Team SmartStop’s ownership group forms new women’s road squad

Premier Sports Group (PSG), owners of American continental squad Team SmartStop, announced Monday that it is forming a new women’s team to contest the USA Cycling National Racing Calendar, UCI women’s races in the U.S. and some international races in 2015.

PSG general manager Omer Kem told Canadian Cycling Magazine, “We have some Canadian talent.”

So far there is no name for the team, but it is to be announced with the lineup and 2015 racing calender in the coming weeks.

PSG’s Team SmartStop is one of the most successful American continental squads, No. 1 ranked in the UCI Americas Tour in 2014. A press release explains that team principal James Bennett and managing partner Patrick Raines “saw gaps in the American women’s circuit and the opportunity to fill that gap with a new team.”

Bennett said, “Cycling needs more women’s UCI teams and the UCI races are stepping up with more inclusion for women across the globe, so Premier Sports Group stepping up is the natural progression. We are finding great relationships with the largest races on the continent by having a men’s and women’s team.”

Four American women’s teams occupy the top 18 of the UCI’s rankings, with Velocio-SRAM (once Specialized-lululemon) ranked second behind Rabo Liv Women’s Cycling Team.