Nigel Ellsay of Courtenay is with the Silber Pro Cycling team that is in southern California this week for the the 2015 Redlands Bicycle Classic.
The Canadian team just completed a productive training camp, which was used for team-bonding, assessments, equipment evaluation and a photo shoot run by Brian Hodes of VeloImages.
“We are extremely pleased with how our team is coming together, both on and off the bike, heading into Redlands,” said Scott McFarlane, principal owner of the team. “Our new Giordana kit and team colours have been a huge success, and Brian did an amazing job photographing the team. The social media buzz has been fun to experience and carried over into daily life at the camp.
"Our experienced riders such as Ryan Roth, Derrick St-John and Matteo Dal-Cin are starting to put their own stamps on the team; and our U23 guys are brutes on the road, yet off the bike they maintain the mature confidence that comes with having already tasted success in Europe. At Redlands, we want to build on the momentum gained at camp, and then attack our goals at Joe Martin and Gila.”
The five-day Redlands Classic stage race takes place April 8-12, and it is a staple on the American racing calendar. The race attracts cyclists from all over North America for five days of intense racing, including a popular criterium race, a time trial race and three mass-start road races.
Along with Ellsay, the team racing in Redlands includes Ryan Roth, Alex Cataford, Matteo Dal-Cin, Elliott Doyle, Nicolas Masbourian, Michael Le Rossignol and Alexander Ray. Gord Fraser is the Directeur Sportif for Team Silber Pro Cycling.
A Canadian National Team member, Ellsay spent time competing in Europe last year. In 2014, he was second at the Canadian U23 Championships in time trial and fourth in road race. He was seventh at Tour de Delta and was ninth on stage two and 15th overall at Flèche du Sud (UCI 2.1 Luxembourg).
FINISH LINES Owned and operated by À Bloc Sports Management, Silber Pro Cycling is a professional cycling team based in Montreal … with 10 cyclists coming from Ontario, Quebec, British Columbia and New Zealand, Silber Pro Cycling provides a viable platform for the development of professional cyclists …
– Silber Pro Cycling