While the Champion System team will miss out on this year’s Amgen Tour of California due to the organisers opting to invite other squads, team manager Ed Beamon has said that the Pro Continental outfit will seek invites in other big events there.
The squad already has a place in some of the US races, and will continue to push for more.
“We'll send a team to Tour de Gila in May and also Philadelphia in June,” Beamon told VeloNation. “We'll also do Tour de Beauce and most likely Elk Grove and a few of the criteriums.
“I'm very interested in having a team at USA Pro Challenge in Colorado and also Tour of Utah. I think we have a very competitive team for those races and I really want the Americans to have the opportunity to show their stage racing capabilities in their home country.”
Although the team has the same name as a Continental team competing last year and featuring Beamon in a management role, he has emphasized that this year’s setup is a completely different entity, albeit one with some of the same riders and, of course, the same chief backer.
It’s racing at a high level and has signed several experienced pros, including two Americans as part of the 2012 lineup. These are the former HTC Highroad pro Craig Lewis and the ex-BMC Racing Team rider Chris Butler.
Both had hoped to compete in the Amgen race, and will now miss out; Beamon was equally let down when he heard the news.
“Not getting an invite to the Amgen Tour of California is a disappointment, especially for the American guys (Butler and Lewis),” he said. “But I appreciate that the team was considered and happy we have a busy schedule.
“We certainly would have liked to have been there to highlight our American riders, promote Champion System - which has a strong and loyal USA customer base - and bring the excitement of an American race to the Chinese and Asian audience."
The team has a four to five year plan to become a UCI WorldTour squad, thus gaining an invite to the Tour de France and the other top races.