Cervelo Bigla Pro Cycling's team manager Thomas Campana expressed his disappointment over not receiving an invitation to the UCI 2.1 Ladies Tour of Qatar held from February 2-5. Campana believed that his team deserved a spot in the race after placing fifth overall in the elite women's UCI ranking at the end of the 2015 season.
“Unfortunately, we had an early setback when the organisers of the Tour of Qatar didn’t accept our application to the race even though we were ranked fifth in the world at the time of issuing invites,” Campana said in a team press release on Tuesday.
The team announced last fall that it had brought on a new co-title sponsor Cervelo for the 2016 season and Campana was pleased to acknowledge the team's new title. "We are very excited about 2016 and welcome Cervélo to the team as a title sponsor. Cervélo Bigla Pro Cycling have wonderful partners on board and we are really excited about our team roster."
ADVERTISEMENT
Cervelo Bigla have reduced their roster from 14 to nine because of an Olympic year. Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio, ranked sixth overall in the UCI standings in 2015, will lead the team that also includes Carmen Small, Clara Koppenburg, Joelle Numainville, Lisa Klein, Lotta Lepisto and Nicole Hanselmann. New riders are Canadian U23 road champion Gabrielle Pilote Fortin, and world champion on the track Stephanie Pohl.
"We’ve kept a good balance in the team with a mix of experience and really good young talent. On paper the team might not look as strong as last year but I believe the team will be stronger," Campana said.
He noted that racing Qatar might have helped some of his riders as they prepare for other events at the start of the season. He also expressed concern over the organizers decision not to invite a top-ranked team and how it could harm team sponsorship.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/1mBxvZt
No comments:
Post a Comment