Team SpiderTech powered by Planet Energy confirm their place while glimpsing the future at the Amgen Tour of California

Team nets four top 10s, Euser marks return by finishing 18^th GC

The future looks bright for Team SpiderTech powered by Planet Energy, which completed its inaugural trek around the Golden State yesterday at the Amgen Tour of California, the most prestigious bicycle race in the United States.  The team’s top General Classification rider was Napa, California native Lucas Euser, who placed eighteenth overall in the race won by Australian Michael Rogers (HTC-Columbia).  Three other riders – David Boily, Bruno Langois and Andrew Randell – from Canada’s only UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) continental team finished the eight-day, 1280-kilometer race that began in Nevada City on May 16^th and ended in Thousand Oaks.  En route, Team SpiderTech powered by Planet Energy placed riders in the top 10 in the first four stages of the California race.

“We came to race and we did from the start,” said team director Steve Bauer.  “We put riders in the breaks and really raced.  We didn’t just go along for the ride.  Sure, we hit the wall in Stage 6 (the brutal Queen’s stage saw nearly forty riders drop out or miss the time cut, including Team SpiderTech’s Eric Boily, Guillaume Boivin, Martin Gilbert and Francois Parisien), but part of that was because we raced aggressively from the start.  We held nothing back and proved that we belonged in this race.

“I think we also got a glimpse of the future this week and we’re very pleased.  Guillaume scored two top 10 finishes and he will turn twenty-one on Tuesday (May 25).  David is another young rider to watch.  He turned twenty last month.  Give him another couple of years to develop and gain experience, and he’ll be right up there.  It’s great to see Lucas back after all that he’s been through.  He’s worked really hard and we haven’t seen the best of him yet as he’s only at around ninety-percent of his ability.  This is an exciting young team that is only going to get stronger, especially after racing with the world’s best in events like the Tour of California.”

Euser started the race almost one year to the day that his career, and perhaps even his life, nearly ended after colliding with a car while training in Gerona, Spain.  Euser shattered his knee and endured a nearly year-long rehabilitative process before returning to competition.  Several months before he was contacted about joining the team, he experienced great results while using SpiderTech’s revolutionary pre-cut kinesiology taping applications during his recovery.

Team SpiderTech powered by Planet Energy is a gifted squad of Canadian Olympians and national champions that are all capable of winning races.  Thus far this season, eight different riders have netted the team’s twelve UCI wins.  The team’s next major goals come in June at the TD Bank Philadelphia International Cycling Championship (June 6) and on Canadian turf at the UCI Individual Time Trial in Gatineau, Quebec (June 12) where Parisien and Ryan Roth will represent the team, and at the Tour de Beauce (June 15-20).  Additional information is available at www.cyclesportmanagement.com.

Since 2006, the Amgen Tour of California has blossomed into one of the most important races on the international calendar.  Sixteen professional teams were invited to compete from Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Switzerland, and the U.S.  Participants included many of the biggest stars in cycling, including seven-time Tour de France victor Lance Armstrong, his RadioShack teammate Levi Leipheimer, Tom Boonen (Quick Step), Mark Cavendish (HTC-Columbia), Saxo Bank’s Andy Schleck and Fabian Cancellara, and David Zabriskie (Garmin-Transitions).  Information is available at www.amgentourofcalifornia.com.

Team SpiderTech powered by Planet Energy scored top 10 finishes in the following stages:

Stage 1: Boivin – 7th

Stage 2: Parisien – 6^th

Stage 3: Parisien – 9^th

Stage 4: Boivin – 10^th