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OUCH team announces 2009 roster

by VeloNews.com

• December 08, 2008
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Momentum Sports Group, owner and operator of Health Net Pro
Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis, is proud to announce that OUCH Sports
Medical Center will take over as the team’s title sponsor starting in 2009. The
team, which won an unprecedented fifth consecutive NRC Team Championship
in 2008, will now be known as The OUCH Pro Cycling Team Presented by
Maxxis.

The sponsorship presents a unique and timely opportunity for OUCH Sports
Medical Center, a leading provider of sports-related medical services in Southern
California. The Center’s Co-Founder and Executive Director, Dr. Brent Kay, has
treated star client—and new team rider—Floyd Landis since Landis seriously
injured his hip in a 2003 crash.

“We’re very excited to be sponsoring the team in 2009, in part, because we want
to help support Floyd’s comeback from hip resurfacing surgery,” explained Dr.
Kay. “After his crash in 2003, Floyd developed osteoarthritis, a degenerative
condition, in his injured hip. He underwent corrective surgery in 2006 and I
supervised his rehabilitation. He’s now completely recovered and I view his
return to professional racing as one of Center’s many successes, and an
example to other athletes hoping to overcome the effects of osteoarthritis.”

More broadly, the Center hopes its sponsorship will help raise the public’s
awareness of osteoarthritis and its treatment. “We felt that working with such an
established, successful team would also allow us to draw attention to the OUCH
Program, a series of seminars the Center is giving next year to educate the
public about treatments for osteoarthritis,” said Dr. Kay. “Osteoarthritis affects 27
million Americans and can become a disabling condition that prevents its
sufferers from pursuing an active lifestyle. We want people to know it’s a disease
that can be effectively managed and controlled with appropriate medical care.”
Thierry Attias, President of Momentum Sports Group, praised the team’s new title
sponsor, stating, “It’s great to work with another organization that’s passionate
about helping people maintain an active lifestyle. OUCH, like Health Net before it,
provides people with the means to pursue healthy lifestyles through sports like
cycling. The team intends to do everything we can to help OUCH educate the
public about osteoarthritis and its treatment.”

OUCH Presented by Maxxis returns a number of the riders who played a critical
role in the team earning its fifth consecutive NRC Team Championship title in
2008.

Landis will be joined by Australian Rory Sutherland, who won his second
consecutive NRC Individual Points Championship in 2008. John Murphy also
returns following a breakthrough season that landed him in the top five of the
NRC standings.

Team captain and reigning cyclocross national champion Tim Johnson also
returns to continue filling his leadership role on the road. They’re joined by
Tasmanian strongman Karl Menzies, who will be looking to rebound from an
injury-plagued 2008 with another strong year for the team. Super-domestique
Roman Kilun rounds out the returning riders.

“We’re fortunate to be able to return the core riders from our 2008 championship
team,” said team Directeur Sportif Mike Tamayo. “Rory and Floyd will give us two
high-caliber stage race weapons. Rory has really ascended into a leadership role
on the team, and we expect him to continue developing. We sometimes forget
he’s still only going to be 27 when the season starts in 2009.

“Murphy showed in 2008 that he’s developing into one of the top riders in North
America,” Tamayo continued. “He surprised a few people by taking the overall
and points titles at the Tour of Taiwan in March, but then he just kept going.”
Murphy’s 2008 results included a strong second-place overall at the Nature
Valley Grand Prix behind teammate Sutherland.

“Karl is super-motivated to get back to top form,” Tamayo said. “He was starting
to come around again once he returned to racing following his injury last
summer, and he looked strong at the Tour of Missouri.

“Tim Johnson just rides out of his mind for his teammates day in and day out.
You may not see his name in the results, but his contributions as a team captain
and tactician are invaluable.

“And Roman has shown that he’s a dedicated teammate who will turn himself
inside out to defend jerseys. But he’s also worked hard to improve his time
trialing, which he showed by finishing 7th at time trial nationals this year.” Kilun
also picked up his first two career NRC wins at the 2008 Tour de Nez. The team welcomes five new riders besides Landis to its roster. They include
Cameron Evans and Andrew Pinfold, both coming from the Canadian outfit
Symmetrics. Bradley White comes to the team from Successful Living, while
Bobby Lea joins from Toyota-United. Neo-pro Jonathan Chodroff, the current
elite time trial national champion, rounds out the squad.

“Evans and Pinfold are young guys who have been on our radar for quite some
time,” Tamayo said. “Pinfold actually rode with us as a stagiere for a bit in 2005,
and we almost signed Evans back in 2006. Andrew put up some impressive
results in 2008 at the Tour of Missouri and Tour de Georgia, and Evans is one of
the most talented guys to come out of Canada this decade.”

Tamayo notes that White also posted strong results in 2008 that put him on the
team’s radar. Lea spent much of 2008 excelling on the track, which led to a berth
on the 2008 U.S. Olympic team. “Bobby will be a great addition to our lead-out
train, and he’ll learn a lot working with our more experienced riders,” Tamayo
said.

Chodroff, who is the current elite national time trial champion, rounds out the
squad. “Jonathan has already shown huge improvements in the past couple
years,” Tamayo said. “He has a big diesel, and he’ll be a great asset in helping to
defend leader’s jerseys.”

The OUCH Pro Cycling Team presented by Maxxis will convene for the first time
at training camp in January 2009 to prepare for its first major race of the season,
the Amgen Tour of California.