Sydney: Tour de France winner Cadel Evans has signed up for another three years with the BMC team which helped him become the first Australian winner of the endurance classic last month.
The 34-year-old joined the Swiss team for the 2010 season and led them in their first Tour de France and Giro D`Italia campaigns that year before they achieved elite "pro team" status for 2011.
"I feel that as a team, we have grown successfully together," Evans said in statement on the team`s website.
"It`s been an enjoyable and satisfying journey so far. From the start, I have always felt the BMC Racing Team has had a lot of confidence in me as a member and often as a leader of the team. So a longer term contract echoes this.”
"I look forward to the years ahead. We will keep working and progressing towards the future."Evans`s team mate George Hincapie, the three-times U.S. road race champion, has agreed to stay with the team for another season, his 19th as a professional.
"Having these two return to the BMC Racing Team next year allows for our continued growth by having our two captains stay on board to provide leadership and mentoring to others in our organisation," American team boss Jim Ochowicz said.
"In George`s case, we need him to help the young guys like Taylor Phinney and Greg Van Avermaet keep developing. For everyone else, he creates leadership in the classics and at the Tour de France."Evans is ranked number one in the UCI rankings after his Tour triumph, while BMC are ranked second in the team standings, a remarkable rise for the young team.
Bureau Report
First Published: Tuesday, August 02, 2011, 19:53