Recovering from the financial setback which appeared to threaten the future existence of the team, the Pure Black Racing squad will this week start the Tour de Langkawi and begin its international racing programme for 2012.
Former RadioShack rider Sam Bewley will join up with Kiwi national champion James Williamson, Roman van Uden, Michael Torckler, Joe Cooper and Louis Crosby for the ten day, 2.HC event in Malaysia.
Bewley is riding the race as part of his buildup for the world track championships in Melbourne in April, but also plans to chase results in the Aisan event.
“I’m excited to head to Langkawi for the Tour. It’s always been a tour that has caught my fancy,” he said, according to BikeNZ, the country’s national federation.
“I am racing the Tour as part of my preparation for the Track World Championships. I discussed the possibility of doing this with national track coach Tim Carswell and he believed it would be good for my preparation. I'll pick my days, some stages I'll race hard and see if I can get a result.
“Others I'll take a bit easier in order to be in the best nick I can for the upcoming Track World Championships. Either way I I'll do what I can to help the other riders in the team to achieve their goals.”
The team suffered a big setback in December when it anounced that it didn’t have the money to proceed as had been planned. “Tough economic conditions combined with the impact of the Rugby World Cup and the Christchurch disaster have made it a really tough year to raise funding for emerging sports like cycling and international programmes like PureBlack Racing,” business director Greg Cross explained then.
However earlier this month it was announced that BikeNZ was coming on board as a partner and, along with Avanti, would help support the squad in 2012. It will act as a national team in a number of international races. Cross stated that other backers Atlantis Healthcare, Continental Cars and Audi would remain on board, and that the team would continue searching for additional backers.
The first race was the Sepang Criterium last Sunday, where Dan Barry was third, Roman van Uden fifth and Shem Rogers seventh.
The Tour de Langkawi, which begins with a 20.3 kilometre time trial in Putrajaya on Friday, will be the first UCI event for the squad.
Bewley and Uden will target the sprints, whilc Torckler and Cooper will be the protected riders on the climbs. The ascent to Genting Highlands on stage six will, as ever, be a key decider, and the latter two riders know that they must perform there.
Cross said that the Asian calendar races were more and more important. “Professional cycling is developing quickly in this part of the world,” he explained. “With countries like China, Singapore and Malaysia being increasingly important to New Zealand’s economy, it's a great opportunity to showcase New Zealand.”
It’s also an opportunity to show the team to prospective sponsors too, of course. With an ongoing search for more backers in place, performing well in events such as the Tour de Langkawi would make that task an easier one.