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Canada’s Phil Cortes is Race Director for Lupus Racing Team – 15-Rider Roster Announced

release by Lupus Racing Team

Lupus Racing logoJanuary 15, 2016 (Atlanta) – The Lupus Racing Team, a second-year UCI Continental team, has confirmed a roster of 15 athletes representing five countries for the 2016 professional road cycling season. Eight of the riders are new signings, with an average of 24 years of age.

The most experienced rider to join the Team will be a key leader for UCI stage races, Jure Kocjan, a 31-year-old from Slovenia. Entering his 12th year as a professional road cyclist, Kocjan raced in 2013 for Euskaltel – Euskadi, a WorldTour team. Moving to Team SmartStop in 2014, he won the sprint classification jersey at the Grand Prix Cycliste de Saguenay (UCI 2.2) and the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah. He also won a stage of the Tour of Utah (UCI 2.HC) last year, wearing the leader’s jersey for one day.

Nicolae Tanovitchii is a 22-year-old from Moldova, who moves from Jelly Belly presented by Maxxis. Tanovitchii finished third in the general classification and was named Best Young Rider at last year’s North Star Grand Prix (National Racing Calender).  At age 20, he captured the U23 Moldova Individual Time Trial National Championship.

Additional new riders include Chad Beyer (USA), Marcos Lazzarotto (Brazil), Bryan Lewis (USA), Jonah Mead-VanCourt (USA), Barry Miller (USA) and Nolan Tankersley (USA). Beyer was a guest rider for the Lupus Racing Team at Tour of Alberta (UCI 2.1) in 2015. A former WorldTeam rider with BMC Racing Team (2009-11), he earned 18 Top 10 finishes last year.

Seven riders return to the U.S.-based squad, who accounted for 49 Top 10’s last season: Winston David (USA), Oliver Flautt (USA), Matthieu Jeannes (France), Evan Murphy (USA), Michael Olheiser (USA), Michael Stone (USA), and Thomas Vaubourzeix (France).

Olheiser finished fifth overall in the USA Cycling Professional Individual Time Trial National Championship last year. Vaubourzeix joined Lupus Racing Team last July, finishing eighth on general classification at the Tour of Qinghai Lake in China (UCI 2.HC) and sixth overall in the King of the Mountain classification. He was third in G.C. at the 2014 Tour of Qinghai Lake.

“It is great to have such an international roster of talented riders for our second season at the UCI Continental level. The riders bring a great deal of strengths that will give us the flexibility to build aggressive rosters from one-day races to week-long stage races. The younger riders will definitely rely on the leadership of veterans with WorldTour experience, Jure (Kocjan), Chad (Beyer),” said Sports Director Phil Cortes. “We are all about aggressive racing, supporting our partners, and we are here not just for a solid 2016, but for the long haul.”

All riders will join Cortes in Georgia Feb. 4-10 for the official kick-off events for the 2016 season. A Team Presentation event will be held in Atlanta on Feb. 5, hosted by Peachtree Bikes in north Buckhead.   Winter training camp will commence in Pine Mountain, Ga. the next five days for the team to acclimatize to new equipment and personnel.

2016 Lupus Racing Team Roster

– Chad Beyer (age 29) Scottsdale, AZ     @thachad
– Winston David (28) Greenville, SC    @winstondavid87
– Oliver Flautt (22) Atlanta, GA    @OliverFlautt
– Matthieu Jeannes (28)    Saint Yvi in Britanny, France    @MatthieuJeannes
– Jure Kocjan (31) Naklo, Slovenia    @JureKocjan
– Marcos Lazzarotto (25) Bento Gonçalves, Brasil    @marcoslazzarotto
– Bryan Lewis (25) Roanoke, VA    @bryanlewis13
– Jonah Mead-VanCourt (19) Ithaca, NY    @jmead_jonah
– Barry Miller (27) San Francisco, CA    @barryfmiller
– Evan Murphy (27) New York, NY    @rualrite
– Michael Olheiser (40)    Huntsville, AL    @trainhard4life
– Michael Stone (24) Monroe, GA    @mikestone21
– Nolan Tankersley (20) Erwin, TN    @Rollen_Nolan
– Nicolae Tanovitchii (22) Chisinau, Moldova    @Nikolai5593
– Thomas Vaubourzeix (26) La Croix Valmer, France    @VaubourzeixT





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