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]
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| Team information | |
|---|---|
| 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 |
Ownership
editThe team was owned by Swiss businessman Andy Rihs until his death.[3] After his death the team passed to Jim Ochowicz and Gavin Chilcott.
History
editThe 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.
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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.
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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]
Doping
editIn 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]
Final team roster
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Major wins
editNational and world champions
edit- 2011
- Norway Road Race, Alexander Kristoff
- Switzerland Time Trial, Martin Kohler
- 2012
- Switzerland Road Race, Martin Kohler
- World Road Race, Philippe Gilbert
- 2013
- Italian Road Race, Ivan Santaromita
- Italian Time Trial, Marco Pinotti
- Switzerland Road Race, Michael Schär
- Norway Road Race, Thor Hushovd
- 2014
- USA Time Trial, Taylor Phinney
- Slovakia Time Trial, Peter Velits
- 2015
- World Track (Individual pursuit), Stefan Küng
- Switzerland Time Trial, Silvan Dillier
- Switzerland Road Race, Danilo Wyss
- Switzerland Track (Individual pursuit), Stefan Küng
- Switzerland Track (Points race), Stefan Küng
- 2016
- Australian Time Trial, Rohan Dennis
- USA Time Trial, Taylor Phinney
- Italian Time Trial, Manuel Quinziato
- Belgium Road Race Championships, Philippe Gilbert
- 2017
- Australian Time Trial, Rohan Dennis
- Australian Road Race, Miles Scotson
- Luxembourg Time Trial, Jempy Drucker
- Switzerland Time Trial, Stefan Küng
- USA Time Trial, Joey Rosskopf
- Switzerland Road Race, Silvan Dillier
- 2018
- Australian Time Trial, Rohan Dennis
- USA Time Trial, Joey Rosskopf
- Switzerland Time Trial, Stefan Küng
- World Time Trial, Rohan Dennis
- 2019
- New Zealand Time Trial, Patrick Bevin
- Poland Road Race, Michal Paluta
- 2020
- Czech Republic Time Trial, Josef Černý
- Poland Time Trial, Kamil Gradek
Sponsors
editIn 2019, besides CCC, notable sponsors include Giant, and Etxeondo.[21]
References
edit- ^ a b "Circus-Wanty-Gobert Will Take Over CCC's Worldtour License". CyclingTips. 29 September 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-10-10.
- ^ "Circus-Wanty Gobert on the way to the UCI WorldTour in 2021". Circus–Wanty Gobert. 29 September 2020. Archived from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
- ^ "BMC Racing owner Andy Rihs dies aged 75". Cycling News. 19 April 2018.
- ^ a b Brown, Gregor (2018-04-19). "BMC Racing team owner Andy Rihs dies aged 75". Cycling Weekly. Retrieved 2023-12-31.
- ^ "Directeur sportif John Lelangue leaves BMC Racing". 22 July 2013.
- ^ "BMC Racing Team Hires Piva As Sports Director". BMC Racing Team. September 2, 2013. Archived from the original on February 24, 2014. Retrieved February 20, 2014.
- ^ "Professional cycling 2014-2015 Transfer Index". Cycling Weekly. 7 August 2014.
- ^ "Rohan Dennis switches from Garmin to BMC mid-season". Cycling Weekly. 4 August 2014.
- ^ "Richie Porte confirms he will leave Team Sky at end of cycling season". theguardian.com. 13 July 2015. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
- ^ "Porte confirmed with BMC for 2016". Cyclingnews.com. August 2015.
- ^ "CCC Team sells WorldTour licence to Circus-Wanty Gobert". Cycling Weekly. 29 September 2020.
- ^ "Frei explains the motivation behind his doping". Cyclingnews.com. 2 May 2010.
- ^ "Frei confesses to EPO usage and is released by BMC". Cyclingnews.com. 27 April 2010.
- ^ "Samuel Sánchez tests positive in out-of-competition control". Cyclingnews.com. 17 August 2017.
- ^ "Samuel Sánchez: Test result was a total surprise". Cyclingnews.com. 17 August 2017.
- ^ "Denifl confesses to blood doping in police interview". Cycling News. 3 March 2019.
- ^ "CCC Team and Stefan Denifl dissolve contract". Archived from the original on 2019-03-29. Retrieved 2019-03-29.
- ^ "Ochowicz: No red flags in Denifl's biological passport". 3 March 2019.
- ^ "Valter completes CCC Team's 2020 roster". Cyclingnews.com. November 25, 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
- ^ Benson, Daniel (August 19, 2020). "Masnada makes mid-season switch to Deceuninck-QuickStep". Cyclingnews.com. Retrieved August 19, 2020.
- ^ "Partners". BMC. Archived from the original on 2013-07-29. Retrieved 2013-07-16.