In 2018, Oliver's Real Food racing will make the jump into the Continental ranks. Founded in 2010 by Sam Layzell, the Australian team has previously complemented its National Road Series (NRS) programme with UCI races in Oceania and Asia.
While the team had toyed with the prospect of taking out a Continental license, its most successful season to date and increased financial backing from Oliver's convinced Layzell the time was right.
"It's a commercial decision as much as it's a team decision. It is win-win for both us and our sponsor," Layzell explained to Cyclingnews of the decision to take out the Continental license from 2018.
ADVERTISEMENT
Another reason for the application is the "potential to do the Herald Sun Tour" with race director John Trevorrow regularly rewarding Australian Continental teams with a place at the 2.1 race. With eight Australian teams applying for a Continental license in 2018, a start at the race though is not a certainty.
"It is not any one thing, it is a combination of things," he added. "You don't get the additional budget without the results. Another determining factor was Oliver's becoming a publicly listed company. It was always an end goal and something we wanted to do with the team and this is the right time for a couple of reasons."
In recent months, South African Brendon Davids, a former mountain biker, has taken the team to another level. At the NRS Battle Recharge stage race, Davids took a maiden stage win for the team and then finished off the job by sealing the overall. He and Oliver's then headed to Asia for the Jelajah Malaysia, repeating the stage win and GC double. Davids' results, in particular, were added incentive to make the jump into Continental life.
You can read more at Cyclingnews.com
via Cyclingnews Latest News http://ift.tt/2A2iXcK
No comments:
Post a Comment