Dimension Data rebrands, Floyd’s Pro Cycling to shut down: Daily News Digest
Welcome to your Daily News Digest. Here’s what’s happening today:
Team Dimension Data unveils new NTT Pro Cycling look, Floyd’s Pro Cycling is shutting down after one season, Sutton walks out of Freeman hearings. Those stories and more in today’s Daily News Digest.
Story of the Day: Dimension Data unveils new look as NTT, targets top 10 in team rankings
Team Dimension Data team has unveiled its new look for 2020 as it rebrands to NTT Pro Cycling.
The South African WorldTour squad, previously known as MTN-Qhubeka, has ridden as Dimension Data for the last four seasons. The rebrand comes as parent company NTT Corporation merged Dimension Data and other companies into the NTT Ltd. brand. That brings with it a new look—replacing the white and green kits of the Dimension Data squad will be a blue and black NTT kit.
According to a statement from the team, the rebrand comes with some lofty goals as well after years of Dimension Data landing in the bottom echelons of team rankings.
“As headline sponsor, we help NTT Pro Cycling to leverage technological innovation to realize its ambition of being ranked among the top 10 cycling teams in the world,” said NTT’s Chief Marketing Officer Ruth Rowan.
Team brass will look to a somewhat reshuffled roster to achieve that aspiration. Marquee sprinter Mark Cavendish heads to Bahrain-Merida next year, while new arrivals for 2020 include Victor Campenaerts (Lotto-Soudal), Max Walscheid (Movistar), and Ben Dyball (Sapura).
Socially Speaking
Sam Bennett’s strategy for finding a seat at his airport gate apparently worked, but it might polarize some fans …
Arrived at my gate and there was no seats left at the gate.
So I pretended to que. All the elderly irish jumped up to que in a panic!
I strolled off and took my time to choose whatever seat I wanted ????They are standing 50minutes before our flight ???????????? pic.twitter.com/TwV3YbIjnn
— Sam Bennett (@Sammmy_Be) November 11, 2019
Also generating some buzz in the cycling Twittersphere was this language lesson, which was very informative.
Short recap thanks to @irishpeloton
???????? Head of the race
???????? Testa della corsa
???????? Tête de la Course
???????? Cabeza de Carrera
???????? Kop van de Wedstrijd
???????? Mathieu Van der Poel— La Flamme Rouge (@laflammerouge16) November 11, 2019
Race Radio
Sutton walks out of Freeman hearings
Shane Sutton, former performance director of British Cycling, walked out of his appearance with the Richard Freeman medical tribunal after Freeman’s lawyer called him a “doper” and a “serial liar.”
Freeman, former doctor of British Cycling and Team Sky, is facing the tribunal hearing due to allegations that he ordered testosterone packets delivered to British Cycling’s headquarters “knowing or believing it was to be administered to an athlete to improve their athletic performance.” Freeman has claimed that Sutton “bullied” him into doing so, and that the testosterone was to treat Sutton’s erectile dysfunction.
At the hearing on Tuesday, Sutton was cross-examined by Freeman’s lawyer Mary O’Rourke, which led to a tense exchange, and ultimately, Sutton’s departure. O’Rourke referred to Sutton as a liar and a doper, and then pressed him on the topic of erectile dysfunction.
“I’ve spent two days waiting to come up here. I’ve come and told the truth. I’ve taken your bullying, your gutter tactics in the press,” Sutton said. “You’ve accused me of all kinds of things. I’m going to leave now. I don’t need to go through this shit fight.”
Floyd’s Pro Cycling shutting down
The Floyd’s Pro Cycling squad is shuttering. Team GM Scott McFarlane announced the news in a post on the team’s website on Tuesday.
“Unfortunately CanAm Cycling, the management company running Floyd’s Pro Cycling, was unable to secure a title sponsor for 2020 and so the team will cease operations at the end of this year,” McFarlane said.
The Canadian-registered Continental squad was formed at the start of the year as Floyd Landis offered financial backing for a team run by McFarlane and Gord Fraser after their Silber squad folded. The new team added big names from the North American racing scene like Travis McCabe, Serghei Tvetcov, and Keegan Swirbul and picked up results both in North America and elsewhere. Following the unsuccessful sponsor search, however, the team’s riders will be back on the market ahead of the 2020 season.
Travis McCabe wins stage 3 of the Tour de Langkawi. Photo: Dario Belingheri/Cor Vos © 2019
Tanfield signs with Ag2r La Mondiale
Harry Tanfield will join Ag2r La Mondiale next year after one season with Katusha-Alpecin.
The 24-year-old Briton made the jump to the WorldTour this year following a few promising seasons as a Continental rider.
Harry Tanfield at the BinckBank Tour. Photo: Davy Rietbergen/Cor Vos ¨© 2019
“We’ve had our eye on Harry for two years now, and this year we finally have the opportunity to recruit him,” said AG2R team manager Vincent Lavenu.
“We are happy to sign such a talented rider, who will elevate us in the field of time trialing. Of course, we will count on him in the road races as well. And he will also play an important role in the group focussed on the classics.”
In case you missed it …
Feature Image: The peloton lined out on stage 10 of the 2019 Tour de France. Photo: Gruber Images
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