Team IG-Sigma Sport launched their 2013 squad at the London Bike Show.
The UCI Continental team unveiled a strengthened line-up, including 2008 Olympic silver medalist, Ross Edgar, for the coming season.
Pete Hawkins, second in last Saturday’s London IG Nocturne, despite a crash, told RoadCyclingUK he was hoping to build on a solid campaign in 2012.
“I was up in the Premier Calendar last year with a couple of top fives and podiums. I want to be making an impression there again, and turning some good results last year into wins this year,” he said.
Hawkins was one of three IG-Sigma Sport riders to finish in the top 10 at the indoor race. James Moss finished fourth, while Andrew Griffiths was seventh.
Pete Williams, winner of the green sprints jersey at last year’s Tour of Britain, has been added to a squad in which a number of key riders have been retained.
Wouter Sybrandy, who last season broke Chris Boardman’s 25-year record in the North Road Hardriders time trial, will race again in the London team’s signature red and black kit, supplied this year by Castelli.
Sybrandy fractured three vertebrae and suffered facial injuries in a nasty crash on the final stage of last season’s Tour of Britain.
Simon Howes, a former rider, will this season do duty as directeur sportif, backed by assistant, Daniel Lloyd, who rode for the team last season after three years in cycling’s elite WorldTour. Lloyd will combine his work with Team IG-Sigma Sport with a burgeoning media career.
Becky Frewing will again handle operational responsibilities as General Manager.
Team IG-Sigma Sport will target the biggest races on the domestic calendar, including the Tour Series and the Premier Calendar, in a bid to secure an invitation to the Tour of Britain.
Last year’s Tour of Britain saw some of the team’s strongest performances, with former riders Dan Craven and Simon Richardson featuring in breakaways on stages four and eight respectively. Richardson won the combativity award for his role in a breakaway on the final stage.
Additionally, the team will race abroad this year at least once a month.
Specialized will supply Venge and Tarmac SL4 bikes, as well as helmets and shoes. Wheels will come from Mavic and bars and stems from 3T.
The team’s charity partner is Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research.
Team IG-Sigma Sport