Team Sky and Orica GreenEdge will both send riders to January’s round of the Revolution series in Manchester.
Peter Kennaugh and Luke Rowe will line up for the British team, while Jens Mouris and Adam Blythe will represent the Australian WorldTour team at the third round in the series on January 3.
The event marks Blythe’s first competitive outing for Orica GreenEdge having signed a one-year deal with the team this summer.
Porte to start season at Australian Nationals
Richie Porte (Team Sky) will begin his 2015 season at the Mars Cycling Australia Road National Championships in January. The Tasmanian was third in the race last year and will once again use the event as a springboard into the Tour Down Under.
Androni Giacattoli threatens Hoogerland with lawsuit
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Androni Giacattoli on Wednesday threatened to file a lawsuit against Johnny Hoogerland, who rode for the Italian Pro Continental team in 2014. The dispute stems from a tweet Hoogerland sent out Wednesday morning asking the UCI and its president, Brian Cookson, where a rider can go “when your team does not pay your salary.”
Hoogerland lodged a complaint with the team this week when he was paid € 1,910.23 in December instead of the approximately €4,300.00 he had received the previous months, according to the team. In a statement sent to the press on Wednesday, the team claimed Hoogerland was told the difference was paid to the Italian State for income tax.
“We believed the problem was solved,” the team wrote in Wednesday's statement. “But the above ‘tweet’ has created a situation which is seriously defamatory for our Team. We will immediately send UCI the full documentation proving all the payments made to Hoogerland including the full payment and all the contributions paid to the Italian State. Our Solicitor Avv. Giuseppe Napoleone will take Hoogerland to Penal Court with charge of calumny and defamation and to Civil Court for punitive damages.”
Hoogerland rode for Vacansoleil for five seasons before moving to Androni this year. The 31-year-old Dutch rider has signed with Team Roompot for next season.
Sunweb sponsorship of Giant-Alpecin will not impact cyclo-cross team
Sunweb-Napoleon Games team manager Jurgen Mettepenningen clarified today that the sponsorship by Sunweb of the WorldTour road team Giant-Alpecin will have no impact on his professional cyclo-cross team.
"The policy makers of the tour operator have already indicated that they definitely want to draw up an extension to their commitment to the cyclo-cross team," Mettepenningen said.
"They are two different worlds, and I understand the strategy of the company. After cyclo-cross they now want to gain notoriety through sponsorship in road cycling."
Sunweb rider Kevin Pauwels is the World Cup leader and number one rider in the UCI rankings.
