Specialized-lululemon expands roster to 11 women for 2013

American women’s team Specialized-lululemon, which debuted in 2012 from the ashes of the now-defunct HTC-Highroad women’s team, will expand its eight-woman roster going into 2013, according to a press release issued Friday morning.

The roster already includes Evelyn Stevens, who beat London Olympic gold medalist Marianne Vos to win La Flèche Wallonne in April, and German sprinter Ina-Yoko Teutenberg, who former HTC team owner Bob Stapleton described in 2010 as “probably the most respected and the most feared member of the peloton.”

Joining the team will be Canadian Gillian Carleton, Utah native Tayler Wiles, and Carmen Small, who moves over from Optum-Kelly Benefit Strategies.

Carleton, a bronze medal-winning team pursuiter, raced for Canada in the velodrome at this year’s Olympic Games.

Wiles, formerly of Exergy-Twenty12, was the under-23 national time trial champion in 2011. Having raced in Europe with the U.S. National Team in 2012, Wiles “showed great promise in her European debut,” according to the release.

Small, a climbing specialist who lately has dipped her toes into cyclocross — with a podium finish at the Boulder Cup on October 28 to show for it — told VeloNews, “I’m hugely excited to be a part of [Specialized-lululemon], you know it’s the best team in the world, and I’m just completely honored to be able to be a part of the team.”

“I’m excited to go back to Europe and do some of the races, because I’ve gone over there a lot but I’ve never got to go over there on a trade team that was so supportive,” she added. “You’re surrounded by the best riders in the world… and to be able to perform at that level is going to be pretty awesome.”

Team owner Kristy Scrymgeour, looking back on 2012, said, “We’re extremely happy with our first season… the enthusiasm within the team and from our partners really helped make the first year successful and a lot of fun.”

Erin Sprague, women’s product manager for Specialized, added, “These eleven women are more than just a race team but an inspiration to future cyclists everywhere.”

The newly-expanded team, which has its first training camp in December, won last year’s World Team Time Trial Championship in Limburg, the Netherlands, in the first running of that event in 22 years.

A major emphasis, the team said, will be defending its title on September 22 in Florence, Italy.