 | |
| Team information | |
|---|---|
| UCI code | ABS |
| Registered | Ireland |
| Founded | 2017 |
| Disbanded | 2019 |
| Discipline(s) | Road |
| Status | UCI Professional Continental |
| Bicycles | Ridley (2017) [1] 3T (2018) [2] |
| Website | Team home page |
| Key personnel | |
| General manager | Stephen Moore |
| Team manager(s) |
|
| Team name history | |
2017–2018 | Aqua Blue Sport |
Aqua Blue Sport was an Irish UCI Professional Continental cycling team founded in January 2017 which folded at the end of the 2018 season. [3] [4]
The team was set up by businessman Rick Delaney, assuring funding for at least four seasons with two-year rolling contracts offered to the riders. [4] The project was based on a self-sustaining finance model, with revenue generated from an online cycling marketplace www.aquabluesport.com being used to fund the professional team. [5]
Aqua Blue Sport featured a 16-rider roster [6] for 2017. Having gained considerable success in the early months of its maiden season, Aqua Blue Sport was invited to the 2017 Vuelta a España. [7] Despite losing their team bus to an arson attack, the team continued at the Vuelta. On stage 17 of their first Grand Tour, Stefan Denifl crossed the finish line first, ahead of Alberto Contador at the summit finish of Los Machucos, [8] however his win was later stripped after he confessed to blood doping. [9] In its first year, the team won its first individual stage, its first national champion, its first overall at a stage race, and its first stage at a Grand Tour (although the latter two were later stripped as a result of Denifl's doping admission [9] ).
On August 27, 2018, the team announced that it would not be racing in 2019, citing difficulties in obtaining race invitations from race organizers and a failed merger with the Vérandas Willems–Crelan team. [10] and ceased racing immediately.
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United States Road Race Championships, Larry Warbasse 
Overall Tour of Austria, Stefan Denifl 
Ireland Road Race Championships, Conor Dunne | Grand Tours by highest finishing position | ||||
| Race | 2017 | 2018 | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Giro d'Italia | – | – | ||
| Tour de France | – | – | ||
 Vuelta a España | 128 [lower-alpha 1] | – | ||
| Major week-long stage races by highest finishing position | ||||
| Race | 2017 | 2018 | ||
 Tour Down Under | – | – | ||
| Paris–Nice | – | – | ||
 Tirreno–Adriatico | – | – | ||
 Volta a Catalunya | – | – | ||
| Tour of the Basque Country | – | – | ||
 Tour of the Alps | 73 | – | ||
| Tour de Romandie | – | – | ||
 Critérium du Dauphiné | – | – | ||
| Tour de Suisse | 39 | 41 | ||
| Tour de Pologne | – | – | ||
 Benelux Tour | – | – | ||
| Monument races by highest finishing position | ||||
| Monument | 2017 | 2018 | ||
| Milan–San Remo | – | – | ||
| Tour of Flanders | – | – | ||
| Paris–Roubaix | – | – | ||
| Liège–Bastogne–Liège | 32 | 66 | ||
| Giro di Lombardia | – | – | ||
| Classics by highest finishing position | ||||
| Classic | 2017 | 2018 | ||
| Omloop Het Nieuwsblad | 58 | – | ||
| Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne | – | – | ||
| Strade Bianche | – | – | ||
| E3 Harelbeke | – | – | ||
| Gent–Wevelgem | – | – | ||
| Amstel Gold Race | – | 59 | ||
| La Flèche Wallonne | 105 | – | ||
| Clásica de San Sebastián | – | – | ||
| — | Did not compete |
|---|---|
| DNF | Did not finish |
| DNS | Did not start |
American Road Race, Larry Warbasse 
Irish Road Race, Conor Dunne Groupama–FDJ is a French cycling team at UCI WorldTeam level. The team is managed by Marc Madiot, a former road bicycle racer and winner of the Paris–Roubaix classic in 1985 and 1991. The team is predominantly French.
Nicki Sørensen is a Danish former professional road bicycle racer, and was directeur sportif of UCI Professional Continental team Aqua Blue Sport. He competed in five consecutive editions of the Tour de France from 2001 to 2005. Riding as an all-round rider who rode well in hilly terrain, Sørensen was a valued support for the team leader without many wins of his own.
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