Gavin Mannion will continue to focus on general classification opportunities next year as the 24-year-old American moves to Australian Pro Continental team Drapac Pro Cycling.
After riding at the Continental level for six years with a number of teams, including Axel Merckx's development program, 5-hour Energy and Jelly Belly-Maxxis, Mannion put in a consistently successful 2015 campaign to earn his move to the next tier.
He started the season second overall at the Redlands Bicycle Classic, then followed that up with another podium finish at the Tour of the Gila. He slipped a bit at the Tour of California, finishing 34th overall, but rebounded with a sixth-place finish at US nationals after surviving into the final kilometres of the race.
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His versatility was in display with a podium finish at the Winston-Salem criterium in June, but he really shined at the USA Pro Challenge just a month after finishing third overall at the Cascade Cycling Classic. Mannion finished fourth in Colorado and was near the front in every mountain stage finish, with the exception of stage 2 to Arapahoe Basin. His form was obvious during his fifth-place finish in the Breckenridge time trial, only 39 seconds shy of eventual winner Rohan Dennis (BMC Racing).
"Obviously, I've known that I could perform like that occasionally, but last year it was good to be on the podium from Redlands [in April], and then my best result was probably [USA Pro Challenge], and that was at the end of August," Mannion told Cyclingnews from Austin, Texas, where he was training briefly with friends Lawson Craddock and Nate Brown before leaving for Australia on Wednesday.
"I think that being able to race consistently is one of the most important things when moving up to the Pro Continental level or higher. So I'm definitely looking forward to the challenge, and last year does give me a boost of confidence that I'm capable of racing at those levels."
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