MG Xpower - Bigpond names eight

Australia's new Continental cycling team MG XPower presented by BigPond has announced the names of its starting line up of eight riders. Leading the team will be former Olympian and 2004 National Road Series Champion Rob McLachlan. 33 year-old McLachlan has taken the domestic racing scene by storm since returning two years ago from a decade long absence from the sport. McLachlan will now have the opportunity to race against some of the world's top teams and riders in races on the new UCI Continental Tours.

Joining McLachlan and two other ACT cyclists are riders from NSW, Queensland, Western Australia and New Zealand. Amongst these is a mix of experienced campaigners such as 2004 National Club Championship criterium winner Tony Mann (26) and 2004 Australian Open Criterium Champion Nic Brown (24), and talented young riders such as Marc Williams and Shaun Higgerson. Former World Triathlon Championship representative Stuart Shaw has been drafted after a strong showing in last week's Bay Series Criteriums.

Two Victorians are expected to be added soon to take the squad to 10. The riders named today are:

Rob McLachlan (ACT)
Marc Williams (ACT)
Stuart Shaw (ACT)
Shaun Higgerson (NSW)
Troy Glennan (NSW)
Tony Mann (Qld)
Aaron Strong (NZl)
Nic Brown (WA)

MG XPower presented by BigPond will debut in this Saturday's Australian Open Road Championships in South Australia.