A lean looking Dominique Cornu and his equipment are put through their paces(Image credit: Skil-Shimano)
Dominique Cornu (Skil - Shimano) on the podium as race leader at the Tour of Belgium(Image credit: www.ispaphoto.com)
Dominique Cornu will meet with his new Pegasus teammates for the first time at a gathering in Brisbane, Australia next week and he says he is excited about his future with the squad, which will make its debut in the European peloton next year.
Cornu, 25, confirmed a one-year deal with Pegasus earlier this month after parting ways with his former squad, Skil-Shimano, in mid-October.
"I was talking with other teams but even though this project was new I knew it was a big Australian team and it had big ambitions," Cornu told Cyclingnews. "I'd been talking to them for a long time and I was looking forward to this agreement. It took a little bit longer but I'm really satisfied now that everything is signed."
Pegasus will be the fifth team Cornu will have raced for, having already served six years as a professional. While the team hasn't yet succeeded in securing a hoped-for ProTour licence, Cornu said the scope of the team's ambitions had attracted him to the project.
"I knew Robbie [McEwen] was going for sure and that they wanted to go directly into the ProTour, so you could tell that this wasn't just a normal start-up team. They everything wanted to get everything right and professional; it was something special."
While the Pegasus outfit will debut in 2011, Cornu will be surrounded by some familiar faces. He raced under the directorship of compatriot Henrik Redant at Silence-Lotto in 2007 and 2008, where he also raced alongside Robbie McEwen. Both men are prominent parts of the Pegasus set-up.
"I'm the only Belgian rider, but with those two guys it's easier to start with the team and it gives you confidence knowing they are a part of it. I had a good time when I was at Silence-Lotto and working with Redant, so I was satisfied knowing he was going to the team," said Cornu.
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The team will come together for the first time next week at a meeting in Brisbane, Australia. Cornu is confident the team will provide him with the opportunity to race in a number of major races, but he is yet discover what his and the team's major season goals will be.
"Next week we have a team meeting with all the riders and we'll discuss the programme for next year. For the moment I have an idea of what I want to do but in a fortnight or so it will be much clearer what I'll have on my race programme for the beginning of the season."
