Robbie McEwen (Katusha) nabs his first win since February.(Image credit: www.ispaphoto.com)
Team owner Chris White addresses those at the launch, with the riders and team management watching on.(Image credit: Beau Chenery)
A Fly V Australia rider in action(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)
Pegasus Racing will announce the sponsors and full line-up of its team for 2011 next week ahead of the world championships in Melbourne. Currently in the process of applying for a ProTour licence, the Australian outfit also revealed ambitious plans to field four teams at various levels on three different continents next season.
Pegasus Racing hopes to field ProTour, Continental, under-23 and women’s teams next year that will compete in Europe, North America and Australia. The 25-man ProTour team would be based in Europe, while the 14-man Continental team that competed in the United States this year under the Fly V Australia banner will continue as Virgin Blue.
Similarly, the Australian-based under-23 team sponsored by Virgin Blue-RBS Morgan will continue in 2011 and a new seven-rider women’s team will be formed and will also race under the Virgin Blue-RBS Morgan name.
“This is an exciting development and a big commitment, which shows just how serious we are about cycling,” Pegasus Sports Chief Executive Chris White told the Sydney Morning Herald.
''Not only are we looking to achieve ProTour status in 2011, we are also looking to bolster our program and make a commitment to women's cycling for the first time. We plan to be a significant, long-term player in all the major theatres of cycling around the world.”
White is confident of landing ProTour status for his squad for 2011: “We are in the process of finalizing our application and we’re confident of a positive response.”
Robbie McEwen is the biggest name to commit to the squad for next season so far and he has been joined by Svein Tuft, Luke Roberts, Sergey Klimov and Christian Knees. Earlier this week, the team revealed its interest in pursuing Fabian Cancellara, who has announced his departure from Saxo Bank.
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Barry Ryan was Head of Features at Cyclingnews. He has covered professional cycling since 2010, reporting from the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia and events from Argentina to Japan. His writing has appeared in The Independent, Procycling and Cycling Plus. He is the author of The Ascent: Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche and the Rise of Irish Cycling’s Golden Generation, published by Gill Books.
