January 4/08 7:29 am - Trek Red Truck Racing Focus is on Young Talent in 2008

Posted by Editor on 01/4/08
 

Trek Red Truck Racing Focus is on Young Talent in 2008

Building on last year's success, the Trek Red Truck Racing team Presented by Mosaic Homes is preparing for the upcoming season with many new young faces in its line-up. The team was inundated with rider resumes at the conclusion of last season and the selection committee was able to decide on a promising new group of riders to represent the team for 2008.

Management has raised the team's budget substantially, thanks to the increased support of its existing sponsors and the addition of many new corporate sponsors, proving that grass-roots cycling is flourishing despite the doping scandals that continue to plague the pro ranks.

As the riders continue their winter preparations for the start of the season in March, management wishes to profile the team's new members and highlight some of their accomplishments last season. The team has added several standouts and former members of the now defunct Victoria based La-Z-Boy Cycling Team (formerly Gigabike) including:

22 year old Rob Britton from Regina, Saskatchewan heads the list of signings, and was a 2 year member of La-Z-Boy race team. He has been racing for 6 years and was the BC Cup Overall Series Champion in 2007. He was 1st in the BC TT Championships last year averaging a scorching fast speed of 49.5km/hr which was a mere 30 seconds off Canadian TT Champion, Svein Tuft's record time (2006). He also wore the Best Young Rider jersey in the Tour De Beauce and finished 14th at the National Road Race Championships.

Victoria native, Jamie Sparling, is another impressive rider, who had numerous top 3 finishes in 2007 including wins at the Bastion Square Criterium, the National Track Championships in the team pursuit, and is the defending Manitoba and Alberta Provincial champion in the road race. He was an impressive 5th place in last year's Tour of Whiterock Criterium and finished 5th in the Young Rider Classification at the Tour De Toona in Pennsylvania.

Fellow Victoria native, 22 year old Tyler Trace, also had a successful season for the La-Z-Boy squad last year, highlighted by numerous top 3 placings at local events, including a 3rd place finish at Bastion Square Criterium and 1st and 2nd respectively in two Alberta Cup races. With only 2 years of racing under his belt he has progressed very quickly in the sport and has a promising future.

20 year old, Dave Brooks has been racing for 6 years and achieved many top 10 placing's last year for La-Z-Boy, while riding in support of teammate and BC Cup winner Rob Britton. His level of commitment, all around abilities, and unselfish work ethic were recognized by management and he will play a key role in the success of the team this season. He also excels in cyclo-cross racing contributing to his all around abilities.

Entering his final year of high school, Kevin Thorpe has been added to the junior squad along with talented newcomer Jason Manning, to further their development in the sport, in which they both hope to race at a high level on the road and track with the goal of representing Canada at the 2012 London Olympics.

On the women's side, 2002 Olympic skier and 10 year Canadian Alpine Ski Team veteran Anne-Marie Lefrancois has replaced her skis with a Trek bicycle and has already made her mark on her new sport. She was 6th at last year's Harris Roubaix BC Cup race and 6th on stage 1 of the Tour of Islamabad, Pakistan. She was sitting in 8th place overall in the BC Cup standings when an injury suffered from a crash forced a premature end to her season.

"The new racers that we have added for this year compliment an already very strong lineup so we are optimistic for the upcoming race season," commented Team Director, Steve Engh. "We have built a very solid framework and support structure in order for these kids to excel in the sport and hopefully represent Canada internationally in the future."