Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling has signed talented rider Charlotte Becker for the second half of the 2013 season. The former German national road and time trial champion was a member of the Argos-Shimano team for the first part of the year, before securing a release from her contract last week. As a powerful rider, the 30-year-old from the North Rhine-Westphalia state of Western Germany has taken several big victories in her career, and was a member of the victorious Specialized-lululemon team that won the inaugural World team time trial championships in Limburg, Netherlands, last year
“I must say that I’m really, really looking forward to starting with Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling into the second part of the season,” said Becker. “For me it is something like a restart this year and I’m happy to be part of the new team.
“I think it is a pretty strong, young team with a lot of big names and a huge potential for the Team Time Trial,” Becker added. “I first rode against Giorgia Bronzini when we were juniors, and now we will ride together in a team the first time after 12 years, and that’s cool. I can`t wait to get racing again in this new kit and I hope my experience can be helpful to Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling.”
Aside from her national titles Becker’s biggest individual victory came in the 2010 edition of the GP Ciudad de Valladolid World Cup race in Spain. It is her strength as a team player that will bring extra fire power to Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling’s team time trial squad, however, which saw primary sponsor Wiggle so supportive in securing her transfer.
“Charlotte’s addition to the team, along with Linda Villumsen, should be seen as a further affirmation of the whole team’s commitment (riders and all sponsors alike) to the goal of the highest achievement in the sport of women’s pro cycling,” said Humphrey Cobbold, CEO of Wiggle Ltd. “We at Wiggle are privileged to be an active part of this project and remain highly engaged in and supportive of the team’s development and progress.”
Becker will join up with her new teammates at the Goodwood Motor Curcuit in West Sussex, southern England, this week for a team time trial training camp. Along with World individual time trial medallist Villumsen, World and Olympic team pursuit champions Laura Trott, Dani King and Joanna Rowsell, and strong young riders like World junior time trial champion Elinor Barker, Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling will now surely be one of the big favourites for the upcoming Open de Suede Vårgårda team time trial World Cup race, as well as the World championships in Florence, Italy, in September.
“We didn’t start the season with huge aspirations for the Team Time Trial but as the season has developed, so has our time trialling strength,” said Wiggle Honda Pro Cycling rider and team manager Rochelle Gilmore. “With so many talented time trial & pursuit riders on the team, we felt it was necessary to hire a race car track for a week and put some effort into learning how to ride a Team Time Trial.
“We certainly have the brute power, we just need the experience and that takes time and specific attention.”
