2014 team presentation today in Switzerland; Eijssen, Kohler and Wyss also stay on board
After clocking up his best season to date, American rider Brent Bookwalter is amongst five riders confirmed today as extending their contracts with the BMC Racing Team.
The 29 year old rider won the first stage of the Tour of Qatar and finished second overall there, and also took second overall in the Tour of Alberta. His strong year also saw him take silver in both the time trial and the road race at the US national championships.
He also provided backup to team-mates in the Amgen Tour of California and the USA Pro Challenge, which were both won by BMC Racing’s Tejay van Garderen.
German rider Marcus Burghardt also stays on board, having been part of the squad backing Bookwalter in Alberta and also taking the team classification there. He also won the mountains classification in the Tour de Romanie, and completed his sixth Tour de France.
The duo are joined by three others in staying on board; Yannick Eijssen, Martin Kohler and Danilo Wyss all had solid seasons in the distinctive red and black colours of the team.
Wyss took tenth overall in the Ster ZLM Toer and multiple top ten finishes in other races, including on four stages in the Volta a Catalunya.
Kohler picked up the bronze medal at the Swiss national road race championships and was fourth on a stage of the Vuelta a España. Importantly, he also helped Thor Hushovd take two stages plus the overall classification in the Artic Race of Norway.
As for Eijssen, he picked up the most aggressive rider award on stage five of the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah. He was also third on the stage, and completed his second Vuelta a España.
BMC Racing Team President/General Manager Jim Ochowicz said each of the five are all important elements of the team. “Having raced for us before, they know our patterns, our system, and they understand our racing style,” he stated, in announcing their contract extensions. “They fulfil an important need we have so our leaders can count on their skills to improve their results.”
The duration of their contract extensions were not disclosed.
They and 23 others will form the team’s lineup next year, and will be introduced today at the team’s
presentation at the Velodrome Suisse in Grenchen, Switzerland.