Vacansoleil look to move up to ProTour
Dutch Professional Continental team ready to apply for licence
Team Vacansoleil is ready to step up from the Professional Continental level to the ProTour. The Dutch team has decided to apply for a licence for the top rankings for the coming season.
“At its start at the end of 2008 the Dutch Pro Continental team set the Pro Tour as a target for 2012. After reaching most of its goals for the first three years at the end of year one the team believes it is ready for the next step in 2011,” according to the team's press release.
The team is also looking for a second main sponsor, in addition to Vacansoleil and “a large group of ambitious sponsors”.
The advantage of a ProTour licence would be that the team “will be able to participate automatically in 2011 at all races on the ProTour calendar. The always attacking team aims for good results in these races to secure a place in the top 15 of the World.”
Vacansoleil currently leads the UCI's Europe Tour. It has eight wins this season, including theeoverall titles in the Tour of Qatar and the Tour de Luxembourg, as well as Kuurne-Brüssel-Kuurne.
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