Norwegian pro team joins 2012 peloton
The Tour ta’ Malta organising committee’s long-standing ambition to give the race international recognition received a boost last week after it was revealed that a second professional team will compete in this year’s four-day event which will be...
The Tour ta’ Malta organising committee’s long-standing ambition to give the race international recognition received a boost last week after it was revealed that a second professional team will compete in this year’s four-day event which will be sponsored by the renowned Christina Watches.
Norway’s Team OneCo Masterhus have reached an agreement with the Malta Cycling Federation to compete in a new category, Elite Pro, which will also feature the high-profile Swedish team Christina Watches Onfone.
“The participation of Christina Watches Onfone Cycling Team in the Tour ta’ Malta has generated great interest in the Scandinavian countries and inevitably raised the profile of the race,” the organisers said in a statement.
“Notwithstanding that the Tour ta’ Malta is not on the professional calendar, several UCI-licensed teams showed interest to compete in the road race event.
“We are pleased to announce that Team OneCo Masterhus from Norway will compete against Team Christina Watches Onfone in a new category, ElitePro.
“The new category will not have an impact on the final result of the overall winner of the Tour.”
Team OneCo Masterhus is a Norwegian UCI continental team which consists of 12 promising Norwegian and Swedish riders.
Among the members of the team are Magnus Boerresen, Norway’s U-23 road champion in 2010, Linus Dahlberg, a silver medallist in Sweden’s cyclocross champ-ionships in 2011 and Phan Aage Haugaard, Norway’s junior time-trial champion in 2010.
The Norwegian team riders face a tough task to eclipse the members of the Christina Watches Onfone Team who boast in their ranks Denmark’s Michael Rasmussen, who held the prestigious yellow jersey at the 2011 Tour de France, and Stefan Schumacher.
Time-trial
The 2012 Tour ta’ Malta gets under way on Thursday with the opening stage, a 25km time-trial on the Salina coastroad.
The following day, the peloton will head to San Martin for a 100km road race.
The third day of the Tour, on Saturda, will not feature the traditional stage in Gozo as roadworks have forced the organisers to move the stage to St Paul’s Bay where a 70km road race will be held.
The Tour ta’ Malta will come to a close on April 1 with the final stage, a 12km time-trial, in Żebbuġ.