John Lelangue hopeful of landing ProTour licence for BMC
John Lelangue, team manager of the UCI Pro Continental outfit BMC Racing Team, has said that he hopes that his team secures a ProTour licence for next season.
The UCI is due to announce the results of the licence applications on October 20, and Lelangue has said that he is confident that there will be a positive outcome for BMC, who has added several new riders to their roster ahead of next season.
"We know, in terms of sports development, we have the level to [gain a ProTour licence]. Surely, with the results we have had this year-we are in the top ten of the UCI's team classification-and we've had a big season, not only with Cadel [Evans], but also
with our older guys."
This year, Australian veteran Evans won the points classification and a stage at the Giro d'Italia, finishing fifth overall, while Mathias Frank claimed the mountains and sprints classifications in the Tour de Suisse, during which Marcus Berghardt won two
stages and the points classification.
"I believe from a sports aspect we are in and I know that Gavin Chilcott is working on the administration side," said Lelangue, whose team entered this year's Grand Tours on a wild card.
"We just have wait, but I'm pretty optimistic on this."
Co-owner Rihs financially stable
In August, it was announced that Cervelo, a Canadian bike manufacturer, would end its endorsement of the Cervelo TestTeam and instead merge with Garmin-Transitions to form a new outfit, Garmin-Cervelo, for the 2011 season.
There have been claims that the absence of a ProTour licence for Cervelo TestTeam was a deciding factor in Cervelo's decision to abandon the team. Lelangue believes that such a situation wouldn't occur with BMC, and has said that Andy Rihs, co-owner and
financier of BMC, would not let a similar situation arise.
"[Rihs] knows what to do; in this situation we don't have to rely on any co-sponsors or suppliers... I'm confident that Andy knows what to do and I'm totally confident BMC will be good with this."
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