USA Cycling is also making team announcements today providing the list of the eight US Continental and three Women’s teams.

Continuing Continental teams are:

Bissell Cycling
SmartStop presented by Mountain Khakis
Team Optum presented by Kelly Benefits Strategies
5-Hour Energy
Bontrager Cycling Team
Hincapie Sportswear Development Team
Jamis Hagens Berman
Jelly Belly presented by Kenda

The three women’s teams are:

Specialized-Lulumon
Optum presented by Kelly Benefit Strategies
Team TIBCO-To the Top

For more detailed information see  USA Cycling.

As a reminder, please send us your team employment updates. There are fewer professional teams and we would like to keep track of you.

Earlier today the UCI released the final* list of 2013 Professional Continental teams, the second division in ranking below the Pro Tour teams. Included are two North American teams:

Team Novo Nordisk (previously Team Type 1)
United HealthCare Professional Cycling Team

That’s one less team due to the loss of Spidertech.

For the full list, see Union Cycliste Internationale.

Mechanics: As a reminder, please let us know of any changes in your team employment based on these updates.

* almost refers to the fact that there are still three teams who potentially may appear in this division

I’ve left a huge gap from our time in Europe. Main reason is the slow internet speed and my choosing to sleep rather than wait for downloads to complete. Sorry, priorities!

So after Beverbeek, we drove to France for the GP de Lilliers, 160km. This is the 44th year this race has been contested, it’s amazing how many races have been around for decades in Europe…anyway, this year found the boys on the start line in full rain gear and cold temps.
As usual, the hammer dropped just after the start and we came across a few crashes but luckily, none of our boys were left on the ground. But our luck wasn’t long lasting, one of our guys was involved in an early crash and had bent the derailleur hanger but still had decent shifting so wasn’t aware of anything until …

Bernard KOCIS- Journal
29 Feb 08

Preparing for our European adventure began with me spending 12 hours in a car driving to Canada with two of our riders who continued training in the South after our official training camp ended. They collected me from my house in Virginia and we hit the road.

Once again in Canada, I was supposed to build TT bikes and the remainder of our team bikes and spares but our parts were still on the water between Japan and North America…looks like we travel lighter than we wanted.
I gathered all the parts and spares we had and packed 7 bikes plus my mechanic kit and we headed off to the Toronto airport where all but one rider met us and gave the ticket agents quite a start with 9 people hauling over 30 pieces of baggage! Steve had …

Bernard KOCIS- Journal
22 Feb 08

2008 has begun. Along with another stellar group of graduates from the Bill Woodul Mechanics Clinic who I hope, have found and will utilize Promechanics.com as their first source of information for our profession. Congratulations to those recent graduates. I missed the Clinic this year, sadly, but have thoroughly enjoyed previous Clinics I instructed.

As these graduates will find and the rest of us already hooked to this lifestyle know, teams, riders, sponsors, suppliers, management and staff (including mechanics!) are frantically preparing for the season or are already competing in early season events.

I am in the ‘frantically preparing’ category. Frantic because product has not arrived in enough quantity (or at all) to prepare bikes, wheels, vehicles, trailer, etc…for proper competition throughout the season.

We had a 10 day Team training camp the end of January near Clemson, South …