Team Aquablue are aiming to race at pro-conti next season and have begun the process of becoming registered with the sport's governing body, the UCI. As well as a professional squad of 16 riders they will still retain their amateur team in Ireland.
By Brian Canty
The UCI registration protocol for professional teams aiming to become part of the peloton for 2017 has just commenced and Team Aquablue have actively engaged in their own process of crossing the t's required to compete at pro-conti level.
As is always the case, a deposit is one of the first steps in the process and stickybottle understands this has been transferred to the sport's governing body.
It is the first in a series of steps the team will have to take before they are granted a licence to compete in the sport’s second tier next season.
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As well as the registration fee (deposit), they will also need to submit a bank guarantee, a figure which will be around 25% of the team’s payroll for staff.
They will also have to submit a significant sum of money to the governing body’s biological passport programme.
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At the moment, the project is being managed by a tightly-knit working group, spearheaded by the man funding the idea, businessman and entrepreneur Rick Delaney.
He is being advised by a number of personnel with years of experience at this level in the sport, both at a performance and administrative level.
A spokesperson for the team said upwards of 16 Irish riders are being looked at, some of whom have competed at pro-continental level, more who have competed at World Tour level and even more again who are below the level.
After the UCI receives the registration fee Cycling Ireland are then obliged to sign off on the project and the search for riders begins in earnest, though with the number of riders available that is the least of the team’s worries.
“With the finances in place now, the project is moving on and after this phase comes things like the hardware; the clothing, the equipment and the riders.”
Who those riders are remains to be seen but some names mooted are Martyn Irvine, Sean McKenna, Damien Shaw, Mark Dowling.
However, it is understood that riders seen with the potential to develop will also be taken into consideration.
The minimum salary for a pro-continental rider is just under €30,000, though slightly less than that for a neo-pro.
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