Herety upbeat about new UK 'super team'

By Gerry McManus in London

John Herety is looking forward to next year as manager of the British 'super team' Rapha-Condor-Recycling.co.uk. The merger of two of Britain's two top teams Rapha-Condor and Recycling.co.uk came as a surprise to many but the current Recycling.co.uk manager was at the London Cycle show explaining that the new team has great ambitions.

"I am very pleased with the merger," said Herety. "We will be a new Continental team for next season. We will have a bigger budget and bigger ambitions. We have always been about being a platform for young riders to give them an opportunity to race abroad in types of races that will allow them to develop. There is some scope for some older riders as well and the idea is that they pass on their experience to the younger riders. Rapha Condor has been quite a revelation on the UK domestic scene this year and they wanted to tap into our experience on the continental side of things. There is complete synergy in our philosophies."

Chris Newton is one of only two riders confirmed for next year alongside Kristian House. House is returning from the US after Navigators Insurance ended their long running sponsorship of the New Jersey based team. Newton will be looking to win Olympic gold in Beijing in the team pursuit to add to the silver he won in Athens and the bronze from Sydney. The 34-year-old from Stockton on Tees is also a double world champion in the team pursuit in Los Angeles in 2005 and points in Copenhagen 2002.

There is no word on which Rapha Condor riders will remain with the team in 2008. The team included Dean Downing who was the third best ranked rider in the British Cycling tables for 2007.

The new team will be registered on the road for next year but Herety doesn't rule out moving onto the track. "We will look at registering as a track team next August," continued Herety. "I guess it probably depends on what happens at the Olympics with Chris Newton and so forth. We have always supported Chris with a racing programme tailor-made to help him achieve his track ambitions.