Bicycle Racing News and Opinion:
Tuesday, August 18, 2015

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Today's Racing

Today we've got the HC-ranked USA Pro Cycling Challenge, which runs through the 23rd.

Also, starting today is the Tour du Limousin

UCI World Tour Rankings

Here are the August 16 UCI World Tour rankings

Rider:

Rank	Prev.	Rider	Team (Code)	Points
1	1	VALVERDE Alejandro	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	532
2	2	FROOME Christopher	TEAM SKY (SKY)	422
3	3	CONTADOR Alberto	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	407
4	4	QUINTANA Nairo Alexander	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	365
5	5	RODRIGUEZ Joaquin	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	322
6	6	PORTE Richie	TEAM SKY (SKY)	314
7	17	VAN AVERMAET Greg	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	292
8	7	THOMAS Geraint	TEAM SKY (SKY)	283
9	8	FARIA Rui Alberto	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	274
10	9	SPILAK Simon	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	269
11	10	DEGENKOLB John	TEAM GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	265
12	11	KRISTOFF Alexander	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	263
13	12	ARU Fabio	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	263
14	13	PINOT Thibaut	FDJ (FDJ)	249
15	14	SAGAN Peter	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	229
16	15	URAN URAN Rigoberto	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	221
17	16	POZZOVIVO Domenico	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	210
18	18	KWIATKOWSKI Michal	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	195
19	19	ZAKARIN Ilnur	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	194
20	20	BARDET Romain	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	192
21	21	MOLLEMA Bauke	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	190
22	22	ALAPHILIPPE Julian	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	180
23	23	IZAGUIRRE Jon	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	173
24	24	STYBAR Zdenek	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	172
25	25	MATTHEWS Michael	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	161
26	37	GILBERT Philippe	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	159
27	26	HENAO Sergio Luis	TEAM SKY (SKY)	157
28	27	DUMOULIN Tom	TEAM GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	157
29	28	LANDA MEANA Mikel	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	148
30	29	YATES Simon	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	148
31	30	TERPSTRA Niki	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	140
32	31	NIBALI Vincenzo	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	138
33	32	DENNIS Rohan	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	135
34	33	GREIPEL André	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	123
35	121	WELLENS Tim	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	115
36	34	GESINK Robert	TEAM LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	104
37	36	BOOM Lars	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	102
38	35	HESJEDAL Ryder	TEAM CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	102
39	38	VAN GARDEREN Tejay	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	96
40	39	AMADOR Andrey	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	91
41	40	YATES Adam	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	90
42	109	KELDERMAN Wilco	TEAM LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	89
43	41	DE CLERCQ Bart	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	88
44	42	GALLOPIN Tony	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	87
45	43	MORENO Daniel	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	82
46	44	INTXAUSTI Benat	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	81
47	45	PAOLINI Luca	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	80
48	46	KRUIJSWIJK Steven	TEAM LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	80
49	47	EVANS Cadel	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	76
50	48	MARTIN Daniel	TEAM CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	75
51	49	FRANK Mathias	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	72
52	50	HERMANS Ben	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	71
53	65	BENOOT Tiesj	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	71
54	51	KONIG Leopold	TEAM SKY (SKY)	70
55	52	ULISSI Diego	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	68
56	53	KREUZIGER Roman	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	64
57	111	FELLINE Fabio	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	64
58	54	FUGLSANG Jakob	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	64
59	55	ALBASINI Michael	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	62
60	56	CANCELLARA Fabian	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	59
61	57	ELMIGER Martin	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	56
62	58	MAJKA Rafal	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	55
63	59	BONIFAZIO Niccolo	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	54
64	60	CARUSO Damiano	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	54
65	61	TALANSKY Andrew	TEAM CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	54
66	62	VANMARCKE Sep	TEAM LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	52
67	63	FERNANDEZ Ruben	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	52
68	64	ROELANDTS Jurgen	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	52
69	66	TRENTIN Matteo	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	50
70	67	VUILLERMOZ Alexis	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	49
71	68	DEBUSSCHERE Jens	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	48
72	69	TROFIMOV Yury	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	48
73	70	KEUKELEIRE Jens	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	46
74	71	JUNGELS Bob	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	46
75	72	GENIEZ Alexandre	FDJ (FDJ)	44
76	73	MODOLO Sacha	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	43
77	74	VALLS FERRI Rafael	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	41
78	75	VANDENBERGH Stijn	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	40
79	-	GRIVKO Andriy	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	40
80	76	SCARPONI Michele	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	40
81	77	ATAPUMA Darwin	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	40
82	78	MARTIN Tony	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	40
83	79	IMPEY Daryl	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	39
84	80	POELS Wouter	TEAM SKY (SKY)	36
85	81	IZAGUIRRE Gorka	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	36
86	86	LAMPAERT Yves	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	32
87	82	CIMOLAI Davide	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	32
88	83	MONFORT Maxime	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	32
89	88	GESCHKE Simon	TEAM GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	32
90	180	ROGERS Michael	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	31
91	84	RIBLON Christophe	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	31
92	85	LOPEZ Miguel Angel	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	31
93	87	SANCHEZ Samuel	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	30
94	89	CAVENDISH Mark	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	30
95	90	BARGUIL Warren	TEAM GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	28
96	91	VAN DEN BROECK Jurgen	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	28
97	92	NIZZOLO Giacomo	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	28
98	103	VIVIANI Elia	TEAM SKY (SKY)	28
99	93	PANTANO Jarlinson	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	27
100	94	FORMOLO Davide	TEAM CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	26
101	95	KANGERT Tanel	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	24
102	96	TIRALONGO Paolo	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	23
103	97	BRESCHEL Matti	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	22
104	98	KIRYIENKA Vasil	TEAM SKY (SKY)	22
105	99	MORABITO Steve	FDJ (FDJ)	21
106	100	ROWE Luke	TEAM SKY (SKY)	20
107	101	PELUCCHI Matteo	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	20
108	102	PLAZA MOLINA Ruben	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	20
109	104	BAKELANTS Jan	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	19
110	105	MOINARD Amaël	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	17
111	106	POLANC Jan	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	16
112	107	KEISSE Iljo	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	16
113	108	OSS Daniel	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	14
114	110	LOBATO Juan Jose	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	14
115	114	MALORI Adriano	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	13
116	112	NIEVE ITURALDE Mikel	TEAM SKY (SKY)	12
117	113	CHAVANEL Sylvain	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	12
118	130	DEMARE Arnaud	FDJ (FDJ)	11
119	115	BAUER Jack	TEAM CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	10
120	-	JUUL JENSEN Christopher	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	10
121	116	BETANCUR Carlos Alberto	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	10
122	117	KITTEL Marcel	TEAM GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	10
123	118	DURBRIDGE Luke	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	10
124	119	MEZGEC Luka	TEAM GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	9
125	120	SANCHEZ GIL Luis Leon	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	9
126	122	VISCONTI Giovanni	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	8
127	123	CHEREL Mikael	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	8
128	157	VAN EMDEN Jos	TEAM LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	8
129	127	HAUSSLER Heinrich	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	8
130	-	BOONEN Tom	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	8
131	128	HOFLAND Moreno	TEAM LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	8
132	124	CHERNETSKI Sergei	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	8
133	125	BODNAR Maciej	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	8
134	126	CLARKE Simon	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	8
135	131	SLAGTER Tom Jelte	TEAM CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	7
136	129	ROJAS GIL Jose Joaquin	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	7
137	133	LUTSENKO Alexey	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	6
138	-	LE BON Johan	FDJ (FDJ)	6
139	-	QUINZIATO Manuel	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	6
140	132	REICHENBACH Sébastien	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	6
141	134	ANACONA GOMEZ Winner	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	6
142	135	DURASEK Kristijan	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	6
143	136	GERRANS Simon	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	6
144	137	KENNAUGH Peter	TEAM SKY (SKY)	6
145	138	KUENG Stefan	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	6
146	145	VANGENECHTEN Jonas	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	5
147	141	PORSEV Alexander	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	5
148	-	VAN POPPEL Danny	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	5
149	139	EWAN Caleb	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	5
150	140	DUMOULIN Samuel	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	5
151	142	BENNETT George	TEAM LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	4
152	-	VAN BAARLE Dylan	TEAM CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	4
153	184	DRUCKER Jean-Pierre	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	4
154	147	BRANDLE Matthias	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	4
155	-	GUARNIERI Jacopo	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	4
156	144	WESTRA Lieuwe	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	4
157	143	KLUGE Roger	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	4
158	185	NIELSEN Magnus Cort	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	3
159	146	ARREDONDO Julian David	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	3
160	155	MARANGONI Alan	TEAM CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	2
161	152	GRETSCH Patrick	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	2
162	150	SMUKULIS Gatis	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	2
163	153	FLENS Rick	TEAM LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	2
164	148	CRADDOCK Lawson	TEAM GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	2
165	149	LINDEMAN Bertjan	TEAM LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	2
166	151	VAN ASBROECK Tom	TEAM LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	2
167	154	LAGUTIN Sergey	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	2
168	156	VALLEE Boris	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	2
169	158	MARTENS Paul	TEAM LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	2
170	159	BENNATI Daniele	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	2
171	160	DANIELSON Thomas *	TEAM CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	2
172	161	TCATEVICH Aleksei	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	2
173	175	STUYVEN Jasper	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	1
174	174	BRUTT Pavel	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	1
175	181	POZZATO Filippo	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	1
176	167	TURGOT Sébastien	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	1
177	170	FERRARI Roberto	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	1
178	-	GUARDINI Andrea	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	1
179	173	HAAS Nathan	TEAM CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	1
180	186	RICHEZE Maximiliano Ariel	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	1
181	162	ROSA Diego	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	1
182	163	BOUET Maxime	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	1
183	164	NOCENTINI Rinaldo	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	1
184	165	VAN WINDEN Dennis	TEAM LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	1
185	166	HOWSON Damien	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	1
186	168	BOECKMANS Kris	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	1
187	169	BELKOV Maxim	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	1
188	171	MEERSMAN Gianni	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	1
189	172	TAARAMAE Rein	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	1
190	176	VAN DER SANDE Tosh	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	1
191	177	REZA Kévin	FDJ (FDJ)	1
192	178	HERRADA LOPEZ Jesus	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	1
193	179	CASTROVIEJO Jonathan	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	1
194	182	HALLER Marco	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	1
195	183	CHAVES Jhoan Esteban	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	1
196	187	SOLER Marc	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	1

Teams:

Rank	Prev.	Team (Code)	Points
1	1	TEAM SKY (SKY)	1246
2	2	MOVISTAR TEAM (MOV)	1242
3	3	TEAM KATUSHA (KAT)	1130
4	4	ETIXX - QUICK STEP (EQS)	908
5	5	TINKOFF - SAXO (TCS)	786
6	7	BMC RACING TEAM (BMC)	758
7	6	ASTANA PRO TEAM (AST)	715
8	8	ORICA GREENEDGE (OGE)	507
9	9	AG2R LA MONDIALE (ALM)	501
10	10	TEAM GIANT - ALPECIN (TGA)	492
11	12	LOTTO SOUDAL (LTS)	484
12	11	LAMPRE - MERIDA (LAM)	480
13	13	TREK FACTORY RACING (TFR)	387
14	16	TEAM LOTTO NL - JUMBO (TLJ)	333
15	14	FDJ (FDJ)	331
16	15	TEAM CANNONDALE - GARMIN (TCG)	267
17	17	IAM CYCLING (IAM)	187

Nations:

Rank	Prev.	Country	Points
1	1	SPAIN	1582
2	2	GREAT BRITAIN	973
3	3	COLOMBIA	814
4	4	ITALY	759
5	5	FRANCE	757
6	8	BELGIUM	725
7	6	AUSTRALIA	717
8	7	NETHERLANDS	693
9	9	GERMANY	470
10	10	CZECH REPUBLIC	306
11	11	SLOVENIA	294
12	12	PORTUGAL	274
13	13	SWITZERLAND	270
14	14	NORWAY	263
15	15	POLAND	258
16	16	RUSSIA	257
17	17	SLOVAKIA	229
18	18	UNITED STATES	154
19	19	CANADA	102
20	21	DENMARK	99
21	20	COSTA RICA	91
22	22	IRELAND	75
23	23	LUXEMBOURG	50
24	-	UKRAINE	40
25	24	SOUTH AFRICA	39
26	25	ESTONIA	25
27	26	BELARUS	22
28	27	NEW ZEALAND	14
29	28	KAZAKHSTAN	6
30	29	CROATIA	6
31	30	AUSTRIA	5
32	31	LATVIA	2
33	32	ARGENTINA	1

Phinney scores first victory since comeback

It's a pleasure to post this note from BMC:

Steamboat Springs, Colorado - BMC Racing Team's Taylor Phinney dazzled his home state crowd Monday by sprinting to victory in the opening stage of the USA Pro Challenge.

Racing for only the eighth time since returning from a potentially career-ending crash in May of 2014, Phinney fought back after losing contact with the peloton on the final climb of the 155.5-kilometer race that started and ended in Steamboat Springs, Colorado.

"I actually got dropped but made it back," Phinney said. "It was kind of what I like to call 'a Davis Phinney special,' where you get dropped and then come back and win," he said, referring to his father, Davis, the winningest cyclist in U.S. history and multi-time Tour de France stage winner.

Taylor Phinney had a great day of racing

"I knew I don't have the pop to beat some of the best bunch sprinters in the group," Phinney continued. "So I just thought I would 'diesel style it' and go early. I didn't think I was going to be able to win until maybe 100 meters to go and then I had a slight moment of panic because I thought I was going to lose it. But I just put my head down and I spent a lot of time and a lot of energy pushing through those last eight or nine seconds. I have had 15 months to think about putting my hands up in the air. It was everything that I thought it would be."

Teammate Brent Bookwalter finished third, behind Kiel Riejnan (UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team), as Phinney notched the BMC Racing Team's fourth win in the past three days and its 26th of the season.

BMC Racing Team Sport Director Jackson Stewart said the results - which included Phinney leading the sprint and "best Colorado rider" classifications and the BMC Racing Team leading the team standings - "totally surprised" him.

"We definitely didn't plan that today," Stewart said. "It was really great teamwork there. We had to control the race and we had to make it hard on the climb and Taylor was a big part of that. All of the guys really contributed today. It is a testament to the depth of our team."

Heading into the final 15 kilometers, it looked like BMC Racing Team's Rohan Dennis would be contesting the stage win. The Tour de France stage winner and past world hour record broke away with Canadian national road champion Guillaume Boivin (Optum presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies). The pair led by as much as 25 seconds with five kilometers to go, but Boivin - who had been in the day's breakaway - refused to share the workload and the two were caught with a  kilometer to go.  

Chris Froome begins physiological tests and will share results

LONDON, Aug 17 (Reuters) - Tour de France winner Chris Froome began a series of physiological tests on Monday designed to prove his achievements should not attract suspicion. The British rider posted a video on his Twitter account, showing him pedalling a bike while linked up to monitors at the GlaxoSmithKline Human Performance Lab in London.

Froome, who followed up his 2013 Tour win with a thrilling victory last month for Team Sky, was forced to endure rumours and abuse during the race -- leading to Sky taking the unusual step of making the 30-year-old's medical data available.

Chris Froome at the 2015 Ruta del Sol

His impressive ride up La Pierre St Martin in the first mountain stage raised suspicions like his 2013 ride up the gruelling Mont Ventoux and he had urine thrown at him by a spectator during the 14th stage.

"Plenty more testing and analysis to be done, I will be sharing results later in the year," Froome said.

Froome is also using the London lab to try and replicate the conditions expected at next year's Rio Olympics. He will lead the team at the Vuelta a Espana which starts on Saturday.

LottoNL-Jumbo's Vuelta a España plans

Team LottoNL-Jumbo will start the Vuelta a España on Saturday in Puerto Banús with a team of adventurers, and plans to show off team colors in an attractive way. The development of rising prospects, whom will see their chances, is also very important within the team during the three weeks in Spain.

“We travel to Spain without overall ambitions because of the absence of Laurens ten Dam, which does not alter the fact that there remain plenty of challenges,” Sport Director Merijn Zeeman said. “Within our qualities, we’ll be looking for opportunities. On the days that the GC men make their mark, it’s going to be difficult, but with Tom Van Asbroeck, for example, we have someone for whom the team can work during the sprint stages. We’ll also attack in our pursuit of success. All nine riders get the chance to make opportunities for themselves.”

Team LottoNL-Jumbo will start with several young riders for whom the Vuelta will be their first Grand Tour. “It is an important moment in the careers of Tom, Timo Roosen, and Mike Teunissen. We see them as hot prospects. And regarding talent development, this is a wonderful opportunity for them to become stronger and better.”

The team time trial, which opens the Vuelta on Saturday in Puerto Banús, is a significant moment for the team. "We approach the TTT very seriously,” said Zeeman, who is encouraged by the recent successes on the Bianchi Aquila CV. “Time trialing receives an important focus within our team.”

Tom Van Asbroeck, 25, expects a few good opportunities for the sprinters in the first week. “I hope to force something on those days with the help of the team. I had a good run-up to the Vuelta. It felt good to get involved again in Poland,” the Belgian said, after finishing third and sixth in stages at the Tour of Poland. “That was a boost to my confidence.”

Timo Roosen, 22, is hoping to come out of his first grand tour a stronger rider. “I want to do my job for the team, and finish the race. I haven’t done a three-week race before, and to improve, it’s important to finish. I think I can learn a lot from experienced men like Martijn Keizer, Maarten Tjallingii and Maarten Wynants. If I feel good, I definitely want to attack.”

For Mike Teunissen, 22, it’s been a lovely week. “First. I won the prologue of the Tour de l'Ain, and now I can announce that I'm going to ride the Vuelta. It’s my first three-week race, but I think I can handle it. I look forward to helping Tom in the sprints and to fight for my opportunities. Unfortunately, we miss a man for the overall because of Laurens’ incident, but it gives me the opportunity to focus on my personal development.”

George Bennett, 25, will have a free role in the Vuelta. “It sucks that we have to do it without Laurens, because he’s important in our team, but his absence also opens a few doors for others. I won’t focus on the GC, but the Vuelta always offers opportunities for riders like me. And who knows where it will end if I ride into a nice escape? I’ll take things day by day, and hope to avoid unnecessary time losses.”

George Bennett

Team line-up: Tom van Asbroeck, George Bennett, Martijn Keizer, Bert Jan Lindeman, Timo Roosen, Mike Teunissen, Maarten Tjallingii, Dennis van Winden and Maarten Wynants.

Sports Directors: Erik Dekker and Merijn Zeeman.

Axeon Cycling announces new sponsors for 2016

The team sent out this press release:

Steamboat Springs, Colorado - Axeon Cycling Team announced Monday it is significantly bolstering its sponsorship for the 2016 season to expand one of the world's leading cycling development programs.

In addition to current sponsors NEON Adventures, SRAM®, and the American Proficiency Institute, Axeon (pronounced "AK'shun") will be joined next year by Hagens Berman, a Seattle-based national class action law firm, Specialized Bicycle Components, California Giant Berry Farms, a long-time sponsor of cycling that is headquartered in Watsonville, California, and Velofix, North America's largest fleet of franchised Mobile Bike Shops.

Axeon Cycling Team General Manager Axel Merckx said the new sponsorship program will allow the re-branded "Axeon Hagens Berman" team to continue its tradition of nurturing and advancing young, talented riders from the amateur ranks to the highest level of the sport. The additional funding will be channeled toward training, personal coaching, conditioning, bike fittings, performance counseling, physiological assessments, and technical training, he said.

"This is a major step forward for us and a groundbreaking one when it comes to our development of young riders," Merckx said. "The past six seasons, we have sent 18 riders to the WorldTour. Getting riders to that level will continue to remain our focus. The new support from these partners will allow us to sign additional riders, provide them with better resources, and participate in more races throughout Europe and the United States."

From its Seattle headquarters, Hagens Berman fights for the rights of consumers, employees and others across the nation against corporate greed, fraud and deception. Outside the courtroom, many members of the firm's legal team enjoy cycling to work and on the weekend.

"This is a natural move for Hagens Berman in our support for promising young talent in their rise to compete at the highest levels of cycling and forge the skills to succeed both on and off the bike," said Steve Berman, managing partner of Hagens Berman.

Hagens Berman has sponsored one of the longest-running UCI road racing teams registered in the USA, Jamis-Hagens Berman, and also bolstered the Hagens Berman U-23 Cycling Program. With the new Axeon Hagens Berman team, Berman said the firm looks forward to focusing on the Under 23 level.

"We want to provide young riders with opportunities and experiences that can change their lives forever," he said.

Other new sponsors say they are equally as excited about being involved.

"Specialized has looked at Axel's team in the last few seasons and we have always been very impressed by the great program and the talent that he has developed over the years," said Simone Toccafondi Head of Specialized Racing. "Specialized Racing will provide the team with the best equipment and the technology needed to interpret every race in the best way possible. With the technical partnership with Specialized, riders will have the option of pro tour proven bikes including the new Venge ViAS. Additionally, riders will have access to key time saving equipment like the SWorks 6 road shoe and Evade helmet."   

California Giant Berry Farms says the partnership is a perfect fit. "We are excited about this new partnership with Axeon Cycling," said Anthony Gallino, Vice President of Sales. "This new connection provides our riders the opportunity to have even more support as they strive to achieve the highest level in pro cycling. California Giant has supported a team for 15 years and during that time period we have escalated our program due partnerships and the talented riders we have been honored to sponsor. In turn they have supported our strong commitment to health and fitness. This new partnership with Axeon will allow us to continue our commitment to this sport and the health and fitness message for our berries we grow and ship both domestically and internationally."

VeloFix co-founder and CEO Chris Guillemet said: "We are excited and very proud to partner with Axel and Axeon for the 2016 season. His commitment to youth development and the team's investment in the future of cycling aligns perfectly with our business goals. We look forward to supporting the team and being part of a successful 2016 season."

The Axeon Cycling Team is currently competing in the USA Pro Challenge, a seven-day UCI 2.HC event in Colorado. Earlier this month, Axeon won a stage of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah with Logan Owen, as well as the "king of the mountains" classification with Gregory Daniel. Among the team's nine victories this year is Ruben Guerreiro winning a stage and overall title at Trofeu Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina in Portugal in March, James Oram's victory in the Under 23 New Zealand national time trial championships, Keegan Swirbul's U23 national title in the USA Cycling Under 23 road race and Daniel Eaton's national title in the USA Cycling Under 23 time trial championships.

The Axeon Cycling Team will continue to be registered in the United States, Merckx said, meaning 60 percent of the 2016 roster will be Americans. This year's roster includes riders from Great Britain, New Zealand, and Portugal. 

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