The Pro Tour debut for new Russian team Katusha will be next week at Australia’s Tour Down Under. While Katusha isn’t exactly a “new” team, this will be the first time it races with it’s newly acquired firepower.
The team is the next step in evolution from the Tinkoff Professional Cycling Team started by millionaire Oleg Tinkoff, and is being hailed as Russia’s first major attempt to raise the bar for the sport in the Russia.
The team will be looking to it’s star veteran’s Robbie McEwen and Gert Steegmans to spearhead the team. It will be McEwen’s home race, so it is likely that they will be looking to take the Austrailian to the line for the sprints.
Team director Andrei Tchmil told news agency Belga, “I think McEwen and Steegmans can compete with the best for stage victories.”
Along with classics legend Tchmil in the drivers seat, Katusha will have former professional Russian professional Dimitri Konyshev. Their team for the Tour Down Under includes Kenny Dehaes, Stijn Vandenbergh, Joan Horrach, Nikolay Trusov, and Sergey Klimov.