Twenty-four years after he finished second overall in the event, Steve Bauer will return to the Tour de Suisse with his SpiderTech C10 team, which is gunning for a good result.
The Canadian Pro Continental squad has been given an invite to the race, its first ever wildcard for a European WorldTour event. It sees it as an opportunity in itself, and also as a way of showing that it deserves to race more often at that level.
“This is fantastic news for all of us at Team SpiderTech,” said Bauer, a former top professional who led the Tour de France during his career and finished fourth overall in 1988.
“We made very public our vision to crack the WorldTour, and this is another step in the right direction. We will use this golden opportunity to show we can race amongst the biggest teams, in the largest races. “
The SpiderTech C10 team previously competed in the Canadian WorldTour GP Cyclistes de Québec and Montréal races last autumn.
Thus far this season, several riders have clocked up good placings. Guillaume Boivin placed second in both the 1.1-ranked Ronde van Drenthe and on stage two of the Tour of the Mediterranean, and was also fourth in the 1.1-ranked Handzame Classic. Will Routley was third on stage one of the Vuelta a Andalucia.
Boivin is the most successful thus far this season, and is a big talent. He is well known for finishing third in the 2010 under world road race championship, sharing the medal with Taylor Phinney after the first-ever dead heat in the event’s history.
Bauer is convinced that the team is ready to step up a level. “Our results this season, three podiums early in the season capped with a few top-15 rankings in classic races, are a testament of the strength of our program,” he said.
“We have made some significant improvements in our operations this past off-season…we picked up some great riders to the already solid team we had last year, and we are riding stronger this season. We have great partners on board, such as SpiderTech Inc. as well as a consortium of partners dubbed C10, which includes BlackBerry, NRS Brakes, Pinetree Capital and Argon 18. “
The impression is clearly one of a team which is growing, and the 2012 Tour de Suisse will provide an opportunity to show what it can do on a high level. The race will begin in Lugano on June 9 with a 7.3-km time trial, and concludes on June 17 in Sörenberg.
The team is mostly comprised of Canadian riders such as Boivin, and also includes the Americans Lucas Euser, Caleb Fairly, Pat McCarty and Bjorn Selander, the Dane Brian Vandborg, Mexican rider Flavio de Luna Davila, plus the Swiss Raymond Kunzli.
The latter is a neo pro and enthuses about the chance to compete on home soil. “A new chapter begins in 2012. It’s a dream come true for me to have the chance to take part in an event like the Tour de Suisse right at the start of my professional career,” he said.