December 01, 2012 – Antoine Duchesne, who rode with SpiderTech p/b C10 for last part of 2012, has signed with Bontrager Livestrong for 2013. Duchesne, 21, is the Canadian U23 road champion and was the 2009 Canadian junior ITT champ. He also won the Ottawa Bicycle Club Grand Prix in July, 2012.
Duchesne was among those left in a lurch after SpiderTech p/b C10 suspended operations for 2013. He indicated, however, that he is grateful to Steve Bauer from SpiderTech for helping him during the transition and giving him a chance to ride with a real Pro team, racing in Italy and Belgium and riding against WorldTour cyclists. Duchesne also expressed gratitude to Louis Garneau with whose Garneau-Quebecor team he rode with during the first part of 2012.
“I also want to express my gratitude to Phil Cortes who took much of the burden helping me find a team and help me negotiate a contract with Bontrager Livestrong,” added Duchesne.
Texas-based Bontrager Livestrong is associated with the former Team RadioShack WorldTour team but only maintained a U23 roster in 2012 including six Americans, two Belgians, one Aussie, and one Kiwi. Directed by Axel Merckx – the son of Belgian cycling legend, Eddy Merckx – the team has apparently yet to make official its 2013 roster, but Ian Boswell and Joe Dombrowski left the team recently to sign with Sky.