With the option on the table to take up a Continental license for 2017, Tom Petty decided on a one-year raincheck with his Mobius team to ensure long-term stability. Having put in place a new co-naming rights sponsor, recruited well and strengthened the base of the team, the timing is right for Petty and his Mobius-BridgeLane squad
"If we really pushed, we probably could have gone for a Continental license at the end of last season. We decided not to because we wanted to make sure that model and how we operate was going to be there for the long term," team manager Tom Petty told Cyclingnews, adding the addition of new sponsors such as BridgeLane and Maia Financial assisted in securing the necessary finances.
"We don't want to keep growing and then just change the face of the team. We like what we are doing and the junior development that we are a doing locally with clubs and school visits. There is so much to the team that I want to keep intact. I didn't think that being a Continental team in 2017 made these things achievable."
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"If we had gone Continental in 2017, we didn't have a long-term plan or a long terms secondary sponsor to back the team financially. Now we do. We have that continued platform at Continental level for at least three years I hope."
In the 2016 National Road Series (NRS) seasons, its second year of operation, Mobius finished second overall to Isowhey Sports Swisswellness. This year, the team "had a really hard year" to finish third on the NRS table with Petty explaining he felt last years achievement was an easier accomplishment than 2016.
"I don't feel like we have taken a backward step at any point. We have just really had to continually lift our game to move forward," Petty reflected on the year. "We had a really hard year and we've benefitted from that in other areas not just having riders getting good results and accruing points. We had to be stronger as a team and that was probably our biggest weakness. How we rode as a unit."
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