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| Nick Mitchell Cinelli Down Under |
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| Peter Ronsse Cinelli Down Under |
Former Belgian time trial champion Bert Roesems will lead the powerful Australian-registered Cinelli-Down Under pro team in this year’s FBD Insurance RÁS, which begins in just over two weeks time in Kilcullen.
The experienced 36 year old professional previously competed with ProTour team Silence-Lotto plus its forerunners Predictor-Lotto and Davitamon-Lotto, and has picked up some strong results during his pro career.
His list of wins include the Grand Prix de Denain, Halle – Ingooigem, Nokere Koerse, the overall classification of the Niedersachsen Rundfahrt as well as stages of the Tour de la Région Wallonne and the Circuit Franco-Belge. The strong time trialist has also finished second in both the Grand Prix des Nations and the Chrono des Herbiers, highlighting his excellent ability in races against the clock.
General manager Gilbert de Weerdt thinks that background will be greatly aid the team’s bid to land success in the FBD Insurance RÁS. “Bert Roesems has been in ProTour teams for several years and is now the team captain to learn the younger riders,” he stated. “With starts in all the big Tours and all the Classics, he has all the experience to guide the team during the race.
“Our aims here are to try to chase the general classification, as well as some aggressive riding from the younger guys on the team. We are looking for a mixture of results and ‘learning the hard way’”.
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| Steve de Weerdt |
Roesems is likely to be joined by Logan Hutchings, Peter Ronsse, Sven de Weerdt and Nick Mitchell. Hutchings was the 2008 national time trial champion of New Zealand and previously finished second in the final ranking of the UCI Oceania continental tour. The promising 25 year old’s other results include two stages wins in the Tour de Namur and second overall in the Tour de Moselle.
“He is an expert time trialist and a strong GC rider, and was in the Quick Step feeder team in 2008” said de Weerdt.
29 year old Belgian Peter Ronsse has several career wins, including the 1.2 GP de la Ville de Pérenchies. De Weert is a 31 year old Belgian and Mitchell is a 25 year old Australian; both competed with the Cyclingnews Jako team last year. “All of these guys are experienced as helpers and will be able to go for stage wins,” said Gilbert de Weerdt.
The team is likely to feature Nico Mattan as the directeur sportif for the FBD Insurance RÁS. Now retired, the Belgian is a former winner of Gent-Wevelgem and the Paris-Nice prologue, and will be one of the most experienced team managers in the race’s history.
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| Lorgan Hutchings Cinelli Down Under |
Race organiser Dermot Dignam feels confident that the team will leave its mark. “This year’s lineup is very exciting, with two former stage winners in the Tour de France [namely Jaan Kirspuu and Leon Van Bon] and other experienced professionals set to take part. Bert Roesems has competed in the biggest races, won several important events and will guide his team-mates during the eight days of flat-out competition here. I’m convinced that this year’s FBD RÁS is going to be a superb race.”
The 2009 FBD Insurance RÁS will begin on Sunday May 17th in Kilcullen and , over the course of eight days, will feature stage finishes in Wexford, Cobh, Cahirciveen, Killorglin, Scariff, Castlebar, Clara and Skerries. The world-ranked contest is 1289 kilometres in length and includes over twenty categorised climbs. Ireland’s Stephen Gallagher triumphed in 2008, the first home victory in four years.
