Description
BMC Racing Team
The BMC Racing Team was founded in 2007 by BMC owner Andy Rihs and former American professional Jim Ochowicz. Rihs was the former owner and founder of the Phonak Cycling Team, the hearing aid company he owned. As an avid cyclist himself, Rihs founded BMC and sought to build a dynamic racing team to promote his brand. Ochowicz brought many years of top-level pro team management experience, having been the legendary 7-Eleven and Motorola cycling teams founder. Rounding out the mix was a select handful of other people, including Gavin Chilcott. Chilcott was a former professional rider with 7-Eleven and proved himself to be indispensable as the COO of the BMC Racing Team.
After a couple of seasons ramping up the organization, the team signed several prominent international riders for the 2010 season, including 2009 World Champion and two-time Tour de France runner-up Cadel Evans, 2009 US Road Race Champion George Hincapie, 2008 World Champion Alessandro Ballan, and Spring Classics specialists Karsten Kroon and Marcus Burghardt.
In 2010 the team participated in their first Grand Tours, having been invited to compete in the 2010 Tour de France and the 2010 Giro d’Italia. In 2011, the team attained UCI ProTeam status, the most prestigious classification in professional racing.
2011 was a strong season for BMC Racing, with Cadel Evans winning the Tour de France, Tour of Romandie, and Tirreno-Adriatico. Greg Van Avermaet won Stage 6 and the Points Classification of the Tour of Austria and won Paris-Tours and the Tour of Wallonie. George Hincapie won Stage 2 of the USA Pro Cycling Challenge.
In 2012, Evans was unfortunately unable to defend his title at the Tour de France, finishing in seventh overall. Still, teammate Tejay van Garderen had a solid Tour and won the Young Rider Classification. During 2012, the team also won stages of the Giro d’Italia, Vuelta a España, Tour of Utah, USA Pro Cycling Challenge, and the Criterium du Dauphine during a very successful racing season. In 2012 the team signed Thor Hushovd and Philippe Gilbert, the 2010 and 2012 world-champions, respectively.
2013 proved to be another successful year for the BMC Racing Team. Cadel Evans placed third overall at the Giro d’Italia. Tejay van Garderen won Stage 6 and was the overall race winner at the Tour of California, and the team clinched the Teams Classification. BMC won stages at the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, Tour of Austria, Vuelta a España, Tour of Wallonie, and took the Mountains Classification at the Tour of Romandie during the 2013 season.
In 2014 the BMC team had another excellent year on the road with Cadel Evans winning a stage at the Tour Down Under, Tejay van Garderen winning Stage 4 of the Volta a Catalunya, Taylor Phinney winning Stage 5 of the Tour of California, and Philippe Gilbert winning the Amstel Gold Race. The team also won several stages of the Tour of Utah and the USA Pro Cycling Challenge, and the Team Time Trial at the World Championships, among many other victories.
During the 2015 season, the team continued logging victories, winning stages at the Tour de France, Vuelta a España, USA Pro Cycling Challenge, Tour of Austria, and Tour of Romandie, among others. Rohan Dennis dominated at the Tour Down Under, winning Stage 3, Best Young Rider Classification, and the overall race. Phillippe Gilbert won Stages 12 and 18 at the Giro d’Italia, while Greg Van Avermaet won the Overall and Stage 4 of the Tour of Belgium. The BMC was strong at the Team Time Trial, winning that event in Stages the Criterium du Dauphiné, the Tour de France, Vuelta a España, and repeating their 2014 victory by once again winning the TTT at the UCI Road World Championships.
For the 2016 season, the team signed Richie Porte. He scored podiums at the Tour Down Under and Paris–Nice to finish 7th in the World Tour individual classification. Van Avermaet finished 6th overall in the World Tour after winning the Tirreno–Adriatico and GP de Montréal.
In 2017, Van Avermaet won the Omloop Het Nieuwsblad, E3 Harelbeke, Gent–Wevelgem, and the Paris–Roubaix, claiming first place at the World Tour individual classification. Porte finished 12th overall, having won the Tour Down Under and Tour de Romandie. BMC ranked third in the World Tour points classification.
In the 2018 season, the team won stages of the Vuelta a España, the Tour of California, Tirreno-Adriatico, Tour of California, Tour of Utah, and the Tour Down Under. Richie Porte won the Tour de Suisse, while Greg Van Avermaet won the Tour de Yorkshire.
In July 2018, the team announced that CCC, a Polish shoe retailer, would become the team’s new title sponsor, a move that would expand CCC’s presence in cycling.
Unfortunately, operational challenges related to the Covid initiated global recession severely impacted title sponsor CCC. In September 2020, team management announced that the CCC Team would fold at the end of the season.
A team that genuinely delivered outstanding results, BMC leaves a magnificent and lasting legacy to the sport.
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