Melbourne based team aims to be number one women's NRS team
The 2014 BikeBug-NextGen Racing team (Image credit: Mark Gonzalez)
Bikebug - Nextgen Racing will be a new look team for the 2016 season with new riders and a new kit that "definitely goes faster" reflecting its ambition to become the number one women's team in the National Road Series (NRS). The team finished the 2015 season ranked in 15th place but as co-team manager Claire Homsey explained to Cyclingnews, after a few 'tough' seasons they are ready to challenge for overall honours.
"As a team we'd like to win the national road series classification," Homsey said. "That's been the goal for Stu [sport director and co-team manager] and I since we joined the team and we are very much focused on getting that result. It's not to say that things can't go wrong like getting injured or get ill, but where possible we are going to try and chase after absolutely everything we can. It's a big goal this year, we want to be the number one team."
"We have some outstanding riders who have individual goals that we will support. It's a team sport so it will be whoever is our best rider on the day that we will support every time we go out there. The girls are very much of the same mentality that as a team our ambitions is to win as a team and support the rider who can do that."
With an overhauled team for 2016, Homsey is looking to the new recruits to ensure by season end Bikebug - Nextgen Racing are number one.
Homsey name checks 2015 champions High5Dream Team as a key rival for the overall NRS title next season.
"They are a very, very good team with a lot of good hitters," she said of the Rochelle Gilmore and Donna Rae-Szalinski managed team. "They always performed well, they have a very good team vibe and everyone feels comfortable about performing at their best. They are a team we will certainly be cautious of in 2016. They have very good capabilities."
Homsey adds the well-rounded team with riders that can perform well in every discipline will stand them in good stead to achieve their goals.
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Rather than target a specific race for results in the NRS, Bikebug - Nextgen Racing are aiming to pick up points across the season and with less races on the calendar than previous years, consistency will be vital to achieving its grand ambition. First though, there will be team launch on this coming weekend in anticipation of the St Kilda Supercrit in which the team will also partake.
