Continental team's future is uncertain after title sponsor drops support
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Justin Williams wins the Ladner Criterium in Canada(Image credit: Cylance Cycling/Oran Kelly)
Justin Williams wins the Ladner Criterium in Canada(Image credit: Cylance Cycling/Oran Kelly)
Kyle Murphy went with clip on bars on his disc equipped Cannondale(Image credit: Tim de Waele/TDWSport.com)
Eric Marcotte(Image credit: Cylance Pro Cycling)
Jelly Belly takes the win with Cylance second(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
The Cylance Cycling men's team will not return to the UCI level in 2018 after the title sponsor pulled the plug on its support for the Continental team, according to a source familiar with the situation. The Cylance Pro Cycling women’s team will continue in 2018 and has already announced its roster.
Cyclingnews understands that several sponsors are still on board with the team, which could return next season as an amateur domestic elite squad focused around sprinter Justin Williams and the domestic criterium circuit.
The Cylance Cycling men’s team was rooted in the former Incycle-Cannondale team that was based in Southern California but registered in Puerto Rico as a Continental team. The criterium-focused team first registered in Puerto Rico in 2014 as Incycle-Predator and then added Cannondale as a presenting sponsor for 2015.
Formerly managed by Micah Clouteaux, operations for the team were taken over in 2016 by the Inspire Sports management company run by former pro Omer Kem, who declined to comment for this article.
Mike Roecklein, who was let go from the team earlier this year due to lack of funding, was the men's team director/manager for 2016, and Australian Hilton Clarke moved from rider in 2016 to director this year, when the team expanded its focus beyond the USA Cycling Pro Road Tour calendar to include bigger stage races. In 2017, the team competed in the 2.HC tours of Utah and Britain.
The team’s nine-rider roster this season featured Williams and former US pro road race and criterium champion Eric Marcotte, who has signed with UnitedHealthcare for next year, along with climber Kyle Murphy, who moved to Rally Cycling for 2018. Other riders included Karl Menzies, Andres Diaz, Orlando Garibay, Scott Law, Bryan Lewis and Hunter Grove.
Clarke did not respond to an email seeking comment about the team's future.
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Growing up in Missoula, Montana, Pat competed in his first bike race in 1985 at Flathead Lake. He studied English and journalism at the University of Oregon and has covered North American cycling extensively since 2009, as well as racing and teams in Europe and South America. Pat currently lives in the US outside of Portland, Oregon, with his imaginary dog Rusty.
