May 30, 2006 – They have already won an incredible 27 races this year. They have picked up victories in BC, Washington, Oregon, California, Mexico, Brazil and El Salvador. They have 60 top three finishes and are well on their way to becoming the first Canadian team to lead the UCI (Union Cycling International) North American points standing. But the Langley based, Symmetrics Pro Cycling team’s 2006 season won’t be complete or totally successful if they don’t finally win their first BC Superweek race.

“I can tell you it’s the hot topic of conversation 12 months of the year with our guys,” reveals Kevin Cunningham, co-founder and co-owner of Symmetrics. “We’re aching for a win in White Rock (July 15-17), Gastown (July 19), or Delta (July 21-23). We’ve come so close so many times. Cam (Evans of Tsawwassen) got nosed out in the Tour de Delta Road race two years ago and last year Svein (Tuft of Langley) got caught at the wire after leading most of the race in Gastown and we’ve had lots of seconds in the criteriums. All the other races are important but for us it all comes down to BC Superweek. I hope that this year it’s our turn.”

A win, especially in the Tour de Delta, would complete the circle of success and creation for Symmetrics. It was at the Delta race in 2002 that the idea for Symmetrics was born. Kevin Cunningham, a veteran cyclist, was on the sidelines watching the top Pro team in the US, Saturn, sweep every race. He was awed by their rock star aura and what he called “a phenomenal display of pro cycling.” His brother Mark was back in the peloton chasing Saturn and disappointed to find most local cyclists felt they’d never have a chance to beat pros that come north each summer for BC Superweek.

The brothers, who run computer programming systems companies, decided to form a BC Super team. They recruited the top local riders and imported a superstar from Ontario, 10-time National time trial champ, Eric Wohlberg, after his Saturn team broke up. In their first year they were derided for putting on airs and styling when they showed up at races in fancy vans and uniforms.

“Honestly we got laughed at when they saw us setting up tents for support staff and sponsors and for trying to look and act like a top team before we had the credentials to back it up,” says Mark. “We also faced a lot of criticism for rounding up the best local guys and then winning all the BC races. We had to assure everybody we weren’t here to beat up the local riders. Our goal was to be good enough to race with the best on the continent. Now they’re all excited for us when we win four stages of a big race like El Salvador where it was televised for an hour and a half on national TV every night. I think we definitely changed the position of the bar with our professional approach to racing and getting sponsors and now everyone is doing it.”

This year’s quest for the UCI North American title could also raise the bar and produce benefits for all cyclists in Canada. The number of Olympic cycling spots for each country is based on UCI points. Canada was allowed to send only three riders to the last Olympics. That figure could double if Symmetrics remains successful on the international level.

“That’s a big goal of ours,” adds Mark, “to increase the number of Canadians and to get one of our riders in the Olympics. That’s a big vision of ours, creating future Olympians. We could go out and rent one by recruiting a Gord Fraser or Michael Barry but our focus is on developing them from within. I think within the next eight years we’ll be able to do that.”

Ironically expanding the team to 18 men and five women and racing all over the world is helping to lower the costs for Symmetrics. Their ever-increasing victories and podium finishes are producing invitations from major races all over the cycling world. They’ve already had more race invites than they can accommodate this year. Some of the races pay for everything while others pick up only parts of the team travel and other costs. The UCI points also create new opportunities for Symmetrics riders to get carded by the Canadian National team, qualifying them for as much as $18,000 a year.

The increasing race opportunities often force Symmetrics to send split squads to different races on the same weekend. That’s what they will have to do for BC Superweek. One squad will be going to China for the Tour of Linghai Lake which attracts top teams from all over Asia and Europe. Meanwhile, seven men and the women’s team will remain in BC to race in the Tours de White Rock, Gastown and Delta.

“We don’t really have an A-team or B-team,” explains Kevin. “We’re very balanced. We’ve had 11 different guys win races this year so we put together teams based on who fits best for each course. For BC Superweek we’ll enter our most senior experience riders, Eric Wohlberg, Svein Tuft, Cam Evans, Andrew Pinfold, Andrew Randall, Brandon Crichton and Jacob Erker. They’re all experienced riders. That shows the priority we put on BC Superweek, especially Delta. I can’t tell you how important the Tour de Delta has been in the fabric of racing in Canada. It changed everything. More and more you’re seeing Eastern riders are coming out here. It’s nice to see the top pros come up from the US but it’s even better to be able to have all the best Canadian riders coming west. We owe all that to Delta.”

For more BC Superweek information visit our website at www.bcsuperweek.com