BMC Racing team owner Andy Rihs has said he wants his team to be a part of the ProTour in 2011. If the team can secure entry, it would mean that it would no longer depend on wildcard entries to take the start many of cycling's biggest races. With riders like world champion Cadel Evan, Karsten Kroon, Alessandro Ballan and George Hincapie all moving over from ProTour teams in the off-season, their stock has risen considerably.
"With one of the biggest budgets in the peloton, we are at home in the ProTour. We must submit an application to the UCI at the end of this year," Rihs told Swiss newspaper Le Matin.
Over the past week Rihs, along with the rest of his team, have experienced a range of emotions; from the high of Evans' victory in Flèche Wallonne, to the low of Thomas Frei's positive test for EPO. Rihs was candid about his feelings towards the negative press.
"Doping is an individual case. Thomas has made a big mistake, if I were in his place I would not even ask for a second opinion and just admit you're wrong," he said.
Frei has since admitted his mistake and confirmed that he acted alone. Regardless, the team is now left with the fallout to deal with. BMC Racing had already taken a hardline stance against doping earlier this month. Just before Paris-Roubaix the team suspended 2008 world road race champion Alessandro Ballan and Mauro Santambrogio when the Italians were named in a doping investigation relating to their previous team, Lampre–Farnese Vini.