The 2008 World time trial silver medallist signed for the Canadian ProContinental once it had been confirmed that the UCI had rejected Pegasus Sports’ bid for both ProTeam and ProContinental licences.
“I was close to joining Steve’s [Bauer’s] team this summer,” said Tuft.
“I knew then that I ultimately wanted to be a part of SpiderTech’s program, but the timing wasn’t quite right. Now that they’ve secured the Pro Continental licence and the opportunity to sign a new contract became an option; I knew that team SpiderTech was exactly where I wanted to be.”
Svein, who previously rode for Garmin-Transitions, and won a stage of the Eneco Tour this year, joins the Spidertech as it completes the 2010 season ranked as number one North American team on the UCI America Tour and is now the third rider on the team with ProTour experience, along with Lucas Euser who joined the team in 2010 and recent addition Pat McCarty.
“We are very excited to have Svein join the team” said Josée Larocque, the team’s general manager, “Svein’s strengths as a rider complement our existing roster perfectly. We are already very competitive in one day racing and Svein adds depth to our general classification chances in multi-day tours. He is one of the world’s best 'time-trialists' and he aligns perfectly with our long term goals to be competitive at the World Tour level.”
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Tuft will join his team-mates at the official launch in early February before flying to southern France to start the team’s three-month European racing campaign. “Svein joining our team is timely. Our 2010 results, expanded roster and recent upgrade into division 2 status are all compelling, but Svein reconfirms to sponsors, race directors, fans and media that the team is ready for the bigger game. Svein is a man extremely respected by his peers and I’m expecting Svein’s experience, horsepower and leadership capacities to launch team SpiderTech to new levels. We are ecstatic with this opportunity to work with Svein” confirm Cycle Sport Management Inc. CEO and team Sport Director Steve Bauer, who is currently finalising the team’s racing schedule for the spring campaign in Europe.
Daniel Benson was the Editor in Chief at Cyclingnews.com between 2008 and 2022. Based in the UK, he joined the Cyclingnews team in 2008 as the site's first UK-based Managing Editor. In that time, he reported on over a dozen editions of the Tour de France, several World Championships, the Tour Down Under, Spring Classics, and the London 2012 Olympic Games. With the help of the excellent editorial team, he ran the coverage on Cyclingnews and has interviewed leading figures in the sport including UCI Presidents and Tour de France winners.
