One of international cycling’s most promising young and raw talents, Teniel Campbell, will join Mitchelton-SCOTT for the next two seasons.
Hailing from Trinidad and Tobago, the 23-year-old burst onto the European cycling scene when she was invited to join the UCI World Cycling Centre (WCC) in 2018. There, under the guidance of now Mitchelton-SCOTT Sport Director Alejandro Gonzales-Tablas, it was immediately evident the sheer numbers and natural ability Campbell possessed.
After two years of development in Switzerland, Campbell moved to Italy in 2020 to race under Valcar – Travel and Service and immediately put her learnings to work. A third-place finish at Vuelta CV Feminas and fifth at Omloop van het Hageland got the season off to a flying start before COVID-19 lockdown brought it to a screeching halt.
Whilst the re-start didn’t bring the results she was hoping for, the difficulties of 2020 have added even more wisdom to an already incredibly mature, level-headed and ambitious Campbell.
With potential across all disciplines and terrains, Mitchelton-SCOTT will use the next two years to work closely with Campbell to gain invaluable experience and unlock her ability across the world calendar.
Teniel Campbell:
“Mitchelton-SCOTT has been my dream team ever since I was in the World Cycling Centre, some days I have to pinch myself to believe it’s actually happening.
“To be given this opportunity here to continue growing and to give them the chance to help me grow and develop is really exciting because they have a lot of top-end riders, they have been here for some time now and you can progressively see how strong they are, how they develop a lot and how well they work together as a unit.
“I never thought I would get to this point so quickly… to be performing so well amongst the best in Europe was really a shock to everyone because they wouldn’t expect me to fit in so quickly and already be a force to reckon with on the circuit.
“There’s still so much to discover about myself because I am so young and there’s so much to learn and improve on so you never really know (what type of rider I am).
“In the first year in the WCC Alejandro told me that he believed my characteristics were for the Classics, I also believe I am a Classics rider, but you never know, maybe I can be a general classification contender.
“I just want to gain so much experience and knowledge because you can have all of the power in the world but if you don’t have the experience, that team around you to really push you and help you grow, I don’t think the results will come.”
Brent Copeland – General Manager, Mitchelton-SCOTT:
“We are extremely excited about the arrival of Teniel to Mitchelton-SCOTT. We have been keeping a close eye on her development since our sports director Alejandro pointed her out to us.
“Teniel went through the excellent schooling of the UCI World Cycling Centre and we believe she has an enormous amount of talent. Together with our team’s professional structure and experience, we will do our utmost to take the margin of improvement we feel Teniel has to the highest of levels.
“Teniel is a person who has made huge sacrifices to get to where she is and we will be giving her the support she deserves to make sure all her sacrifices have all been very much worthwhile.
“We also thank team owner Gerry Ryan who is always a big supporter of Australian talent but at the same time is encouraging us to keep the team as international as possible. Teniel fits in very well with this philosophy, we welcome Teniel to the team and we are very much looking forward to seeing her in our team colours.”
Teniel Campbell
Date of Birth: 23 September 1997 (23)
Nationality: Trinidad and Tobago
Joins Mitchelton-SCOTT: 2021
New Contract: 2021-2022
Top results:
- 1st 2019 Tour of Thailand – Stage 2
- 2nd 2019 Pan American Games – Road Race
- 3rd 2020 Vuelta CV Feminas
- 5th 2020 Omloop van het Hageland
Source