January 7/08 11:12 am - Webcor Builders Cycling Team Announces 2008 Roster

Posted by Editoress on 01/7/08
 

Webcor Builders Cycling Team Announces 2008 Roster
Courtesy Webcor Builders Cycling Team

The Webcor Builders Cycling Team, the NRC #1 ranked women's team in 2007, today announced its 2008 roster.

Top returning riders include Christine Thorburn and Katheryn Curi Mattis.

Thorburn, a 2004 Olympian and 2006 Worlds Bronze Medalist, will take a leave of absence from her medical practice to focus on earning a medal at the Olympic Games in Beijing.

Curi Mattis enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2007 with overall podium appearances at the Redlands Classic and the Tour Cycliste Feminin International Ardeche.

Thorburn and Curi Mattis are joined on the roster by a trio of top Canadians ˆ 2006 double National Champion Alex Wrubleski, 2007 National Road Champion Gina Grain, and 2005 National Silver Medalist Erinne Willock, a Webcor rider in 2005 and 2006.

Also racing for Webcor will be three promising new talents ˆ Rebecca Much, 2004 Jr. Worlds Silver Medalist; Amy Dombroski, 2006 and 2007 U23 National Cyclocross Champion; and Janel Holcomb, who captured third place in the 2007 Bermuda Grand Prix time trial as a guest rider for Webcor.

Rounding out the Webcor roster are two returning riders, Laura McKenzie, 2004 U23 National Champion, and Beverley Harper, 2007 Masters Worlds Silver Medalist.

Webcor Builders, recently named North American Women's Team of the Year by Velo News, will be the only UCI-registered Women's team in North America in 2008. The team has set an ambitious schedule of international competition as part of its drive to send Webcor riders to the Olympics.

Returning for her fifth year at the Webcor helm, Team Manager Karen Brems said, "With our great success in North America in 2007, I am very excited to take our 2008 team to compete internationally against the best in the world."

Brems, the 1994 World Champion and 2000 Olympian, expressed optimism about the team's Olympic prospects. "With our level of talent, Webcor Builders could send up to five riders to Beijing," she said.

The team's plans for international competition include the Geelong World Cup in Australia, the Women's Tour of New Zealand, and three top European races ˆ the Tour de Berne, Giro di San Marino, and the Tour de l'Aude Cycliste Feminin. The Montreal World Cup, as well as top NRC road and stage races, is also on Webcor's race calendar.

The Webcor Builders Women's team is generously supported by Webcor Builders, the largest general contractor in California and the seventh largest concrete contractor in the U.S.

Webcor CEO Andy Ball called 2008 a special year for cycling. "In this Olympic year, Webcor Builders is proud to field a team capable of winning at the highest level of world competition," Ball said.