December 2/11 10:41 am - SpiderTech Announces 2012 Squad

Posted by Editoress on 12/2/11
 

SpiderTech is currently introducing the 2012 team to the media, including Canadian Cyclist, and we will have a full report, interviews and photos shortly, however, here is a brief peek at the team line up.  Four riders from 2011 are gone - Svein Tuft, Andrew Randell, Mark Batty and Bruno Langlois (all Canadian) - while three have been added - Caleb Fairly (USA), Bjorn Selander (USA) and Raymond Künzli (Switzerland).  The full text of the release follows:

Team SpiderTech powered by C10 have reconfirmed and recruited an internationally experienced squad that will build on the successful 2011 inaugural campaign on the pro-continental circuit. 2011 marked the first step towards the team’s goal of becoming the first Canadian-based pro cycling team to compete on the World Tour, notably in the Tour de France.

Steve Bauer, cofounder of Canada’s first pro-continental team, Olympic silver medalist and one of only two Canadians ever to wear the coveted yellow jersey at the Tour de France, believes the team will be extremely competitive in 2012, both in Europe and North America. The 16-rider squad features 13 returning cyclists from 2011 and three new recruits with strong international riding experience.

“The experience gained racing in Europe and across North America against the best pro teams in 2011 is invaluable to our riders as we prepare for 2012. The success we had as a team in 2011 proved to ourselves and to any skeptics that a Canadian team can race and compete with the best teams and individual riders in the world,” said Bauer during a press conference in Toronto.

Among the returning riders expected to lead the team in 2012 are, Will Routley (Whistler, B.C.), the 2010 Canadian Road Champion and silver medalist at the 2011 Canadian Championships; Guillaume Boivin (Longueuil, QC), the bronze medalist at the 2010 UCI Road World Championship road race (U23); David Boily (Québec, QC), best climber at the Giro di Sardegna and five stages in the yellow jersey and second overall at the Tour de l’Avenir, as well as Hugo Houle (Ste-Perpétue, QC), two-time U23 Canadian Champion in 2011.

To complement the returning riders, Steve Bauer and team manager Josée Larocque have also tapped into the talent pool from some of the biggest and most successful professional World Tour teams. The solid results in 2011 combined with an established team infrastructure have allowed Bauer and Larocque to recruit riders from other pro teams to join Team SpiderTech powered by C10.

“Pro cycling is a business and strong riders have options to sign with various teams, all teams must market themselves to riders to attract top talent.  I am thrilled that we were able to recruit Caleb Fairly of Amarillo, Texas (formerly of Team HTC Highroad), Bjorn Selander of Hudson, Wis. (formerly of Team RadioShack) and Raymond Künzli of Switzerland, and have them join us in 2012.  All three riders bring a wealth of international experience and impressive racing resumes.”

Last season, Caleb Fairly took part in 28 World Tour events with Team HTC-Highroad, including the Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal. The previous season, he rode for World Tour Team Garmin-Transitions as a trainee, with whom he won the 2010 Tour of the Battenkill and finished third in the Giro della Toscana.

Bjorn Selander last year rode with Team RadioShack, taking part in the Giro d’Italia as well as Paris-Roubaix. The previous season, he rode Paris-Roubaix, the Volta a Catalunya and the Tour of Poland, all World Tour races. In 2009, riding with Trek-Livestrong, he finished fifth at the Tour de Beauce, including a second place in the final stage of the tour.

In 2011, Künzli rode to third place at the Cinturon Ciclista a Mallorca, a three-day UCI 2.2 stage race, with the EKZ Racing Team, a continental team in Switzerland.

In 2011, Team SpiderTech powered by C10 raced about 130 days and scored eight UCI wins, 30 podiums and more than 60 top-10 finishes.

Team SpiderTech powered by C10 demonstrated its dominance on Canadian soil this summer at the 2011 IMMUNITY-FX Canadian Championships, sweeping the podium in the elite men’s race in addition to Hugo Houle capturing both U23 titles in the road race and time trials.

The team will depart for Europe in early January for pre-season training with the race season starting in late January. The team will release a full 2012 race schedule in January.

Complete 2012 Team Spidertech powered by C10 Roster:
Ryan Anderson
Zach Bell
David Boily
Guillaume Boivin
Flavio de Luna
Lucas Euser
Caleb Fairly
Martin Gilbert
Raymond Künzli
Hugo Houle
Keven Lacombe
Simon Lambert-Lemay
Pat McCarty
Francois Parisien
Ryan Roth
Will Routley
Bjorn Selander