October 23/06 9:08 am - Hesjedal to Health Net p/b Maxxis for 2007

Posted by Editor on 10/23/06
 

Hesjedal to Health Net p/b Maxxis

The Health Net presented by Maxxis team is announcing on their website that they have signed Ryder Hesjedal for 2007. It was no secret that Hesjedal was looking for a team, including North American continental squads, after Phonak collapsed due to the Floyd Landis controversy.

According to the team's Directeur Sportif Jeff Corbett (from their website):

The Team has signed two big, young but experienced engines from the Pro Tour ranks: Canadian Ryder Hesjedal from Phonak and Australian Rory Sutherland, previously of Rabobank.

"Both guys have started and finished grand tours, and they have a lot of experience racing at the top level in Europe," Corbett said.

Hesjedal, who turned 26 in September, finished 4th overall at the Volta a Cataluna and 17th overall at the Dauphine Libere, both Pro Tour races. He rode the Vuelta e Espana this year, and was part of Discovery Channel's 2005 Giro d'Italia-winning team. He is also a seven-time world mountain biking championships medalist. "He's a good time trialist and a strong climber," Corbett said. "He and Nathan will provide a good two-pronged GC attack."

Sutherland rode his way up through the ranks at Rabobank, spending two years on their DIII development squad, where he was a teammate of Hesjedal in 2003, before moving up to the big squad in 2005. He also rode the Giro in 2005, and had his best result at the Tour of Denmark, where he finished 3rd overall and won the Best Young Rider jersey. "He can do a bit of everything," Corbett noted. "He TTs well, and is good at hard, selective one-day and stage races."