Joanna Rowsell to join Pearl Izumi Sports Tours International from Wiggle Honda in 2015
Tuesday 9 September 2014 12:32, UK
Joanna Rowsell will leave Wiggle Honda at the end of the season to join British squad Pearl Izumi Sports Tours International on a two-year deal.
The 25-year-old English rider was one of Wiggle Honda’s founding members when they launched two years ago and won the 2013 British national time trial title in the team’s colours.
Pearl Izumi Sports Tours International were set up this year by Dame Sarah Storey and husband Barney, and compete mainly in UK races, but also travel to Europe for top-tier UCI events.
Rowsell hopes being based on the UK circuit will aid her preparations for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
“I’m really excited,” she said. “I have been with Wiggle Honda for two seasons, who are a big UCI team, and while Pearl Izumi aren’t a UCI team, they still do some UCI races, so there will be a lot of opportunities for me both at home and abroad.
UK support
“I am excited about having a UK-based team and the support of the UK races. The main thing for me is that we are two years out from Rio, and it will be really good to have that backing.”
Rowsell was also convinced to step down from a UCI-rated team to a domestic squad by a strengthening of women’s cycling in the UK over the past few years.
She added: “The biggest thing for me is that over the last few years, the women’s scene in the UK has moved on massively.
“When I was younger, when I first started racing, the thing to do was to go to Belgium to race because there wasn’t the quality or the amount of races here in the UK. But it is different now and the UK is the place to be.”
Rowsell’s will meet up with her new team for a training camp at Club La Santa in Lanzarote in December.
Read more about Joanna’s change of team in her latest Sky Sports blog on Wednesday.
