Team Ibis Cycles collapse leaves Barnes searching for 2013 ride

Former Junior National Road Race Champion Hannah Barnes has been left without a team for 2013 following the demise of Team Ibis Cycles.

Barnes turned professional with the UCI-ranked squad for 2012 after enjoying success on the domestic ranks with the Motorpoint team.

Having previously been assured of a ride next season with Ibis, the 19-year-old was told last week that the team had not raised the money required to continue.

"I was really excited to be going back to Holland [the British-registered team was based there] having initially been told the sponsors were onboard for another year," she explains. "The problem now is that it's late in the day, so most of the teams have their riders for next year already."

Selected for British Cycling's Talent Team in 2006, Barnes later progressed onto the Olympic Development Programme.

However, she will not be following her Ibis team-mate Laura Trott to the new DTPC Honda squad.

"I didn't know about it. Apparently there was some sort of application to get on it, but I didn't know anything about it. That's a big disappointment," she admitted.

Barnes says she will continue to look for a ride over the next few weeks, and admits she is hoping for another year racing abroad.

"Ideally I'd like to stay on the continent. I had some good times in Holland. It's difficult to make the step up - you go from the junior ranks straight into the top level - but I feel that I've got the experience now to develop as a rider," she said.

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