WorldTour Ranking: 6 (down from second in 2014)
Win Count: 33 (Up from 30 in 2014)
Top Riders: Greg Van Avermaet (8th in the WorldTour rankings), Philippe Gilbert (29), Rohan Dennis (38), Tejay van Garderen (49) and Cadel Evans (57).
The BMC Racing Team is one of the biggest and most successful teams in the UCI WorldTour, targeting both the Classics and Grand Tours and competing with other big budget squads such as Team Sky, Movistar, Tinkoff-Saxo, Etixx-QuickStep and Astana.
The personal backing from Swiss millionaire Andy Rihs and his BMC bike brand has allowed team manager Jim Ochowicz to, gradually, build a successful squad that has some of the biggest riders in the sport on its roster and wearing the team’s standout red and black colours. Rihs is reportedly considering ending his backing and Ochowicz is looking for a major new sponsor to cover his big budget, making 2016 a vital year for the long-term future of the team.
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BMC likes its riders to be in the results and fighting for ranking points whenever possible; 13 different riders won races in 2015 for a total of 33 different victories. It started with Rohan Dennis’ victory at the Tour Down Under in Australia and ended with BMC’s second world title in the world team time trial championships in Richmond.
In between, riders won in almost every stage race and also confirmed their team time trial crown by winning against the clock in the Criterium du Dauphine, Tour de France, Vuelta a Espana. The hard work of time trial coach Marco Pinotti and specific training for the discipline were keys to their success. Dennis also set a new Hour Record in February. It only lasted a few months but help confirm BMC as the time trial kings of the peloton, ahead of Orica-GreenEdge, Etixx-QuickStep and Team Sky.
Results wise, BMC’s low point of the season came in the Spring classics. Greg Van Avermaet fought courageously after finally being cleared of links to ‘ozone therapy’ doctor Chris Mertens. He was aggressive and as good as his rivals but finished third in both the Tour of Flanders and Paris-Roubaix in 2015, and was fifth at the Amstel Gold Race, handicapped by the lack of a fast finish. He needs to attack and win alone but that rarely happens with the likes of Peter Sagan, Alexander Kristoff and John Degenkolb as his big rivals. Van Avermaet won a stage at the Tour de France out kicking Sagan but it was of little consolation. He was close to getting across to Sagan at the world championships in Richmond but that failed when Edvald Boasson Hagen refused to work with him.
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