The full roster of Tudor Pro Cycling has still to be announced and promotion to the ProTeam level has yet to be confirmed, but news of the addition of Ricardo Scheidecker to the staff in early October felt like a statement of intent from Fabian Cancellara‘s team.
Scheidecker had served as the technical and development director at QuickStep since 2017, having previously worked at Tinkoff, Leopard-Trek and the UCI. While Patrick Lefevere remained QuickStep’s patron and figurehead, Scheidecker was credited by those in the know as a key architect of the team’s recent success, particularly the project that helped Remco Evenepoel to Vuelta a España victory.
Cancellara worked with Scheidecker during his time at Leopard-Trek, but prising the Portuguese away from Lefevere and QuickStep was clearly something of a coup for what is, at least until January 1, still a Continental team. It showed that the Tudor project is a serious one, even if Cancellara bristled jokingly at the idea that it could be anything else.
“I don’t do unserious stuff, otherwise I stay home, I go on the beach and have a good time with my family. If I do things, I want to do them properly and right,” Cancellara told Cyclingnews. “And I think the partner we have is serious and proper.”
After the team began as the Swiss Racing Academy in 2019, Cancellara’s first involvement with the team was in the informal role of ‘mentor,’ but in April of this year – on the eve of the Tour de Romandie – his position changed to that of owner, with Tudor watches coming on board as a sponsor. The stated ambition was to register as a ProTeam in 2023 and earn invitations to cycling’s biggest races by 2024.
“Our first ambition is to have a good structure,” Cancellara said. “The important thing is to create this structure, and the foundation is the people we have. The riders will come and go, unfortunately, that’s the reality, but we are on the normal way to grow. How far we can go, we will see. But we’re ready to become a ProTeam next year, and the next steps are starting. I’m super excited.
“We might have some surprises with people who are coming or joining the staff, but I believe that the mathematics are still basic. It’s about creating the foundations and then working on the steps. Success will not come with money. Cycling has certain rules, which are patience and time.”
It seems likely that the team will continue to have a youthful age profile in its first season as a ProTeam, even if the composition of the…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at CyclingNews RSS Feed…