Team information | |
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UCI code | BMC (2007–2018) CCC (May 2019–2020) |
Registered | United States (2007–2018) Poland (2019–2020) |
Founded | 2007 |
Disbanded | 2020 |
Discipline(s) | Road |
Status | UCI WorldTeam |
Bicycles | Giant |
Components | Shimano |
Website | Team home page |
Key personnel | |
General manager | Jim Ochowicz |
Team name history | |
2007–2018 2019–2020 [1] | BMC Racing Team CCC Team |
CCC Pro Team ( UCI team code:CCC) was a UCI WorldTeam co-owned and managed by American cyclist Jim Ochowicz, who founded the 7-Eleven Cycling Team. After its last title sponsor, CCC, a Polish shoe retailer, pulled out due to financial difficulties resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, Ochowicz was unable to find another major sponsor, so the team disbanded at the end of the 2020 season. In its place, Belgian UCI ProTeam Circus–Wanty Gobert took over the team's license and was promoted to a UCI WorldTeam. [1] [2]
The team was owned by Swiss businessman Andy Rihs until his death. [3] After his death the team passed to Jim Ochowicz and Gavin Chilcott.
The team was founded as BMC Racing Team in 2007, [4] sponsored by the bicycle manufacturer BMC Switzerland. The team signed a number of major international riders for the 2010 season, including 2009 World Champion, two-time Tour de France runner-up and 2011 winner Cadel Evans, 2009 U.S. Road Race Champion George Hincapie, 2008 World Champion Alessandro Ballan and Spring Classics specialists Karsten Kroon and Marcus Burghardt.
In 2010, the team participated in their first Grand Tours, having been invited to compete in the 2010 Tour de France and the 2010 Giro d'Italia. In 2011, the team attained UCI ProTeam status, the most prestigious classification available, and BMC rider Cadel Evans won the 2011 Tour de France. [4] For 2012 the team signed Thor Hushovd and Philippe Gilbert, the 2010 and 2012 world-champions respectively.
In 2012, Evans was unable to defend his title at the Tour de France, finishing in seventh overall, two places behind teammate Tejay van Garderen.
Cadel Evans placed third overall at the 2013 Giro d'Italia.
At the 2013 Tour de France, Cadel Evans finished 39th, Tejay van Garderen 45th, with Steve Morabito the highest placed overall at 35th. Shortly after the end of the Tour, it was announced that John Lelangue, who had been directeur sportif since the team was founded in 2007, was leaving the team "for personal reasons". [5] In September 2013 Jim Ochowicz announced the appointment of Valerio Piva as Lelangue's replacement. [6]
For the 2015 season, BMC signed Alessandro De Marchi, Damiano Caruso and Jempy Drucker. [7] The team also announced they had signed Rohan Dennis – his transfer however was effective immediately. [8] Van Avermaet finished 8th in the World Tour individual classification. Meanwhile, the team won the Team Time Trial World Championship.
For the 2016 season, the team signed Richie Porte. [9] [10] He scored podiums at the Tour Down Under and Paris–Nice to finish 7th in the World Tour individual classification, whereas Van Avermaet finished 6th overall after winning the Tirreno–Adriatico and GP de Montréal.
In the 2017 season, Van Avermaet won the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, E3 Harelbeke, Gent–Wevelgem and the Paris–Roubaix, therefore he claimed the first place at the World Tour individual classification. Porte finished 12th overall, having won the Tour Down Under and Tour de Romandie. BMC ranked third in the World Tour points classification.
In the 2018 season, Porte won the Tour de Suisse.
In July 2018, the team announced that CCC would become the new title sponsor of the Continuum Sports-owned team, a move that would expand CCC's presence in cycling, with CCC's Professional Continental team, CCC Sprandi Polkowice, stepping down to the Continental level for the 2019 season as CCC Development Team. Van Avermaet will continue as leader, whereas Porte is expected to leave the team.
In September 2020 CCC Team agreed to sell their WorldTour licence to Belgian ProTeam Circus-Wanty Gobert. [11]
In April 2010, Thomas Frei tested positive for erythropoietin (EPO), Frei was immediately withdrawn from racing by the team. [12] Frei was later sacked by the team. [13]
In August 2017, the UCI confirmed that Samuel Sánchez had returned a positive out of competition drug test for GHRP-2 (Pralmorelin). [14] He was immediately suspended by the team pending analysis of his B-sample. [15]
In February 2019, Kronen Zeitung broke news that a number of professional cyclists had been implicated in the doping scandal uncovered at the 2019 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships. Later, Stefan Denifl confessed to blood doping in a police interview. [16] Denifl had been due to join CCC Team in 2019 but his contract was terminated at Denifl's request in December 2018. [17] CCC Team general manager Jim Ochowicz confirmed that the team's medical assessment of Denifl's biological passport showed no warning signs of blood doping. [18]
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In 2019, besides CCC, notable sponsors include Giant, and Etxeondo. [21]
Intermarché–Wanty is a UCI WorldTeam that is title sponsored by French supermarket chain Intermarché and Belgian engineering firm Wanty. It was founded in 2008. It is based in Belgium and participated in races on the UCI Continental Circuits, and some UCI World Tour events before 2021, after the team bought the UCI license from CCC Pro Team in September 2020.
Stefan Denifl is an Austrian former professional cyclist, who rode professionally between 2006 and 2018 for seven different professional teams. In 2019, Denifl confessed to doping during a five-year period in his career, and was given a four-year ban from the sport; as a consequence of this, Denifl received a two-year sentence in 2021 for serious commercial fraud.
Jim Ochowicz is a former Olympic bicyclist and manager of UCI WorldTeam CCC Pro Team. He served as president of the USA Cycling Board of Directors from 2002 to 2006.
The 2015 Amstel Gold Race was the 50th edition of the Amstel Gold Race one-day race. It took place on 19 April and was the eleventh race of the 2015 UCI World Tour. The Amstel Gold Race formed part of the Ardennes classics season, although it took place in the Limburg region of the Netherlands rather than in the Belgian Ardennes. It took place in the week before La Flèche Wallonne and Liège–Bastogne–Liège, the other principal Ardennes classics. The defending champion in the 2015 edition of the race was Philippe Gilbert, who had won the race three times and had also won the 2012 world championships on a very similar course.
The 2015 Tour de Suisse was the 79th edition of the Tour de Suisse stage race. It took place from 13 to 21 June and was the seventeenth race of the 2015 UCI World Tour. It started in Risch-Rotkreuz and finished in Bern. The race was composed of nine stages including two time trials, a short one on the first day and a long one on the last day. The event covered 1,262.6 kilometres, and visited Liechtenstein and Austria on its fifth stage, which was the race's sole mountaintop finish.
The 2015 season for the BMC Racing Team began in January with the Tour Down Under. As a UCI WorldTeam, they were automatically invited and obligated to send a squad to every event in the UCI World Tour.
Dion Smith is a New Zealand cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Intermarché–Wanty.
The 2016 Gent–Wevelgem, was a one-day cycling classic that took place on 27 March 2016. It was the 78th edition of the Gent–Wevelgem race and the seventh event of the 2016 UCI World Tour. The race followed a 243-kilometre (151 mi) course that started in Deinze and ended in Wevelgem in Belgium, with a portion of the race spent in northern France. The race included ten climbs, several of them cobbled, which provided the principal difficulty in the race. The last and most difficult climb was the Kemmelberg. The favourites for the race included Alexander Kristoff, Fabian Cancellara (Trek–Segafredo), and Peter Sagan (Tinkoff).
The 2016 season for the BMC Racing Team began in January with the Tour Down Under. As a UCI WorldTeam, they were automatically invited and obligated to send a squad to every event in the UCI World Tour.
Jonas Koch is a German cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe. In August 2019, he was named in the startlist for the 2019 Vuelta a España. In August 2020, he was named in the startlist for the 2020 Tour de France.
The 2016 Tour of Oman was a road cycling stage race that took place between 16 and 21 February 2016 in Oman. It was the seventh edition of the Tour of Oman and is rated as a 2.HC race as part of the 2016 UCI Asia Tour. The previous year's champion, Rafael Valls, was not present to defend his title.
The 2017 Gent–Wevelgem – In Flanders Fields was a road cycling one-day race that took place on 26 March. It was the 79th edition of Gent–Wevelgem and the twelfth event of the 2017 UCI World Tour.
The 109th edition of the Paris–Tours cycling classic was held on 11 October 2015. The race was part of the 2015 UCI Europe Tour, ranked as a 1.HC event.
The 2017 Tour de Romandie was a road cycling stage race that took place between 25 and 30 April in Romandie, Switzerland. It was the 71st edition of the Tour de Romandie and the nineteenth event of the 2017 UCI World Tour.
The 2018 E3 Harelbeke was a road cycling one-day race that took place on 23 March 2018 in Belgium. It was the 61st edition of the E3 Harelbeke and the tenth event of the 2018 UCI World Tour. The race was won by Niki Terpstra, who stayed 20 seconds clear of an elite group, led home by his teammate Philippe Gilbert, with BMC Racing Team's Greg Van Avermaet completing the podium.
The 2018 Tour de Romandie was a road cycling stage race that took place between 24 and 29 April 2018 in Romandie, Switzerland. It was the 72nd edition of the Tour de Romandie and the nineteenth event of the 2018 UCI World Tour. It was won by Primož Roglič of LottoNL–Jumbo.
The 2018 season for the BMC Racing Team began in January with the Tour Down Under. As a UCI WorldTeam, they were automatically invited and obligated to send a squad to every event in the UCI World Tour.
Georg Zimmermann is a German racing cyclist, who currently rides for UCI WorldTeam Intermarché–Wanty.
The 2019 season for the CCC Pro Team began in January with the Tour Down Under. As a UCI WorldTeam, they were automatically invited and obligated to send a squad to every event in the UCI World Tour.