First batch of riders also includes Swirbul, Clarke, Zukowsky
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UnitedHealthcare's Travis McCabe finished second on stage 4 at the Tour of Utah(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Serghei Tvetcov of Romania and the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team on August 6, 2018 in St. George, Utah. (Image credit: Jonathan Devich/Getty Images)
Keegan Swirbul (Jelly Belly) puts water on his legs to cool off during todays hot stage on August 8, 2018 in Cedar City, Utah.(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/Getty Images)
Veteran Jonny Clarke at the coffee stop(Image credit: Jonathan Devich)
Nickolas Zukowsky (Canada)(Image credit: Tim de Waele/Getty Images Sport)
Floyd Landis and Gord Fraser announced the first riders to be signed to their new Continental team, which will be named Floyd's Pro Cycling. The team will race primarily on the road, but with new equipment sponsor Van Dessel, they will compete in some gravel and mountain bike events.
Landis is funding the team in part with the money from settling of his False Claims Act suit against Lance Armstrong and the US Postal Service team management and owners. Landis' Continental team will be registered in Canada and has acquired infrastructure from the defunct Silber Pro Cycling team.
However, the registration ran into legal issues with the Canadian Government, so the team name had to be changed from Floyd's of Leadville Pro Cycling due to Canada's legalisation of cannabis.
"Canada is sorting out the legalities surrounding CBD and athletics," Landis said in a press release. "My commitment to the team remains unchanged regardless of what it needs to be called. After years of litigation, I have no desire to enter another lengthy legal battle over the name."
Fraser, who also directed Silber, has been leading the way with the signings.
"We're going to focus on developing the best young cycling talent in Canada while expanding to recruit some of North America's most dynamic and proven riders," he said.
The team brought in sprinter Travis McCabe and experienced road captain Jonny Clarke from UnitedHealthcare, which folded at the end of the season, as well as general classification contender Serghei Tvetcov.
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McCabe has won four stages of the Tour of Utah and one in the Colorado Classic, in addition to numerous other national-level victories. Tvetcov was the winner of the Tour of Romania and Tour of Korea this season, in addition to past podiums in the USA Pro Challenge, Tour of Utah and Colorado Classic.
The team also brought on up-and-coming GC contender Keegan Swirbul, 23, from Jelly Belly, and Nick Zukowsky and Emile Jean from the Siber team. Junior riders Carson Miles and Robin Plamondon round out the first batch of recruits.
The team's first gravel race will be Paris to Ancaster in Canada on April 28. The 70km mixed-surface event takes place on the "roughest farm lanes, trails and gravel roads we can find", according to organisers.
"Once we decided to race cross-category, partnering with Van Dessel made perfect sense," Fraser said.
Fraser told Cyclingnews the team will start its season on the road in March in Taiwan and in the US at the Tucson Bicycle Classic and the Redlands Bicycle Classic, the first race of USA Cycling's 2019 Pro Road Tour.
