“2011 UnitedHealthcare-Maxxis Adds European Talent” |
| 2011 UnitedHealthcare-Maxxis Adds European Talent Posted: 11 Sep 2010 11:43 AM PDT 2011 UnitedHealthcare-Maxxis Adds European Talent The UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis has further bolstered its roster with the signing of three experienced European riders for 2011, while also returning Andrew Pinfold, one of its stalwarts for the past two years.
Robert Förster Robert ForsterFörster, who is in his 10th professional season and previously raced for Gerolsteiner as well, has contested 13 grand tours, earning three career stage wins in Giro d'Italia. He has also raced the Amgen Tour of California and the Tour de Georgia in the United States. "The racing conversations I've had with Robert about 2011 have been great," Tamayo added. "He not only brings world-class speed to the team, he brings leadership and knowledge. He's really looking forward to working with younger guys like Jake Keough to help them develop." Boy van Poppel
"Van Poppel is young but experienced," Tamayo said. "He's another quick guy but also one who is still developing his talents. Boy is a lot like this Team, he's looking to grow and improve as we also look to grow toward the Pro Tour level. We expect him to have great rides in Europe, as well as at classics-style races in the U.S. like the Philadelphia International Cycling Championship." Van Poppel has shown he has a big engine, having previously won the Junior World Cyclocross Championship. He also comes from a great pedigree. Boy's father, Jean-Paul van Poppel, is the most successful Dutch sprinter in history, having won stages in all three grand tours. Boy's mother, Mirjam Melchers-van Poppel, is one of the top female cyclists in history. Christian Meier "Christian is a very versatile rider," Tamayo said. "He can race hilly classics like Liege-Bastogne-Liege and the shorter, harder stage races. He's gained a lot of experience in Europe the past couple years, and he's also still developing as a rider." Meier was the 2008 Canadian National Road Champion, the 2007 National Espoir Road Champion and won the Best Young Rider competition at the 2007 Tour de Beauce. Meier posted a 7th place in the Espoir version of Liege-Bastogne-Liege that same year.
Meier was a teammate of returning Team UnitedHealthcare rider Andrew Pinfold on Symmetrics until 2008. Andrew Pinfold The most recent round of signings brings the Team UnitedHealthcare's roster to 15 new and returning riders. "The guys we've signed so far have added a lot of speed to the team," Tamayo said. "We're still looking to add a couple more riders who are more pure climber and altitude guys. We're looking at guys who will do well in races like the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah and the Quiznos Colorado Challenge, the new UCI stage race in Colorado that's starting in 2011, as well as stage races in Europe that take the peloton to the higher passes." Tamayo expects some of those races to be in southern Europe in the Spring of 2011. "We're looking at some races in the warmer parts of Spain and Italy in March and April that will help us prepare for the Amgen Tour of California in particular," he said. "This year we had a great showing in California and we want to improve on that performance in 2011." 2011 UnitedHealthcare Squad New 2011
This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Content Keyword RSS To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 comments:
Post a Comment