2006 has been a successful for UK women’s professional team, Team FBUK. In
its first year as a professional the team has had great success on and off road
and established itself well in the European peleton.
The year started well, with Helen Wyman winning the UK cyclo-cross national champs
in January. She then went on to gain 5th place at the World Championships in Holland
later that month.
A training camp followed in Belgium for the road team, where the girls were put
to the test in the cold conditions of the Belgian winter. This helped the riders
prepare for the first race of the season, the Het Volk.
Major success on the road came in July when Helen took the lead in the King of
Mountains competition in the UCI ranked Tour of Brittany on the first day. With
fantastic teamwork, Helen managed to hold the jersey for the entire tour.
Consistent top 10 results in UCI races meant Helen was selected for the World
Championships in Austria to support Nicole Cooke, the World Number road rider.
Also selected from FBUK, was Yolandi du Toit of South Africa. Yolandi also went
on to win the African Continental Championships along with the most prestigious
race in South Africa the 94.7 Classic.
To finish the year, FBUK riders Gabby Day and Helen have been competing in cyclo-cross
races throughout Europe and are both ranked in the World top 20 (Helen 3rd, Gabby
18th). Gabby is also leading the UK National Series and is ranked UK number 1.
Unfortunately the title sponsors of the team in the past have come to the end
of their agreement with the team and 2007 will see a new group of sponsors added
to the team.
This has led the team changing its name to reflect is sponsorship and rider base.
The rider list for 2007 is still not quite complete but includes:
Helen Wyman – 25 UK
Gabby Day – 21 UK
Emma Silversides – 28 UK
Line Ramsrud – 28 Norway
Linn Torp – 29 Norway
Linda Ringlever – 24 Holland
Debby van den Burg – 26 Holland
Masami Mashimo – 30 Japan
Several more riders will be to the squad during January.
The sponsors of the team for 2007 include the following:
Billato Bikes
Bio Racer Clothing
Re Skin
Listers Timber
Pro-Lite components
Scwalbe Tyres
Winning Solutions
Bottle Sport
PowerBreathe
Be Well nutrition
Taya chains
ABUS Helmets
Tim Harris Import Export
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