The Silber bullet is back: Silber Pro Cycling Team announces its 2016 roster of new and returning riders
After a powerful 2015, the team has announced its roster for 2016—the Canadian UCI Continental squad's third official year of competition.
The Silber bullet will be back in force next year.
After a powerful 2015, the team has announced its roster for 2016—the Canadian UCI Continental squad’s third official year of competition. Its second season, 2015, saw riders take 43 races in all, while sending four key athletes to the world championships in Richmond, Virginia. When the team saddles up to roll out for the first time in 2016, it will be some of the riders who advanced that success leading the way—with some talented new faces on board.
Once again, Ryan Roth will lead the 2016 roster, a position he takes after several head-turning wins in 2015. At the Gastown Grand Prix in Vancouver, for example, he soloed to a decisive win with 20,000 spectators cheering the 32-year-old veteran powerhouse to the finish. The international time trial at the national championships, meanwhile, saw him take second, with a third-place podium spot after the road race.
Benjamin Perry is another of the team’s returning stars, driven by a top-tier performance in 2015 that featured wins at the final stage of the Tour de Beauce, the King of the Mountain jersey at the Tour of Alberta, and a provincial road race title at the Ontario championships in Huntsville. Canada’s U23 time trial champion, Alex Cataford, and Grand Prix Saguenay overall winner Matteo Dal-Cin will also be returning.
The Official 2016 Silber Bullet announcement (plus enter to win some swag! ???)!!!: https://t.co/5Qbm9Syx5x
— Benjamin Perry (@benjefperry) December 7, 2015
In addition to those familiar, leading faces, some new talent will be suiting up in Silber’s trademark orange for the first time in 2016.
“Alberta’s Kris Dahle rode the last two seasons with Team SmartStop,” said Scott McFarlane, the team’s owner, announcing the new editions in a release. “He is a former U23 national time trial champion and he has a sprint that many of feel is underestimated. We recruited Emile Jean for the same reasons: he has a solid time trial and adds team speed to the endgame.”
“Our third new signing,” McFarlane added, “provides us with another climber. Julien Gagne had his 2015 season cut short due to injury, but I saw enough at the GP Saguenay to know I wanted him on Silber Pro Cycling.” The 2016 season will also see the return of Gord Fraser to direct the team’s efforts, with the director citing 2015’s constellation of stellar performances as his motivation for 2016.
Above all, McFarlane said, 2016’s roster of riders—both new and returning—is about putting forward a leading example in the cycling world, competitive and otherwise.
“All our signings are first and foremost ambassadors of the sport,” McFarlane explained. “Gord [Fraser] and I want to work with riders that inspire people to get on their bikes. There is a growing wave of people turning to cycling for their health, to support charities, to conduct business and to travel the world. We want to do out part.”
2016’s full roster includes:
Alex Cataford
Kristofer Dahl
Matteo Dal-Cin
Elliott Doyle
Nigel Ellsay
Julien Gagne
Emile Jean
Michael Le Rossignol
Nicolas Masbourian
Ryan Roth
Benjamin Perry
