After a very strong first season in 2019 the EvoPro
Racing team is set to continue at Continental level next season.
One of the main figures behind the Irish team and often
the manager on the road, Morgan Fox recently told stickybottle raising more
funding was a work in progress but he was confident it would happen.
And now he has confirmed the team has been registered
with the UCI as a Continental team for 2020 and will be in the international
peloton.
“We have a lot of invites to races whereas this time last year because we were only starting out it was hard to get those invites,” he said.
“We are all a about keeping our 2019 momentum going in 2020; to build towards a bigger team and aiming for a division jump in 2021 with the hope of a UCI ladies team also.”
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Fox, a former Irish road race champion and ex pro himself, added the team would also seek to develop a cyclocross team for the 2020-2021 winter season to create 12-month exposure.
However, Fox said the team was still continuing its
efforts to bring on more sponsors and partners for next season and that job
would continue.
Fox and his business partner away from cycling PJ Nolan,
former president of Cycling Ireland, essentially put together a financial
package last year to ensure the team could race in 2019.
Because the search for sponsors continued for so long, it
naturally led to some niggling concerns that the team may not be back on the
road in 2020.
An Post-Chainreaction, a Continental team, and Aqua Blue Sport which competed at ProContinental level were both Irish teams but are no longer racing.
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Pro cycling, even at WorldTour level, has been beset with
team closures in recent years as the global financial crisis hit the sport, the
impact of which has still not fully passed.
The British scene has been especially badly hit with a
number of teams closing there over the past couple of seasons.
News that EvoPro Racing is set to continue will come as a
relief to the Irish cycling community and especially to young Irish riders
hoping to get a place in pro races in the coming years.
EvoPro Racing had a number of Irishmen in its ranks in
its maiden season this year including Daire Feeley, Mark Downey, Matt Teggart,
Cormac Mcgeough and Aaron Kearney.
It began its 2019 campaign in New Zealand way back in
early January, taking 1st and 3rd in the Gravel and Tar Classic (1.2) via Luke
Mudgway and Cyrus Monk.
Aaron Gate then took a stage in the New Zealand Cycle
Classic (2.2) and won the race overall.
Gate and Wouter Wippert then took three stages between
them in Belgrade Banjaluka (2.1); a race Gate only lost overall after a
puncture on the final stage having held the race lead all the way.
Harry Sweeny then claimed a stage of Rhône-Alpes Isère
Tour (2.2) in France before Wouter Wippert claimed a stage in the Tour of
Hungary (2.1).
Aside from the wins, the team also took a whole host of
podium placings – 25 in all – and a very large number top 10s.
Because the team is still working on plans for next year,
it will not ride the early year races in New Zealand and Australia.
However, more should be known about the race programme in coming weeks and we will bring you more news when we have it.
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