Don’t forget about this exciting event taking place on the Isle of Wight on Thursday. Ed
Britain’s fastest teams race into action at Ryde on the Isle of Wight this week for the opening round of the Pearl Izumi Tour Series cycling, which takes place on Thursday 14 May, and this year’s rider line-up is set to be better than ever.
Olympic, World and Commonwealth Champions will be among the line-up in both the men and women’s Series, as teams confirmed their final squads for the five weeks of competition, which get underway this week.
Among those listed in the 10-rider men’s squads for the Pearl Izumi Tour Series are Olympic Champions Ed Clancy, Sir Bradley Wiggins and Steven Burke, 2014 Commonwealth Games Gold medallist Tom Scully and current Australian Criterium Champion Steele Von Hoff.
The teams
JLT Condor presented by Mavic arrive at Round One as the defending Champions, having in 2014 become the only team to win the Series twice during its six year history. To defend their title the team of Ed Clancy, the most successful rider in Series history, will face a revised format, which will see the winning team on the night decided by their lowest cumulative time.
Two teams make their debuts, led by Team WIGGINS, the new squad of 2012 Tour de France winner Sir Bradley Wiggins, who is currently in training for his Hour Record on 7 June and may feature in later Pearl Izumi Tour Series rounds.
Team Raleigh GAC are led by Elite Road Series Spring Cup winner Steve Lampier and also include Polish rider Karol Domagalski and three-time World Track Cycling Champion Morgan Kneisky, as well as youngster George Pym, who took up racing having watched the Tour Series in Exeter in 2009 as a spectator.
The SportGrub Kuota, Pedal Heaven and Velosure Starley Primal teams will vie for a new trophy to be presented to the highest ranked non-UCI Continental team come the end of the 2015 Series in Bath on Thursday 11 June.
What they’re fighting for
Riders will also fight for a new look Points Jersey, sponsored by the world’s leading online bike store Chain Reaction Cycles, with riders now scoring points at the finish, in addition to the three hot spot sprints during the race, making each round worth up to 20-points towards the Chain Reaction Cycles Points Jersey.
The opening round takes place in Ryde, Isle of Wight, on Thursday 14 May, with highlights shown on ITV4 at 8pm on Friday 15 May.
Each of the nine men’s teams will field five of their ten rider squad, in first a mid-afternoon Team Time Trial consisting of two laps of the Ryde circuit, before the one-hour circuit race at 7.30pm.
Two guest teams will also race on the Isle of Wight, with Wightlink LCM systems taking part in the Team Time Trial and Ride 24/7 racing in the evening race.
