On the eve of the 2016 Tour de France, Cannondale announced that Drapac would become a naming rights sponsor and the WorldTour team would be merging with the Australian Pro-Continental squad. As it finalises its 2017 roster, Cannondale-Drapac have announced that Australian duo Brendan Canty and William Clarke, and New Zealander Tom Scully will be moving across to the WorldTour squad.
Along with the three riders, director sportif Tom Southam moves across to Cannondale-Drapac, as does performance director Keith Flory, with Jonathan Breekveldt to manage the team's European headquarters.
"Teams are deciding what they're going try and be for the upcoming season at this time of year. We’re no different. We've added some bigger guys for the classics like Sep and Taylor," said team manager Jonathan Vaughters of the Taylor Phinney and Sep Vanmarcke signings. "And now with the Drapac guys coming in, we're going after both depth and development.
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"Scully and Canty are greener riders we hope to bring along. Clarke has raced at the highest level before and has won some races with the Drapac team already. They should all fit into what we do nicely. The management coming over to the team will help us in myriad areas: on the road, in coaching and training, and in operations."
Canty, 24, will bolster the general classification aspirations of the team with the climber making a quick progression to the top tier of the sport after spending 2014 with Continental squad Budget Forklifts, and 2015 with Drapac. The Victorian made a name for himself by winning the best young rider classification at the Tour of Oman, then claimed his first professional victory at the Tour of Austria in July.
"It's definitely a very exciting time for me, and I think there's plenty to look forward to heading into 2017. It's a dream to be a part of a WorldTour team competing at the highest level of the sport, and I can't wait for things to get started," said Canty who was a runner before taking up cycling. "It's a little crazy to think where I started a few years ago in my first road race, and the situation I am currently in. We haven't sat down yet to talk through my schedule for 2017, but they tend to change anyway. No doubt there will be many races and various opportunities, and I really want to embrace what will be the biggest and hardest season of my career to date."
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