Floyd's Pro Cycling makes Tour of Utah line up with name change

Image 1 of 5

Travis McCabe (Floyd's Pro Cycling) wins stage 3 at the Tour de Langkawi(Image credit: Getty Images)

After missing out on the initial Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah team announcement in April, Floyd's Pro Cycling made the final team cut that was announced today – sort of. The Canadian Continental team sponsored by the Floyd's of Leadville CBD company owned by Floyd Landis will change its name to Worthy Pro Cycling for the August 12-18 race.

"He also trusts his friend Roger Worthington, who was a central figure in the establishment of the Dana Point GP and whose company Worthy Brewing is a presenting sponsor of our team. Floyd agreeing to let the team race the Tour of Utah as Worthy Pro Cycling allows us to showcase a company that recently helped save one of the most popular races on the US calendar: the Cascade Cycling Classic," McFarlane wrote.

Landis and his CBD business signed on as sponsors of the Canadian team in the offseason after former sponsor Silber Investments did not renew. Landis, of course, is the controversial former pro whose 2006 Tour de France win was stripped away after he failed an anti-doping test. He later prompted the US Anti-Doping investigation that brought down Lance Armstrong, and then filed a whistleblower fraud lawsuit against his former US Postal Service teammate that was joined by the US federal government. Armstrong eventually settled the suit, and a portion of that settlement went to Landis.

CBD, or cannabidiol, is derived from the hemp plant, a cousin of the marijuana plant, but it lacks the psychoactive THC element present in marijuana and is legal in all 50 US states. Although the federal government still considers CBD in the same drug class as marijuana, it doesn’t usually enforce laws against it. Utah passed a law last year legalising CBD oil and other industrialised hemp products with less than 3 per cent THC content.

Floyd's has had a productive first year on the UCI calendar as well, taking a stage win and the overall at the Tour de Taiwan with Jonathan Clarke, who was also seventh overall at Utah in 2017. The team followed Clarke's Taiwan result this year with stage wins at Joe Martin, Tour de Langkawi, Tour of the Gila, Grand Prix Cycliste de Saguenay and Tour de Beauce. Floyd's has also had a solid run of victories in national calendar events in both the US and Canada. In national championship action, Tvetcov recently won the Romanian time trial, while McCabe won stars-and-stripes at the US criterium championships.

Now that the team is in the Utah race, McCabe, Tvetcov, Swirbul and crew will join three other Continental teams that were also announced today, bringing the roster to 17 teams after earlier invitee Manzana Postobon folded following a series of anti-doping violations. Joining Worthy among the new additions are Dauner-AKKON Pro Cycling of Germany, DC Bank Pro Cycling of Canada and Canel’s-Specialized of Mexico.

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.