The Warmup Cycling team has named a roster of five riders for the first Benchmark series race of 2010 being held in Nelson this Sunday.
From a squad of 15 riders Greg Scott, John McKenzie, Michael Fergio, Brent Harris and Arron Perriam will contest the 3rd Tasman Woollaston Classic, being held on the same course as Octobers Club Nationals.
"We are focused on enjoying the team concept, coffee and performing well in our targeted events," Team Manager and Marketing Manager for Warmup Kelly Chapman said.
"We have a good bunch of guys that train a lot together and we're really looking forward to the team focused Benchmark series, next weekend's Tour of Canterbury and Tour de Lakes, the Canterbury champs and then the Club Nationals. It's crunch time with the seasons key events all lined up and we're hopeful of a strong showing."
"The team has served Warmup well – it's been great profile for our business and we have really enjoyed supporting local riders as they race all over the country in their various grades and age groups."
"We're realistic about where we sit in the scheme of things; the guys all work hard in various jobs, most have families and cycling is something we do for fun, when and where we can fit training and racing in – we're certainly not a Subway – Avanti or Benchmark type of team, but we enjoy racing and competing at our own level."
Ages in the Warmup squad range from 15 through to 54 and the team has tasted success so far this season with Harris's winning the National Masters 4 grade in October, Amanda Minty's podium efforts in last Saturday's Le Race and at the Club Nationals and McKenzie and David Roche winning the master's and veteran's Canterbury Time Trial grades for the summer season being highlights.
The team has also featured in several local events including the recent Christchurch to Hanmer race where Chapman and Mark Forsey both featured at the front over the last stages of the race both recording top 8 finishes.
The Tour de Vineyards in Nelson in January saw the team featuring in the sprint category with Fergio spending a large portion of the tour in the sprinters green jersey and ended up tied first equal only losing it after finishing further back on the pack on the last stage and Forsey finished third in the Masters 3 category.
Warm Up team:
Michael Crawford, Tom Molloy, John McKenzie, Laurence Holding, Brent Harris, Mark Forsey, Harrison Perriam, Alan Williams, Arron Perriam, David Roche, Mike Fergio, Amanda Minty, Greg Scott, Stephen Clearwater and Kelly Chapman
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