"I'm really excited to ride for Alè Cipollini Galassia," Skerritt said in a team press release. "I am convinced that here I will have the chance to improve and do a lot of experience. I can't wait to start racing in Europe. 2016 will be an important year for me, turning, but will also be a good season. I'm ready to have fun and get to know teammates and staff. I would like to thank right away Alessia Piccolo and both Sports Directors, who have given me their trust."
Skerritt had top-10 performances in the time trials at the Australian road championships and the Oceania Continental Championships last year.
Ale Cipollini roster for 2016: Martina Alzini, Marta Bastianelli, Francesca Cauz, Annalisa Cucinotta, Emilia Fahlin, Malgorata Jasinska, Dalia Muccioli, Beatrice Rossato, Ane Satesban, Marta Tagliaferro, Anna Trevisi and Ellen Skerritt.
Bizkaia-Durango signs Lopez
Bizkaia-Durango announced that they have signed Marga Lopez for 2016, bringing their roster to16 riders. Lopez, 18, who had a successful career as a junior racer, will embark on her first year as an under-23 rider with the Spanish UCI outfit.
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"I am very grateful with the opportunity I've been given to be part of this big team. It is a chance I will try to take advantage of, because although I'm a first-year-U23, I'm really looking forward to learning from the team leaders, being useful in the teamwork and earning experience," Lopez said.
Lopez is classed as a strong sprinter from the junior ranks and secured the yellow jersey in the 2015 Spanish Cup. She is also a talented track cyclist who has earned a gold medal in the Spanish Keirin National Championship and the silver in the Scratch race. She also earned a gold medal in the junior Team Pursuit and a silver medal in the elite Team Pursuit at the national championships.
Orbea commits to Luna Pro Team through 2020
Orbea announced Tuesday that it has renewed its sponsorship of the US-based Luna Pro Team for another four years, through 2020.
The successful women's mountain bike team have been riding Orbea bikes since their original agreement in 2006. During those 10 years, the team have amassed two world titles, two World Cup victories and numerous other international results.
Canadian U23 road champion, Gabrielle Pilote Fortin, is looking forward to bringing her all-rounder skills to the Cervelo Bigla Pro Cycling Team in 2016. She joins a nine-rider roster that will compete mainly overseas.
Pilote Fortin will join her compatriot Joelle Numainville, Canadian elite women's road champion, at Cervelo Bigla Pro Cycling. At 22 years of age, she will be one of the team's development riders who is aspiring to build her skills on the elite women's racing circuit.
She described herself as a strong climber, a team player and a hard worker in a recent interview from the Cervelo Bigla Pro Cycling Team. "I love to work and share victories with my teammates. I am a hard worker and so I like to train hard and to push myself to the limit… It's good that I have a good coach that holds me back sometimes so I don't do too much.
"I am a good climber, and I like endurance, either tough weather conditions or long hard rides in the mountains. I am pretty good all-rounder as well, which makes me a good teammate in the end."
Cervelo Bigla have reduced their roster from 14 to nine because of an Olympic year. Ashleigh Moolman-Pasio will lead the team that also includes Carmen Small, Clara Koppenburg, Numainville, Lisa Klein, Lotta Lepisto and Nicole Hanselmann. New riders are Pilote Fortin and world champion on the track Stephanie Pohl.
