December 21/10 9:51 am - Svein Tuft Joins SpiderTech p/b C10

Posted by Editor on 12/21/10
 

SpiderTech powered by C10 took a big step in its development with the announcement this morning of their signing of Svein Tuft.  Tuft was a member of the Pegasus Sports team that lost its last chance of racing at the top end of the sport when the UCI denied their application for Pro Continental status.

"We signed him last week," revealed team co-owner Steve Bauer.  We moved pretty quick because we didn't want to lose this chance, but we had to wait [to announce it] for the UCI and their agents Ernst and Young to confirm the contract was okay.  Ernst and Young just gave us the green light.  This is huge, a very big deal for us.  Svein is a solid vet, a leader and just a great guy.  His addition should assure us a really good opportunity for the Tour of California and, hopefully some other bigger races."

A former member of the Pro Tour team Garmin and a time-trial specialist, Tuft won a silver medal at the 2008 Road World Championships in Varese, Italy and a stage in the 2010 Eneco Tour, a prestigious UCI World Tour event in cycling's top tier of racing.

Svein joins the team as it completes the 2010 season ranked as #1 North American team on the UCI America Tour, and is now the third rider on the team with Pro Tour experience along with Lucas Euser, who joined the team in 2010, and recent addition Pat McCarty.

"We are very excited to have Svein join the team," said Josée Larocque, the team's general manager, "Svein's strengths as a rider complement our existing roster perfectly. We are already very competitive in one day racing and Svein adds depth to our general classification chances in multi-day tours. He is one of the world's best time-trialists, and he aligns perfectly with our long term goals to be competitive at the World Tour level."

Tuft will join his team-mates at the official launch in early February before flying to southern France to start the team's three month European racing campaign.

"Svein joining our team is timely. Our 2010 results, expanded roster and recent upgrade into Division 2 status are all compelling, but Svein reconfirms to sponsors, race directors, fans and media that the team is ready for the bigger game. Svein is a man extremely respected by his peers and I'm expecting Svein's experience, horsepower and leadership capacities to launch team SpiderTech to new levels. We are ecstatic with this opportunity to work with Svein," confirm Cycle Sport Management Inc. CEO and Sport Director Steve Bauer, who is currently finalizing the team's racing schedule for the spring campaign in Europe.

Tuft is one of only three Canadian men who have won a medal at the Road Cycling World Championships and now all three are together with team SpiderTech powered by C10. Guillaume Boivin won a bronze at the 2010 U23 road Worlds' in Geelong, Australia and is already a member of the team. Sport Director Bauer is remembered for his silver medal at the 1984 Olympics and subsequent bronze medal at the 1984 Road World Championships in Barcelona.

"It's like a hat trick for us," commented Boivin when he found out Tuft would be his team-mate in 2011.  "We have brought together some of the most accomplished guys in Canada's cycling history. It's very motivating."

"I was close to joining Steve's team this summer," said Tuft from his home in Langley, BC. "I knew then that I ultimately wanted to be a part of SpiderTech's program, but the timing wasn't quite right. Now that they've secured the Continental Pro licence and the opportunity to sign a new contract became an option; I knew that team SpiderTech was exactly where I wanted to be."

With Tuft joining SpiderTech, it has reunited much of the core membership of the Symmetrics squad, with Christian Meier and Andrew Pinfold the only active riders not on the squad.