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Edited by Jeff Jones
By Karen Forman, cyclingnews.com correspondent
Australia's first publicly funded professional cycling trade team was launched at a gala press conference at Melbourne's Crown Casino today. iteamNova - also the first Australian-registered team to be based in Europe, one of the few teams in the world to have a female manager and the first team in the world to be administered on the world wide web - boasts an all-star international lineup and is primed to tackle the world's premier stage race, the Tour de France within three years.
Ironically, its formation came as a direct result of the bankruptcy of the UK-based Linda McCartney team earlier this year. Brainchild of former CycleSport Victoria executive officer Susan Stewart - who is married to former McCartney team member David McKenzie - iteamNova is an attempt to overcome the well publicised difficulties faced by cycling teams when major sponsors pull out.
McKenzie was devastated when he arrived in England at the start of the year to join the McCartney team, only to find it was no longer in existence, is keen to get into it. "Our race program hasn't been finalized but at this stage it looks like we will start with the Bay Classic then go into the National Championships. We really would like to go to Europe with a green and gold jersey on our backs," he said. "Then we have the Tour of Malaysia at the end of February then onto Europe to do whatever events we can get into."
He said he thought it was good to start at the lower category three level. "We don't want to jump the gun," he said. "And we have Sean, who got the McCartney team up to the top level in just a couple of years."
His wife Susan is a 38-year-old mother of one (daughter Lulu has her first birthday in January), who said she had based the concept on that used by football clubs around the world. "After what happened to Dave and the other McCartney members, I wracked my brains to think of a solution to the problem of a team collapsing when they lose their sponsor," she said. "I thought a public membership base could be the key - and would also get an Australian trade team into the peloton," she said.
"Then, because cycling teams, unlike football clubs do not have stadiums, I came up with the idea to run it all from a website, which members could access to follow the team as it competes on the international scene."
Miraculously, Stewart has managed to put the whole thing together in just six months, from clinching foundation sponsorship to signing on riders, uploading the website www.iteamnova.com (launched simultaneously with the team today) and producing the bright yellow white and blue team jerseys and other merchandise. (Interestingly, the jerseys were not ready in time for a publicity shoot earlier in the week, which necessitated a G-string clad McKenzie having to endure six hours body painting).
But as of yesterday, iteamNova, which began as a dream and with the team's first outing at the Bay Classic in Victoria in January will become a reality, was all set to enter the peloton at category three level, with a five-year plan to become a totally publicly funded, highly respected force to be reckoned with at international level. Their main goal is to get an Australian team to the Tour de France.
Stewart has taken on the role of team manager, McKenzie is team leader, former English champion (also Linda McCartney sports director) Sean Yates is director sportif, and riders include Australians Jamie Drew, Allan Iacuone, Trent Wilson, Brett Lancaster; Scott Guyton from New Zealand, Russell Downing from Great Britain, Dominique Perras from Canada and Aaron Olson from the United States.
The challenge for Stewart up to now, with an estimated budget of $2.5 million including sponsorships, was to find the money to fund it - at least until the 20,000 memberships she aimed for could be attained. With no real cycling background, (apart from that as wife to "Macca") Stewart - described by new team media manager, former Olympic/Commonwealth Games rider John Trevorrow, as "an exceptional lady" - didn't realize that these things normally take longer than a few months.
So determined was she to get iteamNova (the name has Latin connotations and means "bright new star") into the 2002 peloton that before long she had attracted foundation funding from the likes of The Pines Corporation of Singapore, Tailormade Logistics of Belgium, De Rosa bicycle company, Dejai (website design) Australia, Ventou Australia (cycling outfits) and Crumpler Australia (bags).
The speed at which she and her supporters managed to put it all together wowed the well-heeled crowd who attended yesterday's launch, hosted by former Hey Hey It's Saturday identity John Blackman and attended by five of the team's nine riders, team patron Phil Anderson (the second patron other is cycling commentator Phil Liggett) and various movers and shakers in Australian cycling.
Stewart downplayed concerns about the risks of such an operation, saying that each rider had signed a contract and was well aware of "everything, the whole thing".
"I believe that we will get the support, that Australians as well as people around the world, will want to be part of the team," she said. "In Europe people love Australians . . . I think they will get behind us. Now all we need are the memberships, which we hope will come not only from supporters in Australia, but around the globe," Stewart said.
Two levels of membership are available - full membership for $200 plus 10% GST which offers the team jersey, team postcards and access to all team gear and all on-line benefits; and e-membership which offers on-line benefits like chat with riders and guests, access to live race coverage, discussion of race plans and training schedules, on-line competitions and team news.
The concept has set tongues wagging on the Australian scene and earned top raps. Phil Anderson said he wished something like iteamNova had been around in his time.
"I am surprised it hasn't been done before," he said. "If there is a problem with the sport of cycling, it is the distance between the supporters and the riders. Cycling supporters are very curious about the inside of the sport. This team fills that void. Through the website, the members can get close to the riders, get the dirt."
Liggett, in a message read out during the media conference, said it was a concept that brought cycling into modern times and offered Australia a real foothold into the European cycling scene. "I can honestly say if I hadn't been asked to be patron, I would have joined as a member," he said.
Commonwealth Games 1962 gold medallist, Australian Cycling Federation vice president and patron Peter Bartels told the gathering that Cycling Australia was in "full support of this activity" and offered its "strongest endorsement."
"Our president Mike Victor describes it as innovative, adventurous and deserving of the support of cycling fans," he said. "Particularly pleasing for Cycling Australia is that the team will be supporting the Australian domestic scene as well as racing internationally."
Wearing his other hats as Australian Institute of Sport and Australian Sports Commission chairperson, Bartels said an Australian team in the Tour de France was a highly exciting concept. "The Tour de France attracts an average daily television audience of 600 million people over the 21 days and it is similar for World Cup soccer," he said. "What is exciting about iteamNova is that the fans will be able to become part of it, through the Internet site."
Newly appointed AIS head coach Shane Bannan said Australians were highly respected in the cycling world and known for their aggressiveness, toughness and honesty.
IteamNova.com Rider profiles
David McKenzie (Team leader)
Nationality: Australian
Age: 27
From: Melbourne, Victoria
McKenzie, known as "Macca", was Australian road cycling champion in 1998. He joined the Linda McCartney trade team based in Belgium 1999 and was lead rider. Based in the south of France in 2000, he then won the seventh stage of the Tour of Italy, the best result for the team for the year. He was Australian Cyclist of the Year in 2000 and has won eight stages of the Herald Sun Tour.
After the team collapsed earlier this year, McKenzie returned to Australia and clinched wins in the Grafton to Inverell Cycling Classic in NSW, the Mt Baw Baw Classic (Gippsland), the Tattersalls Cup five-race series (VIC-TAS), two stages of the Tour of Sunraysia in Mildura, the Melbourne to Warnambool and the first stage of the Herald Sun Tour (VIC).
He says he is excited at the prospect of being team leader for the world's first publicly subscribed trade team and eternally grateful to his wife Susan Stewart for coming up with the concept for it.
Jamie Drew
Nationality: Australian
Age: 28
A highly respected rider who won the Grafton to Inverell and the Melbourne to Warrnambool Classics in 1999, was Australian road champion in 2000 and the winner of the prestigious Sea Otter Classic in his first race with Mercury in America. He won the Mi Aout Series in France the same year.
He says "it is high time we had an Australian team and we are all expected to go well in Europe and Australia. Input from the members and especially the interaction with the supporters is something that will add a new and exciting dimension."
Scott Guyton
Nationality: New Zealander
Age: 25
Guyton represented New Zealand in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics and the 1998 Commonwealth Games. He is known for his climbing abilities. He had an unlucky start to the 2001 season, fracturing his wrist on the last day of the Three Days of De Panne. He had been in an impressive breakaway the previous day with two other riders, from the start of the gruesome 240km stage, only to be caught with 70km to go. Guyton returned to form for the Tour of Japan where he finished eighth.
Russell Downing
Nationality: Great Britain
Age: 23
A former Linda McCartney team member, Downing has won 10 races in 2001. He has raced at top level for the past two years and is known for his sprinting ability.
Dominique Perras
Nationality: Canada
Age: 27
Perras is an excellent time trialler and climber and brings a great deal of experience to iteamNova.com He is a former Tour of Romandie KOM jersey wearer and was on the same team as McKenzie in Switzerland. He comes to iteamNova on McKenzie's recommendation.
Alan Iacuone
Nationality: Australian
Age: 27
Iacuone, like McKenzie, is a survivor of the ill-fated Linda McCartney team. The former Australian road champion who finished third in the Tour de Langkawi and won the 1999 Tour of Tasmania, is making a comeback after a year out of the sport. "To be part of this was just too good an opportunity to miss," he said. "I just feel that this concept will be immensely popular with cycling fans."
Trent Wilson
Nationality: Australian
Age: 23
Sydneysider Wilson recorded six top 10's in Italy this season and made the podium three times. He was fourth in the fourth stage of Tour Downunder, was third in the sprint king competition and fourth in the king of the mountains. He was ninth in the Herald Sun Tour (after finishing eighth last year).
Wilson says he is excited about being part of iteamNova. "I really think there is a big future for this team and I want to be part of it. I want to build on this year and improve on my main strength - climbing"
Brett Lancaster
Nationality: Australian
Age: 22
A multiple Australian junior champion on track and road, Lancaster hails from Shepparton in country Victoria. He won Commonwealth Games gold at Kuala Lumpur, was fifth in the Sydney 2000 Olympics and junior world champion - all in the teams pursuit. A recent stage win at Hamilton in the Herald Sun Tour proves he is ready to make the transition from track to road.
"I am stoked (about iteamNova)," he said. "I had planned to go to Europe next year and try to get into a team, so this is a dream come true. I am looking forward to doing much more on the road but will still be with the track program for the Commonwealth Games.
"I love the idea of a member based team where members can keep abreast of all that is happening, by the website. I really think it is the way of the future. I am especially looking forward to the chat room. When I was young, I would have loved to have walked up to the professionals and found out the secrets to their success, but I never had the nerve. The chat room will allow the youngsters that chance."
Aaron Olson
Nationality: American
Signed yesterday. He rode for American trade team Prime Alliance in 2001 and is considered a promising up and coming rider.
Major Races and Events
September 7-29, 2002: Vuelta
a España (GT) - Preview, stage list
May 11-June 2, 2002: Giro
d'Italia (GT) - Preview, stage list, photos
July 6-28, 2002: Tour
de France (GT) - Full preview & official route details
December 8: Superprestige
Rd 5 (Cat. 1) - Erwin Vervecken
November 29-December 4: Six
Days of Noumea (6D) - Sassone/Neuville victorious
November 26-December 1: Six
Days of Zurich (6D) - Day
6 - McGrory/Gilmore/Schnider win
December 1: Melbourne
Cup on Wheels (IM) - Scott Moller, Keirin,
Sprint, Support
races
December 2: Cyclo-cross
World Cup #2 (CDM) - Sven Nijs again
November 24-December 3: Juegos
Deportivos Centroamericanos (JR) - Final results
December 8-9: Frankfurter
Rad-Cross (Cat. 2) - Alex Mudroch, UK
National Trophy Series #4 (Cat. 3) - Roger Hammond, Grote
Prijs Industrie Bosduin - Kalmthout (Cat. 1) - Bart Wellens, Int.
Radquer Obergösgen (Cat. 2) - Björn Rondelez, Trofeo
Mamma e Papa Guerciotti (Cat. 3) - Enrico Franzoi, Premio
Egondo (Cat 3) - David Seco, Irish
cyclo-cross championships - Robin Seymour
Results: local racing
Australia - CycleWest
Promotions Omnium Series #2, Eastern
Suburbs Summer Criterium Series, Carnegie
Caulfield Tuesday criterium, Southern
Cross Junior Track Open & Madison Cup, Manly
Warringah CC, George
Town Track Carnival, Carnegie
Caulfield CC, Randwick
Botany CC, Gold
Coast CATS CC, Caesar's
Illawarra CC, Caesar's
Illawarra (track)
Denmark - Danish
cyclo-cross Post Cup #3
Italy - Gran
Premio Città di Bassano
Luxembourg - GP
De Kopstal
New Zealand - Cyco
Criterium series
Spain - Elorrio
cyclo-cross
USA - Georgia
Cross Series Championship, Chimborazo
Grand Prix cyclo-cross, Boulder
Cross Rd 6, New
Mexico State Cyclo-x Champs, Sorrento
Cyclo-x & California State Champ's, Boulder
Cross Rd 5, Verge
New England series, Northampton
CC Cyclo-cross Championships, Chris
Cross International CycloCross
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