Skil-Shimano continues as is in 2011
Pro Continental cycling team Skil-Shimano announced Wednesday that they would not be aiming for an upgrade to Pro Tour classification. The team competed in its first Grand Tour when they were invited into the Tour de France as a wildcard team in 2009. Disappointed that they weren’t invited to any Grand Tours this year, the team will be trying to strengthen their line-up. With most of their current riders already confirmed to remain with the team, they’ve set their sights on a pair of riders from team Milram, Roger Kluge and Johannes Fröhlinger.
"I can neither confirm or deny those signings," said Iwan Spekenbrink, the team's manager. "However I can confirm that we'll continue as a team until at least the end of 2012 and we've got great commitment from our sponsors so that we can grow. We believe it's best to grow in line with the values in our team. We want to build step-by-step and so it's best to stay Pro Continental. It also won't make a massive difference when it comes to selection for historical races which are important for us."
Despite missing out on the Grand Tours, the team has taken two stage wins at the Tour of Belgium, one in the hands of Dominique Cornu, who finished the tour in second-place overall. The team is known for being very strategic and team-centric in its signing, a team unlikely to sign somebody just because of their record and popularity, preferring a clean track record and complimentary riding style.
"We built the team on a certain criteria and we want to stick with that,” said Spekenbrink. “Obviously being invited to the Tour and big races are important as those events have huge publicity and we have to give something back to our sponsors."
Team Skil had been in talks with Andre Greipel before he signed with Team Omega Pharma-Lotto, after collecting 16 wins for HTC-Columbia this season, including four Grand Tour stage wins. Kluge and Fröhlinger have both competed in the Tour de France and can be a big step in bringing the Dutch team into the Grand Tours.
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