Arrival of Rapha Condor-Sharp trio to bolster line-up for 2012
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Dean Windsor from New South Wales took out the Wattbike Sprint Championship from the men's open criterium.(Image credit: Shane Goss)
Zak Dempster on the attack with 20 to go.(Image credit: Larry Hickmott - VeloUK.net)
Jonathan Tiernan-Locke attacks alone on Haytor Rocks(Image credit: Rob Lampard)
Endura Racing have swooped to sign three riders from Rapha Condor-Sharp, with Zak Dempster, Dean Windsor and Jon Tiernan-Locke all set to join the team for 2012.
News of their arrival follows on from the announcement that British riders Ian Bibby, Jonny McEvoy and Erick Roswell will also be joining their ranks next year as the team looks to improve on its 26th place finish in the 2011 UCI Europe Tour rankings.
Tiernan-Locke enjoyed a breakthrough year in 2011, which included a stage win at the Vuelta a Leon and a headline-grabbing victory in the mountains classification at the Tour Of Britain.
“After a solid 2011 season I'm really excited to be joining Endura Racing and looking forward to taking on a more challenging race programme,” Tiernan-Locke said. “Naturally I want to continue my development as a cyclist, and see Endura Racing as an ideal environment to do this in. I aim to hit the ground running in 2012, and contribute to the team’s already impressive palmares, especially in the tougher stage races.”
Australian pair Windsor and Dempster have followed the progress made by Endura at close quarters in the last couple of years and both are excited by the challenge ahead.
“I could not be more pleased joining Endura Racing for 2012,” said Windsor. “I was forced to take plenty of notice of the team over the past two years, as every race I lined up against them, they always rode strong, smart and were very professional.
“Using Girona, Spain as my European base I will be focusing my training on a program of UCI tours and one day races. With a new coach I will be working on and improving my sprint finish. I am motivated to add some big wins to my resume.”
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Dempster, who spent the latter part of the 2011 season as a stagiare with HTC-Highroad, echoed Windsor’s comments and pointed out that while the team will look to be competitive at international level, the major races on home roads will not be neglected.
“I've obviously raced Endura a lot over the last two seasons and I see it as a good step towards racing more in Europe and continuing the progression I've shown,” he said. “I think we'll have a team that's highly competitive in professional races and able to win the most important races in the UK, in particular the Rutland and the Lincoln are two important goals.
“I'm aiming for another strong start to the season at UCI level in Europe. The goal of the season is pretty basic, win as many races and contribute to as many team victories as possible January through October.”
Endura Racing 2012 line-up:
Alexander Wetterhall (Sweden) Alexandre Blain (France) Dean Windsor (Australia) Erick Rowsell (UK) Ian Bibby (UK) Ian Wikinson (UK) Iker Camano (Spain) Jack Anderson (Australia) Jonny McEvoy (UK) Jon Tiernan-Locke (UK) Paul Voss (Germany) Rene Mandri (Estonia) Rob Partridge (UK) Scott Thwaites (UK) Zak Dempster (Australia)
