BMC Racing Team awarded UCI Wild Card for 2010
The BMC Racing Team says it has been granted Wild Card status by the UCI. which will allow the team, registered as a pro continental team, to be invited to participate in ProTour events.
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The BMC Racing Team says it has been granted Wild Card status by the UCI. The status will allow the pro continental-registered team to be invited to participate in ProTour events.
The UCI has not yet released a statement on the wild card awards, and a UCI spokesman was not immediately available for comment Tuesday.
BMC Racing Team President Jim Ochowicz noted that the team was awarded wild card status last season, and was able to participate in Paris-Roubaix, the Tour de Romandie, the Dauphiné Libéré and other ProTour events.
“This was critical to fulfilling our central goals, not only for 2010 but also into the future,” Ochowicz said. “It paves the way for an ambitious schedule of racing that will expose even more people to the BMC Racing Team and our outstanding line-up of sponsors.”
BMC’s participation in the Tour Down Under race in Australia next week was contingent upon it receiving the Wild Card.
Team Director Sportif John Lelangue, who is in Adelaide, Australia with the seven-member squad that will contest the race, said the team will be competitive.
“We expect to be competitive in every race we enter, whether it’s a one-day classic, a one-week stage race or a Grand Tour,” Lelangue said. “All the pieces are in place for this team to get the most out of its talent – be it in Europe, the United States or anywhere in the world.”