Olympic champion Kristin Armstrong (pictured), Swiss champion Pascale Schnider, up and coming American youngster Coryn Rivera and the rest of the Exergy Twenty12 team stand to gain valuable guidance in 2012 with the announcement that Simon Cope is coming on board.
Cope has been part of the victorious British national programme for several years, working with top riders such as Nicole Cooke, Emma Pooley, Lizzie Armitstead, Sharon Laws, Katie Colclough, Lucy Martin, and Jo Rowsell during that time. The riders have clocked up some of the top titles in cycling between them, and his experience should be very beneficial to the American team.
He will act as director of the senior Exergy Twenty12 squad plus a coach to some of the younger riders. “I'm looking forward to working with the whole team and using my experience as a DS and coach to help them grow and become as successful as they can be,” he said.
Cope will move to the US next month and begin working with the riders. The team has stated that he will be based in Boise Idaho, close to where Armstrong lives and where the Exergy Development Group is situated. The location will also see him close to a house where several of the team will stay.
Team manager Nicola Cranmer believes the recruitment is a big step forward for the team. “Building a solid foundation of staff is a primary goal for us. With Exergy Development Group on board for a minimum of three years its extremely important to hire reliable staff,” she said.
“Simon comes with years of experience. He is passionate about women's cycling and has a great knowledge and understanding of women's racing both on the track and road. As he has been involved in the best cycling program in the world, this can only be a good thing for women's cycling in the U.S. With our team being multi disciplined and with our new elite junior program, Simon is a perfect fit.”
Cranmer announced details of the junior roster earlier this week. It will include riders such as the junior world scratch race champion Jennifer Valente.
Exergy Twenty12 Elite Roster for 2012:
Kristin Armstrong, Pascale Schnider, Lauren Tamayo, Tayler Wiles, Alison Starnes, Theresa Cliff-Ryan, Andrea Dvorak, Kristin McGrath, Rhae Shaw, Jackie Crowell, Cari Higgins, Greta Neimanas, Coryn Rivera, Kaitie Antonneau, Jessica Van Garderen, Heather Logan Sprenger.
Exergy Twenty12 junior roster for 2012:
Jennifer Valente 17-18, Tara McCormick 17-18, Kayla Sterling 17-18, Sarah Huang 17-18, Maddy Tuggle 17-18, Veronica Church 9-10.