Croatian cyclists to join Synergy Baku

/By AzerNews/

By Amina Nazarli

Matija Kvasina and Josip Rumac, both of Croatia, will join the Synergy Baku Cycling Project for the 2015 season.

Kvasina will fill the void left by the departure of Markus Eibegger. The Austrian is leaving the team after two seasons.

Thirty-three-year-old Kvasina has spent his career with a variety of teams, mainly on the Continental level. He has been with the Austrian Team Felbrmayr – Simplon Wels since 2013. A solid all-rounder, he won the overall title at the Rhone-Alpes Isere Tour in 2014 and at the Romanian Cycling Tour in 2012. He is reigning Croatian time trial champion and was third overall in this year’s Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali.

“After few years of negotiations with David about the newly formed team Synergy Baku Cycling Project, I am finally here,” Kvasina said. “I feel happy as it is my first big team and like I am a young rider. I am looking forward to meeting the team members and to being involved in something big like this Project. Hopefully i could be a great help and promoter of the Baku team at domestic races around the world.”

His biggest goal as far as results go is a high place in the general classification at Tour d’Azerbaidjan, but as season goal, he would like to help the team grow in sport and that with results and action within races to bring the team to higher level.

“Matija has never been too far away from this team and it is great that in 2016 he will wear a Baku jersey,” said team manager David McQuaid. “It’s true we have lost the services of Eibegger ,who goes back to Austria, but Matija can fill that void just perfectly. A very, very talented and disciplined bike rider, you just need to go back over the seasons since he was up there at Tour de L’Avenir to see that. Matija has raw talent and we hope to bring that out in 2016 with a good race program and a fantastic support and respect of the rider.”

The 21-year-old Rumac rode for Adria Mobil this season. He was runner-up in the Croatian national road race this year, and in 2012 was third in the World Championship Junior road race.

“I see coming to the Synergy Baku Cycling Project as a new step in my career,” Rumac said. “A new team and new challenges are going to give me a lot of extra motivation. I hope that I’ll learn a lot in the new team and that I’ll improve myself and help the team. If all goes well, I hope the results will be very successful.”

“I am thankful to the Synergy Baku Cycling Project for believing in me and I hope for a good season.”

“Josip comes into the BCP 2016 squad as perhaps the only rider who has had the honour of having had a world championship medal hang around his neck. To take a podium at the junior world championships in Valkenburg in 2012 smells of pedigree” McQuaid said. “They do not give out medals like that, especially on such a course so we hope to be able to see that talent again in Josip. It’s great that the rider is still Under 23 and can ride alongside the likes of Jabrayilov at various National Cups, they are already good friends due to our base in Slovenia so Josip is a great addition -- not just because of talent but also the fit within what we are doing here.”

Thirty-one-year-old Eibegger will be leaving the team after two successful years. In 2014 he won stages at the Tour de Bretagne and the An Post Ras. This year he won the second stage of teh Istrian Spring Trophy which also gave him the overall title. He was seriously injured a crash at the Tour de Taiwan in March, which held him out of action for about three months.

“I want to say a big thank to the team for two exciting years and in particular for the team’s help and support with my recovery from my bad injury this season,” Eibegger said. “I am happy that together we achieved the goal of qualifying for the Rio Olympics. Despite this accomplishment, I felt that I still needed to look for a new challenge, and I am deeply respectful of all at the team for understanding that.”

“Markus served a great two seasons with us and it was hard to say goodbye but that’s sport, it can be very transient. He leaves us all on very good terms and not one core member of the squad would not wish him the best, he has that respect here,” said McQuaid.