Former cyclist Marc Allan has inquired to the UCI about obtaining a racing license for either a Continental or Pro-Continental team. Not much is known, but the team will most likely be based out of Boulder, Colorado and have a base somewhere in the Basque Country or northern Spain.
Allan has also stated that he already has a bike, clothing, and a couple of potential title sponsors in the books, and that cash won't be an issue if they can make all the right moves.
More information will be posted once we can confirm it.
Edited by bennettWPS on 01-02-2012 00:13
bennettWPS wrote:
Former cyclist Marc Allan has inquired to the UCI about obtaining a racing license for either a Continental or Pro-Continental team. Not much is known, but the team will most likely be based out of Boulder, Colorado and have a base somewhere in the Basque Country or northern Spain.
Allan has also stated that he already has a bike, clothing, and a couple of potential title sponsors in the books, and that cash won't be an issue if they can make all the right moves.
More information will be posted once we can confirm it.
It looks as if a Pan-American Pro-Con team will be established and based out of the good ole US of A. The team has announced that HTC will sponsor a second team, but will not have any connection to HTC-Columbia managed by Bob Stapleton.
Bianchi has stepped forward to not only be the bike supplier, but also as the co-title sponsor along with HTC, creating the HTC-Bianchi Cycling Team.
Allan's good friend and fellow BMC cyclist, George Hincapie, will be supplying the team kit through his Hincapie Sports Apparel. Jimmy John's will be a secondary sponsor, as it is fitting due to the fact that the company does employ cyclist as delivery riders.
Not much is known about the contracts of the riders, but it seems as if the team will be American based with Canadian, Colombian, Brazilian, Venezuelan, and other Pan-American riders.
The team is open to a few European riders joining the fold to help the guys to make the move to European stage racing. They are open for fans to make suggestions on which riders will take the final 4 spots on the team.
The goal is to develop, but if the first season turns out successful, then they might shift from developing prime Pan-American talent to a full on assault of Pan-American riders to win.
The team does not want to release names until every contract has been signed. The official presentation will happen in a couple weeks in the team's base city of Boulder.
HTC-Bianchi Pan-Am Cycling Team is proud to announce the first signings for the team. Riders signed so far:
Marc De Maar
Ivan Dominguez
Dominique Rollin
Jose Rujano
Jackson Rodriguez
Alex Howes
Andrew Talansky
Tejay Van Garderen
George Hincapie
David Zabriskie
Fabio Duarte
Svein Tuft
Carlos Oyarzun
Moises Aldape
Jake Keough
Taylor Phinney
Peter Stetina
David Veilleux
About 2-3 more riders are expected to be signed. The team already has their pro-continental license.
The team has announced the staff for the upcoming 2010 season. The riders are a mix of sprinters and stage race climbers. The riders are:
George Hincapie: He is the most experienced rider on the team and the peloton in general. While the team is not based on the cobbled classics of Northern Europe, he will provide excellent support in the mountains and with lead-outs, as well as have a go at it if we decide to ride the Flanders Classics.
Tom Danielson: Tommy D will be the teams captain in many stage races. Not exactly the best stage racer, but consistent and experienced to have a go at GC in most stage races.
Jose Rujano: One of the more explosive climbers on the team. Jose has experience riding for many top teams, and will be the second stage race captain behind Tommy.
Fabio Duarte: Very young. Very good. He is a couple years away from becoming great. He will have his own shots in mountain stage races.
Leonardo Duque: Leo comes to the team as the number one sprinter, but can climb as well.
Taylor Phinney: Everybody is familiar with the potential Taylor possesses, but we expect him to truly develop into a guy who can time trial great and be excellent as a sprinter.
Tejay Van Garderen: Another American rider with an abundance of potential. We expect him to develop into a damn good stage racer for the team.
David Zabriskie: David comes to the team as the overall time-trialing captain as well as valuable support in stage races.
Jake Keough: Jake is an American criterium racer with a whole lot of speed. We expect him to become our top sprinter within a couple of seasons.
Dominique Rollin: Rollin the Canuck is expected to help the team in the sprint, but he's definitely our breakaway artist.
Ivan Dominguez: Ivan comes to the team hoping to be the top sprinter in shorter races. He has a little bit of Pro Tour experience, but his years on the bike will prove to be valuable to the younger sprinters like Keough and Phinney.
The rest of the team:
Alex Howes
Andrew Talansky
Gregory Brenes
Luciano Pagliarini
Jackson Rodriguez
Svein Tuft
Marc de Maar
Peter Stetina
Rahsaan Bahati
David Veilleux
Carlos Oyarzun
Moises Aldape
The team will focus mainly on stage races, sprint classics, and mountain classics. We expect to compete in a Grand Tour this year (sights set on the Tour and Vuelta). Not a team for the cobbles, but we will try to get in them and get Hincapie the chance to go for the win in either Ronde or Paris-Roubaix. We will also ask for an invite to the first Pro Tour race of the year: The Santos Tour Down Under.
The teams' goals
-Develop the youth of Pan-American Riders, ranging from Canada, the US, Mexico, Chile, Brazil, Columbia, Venezuela, and other Pan-Am countries.
-To show off the talent of Pan-Am riders in Euro-dominated races.
-To provide riders with an anti-doping environment to ensure the pureness of the sport.
-Win the Amgen Tour of California
We will announce all of our sponsors goals when we have all of our sponsorship finalized.
