Unibet.com Cycling Team
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Unibet.com Cycling Team (UCI Team Code: UNI) is a Swedish-Belgian UCI ProTour cycling team mainly sponsored by the online gambling website Unibet.com as a continuation of the MrBookmaker.com cycling team. The team rode on the European Continental Circuit, until the beginning of the 2007 season, when they were granted a ProTour licence.[1]
The team leaders are Hilaire van der Schueren, Lucien Van Impe and Willy Geukens, and noted cyclists on the team are Tour de France green jersey winner Baden Cooke, Italian sprinter Mario Zanotti and Spanish riders Juan Carlos Dominguez, Luis Pasamontes and Carlos Garcia Quesada.
Unibet.com has also been drawn into the Operación Puerto doping investigation. The aforementioned cyclist Carlos Quesada having been named by the Spanish authorities as a patient of Dr. Eufemiano Fuentes and was suspended by the team [2]. Although Quesada had been named, he has not yet been formally charged with doping, which led to the management of Unibet.com to lift its suspension of Quesada two weeks after it was imposed [3].
Contents |
[edit] Current Squad
Name | Date of Birth | Nationality |
Glenn Bak | 07-06-1981 | Denmark |
David Boucher | 17-03-1980 | France |
Camille Bouquet | 23-09-1979 | France |
Angel Castresana | 29-02-1972 | Spain |
Johan Coenen | 04-02-1979 | Belgium |
Baden Cooke | 12-10-1978 | Australia |
Juan Carlos Dominguez | 13-04-1971 | Spain |
Frédéric Gabriel | 20-07-1970 | France |
Gorik Gardeyn | 17-03-1980 | Belgium |
Jeremy Hunt | 12-03-1974 | United Kingdom |
Pieter Jacobs | 06-06-1986 | Belgium |
Jonas Ljungblad | 15-01-1979 | Sweden |
Geert Omloop | 12-02-1974 | Belgium |
Luis Pasamontes | 02-10-1979 | Spain |
Matthé Pronk | 01-07-1974 | Netherlands |
Carlos Garcia Quesada | 18-04-1978 | Spain |
Peter Renäng | 26-07-1981 | Sweden |
Marco Serpellini | 14-08-1972 | Italy |
Laurens ten Dam | 13-11-1980 | Netherlands |
Erwin Thijs | 06-08-1970 | Belgium |
Bobbie Traksel | 03-11-1981 | Netherlands |
Kurt Van De Wouwer | 24-09-1971 | Belgium |
Stijn Vandenbergh | 25-07-1984 | Belgium |
Matthew Wilson | 01-10-1977 | Australia |
Marco Zanotti | 21-01-1974 | Italy |
[edit] 2007 Squad
In anticipation for joining the the UCI ProTour in 2007, there has been a sustained effort on the part of the Unibet.com management to sign several cyclists who are capable of performing on the large variety of races in the ProTour. New riders scheduled to be part of Unibet.com in 2007 are for Danish National Road Race Champion Frank Høj [4], sprinters Markus Eichler and Jimmy Casper [5][6], Swedish National time trial champion Gustav Larsson [7] and Frenchman Arnaud Coyot who is a promising cobblestone Classics rider [8]. Transfer rumours as of September 22, 2006: Several riders have been named who could be riding for unibet in 2007, as there are the Rabobank trio Thomas Dekker, Jukka Vastaranta and Niels Scheuneman. Laurens ten Dam is said to probably be moving in the opposite direction.[7]
Currently the provisional squad for the 2007 season is comprised of 14 riders [4]:
Name | Date of Birth | Nationality | 2006 Squad (if not Unibet.com) |
Jimmy Casper | 28-05-1978 | France | Cofidis |
Baden Cooke | 12-10-1978 | Australia | |
Arnaud Coyot | 06-10-1980 | France | Cofidis |
Markus Eichler | 18-02-1982 | Germany | Team Regiostrom-Senges |
Carlos Garcia Quesada | 18-04-1978 | Spain | |
Gorik Gardeyn | 17-03-1980 | Belgium | |
Víctor Hugo Peña | 10-07-1974 | Colombia | Phonak Hearing Systems |
Frank Høj | 04-01-1973 | Denmark | Team Gerolsteiner |
Jeremy Hunt | 12-03-1974 | United Kingdom | |
Gustav Larsson | 20-09-1980 | Sweden | Française des Jeux |
Jonas Ljungblad | 15-01-1979 | Sweden | |
Matthé Pronk | 01-07-1974 | Netherlands | |
José Rujano | 18-02-1982 | Venezuela | Quick Step-Innergetic |
Laurens ten Dam | 13-11-1980 | Netherlands | |
Erwin Thijs | 06-08-1970 | Belgium | |
Rigoberto Uràn | 26-01-1987 | Colombia | Team Tenax Salmilano |
Matthew Wilson | 01-10-1977 | Australia | |
Stijn Vandenbergh | 25-04-1984 | Belgium | neo-pro |
Marco Zanotti | 21-01-1974 | Italy |
[edit] External links
[edit] References
- ^ Stokes, Shane. "Unibet in, Saiz out, ProTour place still possible for Astana", Cyclingnews.com, 2006-12-15. Retrieved on [[2006-12-15]].
- ^ Quesada temporarily suspended
- ^ Quesada to compete again
- ^ a b (Dutch) Frank Høj versterkt ProTour team Unibet
- ^ Eichler to Unibet.com
- ^ Casper to Unibet.com
- ^ a b Gustav Larsson to Unibet.com
- ^ Coyot to Unibet.com, ten Dam renews
Teams UCI ProTour (2007, provisional) |
---|
Ag2r Prévoyance • Astana Team • Bouygues Télécom • Cofidis, Le Crédit par Téléphone • Crédit Agricole • Team CSC • Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team • Euskaltel-Euskadi • La Française des Jeux • Gerolsteiner • Caisse d'Epargne-Illes Balears • Lampre-Fondital • Liquigas • Team Milram • Predictor-Lotto • Quick·Step-Innergetic • Rabobank • Saunier Duval-Prodir • T-Mobile Team • Unibet.com See also: UCI ProTour • UCI ProTour 2007 • 2006-2007 UCI Africa Tour • 2006-2007 UCI America Tour • 2006-2007 UCI Asia Tour • 2006-2007 UCI Europe Tour • 2006-2007 UCI Oceania Tour |