BMC Announces 2012 Team Roster
by Douglas Ansel on Dec 16, 2011 1:32 PM EST
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BMC riders celebrate at the 2011 USA Pro Cycling Challenge.
Photo: Doug Pensinger, Getty Images Sport
Today BMC Racing Team released their official 2012 roster. The squad, entering its second year as a Pro Team, has a lineup of 26 riders led by defending Tour de France Champion Cadel Evans and incoming stars Philippe Gilbert and Thor Hushovd. That is not to say that these are the only big names on the squad though - BMC's full roster has earned it the reputation of a "superteam" going into 2012.
In addition to its superstars, the team piloted again by Jim Ochowicz has beefed up its roster with major transfers Marco Pinotti, Tejay Van Garderen, and Stephen Cummings. Strong returning veterens (Manuel Quinziato and George Hincapie) and up and coming riders Taylor Phinney and Greg Van Avermaet help round out the squad that shold be competitive in most races it enters.
"We go into 2012 with an arsenal of riders who are competitive in any endeavor in professional cycling," Ochowicz said. "Our goals and objectives are realistic. We are not going to claim we will win this race or that race. But we should be competitive in every race we enter."
One of the story lines expected to pop up in the upcoming season is just how BMC will manage the overabundance of talent on its roster. Cadel Evans and Tejay Van Garderen will both target stage races, though there are many more of these to go around than there are Classics. The classics squad is extremely strong, with Philippe Gilbert, Thor Hushovd, Greg Van Avermaet, Alessandro Ballan, and George Hincapie all hoping to perform well in April. If the team rides together, they could execute a coup de grace like Garmin did in Paris Roubaix this year... but if individual ambitions aren't carefully managed, tensions may result.
2012 BMC Racing Team Roster
Allessandro Ballan (ITA)
Adam Blythe (GBR)
Brent Bookwalter (USA)
Marcus Burghardt (GER)
Stephen Cummings (GBR)
Yannick Eijssen (BEL)
Cadel Evans (AUS)
Mathias Frank (SUI)
Philippe Gilbert (BEL)
George Hincapie (USA)
Thor Hushovd (NOR)
Martin Kohler (SUI)
Klaas Lodewyck (BEL)
Amael Moinard (FRA)
Steve Morabito (SUI)
Taylor Phinney (USA)
Marco Pinotti (ITA)
Manuel Quinziato (ITA)
Tim Roe (AUS)
Mauro Santambrogio (ITA)
Ivan Santaromita (ITA)
Michael Schar (SUI)
Johann Tschopp (SUI)
Greg Van Avermaet (BEL)
Tejay Van Garderen (USA)
Danilo Wyss (SUI)
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not a bad line up
let’s see how they all work together.
"Ants don’t worry, they operate like a fantastic team, they accept obstacles and deal with them in a positive manner, they don’t complain and remain positive. An ant doesn’t work on emotion, is proactive and always chooses the ant role."
Rule 2.15.049:
Each UCI ProTeam must employ at least 23 riders, 2 team managers and 8 other staff (paramedical assistants, mechanics, etc.) on a full time basis for the whole registration year.
OK. Rule 2.15.110 says the maximum number of riders depends on number of neo-pros, but BMC have none (boo!) so their maximum is 28. Otherwise it would be 29 or 30.
So they can hire at best 4 more riders. If they would hire more than 2, numbers 3 and 4 would have to be neo-pros. (A neo is U23 and on his first ProTour contract.)
"Beer helps." -- Ant1.
I believe Tim Roe is still a neo-pro
Not sure about Eijssen, since he was a stagiaire at Lotto.
Badger, badger, badger, badger, badger, badger...
by TheFigurehead on Dec 16, 2011 3:07 PM EST up reply actions
Neo-pro status lasts 2 years.
5 uur gefietst vandaag. Begin al een kleurtje te krijgen, ook belangrijk.--Thomas Dekker
Or, if you want to get specific about it:
Art. 7
1. The status of new professional is given to any rider who joins a UCI ProTeam or Professional Continental Team for the first time no later than during his twenty-second year.
For the application of this article the date of joining shall be the date on which the rider’s contract comes into force. The age of the rider is determined by the difference between the year of his hiring and the year of his birth.
2. The status of new professional ends:
a. If the contract comes into force before 1 July: on 31 December of the subsequent registration year;
b. If the contract comes into force after 30 June: on 31 December of the second subsequent registration year.
During this period the rider shall retain the status of new professional even if:
a. The rider reaches the age of 23 during this period;
b. The contract is terminated early and the rider changes team.
3. If, at the time that the new professional’s contract comes into force, the remaining term of the contract between the paying agent and the principle partner or contracts between the paying agent and the two principal partners is less than duration of the
contract as determined under the first paragraph of point 2 above but equal to at least one year, the duration of the new professional’s contract may be limited to the remaining duration of the contract with the principal partner or the longer of the contracts with the two principal partners.
If, on expiry of the contract between the paying agent and the principle partner or the contracts between the paying agent and the two principle partners, the team continues its activities or the paying agent continues its activities in another team, he must reemploy the rider at that rider’s request for at least one year and under conditions which may not be less favourable to the rider.
5 uur gefietst vandaag. Begin al een kleurtje te krijgen, ook belangrijk.--Thomas Dekker
Ballan, Burghard, Gilbert, Hincapie, Hushovd, Phinney, Quinziato, Van Avermaet
Yup, it’s frickin scary.
+1
If this team doesn’t score some major classics this year it will be surprising.
by JustJoshinYa on Dec 16, 2011 2:37 PM EST up reply actions
It’s a team that could have been made for the classics. Good luck to ’em – a great team with some great riders.
I saw a baby that looked like Cadel Evans the other day...
by John Cyclopunk on Dec 16, 2011 3:03 PM EST up reply actions
Meh...sounds like a 3rd place in both Flanders and Roubaix
by Vlaanderen90 on Dec 16, 2011 3:39 PM EST up reply actions
It makes me feel sorry for Quinziato
He’s a good enough classics guy to be a team’s wild-card option, not maybe protected rider but Plan B or someone to mark a move from a rival. Yet here he’s likely the guy fetching the jackets.
Then probably going to the Giro as a tourist, to look out for Pinotti on the boring parts.
Nah Van Summie was never that far down on the classics options
The guy had top-10nd enough times in Paris Roubaix to allow himself to be plan B, even with the team stating they were fully-backing Thor.
Garmin’s PR team last year included Rasch (Thor’s wingman), Sep, Farrar who was there just to help, Haussler that was known to not be a threat, and Andreas Klier.
Thor was the leader and VanSummie and Hammond were the wild-card guys – don’t attack and start a break, but if there’s a chance to mark some rivals and you end up off the front, then do it.
With BMC, you’d have to think that they’ll be putting even Phinney before Quinziato. Burghardt has better finishing speed and a history of good classic placings (including the win at G-W). Ballan is a threat in all the classics. Van Avermaet I think is looking more at the hilly classics, as will Gilbert.
So really I think Quinziato’s only classic where he’s not the 7th or 8th guy, is Paris-Roubaix, and even then it’ll only be because Gilbert and Van A probably won’t ride it. I don’t see any race where he’s the 2nd or 3rd guy, as VanSummie was.
The only thing this team lacks is a strong sprinter.
Based on that I still rank Sky a little bit higher… but really Gilbert is all you need to be the no. 1 team in the world, as Omega Pharma so aptly demonstrated this season.
Photo for this post...
…Is from the 2011 USA Pro Cycling Challenge and not from the “2012 Tour de France.”
by Chief Commissaire on Dec 16, 2011 7:29 PM EST via mobile reply actions
But they were still celebrating the Tour win.
Because hey, why wouldn’t they?
5 uur gefietst vandaag. Begin al een kleurtje te krijgen, ook belangrijk.--Thomas Dekker
Ahh, thanks.
But mark my words, that caption will prove to have incredible foresight next July.
I NEED MOAR MUD
by Douglas Ansel on Dec 18, 2011 11:26 PM EST up reply actions
+ some super strong domestiques
Mathias Frank, Klaas Lodewyck, Steve Morabito, Mauro Santambrogio, Ivan Santaromita ,Michael Schar, Johann Tschopp, Danilo Wyss
On paper, this is an incredibly strong team.
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