Tthe Luxembourg Pro Cycling Project(also know as Team Leopard Racing)announced that Stefan Denifl, Brice Feillu and Will Clarke have signed contracts with the team for the 2011 season.
Leopard Racing Team manager Brian Nygaard commented "A warm welcome to Stefan Denifl, Brice Feillu and Will Clarke! Lots of talent, skill and personality...and more to come!"
Stefan Denifl moves to Team Leopard Racing from Cervelo TestTeam where the young Austrian rider has shown great potential and proved very impressive and persistent in major races during the 2010 season. Denifl finished 8th overall in the 2010 Vuelta Castilla y Leon and 7th overall in both the 2010 Österreich Rundfahrt and the 2010 Bayern Rundfahrt. Denifl previously rode for Team Volksbank-Voralberg (2006) and Team ELK Haus (2007-2009).
Denifl is known to pro cyclist colleagues as a reliable and trustworthy, hard working team player who is always ready to sacrifice his own chances for the team leader. His friendly and open spirit is also useful when it comes to building high spirits among team members.
Stefan Denifl is a strong climber with definite stage race potential, not least owing to his powerful time trial performance. Denifl became Austrian National Time Trial Champion in 2008. He told Roadcycling.com that he is "looking forward to this new chapter of my cycling life."
Frenchman Brice Feillu moves to Team Leopard prematurely from Team Vacansoleil after a disappointing 2010 season where Feillu has struggled with language barriers in the team and with the team atmosphere. The fact that Vacansoleil was not invited to the 2010 Tour de France was the decisive issue which made Feillu jump ship after only one season with Team Vacansoleil despite having signed with the team for both the 2010 and 2011 seasons.
25-year-old Feillu won stage 7 of the 2009 Tour de France, taking the riders from Barcelona to Arcalis in Andorra, and finished 25th overall in the race. He was immediately declared a future Tour de France winner by many French media.
Will Clarke (25, Australia) has ridden as stagiaire for AG2R in the second half of the 2010 season and won the Australian national road series in 2009. He finished 5th in stage 3 of the 2010 Tour of Wellington.
Not least Stefan Denifl and Brice Feillu should prove to be valuable helpers for Team Leopard Racing captains Frank Schleck and Andy Schleck.
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