Silber Pro Cycling announce 2017 roster - News Shorts

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Team Silber takes home the best overall team prize(Image credit: Jonathan Devich/epicimages.us)

Canadian Continental team Silber Pro Cycling have announced its final 13-rider roster for the 2017 season with six new faces for the new year. Team owner Scott McFarlane has assembled a team with a mix of youth and experience and is aiming to continue the level of success Silber achieved in 2016 which included a stage at the Tour of Utah, national championships and the overall classification at Redlands Classic.

"I think it is important to recognize that we had wins and stellar performances spanning both the United States and Canada," said McFarlane. " From California to North Carolina, and from British Columbia to Quebec. The team became well-known throughout North American cycling community. Our audience grew steadily and was exceptionally engaged. Then, at the end of the season our riders could be seen performing in front of global audiences. They really stepped up!"

Having won Saturday's fourth round of the DVV Trophy in Essen, Belgium, Sunday's Vlaamse Druivencross proved to be a disappointment for 'cross world champion Wout Van Aert (Crelan-Vastgoedservice) as he couldn't match the pace of Mathieu Van der Poel (Beobank-Corendon). Despite suffering deep wounds from a pre-race crash, Van Aert wasn't making excuses for his race result which was 55 seconds off Van der Poel,

"During the race it did not bother me. It was also not because I had the race on Saturday in the legs," he told Het Nieuwsblad. " I felt better recovered than last week in Mol, but compared to Mathieu I was inferior today. Yesterday I went very deep, while he could get more rest due to the circumstance. Then you are a bit faster at the start of the race. I could feel that. I had hoped for more here, but Mathieu did not want to wait. He flew away immediately and it was soon clear that he was the strongest. He deserved to win here."

"Today I wanted revenge and I am proud of this win. I won with a nice gap and have rode the frustration of Saturday out of my body," he told Het Nieuwsblad. "I immediately wanted to take control of the race," he said, "but the plan was not to ride the entire race in the lead. After two laps I felt that I had maybe started too fast so I stepped off the gas a bit. Wout seemed to get closer, but then he made a small mistake and I opened the gap again. I knew I just had to keep riding. A beautiful victory, a beautiful renewed course and a tricky race. Finally, we had a tricky race and here I could really express myself. I am proud of this victory."

"It has always been my opinion that to keep growing as an athlete you have to keep challenging yourself and never become too comfortable in any given environment. With that in mind I wanted to explore new opportunities next season that would force me to set new goals and also be surrounded by the tools and people to help me meet them," she said. "It's no secret that TWENTY16 Ridebiker has played a part in the development and success of a multitude of riders and I am excited to see where we will go together. The exceptional partnerships that they maintain with industry leaders will mean that I am equipped to go up against the best in the field and hopefully put the top of the podium a little more within reach."