Team Budget Forklifts Takes On UCI America Tour

Peloton Cafe || Team Budget Forklifts 2014 (image copyright jxpphotography)
Peloton Cafe || Team Budget Forklifts 2014 (image copyright jxpphotography)
Sprinter Jesse Kerrison and GC riders Tim Roe and Michael Vink will headline an eight-rider squad from Team Budget Forklifts contesting a series of races in the US and Canada early next month. The Australian Continental NRS outfit will be lining up for the start of the Philadelphia Cycling Classic in Pennsylvania, USA, on June 1, before flying up to Canada for the multi-day Tour de Saguenay and Tour de Beauce stage races.? Team manager Cam Watt says the squad ?can?t wait for the challenge?. ?It?s going to be the biggest one-day race we?ve ever done,? Watt admitted of the ?Philly Classic?.? ?Being a one-day race, you?ve gotta have lots of options on the road.? He emphasised that the key element of the UCI 1.1-ranked race was some much-needed experience for the relatively young team.? ?We?ve got four guys going over there that are under 23,? Watt pointed out.? Lining up alongside 24-year-old Roe, 22-year-old Vink and 20-year-old Kerrison in Philadelphia will be 21-year-old Alex Wohler and 22-year-old Josh Prete, as well as veteran riders Tommy Nankervis, Brodie Talbot and Sam Witmitz.? ?The experience that they can gain in that high-level competition will be invaluable not only for the rest of the year in the NRS when they come back to that, but also for the rest of their careers,? Watt said. For each of the two Canadian tours, beginning with the Tour de Saguenay on June 5, only seven of the team?s riders will be racing. ?Jesse Kerrison will definitely do Saguenay, because it looks like there could be a few opportunities for bunch kicks in that tour,? Watt confirmed, adding that the team?s aspirations in the race would be for stages more than the overall race lead.? ?I think we can be extremely competitive.? We?d like to come away with a stage win out of that tour.? Starting in the city of Quebec three days after the finish of the Tour de Saguenay, the different parcours of the Tour de Beauce will mean a different approach to the race for the team. ?Beauce [has] less chance of bunch kicks, and there?s also a hilltop finish stage and an individual time trial stage, so we?ll probably have more focus on GC,? Watt explained.? ?With Tim Roe, Michael Vink and Brodie Talbot, we?ve got three very good climbers, and coupled with a 20-k TT on TT bikes?[Tim Roe and Michael Vink] have got no weakness in those two disciplines.? We think we can challenge for the win in GC at Beauce. ? Racing in Canada also has a particular significance for the team, which is sponsored by Canadian bike brand Cerv?lo. ?They were really keen to have us come over and race in their country and come meet them at their headquarters over there in Toronto,? Watt explained.? With two of Budget Forklifts? former riders now racing for Canadian Continental outfit Garneau-Qu?becor, like some of the current squad have done before them, the team has strong links to the North American country, with Watt hinting that the relationship might be strengthened with return visits if the venture goes well for the team. ?We could probably see it being an annual target and we?d try and target those races in the future to complement our NRS races.?

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