Linda McCartney Racing Team

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Linda McCartney Racing Team
Team information
UCI code	LIN
Based	United Kingdom
Founded	1998
Disbanded	2001
Discipline(s)	Road
Status	Inactive
Key personnel
General manager	Julian Clark

The Linda McCartney Racing Team was a British professional road bicycle racing team.

[edit] History

The team was conceived in 1998 with the marketing concept that the Linda McCartney range of vegetarian foods (launched by ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney's late wife, Linda) sponsor a cycle team of vegetarian riders and support staff. As a result, it was hoped that the team's success in races such as the Tour de France would reflect the nutritional and health benefits of vegetarianism and of Linda McCartney Foods.^[1]

The team was formed to compete in Britain before expanding to international events. Aligned with this strategy, the team was initially made up of British riders with the more internationally-experienced riders joining later to improve the squad's credentials for entering the UCI World Cup and the European Grand Tours.

It was the first British team to ride the Giro d'Italia but, as the team and its commitments grew, the increase in costs and the lack of adequate sponsorship (including an absence of continuing funding from Linda McCartney Foods itself) brought financial pressures causing it to disband in 2001 with reported debts of over US$1m and a dispute with the UCI over riders' wages.^[2][3]

[edit] Notable Riders

• Tom Barras
• Taveb Braikia
• Ben Brooks
• Íñigo Cuesta
• Maurizio de Pasquale
• Matthew DeCanio
• Scott Guyton
• Brian Kenneally
• Alan Lacoune
• David McKenzie (a stage winner in the 2000 Tour Down Under)
• Ciarán Power
• Huw Pritchard
• Mirko Puglioli
• Pascal Richard
• Mark Scanlon
• Max Sciandri
• Spencer Smith
• Matt Stephens
• John Tanner
• Bjørnar Vestøl
• Julian Winn
• Bradley Wiggins
• Charly Wegelius
• Sean Yates

[edit] References