Peter Loft (Team Budget Forklifts) heads around a bend at the Yarrawonga criterium(Image credit: Mark Gunter - markgunter.com.au)
Marc Williams (Budget Forklifts) feels the strain of the conditions in Wollongong(Image credit: Stuart Baker)
Time for a quick stop before continuing the the day for the team of Budget Forklifts(Image credit: Team Budget Forklifts)
Riders take a short break from the day's training around Jindabyne(Image credit: Team Budget Forklifts)
Jack Anderson joins Budget Forklifts from the Endura Racing squad(Image credit: Team Budget Forklifts)
The Budget Forklifts team control the moves(Image credit: Simon Francis - sweatandgears.com)
Budget Forklifts have incorporated more yellow into its kit recently making a great change to their design which stood for many years.(Image credit: Shane Goss/licoricegallery.com)
Luke Davison (Team Budget Forklifts) clinches the stage victory(Image credit: Mark Gunter)
Mark O'Brien (Team Budget Forklifts) celebrates victory on stage 2(Image credit: Mark Gunter)
Luke Davison (Budget Forklifts) was the eventual winner of the Australian National Road Series.(Image credit: Mark Gunter - markgunter.com.au)
Peter Herzig and Michael Cupitt celebrate(Image credit: Simon Francis - sweatandgears.com)
The team of Budget Forklifts was undeniably one of the big success stories of 2012. Four riders in the top-ten of the Individual National Road Series standings and second place in the team classification is a testament to the team’s ability to develop NRS talent. Such success however, has meant a number of riders are moving on, with nearly half the team replaced for 2013.
"My only regret with the boys departing our team is that more couldn't make the jump, we are a development team, and I couldn't be more happy for the boys leaving, I see it as a gauge of our success, and was a mutual goal for all of us to see as many boys move on to bigger and better things. I feel proud that Team BudgetForklifts has been a part of their journey in cycling," said team manager Cameron Watt.
The team had already announced its new partnership with Cervélo bicycles for the coming season while Shimano, Shotz Nutrition and clothing supplier clothing remain as technical partners. The roster however, underwent some significant changes.
Jack Anderson Karl Evans, Sam Horgan, Kristian Juel, Jake Kauffmann, Jesse Kerrison and Alex Wohler have been added to a list of seven existing riders in what may prove to be an equally effective team for the coming season.
Anderson rode for Team Budget Forklifts in 2008 and 2009 before embarking on a European campaign that has seen him spend the past two seasons riding for the British-registered Endura Racing team. Anderson is an accomplished time triallist, having finished second at the Australian national championships in 2010.
Horgan and Kauffmann also add depth for time trials with the New Zealander Horgan having won the Oceania time trial championships. Kauffmann spent the 2012 year riding with the Drapac-Charter Mason Development team and is the current NSW state TT champion.
Evans and Juel have been added to the roster for the hillier races and tours with the team confident in their ability to develop further. Evans finished fourth overall at the Tour of Toowoomba and also captured a third-place finish on the grueling mountain top stage won by former Budget Forklifts rider Mark O’Brien. Juel finished 14th-overall at the eight-stage Tour of Tasmania.
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Wohler is one of the NRS’s upcoming sprint talents and demonstrated his speed by taking a stage victory and numerous podium spots at the Tour of the Murray River, won by Luke Davison - who will move to Drapac Professional Cycling in 2013.
Finally, U-19’s rider Kerrison comes from a track background and has already shown his road potential by winning the overall classification at the four-stage Battle on the Border on the Gold Coast.
The remaining seven spots are filled by returning Budget Forklifts riders Michael Cupitt, Marc Williams, Blair Windsor, Shaun McCarthy, Peter Herzig and Luke Ockerby.
