Cycling: Strong team for BikeNZ Pure Black Racing debut

Sam Bewley brings extensive team racing knowledge to the team. Photo / Getty Images

BikeNZ PureBlack Racing will make their international racing debut at the Tour of Langkawi in Malaysia tomorrow.

The team of national road cycling champion James Williamson, Roman van Uden, Michael Torckler, Joe Cooper and Louis Crosby will be joined by Sam Bewley fresh from the London track World Cup to contest the 10-day tour.

This is the first outing for the national team since BikeNZ, Pure Black Racing and Avanti joined forces to create an international road racing development programme.

Climbers Torckler and Cooper are feeling confident heading into the 1415.5km event, with the sixth stage renowned for a cruel 30km climb to the Genting Highlands.

With van Uden and Bewley strong sprinters, the BikeNZ Pure Black Racing team is well equipped to make its mark, with options for general classification success and stage wins.

Bewley, a member of the BikeNZ Men's Team Pursuit squad, is using the tour as preparation for the UCI Track World Championships in Melbourne in April.

"I'm excited to head to Langkawi for the tour. It's always been a tour that has caught my fancy,'' Bewley said.

"I am racing the tour as part of my preparation for the track world championships. I discussed the possibility of doing this with national track coach Tim Carswell and he believed it would be good for my preparation.

"I'll pick my days. Some stages I'll race hard and see if I can get a result, others I'll take a bit easier in order to be in the best nick I can for the upcoming track world championships. Either way I'll do what I can to help the other riders in the team to achieve their goals.''

A former RadioShack professional rider, Bewley brings extensive team racing knowledge to the team.

This race is the first major race in the Asian block for the BikeNZ Pure Black Racing team, with the team in South East Asia for the next three months to take part in five major tours.

The Tour of Langkawi is UCI 2HC ranked with professional teams Garmin Barracuda and Astana racing as well as continental teams.