Roger Hammond to manage new Madison Genesis team

Former professional and British national champion Roger Hammond will manage the new British-based Madison Genesis under-23 road cycling team from the start of the 2013 season.

The squad aims to nurture young British cycling talent, and is aiming to achieve Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) Continental status.

"It has always been one of my desires to pass on my knowledge and help young British riders to achieve their goals without having to experience the sometimes hard lessons I did," Hammond said via a team statement.

"When Madison presented the idea of their new under-23 team, I knew I had to be part of it. From the conception of the project, through the design of the bikes and clothing ,I have been able to get deeply involved in the preparations for the new season.

"It has been both interesting and absorbing and I believe with the backing of professionally run brands such as Madison and Genesis, we can create an environment where partners and riders alike can reach their full potential in the shortest possible time."

Madison CEO Dominic Langan said: "This has been in the pipeline and a dream of mine for some years but only now do we feel the confidence to proceed. Genesis and Madison are great brands close to my heart and just as we help develop UK talent with the Madison Saracen DH team, we want to achieve the same with UK road cycling talent.

"This is a long-term commitment from Madison and we are making sure we do it properly. To have Roger as manager with his wealth of cycling experience both on the bike and from an engineering perspective is a real privilege."

Perhaps controversially, the team will use Genesis bikes made using Reynolds 953 steel tubing, which flies in the face of the current fashion for carbon-fibre. 

Hammond quit professional cycling at the end of the 2011 season after finding himself without a contract after Garmin-Cervelo failed to re-sign him for 2012. A former British road race and cyclo-cross national champion, Hammond won stages of the Tour of Britain and Tour of Qatar. He is perhaps most well known for his Spring Classics results, with podium appearances at Paris-Roubaix and Ghent-Wevelgem.

According to the team, Madison Genesis will be officially launched at the 2013 London Bike Show in January when the team's riders will be revealed.

Related links

Roger Hammond: Rider profile