Bandit Racing regrets to announce the suspension of its Regional Development Team, effective immediately. A victim of its own success, the program ran out of riders while still in its inaugural year. The Dev Team was initially created in August 2006 to foster the development of the team’s greenest member, Cat 3 ADM. But his recent Cat 2 upgrade earned him a spot with his fellow Bandits on the International Elite Squad.

Jeff King remarked: “I guess we didn’t plan this one too well. I mean, we’re proud of what we did for our little ADM, but we figured it would take another year or two. We haven’t even begun to identify a new roster of development riders.”

Ryan Tie added: “It’s really disappointing that we could allow this to happen. With one wave of the USA Cycling wand, the entire Dev. Team went up in smoke. It’s whole raison d’être simply evaporated.”

The team’s official statement reads: “Bandit Racing is proud of ADM and welcomes him to the real team. However, due to budget constraints and personality conflicts, we’ve decided to permanently suspend Dev Team activities. We will instead focus on the Elite Squad and hope to score big at the Grand Tours.”

One rider, who requested not to be identified as he wasn’t authorized to speak to the press, stated: “As the first and last Dev Team member, I’d like to thank the other Bandits and our sponsors for the opportunity they provided me. Their methods are sound and their commitment to shameless self-promotion is second to none.”

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