan Schmitt, who comes to the program from Bissell. Schmitt, who turns 25 just after the New Year, will be entering his fourth season as a pro, and he’s been developing more each year. “Morgan is a good all-around rider,” Tamayo noted. “He climbs well and time trials well. He’s just a big engine.” He’ll be joined by another rising stage race star, Max Jenkins, who won the 2007 U23 Road Race National Championship. Jenkins, who just turned 23, spent the 2009 season racing predominantly in Europe with the Glud & Marstrand squad. However, he turned a few heads back in the states when he made the final selection at the U.S. Pro Road Race and finished 14th. “He’s spent a lot of time racing in Europe the past few years,” Tamayo said, “and we’re looking forward to seeing what he can do in the U.S. with that experience.” Matt Crane, now 24, returns to the organization after a year away. He rode for the squad in 2007 and 2008, and returns with his strong work ethic and time trialing skills. Just short of his 26th birthday, Adrian Hegyvary joins UnitedHealthcare Presented by Maxxis for his first season as a pro on the road, but the big rider has plenty of experience and success internationally on the track. Hegyvary brings another big engine to the squad, having finished 2nd in the 2009 U. S. elite national time trial championships. Proving he’s well-rounded, Hegyvary made his way onto the podium at the 2009 Athens Twilight Criterium. “Adrian is just super-strong,” said Tamayo. “He’s a lot like Roman Kilun.” Dutch rider Marc de Maar rounds out the new signings. De Maar, who turns 26 in February, rode for the Rabobank Pro Tour team for the last three years, and the Rabobank Continental team for two years prior to that, where he was a teammate of Rory Sutherland in 2004. He raced a number of prominent stage races in Europe the past few years, including finishing both the Giro d’Italia and Vuelta a España. De Maar comes off an injury-filled 2009, and is looking to return to form in the U.S. in 2010. “Marc is excited to give racing in the U.S. a go, and we’re excited to have him,” Tamayo added.

Veteran Core

United Healthcare Presented by Maxxis returns a core group of riders who have been critical to the team’s success the past three years. Leading the team once again will be 2007 and 2008 NRC Individual Points Champion Rory Sutherland. The soon-to-be 28-year-old has been one of the most consistently successful and reliable riders in North America the past three years. The Australian won the overall titles of the Nature Valley Grand Prix the past two years, and the Joe Martin Stage Race the past three. His success results from his versatility: he is a solid climber, strong time trialist and can put in a very good sprint, especially out of breaks. When the team needs a rider to step up, he has always been there with a top performance.

For stage races, Sutherland got help in the latter part of 2009 from Chris Baldwin, who returns to the team for 2010. He made an immediate impact last year, finishing 2nd overall at the Mt. Hood Classic. Baldwin, a two-time U.S. National Time Trial Champion, returns as a leader for climbing stage races like Hood and the Tour of Utah that take the riders to higher elevations.

The stage race squad returns two more strong workers, Kilun and Bradley White. Kilun enters his fifth season with the organization. His growing experience and ability to ride himself into the ground for his teammates have proven invaluable the past few years. Whi te, meanwhile, continued his aggressive riding in his second year as a pro in 2009. He could often be found in breaks, and earned Most Aggressive Rider status in stages of both the Amgen Tour of California and the Tour of Missouri.

Karl Menzies and Andrew Pinfold return for the criteriums and one-day races, as well as stage races like Nature Valley that call for a rider who can sprint and get over the climbs. Menzies, also entering his fifth year with the team, returned to form last year after an injury marred 2008, winning the sprinter’s competition of the Vuelta Mexico. Pinfold served the dual role of lead-out and lead man for numerous races in 2009, posting a stage win at the Vuelta Mexico and winning the overall title of the Tour de White Rock. He was a regular visitor to the podium in 2009, closing out the year with a 2nd place in the final stage of the Tour of Missouri.

Tim Johnson returns as road captain, following yet another stellar cyclocross season that saw him win his third elite national championship. Johnson has been a team leader for three years now, and applies his vast tactical knowledge like an extra directeur sportif.

“As a team, we have a huge amount of optimism for the 2010 season,” Johnson said. “We’re really set up well with the guys we have, with the motivation and support, to have one of the best seasons ever, not just in results but in the way we race. You need a group of guys you can trust to get the job done, and we have that.”

Fraser Returns

One other important addition to the organization is the return of Gord Fraser, who will be one of the team’s directeur sportifs. Fraser was a pillar of the team from its first year in 2003 until he retired after the 2006 season.

“I had a really good experience in 2009 in my first year of directing with Team Type 1, but it’s really great to come back to this program,” Fraser said. &l dquo;I have a lot of pride in having helped build this team from its beginning in 2003 into a national power. I’m looking forward to working with Karl and Tim again, and I’m really excited to be working with the young guys, especially Eric, Jake and Jonny, and turning them into top sprinters.”

In his career, Fraser racked up over 200 wins, went to the Olympics three times and won just about every major race in North America, as well as winning a stage of the Criterium International in France. Fraser not only brings this vast racing experience to the team, but also the knowledge of training and nutrition he’s built the past couple years as a coach with Carmichael Training Systems.

“My experience with CTS the past few years can also help guide our riders in 2010,” Fraser said. “I can also serve as a liaison with the riders’ coaches, coordinate training programs and make sure the riders are peaking at the right time for races.”

Above all, Fraser noted, “We have a great new sponsor, and I’m really looking forward to working with them to achieve their goals for the sponsorship, and help them further their mission of promoting healthy lifestyles. I’ve actually had UnitedHealthcare as my insurance provider through CTS the past couple years, so I have a first-hand knowledge of their great service. This is my chance to re-pay them a bit, too.”

Andreas Stauff with Team Quick Step in 2010

Team Quick Step announces that the team has reached an agreement with the young German rider Adreas Stauff for the next 2 seasons (2010-2011). Stauff is one of the most talented sprinter of his generation. The 22 years old rider from Frechen (Ger) has already shown his skills during the last Tour de l’Avenir when he won a stage (7th stage Gerardmer – Ornans) and the final Green Jersey as winner of the Point Classification. “I’m very proud to join this team – explains Stauff – For me it’s a big opportunity that I don’t want to miss. My goals are to grow up in this group and try to reach good results in the next future. I like a lot also the Belgian classics. Team QUICK STEP is the best team for that kind of races. I’m sure I will learn a lot in this group.”