March 19/15 14:39 pm - Bell & Britton to Race Tour de Taiwan

Posted by Editor on 03/19/15
 

Premier Sports Group is sending Team SmartStop to race in Asia for the first time, with five riders set to compete in the UCI 2.1 Tour de Taiwan on March 22-26.

Canada's Zach Bell, who competed in the five-day stage race in 2013, will captain the team at the UCI Asia Tour race, which will take the riders through from north to south along the west coast of Taiwan through some of it's best tourist spots, covering a distance of around 650km.

With several industry partners based out of Asia, Premier Sports Groups Owner James Bennett believes this is a step forward for the team and a chance to showcase the team and it's sponsors, furthering it's international reach.

"Premier Sports Group has several industry partners with Asian roots and we wanted to show them that we can compete on multiple continents, as well as giving our athletes other experiences with increased competition," said Bennett.

Sporting Director Michael Creed has selected a team who are ready to take on other Pro-Continental and Continental teams in what is set to be another race suited to the strengths of Team SmartStop.

Creed said: "We are going for stage wins and hopefully a sniff at the General Classification. Five-man rosters will make the race exciting, but hopefully exciting in a way that is advantageous for us."

The Tour de Taiwan will consist of a field of 23 teams made up of five riders from teams including Drapac Professional Cycling, Team Novo Nordisk and various Asian national teams. The 2014 Tour de Taiwan was won by Remy Di Gregorio of Team La Pomme Marseille.

Tour de Taiwan Roster
Zach Bell
Rob Britton
Jure Kocjan
Julian Kyer
Eric Marcotte