Podium Ambition Road Cycling Team To Turn Pro, Race In '16 Women's World Tour

Sarah Storey's Podium Ambition road cycling team will turn professional for the start of the Women's World Tour in '16, according to Nick Hope of the BBC. Storey, 37, has raced for the team -- previously known as Pearl Izumi Sports Tours Int'l -- since it launched in '14. Storey, Joanna Rowsell Shand and Katie Archibald are the first riders to be named in the new lineup. Podium Ambition Team Principal Barney Storey said, "The team will be almost 100 percent British. The number of British women riding in the professional peloton on a regular basis has not increased a great deal over the last few years and it is our intention to change that." Podium Ambition becoming professional "coincides with the beginning of the World Tour," the replacement for the UCI Women's Road World Cup, which ran from '98-15. Two of the 17 events will be based in the U.K. -- the Aviva Women's Tour and RideLondon (BBC, 9/27).