Kelly Benjamin and Brian Jensen both inked deals for new teams in 2006. At a Tuesday night signing ceremony at Free State Brewery in Lawrence
Brian put on his new Jelly Belly Jersey for the first time. Numerous folks from the metro and Lawrence attended and toasted his move to a significant Pro team. In one of several speeches recalling Brian’s rapid rise to local stardom, Phil Gronninger quipped, "…when I found out how much he was doing, all I wanted to do was train like Brian." Jensen noted that there will be a heavy schedule of national calendar events for him in the future, but still expects to compete locally.
Kelly Benjamin, (who was in attendence for Jensen’s party) has signed a letter of intent to ride with the Diet Cheerwine Elite/Professional women’s cycling team headquartered in Banner Elk, North Carolina. Diet Cheerwine finished the 2005 season among the top five teams in the country and is looking to build on that success in 2006. The teams’ title sponsor is a diet soft drink produced by the Carolina Beverage Company and has been sold since 1917. The 2006 team will consist of ten top North American riders and will tackle the entire NRC schedule as well as select UCI events. Kelly kicks off the 2006 season with a team training camp in the mountains of South Carolina followed by a trip to Australia and New Zealand for the first two rounds of the world cup. Look for the team to make it’s regional race debut at the Joe Martin stage race in mid-may.