A look at the second tier American men’s and women’s squads
It was announced Monday by USA Cycling that there will be 12 teams registered as UCI Continental squads based in the United States on the men’s side, as well as two UCI women’s teams for the upcoming season.
The 12 men’s continental teams join up with the four other professional outfits that earned the same UCI status as last year. Garmin-Cervelo and BMC Racing return as ProTour teams, and returning as Professional Continental will be Team Type 1-Sanof and the UnitedHealthCare Pro Cycling Team.
Several of the riders, some of the management plus the sponsors behind the RadioShack team have transferred across to the Luxembourg Leopard Trek setup. This plus the winding up of the HTC Highroad team means that the USA loses two ProTour licences.
The 12 U.S.-based UCI Continental teams for next season are as follows:
Bissell Pro Cycling Team
Chris Barton moves in as a transfer from BMC Racing, bringing experience from races such as the Giro d’Italia. “With a smaller and deeper roster, Bissell will really be capable of gelling as a team in 2012,” said team director Omer Kem.
Roster: Andy Baker (USA), Chris Baldwin (USA), Chris Barton (USA), Patrick Bevin (NZL), Andrew Dahleheim (USA), Benjamin Jacques-Maynes (USA), Carter Jones (USA), Chase Pinkham (USA), Kevin Pipp (USA), Jeremy Vennell (NZL), Eric Young (USA)
BMC Hincapie Sportswear Development Team
The new feeder team for BMC Racing will begin developing talent as a new squad in 2012. “Without the help of development programs and folks like Jim Ochowicz guiding me as a new pro, I never could have gotten where I am today,” George Hincapie stated recently.
Roster: Isaac Enderline (USA), Tyler Karnes (USA), Parker Kyzer (USA), Ty Magner (USA), Alder Philip Martez (USA), Andrew Joseph Meyer (USA), Tanner Putt (USA), Mike Stone (USA), Edison Blair Turner (USA), Alesksa Velickovic (SRB), Jovan Zekaica (SRB)
Chipotle Development Team
The development team for Garmin-Cervelo added Adam Leibovitz and Alister Ratcliff from the collegiate ranks for 2012. “I’m extremely honored and excited to be part of such a prestigious team and development program. I can’t wait to take my racing level up next year,” Leibovitz said.
Roster: Joshua Berry (USA), Robert Bush (USA), Robin Carpenter (USA), Andzs Flaksis (LAT), Evan Hyde (USA), Andrei Krasilikau (BLR), Adam Leibovitz (USA), Michael Midlarsky (USA), Lachlan Morton (AUS), Anders Newbury (USA), Alister Ratcliff (USA), Thomas Scully (NZL), Robert Squire (USA), Daniel Summerhill (USA), Steele Van Hoff (AUS)
Competitive Cyclist Racing Team
The team known as RealCyclist.com in 2011 gets a new name for next season, and they add Chad Beyer from BMC Racing as well. “We had a stellar first year with the RealCyclist.com Pro Cycling Team, winning five out of seven major stage races, and we look forward to rolling that momentum into the Competitive Cyclist Racing Team for 2012,” remarked team manager Jon Atencio.
Roster: Chad Beyer (USA), Ian Burnett (USA), Cesar Grajales (COL), Phil Grenfell AUS), Cole House (USA), Max Jenkins (USA), Nate King (USA), Francisco Mancebo (ESP), Tommy Nankervis (AUS), Mike Olheiser (USA), Thomas Rabou (NED), Taylor Sheldon (USA), David Williams (USA)
Jamis/Sutter Home
The team is most excited about the addition of Dutch climber Peter Van Dijk. “With hilly races like the SRAM Tour of the Gila, the Amgen Tour of California, and the Tour of Utah on our calendar, we expect [Peter] will deliver outstanding results,” team director Sebastian Alexandre stated.
Roster: Fernando Antogna (ARG), Alejandro Borrajo (ARG), Anibal Borrajo (ARG), James Driscoll (USA), Bradley Gehrig (USA), Carson Miller (USA), Philip Mooney (USA), Luis Romero Amaran (CUB), Eric Schildge (USA), John Simes (USA), Petrus Van Dijk (NED), Kyle Wamsley (USA), Tyler Wren (USA)
Kenda/5-Hour Energy Cycling Team
An invitation to the Amgen Tour of California is the primary goal for the Ohio-based team, according to general manager Chad Thompson. “We know we can contend against the best in the world. We are hoping we are fortunate enough to get the invitations to do so for our sponsors and our riders alike, and get the chance to prove we have yet again taken our team up a notch,” he said.
Roster: Gregg Brandt (USA), Luca Damiani (ITA), Nathanial English (USA), Philip Gaimon (USA), Chad Harltey (USA), Stephen Housely (USA), Isaac Howe (USA), Andrew Jacques-Maynes (USA), Roman Kilun (USA), Max Korus (USA), Patrick Lemieux (USA), Paul Mach (USA), Shawn Milne (USA), Jonathan Murphy (USA), James Stemper (USA), Robert Sweeting (USA), Curtis Winsor (USA)
Bontrager Livestrong Team
Josh Atkins (NZL), Ian Boswell (USA), Nathan Brown (USA), Lawson Craddock (USA), Jasper De Buyst (BEL), Joe Dombrowski (USA), Ryan Eastman (USA), Gavin Mannion (USA), Dale Parker (USA), Jasper Stuyven (BEL)
Jelly Belly Cycling Team
Menso De Young (USA), Luis Enrique Davila (MEX), Alex Hagman (USA), Nic Hamilton (CAN), Sergio Hernandez (USA), Charles Huff (USA), Sean Mazich (USA), Semerson Oronte (USA), Jeremy Powers (USA), Scott Stewart (USA), Ricardo Van Der Velde (NED)
Team Exergy
Carlos Alzate Escobar (COL), Andre Alzate Escobar (COL), Kai Applequist (USA), Benjamin Chaddock (CAN), Matt Cooke (USA), Zachary Davies (USA), Andrew Diaz Corales (COL), Sam Johnson (USA), Quinn Keogh (USA), Logan Loader (USA), Conor Mullervy (USA), Kevin Mullervy (USA), Fred Rodriguez (USA), Morgan Schmitt (USA), Serghei Tvetcov (MDA)
Team Mountain Khakis/SmartStop
Neil Bezdek (USA), Thomas Brown (USA), Jon Hamblen (USA), Luke Keough (USA), Shane Kline (USA), Travis Livermon (USA), Chris Monteleone (USA), Clay Murfet (AUS), Jerome Townsend (USA), Benjamin Zawacki (USA)
Team Optum p/b Kelly Benefit Strategies
Jesse Anthony (USA), Andrew Bajadali (USA), Colton Barrett (USA), Alexander Candelario (USA), Marsh Cooper (CAN), Michael Creed (USA), Michael Friedman (USA), Chad Haga (USA), Kenneth Hanson (USA), Cheyne Hoag (USA), Ian Moir (USA), Reid Mumford (USA), Cody O’Reilly (USA), Christopher Parrish (USA), Sebastian Salas (CAN), Michael Sherer (USA), Thomas Soladay (USA), Thomas Zirbel (USA), Scott Zwizanski (USA)
Wonderful Pistachios Cycling
Eric Bennett (USA), Taylor Bertrand Barrett (USA), Yosvany Falcon (USA), Sterline Magnell (USA), Victor Riquelme (USA), Collin Samaan (USA), Iggy Silva (USA), Erik Slack (USA), Brett Tack (USA)
Women’s UCI Sanctioned teams:
Exergy TWENTY 12
Kaitlin Antonneau (USA), Kristin Armstrong (USA), Rhae Christie-Shaw (CAN), Theresa Cliff-Ryan (USAC), Jacquelyn Crowell (USA), Andrea Dvorak (USA), Kristin McGrath (USA), Greta Neimanas (USA), Coryn Rivera (USA), Alison Tetrick (USA), Taylor Wiles (USA)
Team TIBCO/To The Top
Megan Guarnier (USA), Lauren Hall (USA), Lauren Hecht (USA), Joanne Kiesanowski (NZL), Amanda Miller (USA), Lindsay Myers (USA), Jennifer Purcell (USA), Kendall Ryan (USA), Samantha Schneider (USA), Jennifer Wheeler (USA), Tara Whitten (CAN), Erinne Willock (CAN)