Yannick Eijssen has received a contract renewal for 2013 and stagiaire Larry Warbasse will also join the BMC Racing Team next season, President/General Manager Jim Ochowicz announced Wednesday.
Valuable Role For Eijssen
Eijssen, 23, has been a part of the BMC Racing Team since 2011. The most aggressive rider on Stage 4 of the Amgen Tour of California also helped Cadel Evans ride to victory at Critérium International. “During the season, I got stronger and stronger and I’m really happy that I finished the Vuelta the biggest race in my career,” Eijssen said. “I hope to do a good winter of training and will try to be good from the beginning of the season.”
BMC Racing Team Directeur Sportif John Lelangue said Eijssen might not have yet achieved many results, but he has proven his worth behind the scenes, most recently at the Vuelta. “He’s still young and in the learning process, but the day Philippe Gilbert won in Barcelona, Yannick was one of the guys who was pulling almost the whole day to bring back the breakaway and to keep the speed high at the front of the group,” Lelangue said. “In the mountain stages, he was one of the only ones coming back to the car to take, five, six or eight bottles to help feed everybody.”
Warbasse Promising All-Arounder
Warbasse, 22, has been a part of the BMC Racing Team Under 23 program since 2010 and raced for both the BMC-Hincapie Sportswear Development Cycling Team and the USA Cycling Under 23 program this season. His eight top 10 results include fifth overall at Ronde de lIsard and he helped USA Cycling teammate Joe Dombrowski win the Giro Ciclistico dItalia in June. Lelangue said the Traverse City, Mich., native is a promising all-around who will use the 2013 season as a learning experience. “The pro races are better for him than the amateur races because he’s good at the longer distances, but we won’t put pressure on him for results,” Lelangue said. “He’ll learn the job of being a good teammate and learn a lot from our team leaders.”
Warbasse said his signing with the team fulfills a dream. “And for that dream to finally come to fruition is unbelievable,” he said. “Next year, I hope to gain as much experience as possible about racing and riding in the pro ranks. I don’t think there is a team with more experienced riders to learn from and I want to soak up as much knowledge as I can.”
