Canadian road racers find jobs with American teams

There will be 16 Canadian road cyclists competing for UCI continental men’s and elite women’s teams that are registered in the U.S. during the 2014 season. USA Cycling released the list of 14 teams on Tuesday.

The list of UCI continental men’s teams registered in the U.S. include 5-Hour Energy Cycling Team, Airgas Cycling, Astellas Cycling Team, Bissell Cycling, Champion Systems-Stan’s No Tubes, Hincapie Sportswear Development Team, Jamis-Hagens Berman, Jelly Belly presented by Maxxis, Optum presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies and SmartStop presented by Mountain Khakis.

UCI elite women’s teams registered in the U.S. are Optum presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies, Specialized-lululemon, Tibco-To The Top and UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling Team.

There are usually a strong contingent of Canadians competing south of the border and next season will include Bruno Langlois (5-Hour Energy Cycling Team), Ryan Aitcheson (Astellas Cycling Team), Gavriel Epstein (Champion Systems-Stan’s No Tubes), Nic Hamilton (Jelly Belly presented by Maxxis), Ryan Anderson and Will Routley (Optum presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies), national road champion Zach Bell and Rob Britton (SmartStop presented by Mountain Khakis).

Canadian women racing for U.S.-registered trade teams include national road and time trial champion Joëlle Numainville, Annie Ewart, national criterium champion Leah Kirchmann and Denise Ramsden (Optum presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies), Karol-Ann Canuel (Specialized-lululemon), Alizee Brien, Jasmin Glaesser and Anika Todd (Tibco-To The Top).

There are also three U.S.-based UCI ProTeams; BMC Racing, Ryder Hesjedal’s team Garmin-Sharp and Trek Factory Racing. UCI Professional Continental teams include UnitedHealthcare Professional Cycling and Novo Nordisk.