Allan Peiper, Jackson Stewart join BMC management for 2013
BMC Racing has brought Allan Peiper and Jackson Stewart on board in management positions for 2013
Heading out the door? Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! Download the app.
Veteran sport director Allan Peiper and former professional Jackson Stewart will join the management team at BMC Racing for 2012.
Peiper, who was well-known as one of the four high-profile directors at High Road Sports before the team folded in 2011, and who last year served as a director with Garmin-Sharp, will join BMC Racing as the team’s performance director, a new role created for the Australian.
Additionally, Jackson Stewart, who rode for BMC Racing from 2007 to 2010, will return to the team as an assistant director.
Peiper, a former professional who raced from 1983 to 1992 and has operated in management roles since joining Davitamon-Lotto in 2005, will focus on the equipment, training, and nutrition for the team’s riders.
As his title suggets, the 52-year-old will oversee the performance testing of equipment, including bikes, on the road, in the velodrome, and in the wind tunnel. While also organizing training camps and race reconnaissance, Peiper will focus on managing the flow of data between riders and team staff. Scott Nydam has managed that data flow previously and will continue with the team, a spokesperson confirmed on Friday.
“Getting things like wind tunnel testing, training camps, data analysis and feedback to riders and coaches to make sure everyone is on the same page is a big job,” Peiper said. “I feel I can really enhance the work of the entire team, which will give the riders a more coordinated service.”
Having previously worked with 2011 Tour de France champion Cadel Evans, Italian time trial specialist Marco Pinotti, and 2012 Tour de France best young rider Tejay van Garderen, Peiper will be a familiar face for a number of riders with the team.
Stewart, a professional from 2002 to 2010, has been managing USA Cycling’s development program on the women’s side for two years. Stewart, according to a team press release, will work for BMC Racing as an assistant director in one-week stage races, while taking the helm for European one-day races and major North American events.
The American, Ochowicz said, “will be an asset to the team,” and is “somebody who will grow into the future with the organization.”
The team’s lead director John Lelangue said that he has eyed Stewart’s capacity as a director since the 2010 world championships in Melbourne, Australia.
“A few years ago… I was already thinking [Stewart] would make a good sport director,” Lelangue said. “It’s also good to have an American director on board, as we’re an American team.”
The team parted ways with assistant director Michael Sayers following the Tour of Beijing. Sayers had been with the team since its inception, first as a rider and then as a director.