João Correia, 34, is heading back to the pro peloton with Cervélo TestTeam

(Photo: Jason Gould/Cervélo TestTeam)

Cervélo Completes Correia's Return

João Correia, a Portuguese New Yorker, has been given his biggest chance to date to race professionally with the Cervélo TestTeam. Correia has spent the past two seasons riding for the domestic Bissell squad, having returned to racing form after several years- and many pounds- off the bike.

Correia's return to racing was prompted in large part (pardon the pun) by his weight gain while working in the publishing industry, wining and dining clients while forsaking the bike. After taking a position as associate publisher with Bicycling magazine, he realized that he was impressing nobody with his condition on group rides. He set his mind to returning to competition with the Portuguese national championships as an early goal, jump-starting his return to racing with Bissell.

"It’s been a tough road back to this level after leaving the sport in the mid 90’s but I feel that the work I put in at Bissell in the last two years have given me a solid foundation to try and make the jump back into the upper echelons of the sport," Correia explained. "With this team I have found people who share similar values to mine and who believe in me. They are very committed to making the world of cycling a better sport for athletes, sponsors and fans alike and I’d like to add my small part to help them do that."

One of Correia's first contacts on his road to regaining fitness was experienced trainer, Dr. Massimo Testa. In an article published in the New York Times, Testa admitted he had been skeptical.

"If you bring in a 185-pound guy who is 30 years old and says he wants to be a pro, I would say it’s basically impossible — it could be one case in a million," Testa said. "But he had been pro. If you’ve been that good, those genes are still there."

Now, starting again at an unorthodox age of 34 years old, Correia is back in the professional peloton and committing to a full-time life on the road.

"This is exciting opportunity for me to do what I really want to do," he said. "Many people have dreams of this kind, but most don’t get to live the dream, and I am."

Ivan Basso will stick with Liquigas for the coming years

(Photo: Roberto Bettini)

Basso Stays With Liquigas

Italian Ivan Basso has committed to three more seasons with the Liquigas team that welcomed his return after a ban from racing stemming from his involvement in the Operacion Puerto doping scandal. Basso has yet to score a major victory since his return but he has placed in the top-ten of both the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta a España. Liquigas has given him an option for an additional year after 2012. The Italian sports paper La Gazzetta dello Sport noted that Basso received an offer to rejoin his former director Bjarne Riis at Team Saxo Bank, but ultimately favored Liquigas for the coming years.

Astana Hires Seigneur

Former French professional Eddy Seigneur has signed on with the Astana team for 2010 as an operations manager. The five-time French national champion, who retired from racing in 2005, received the call from incoming Astana team manager Yvon Sanquer. Seigneur has already worked as a directeur sportif with the French Cofidis and Crédit Agricole teams.

Roesems Retires

Belgium's Bert Roesems has decided to hang up his cleats at the age of 37. The 13-year professional finished his career this year with the Cinelli-Down Under team, a UCI Continental outfit. While he had planned on one more year in the peloton, the timing seemed right to call it a day.

"I'm stopping with a good frame of mind," he said in the pages of La Dernière Heure. "I got a lot out of my career, thirteen fantastic years."

Roesems was a talented time trial rider, taking the victory in the 2004 Chrono des Nations in France. He claimed fifteen victories as a professional on teams including Vlaanderen 2002, Tönissteiner-Colnago, Landbouwkrediet-Colnago, Palmans-Collstrop, Relax-Bodysol, Davitamon-Lotto, Predictor-Lotto, and Silence-Lotto.