The OUCH Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis has made one final roster addition for the 2009 season. Veteran rider Jonathan Patrick McCarty re-joins former teammate Floyd Landis on the squad.
“We’d been talking with Pat for quite some time,” noted team directeur sportif Mike Tamayo. “Only in the past week or so were we able to work out an agreement with him.”
Despite being just a few weeks short of his 27th birthday, McCarty brings deep experience to the team.ÂÂ
“Pat is a quality rider with Pro Tour and Grand Tour experience,” Tamayo said. “He’s done the Giro d’Italia a couple times and he was instrumental in helping Floyd win the 2006 Amgen Tour of California with Phonak. He’s going to be a real asset to the team for races like California and Missouri, as well as many of the NRC stage races we’ll be doing. He should also be a good influence on several of our developing riders.”
Racing strictly in the U.S. will be a bit of a change for McCarty, who turned pro with the U.S. Postal squad in 2004, rode with that organization for two years, before switching over to Phonak for a year. For the past two years, he was part of the Garmin-Chipotle organization.
“Racing for an entire season in the U.S. will be a new challenge.” McCarty said. “I’m very motivated to do some of the races I’ve never been able to do before.”
As for why he chose to join OUCH Presented by Maxxis, McCarty noted that the team’s history of success was a definite factor, as was its new team leader.
“I’m really excited to be a part of the best U.S. domestic team,” he said. “And joining up with Floyd again will definitely be fun.”
The Texan will join all his teammates for the first time when OUCH Presented by Maxxis convenes its training camp in Southern California later this month.
