Jonathan Tiernan-Locke says he has turned down some offers from pro teams for the 2016 season, and may ride for himself in some British races in the coming year.
“I have talked to several teams and had some offers – some interesting and some that I might have considered at 21, but not now,” he told the Torquay Herald Express. ONE Pro Cycling were believed to be interested in the 30 year old but they have denied this claim.
“There are other options. There are some very good personal sponsors prepared to help me. So I might do something a bit different and ride as a one-man band. I did it before, early in my career, and it worked for me then.”
Tiernan-Locke says he can get back to his best form, which saw him win the Tour of the Mediterranean, the Tour du Haut Var, Tour of Alsace and the Tour of Britain and take 19th in the Worlds on the Cauberg. The latter two results have now been struck from the annals of cycling history. This was all in 2012. He also placed fifth overall in the Vuelta a Leon and second in Vuelta ciclista a la region de Murcia.
“I believe I can still get to the level I was before, but I may not be able to live the life of a full-time pro.”
Tiernan-Locke has just served his ban for irregularities in his biological passport and while he didn’t take his case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport, he says the UCI’s testing and disciplinary process is flawed. He has always blamed the irregularities on a night of binge drinking before the 2012 Worlds in Valkenburg.
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