There are countless reasons, many of them sound in logic, against launching a Canadian cycling team.
None of them deterred Steve Bauer from founding Team SpiderTech back in 2007, and none of them are preventing him from setting the lofty goal of racing in the Tour de France by 2013.
In a business environment where it's easy and common for people to say no to such unlikely endeavours, Bauer is finding the rare people willing to take chances and say yes.
"Exactly, I'm amazed at the support group we have here. It's awesome," said Svein Tuft, one of the squad's new riders unveiled at a news conference Friday morning. "These people all think big and they push and they make it happen."
Bauer is at the forefront of that, having helped secure a UCI Professional Continental licence for the upcoming season after competing on the UCI America circuit. Team SpiderTech is the first Canadian squad to reach cycling's second tier, and the aim is to obtain status on the elite World Tour in the coming years.
To take the next step, the team has developed what it calls a "Made in Canada" funding structure seeking the sponsorship of 10 Canadian companies that is dubbed C10. With SpiderTech, BlackBerry, NRS Brakes, Planet Energy, Saputo and Pinetree Capital already on board, there are four spots remaining.
The budget for a team that races in the Tour de France is in the neighbourhood of $15-$20 million.
"I have to take some credit, I'm involved and people believe in me," said Bauer, who wore the leader's yellow jersey after a stage win during the 1988 Tour de France, finishing fourth overall. "That's part of it, we needed leadership and some excitement. I have a passion for it and I wanted to see it through.
"I think we're just beginning. We're an entry-level team and now the mountains are (there) to climb. We have the right platform, we have the right guys, we have the right strategies - you can't break down the world overnight -and we're just taking steps every year. The progress is solid."
Team SpiderTech's step up extends Canada's growing presence on the international cycling scene. The Cervelo TestTeam, owned by Canadian bike manufacturer Cervelo, had an entry in the Tour de France the last two years and has since joined forces with Garmin to create Garmin-Cervelo.
That team features Victoria's Ryder Hesjedal, who earned national attention by posting a seventh-place finish in the 2010 Tour de France.
Tuft, a 2008 world time trial championship silver medallist from Langley, B.C., is the biggest new addition to Team SpiderTech's 19-rider squad. Also new are Zach Bell, the current World Cup track leader from Watson Lake, Yukon, and Will Routley, the 2010 Canadian road champion from Whistler, B.C.
Guillaume Boivin of Longueuil, Que., a bronze medallist in the under-23 road race at last year's world road cycling championships, is among the returnees to a roster that features 16 Canadians, two Americans and a Mexican.
The team heads to Italy on Saturday for the racing season's first two races, the Tropheo Laiguglia on Feb. 19 and the Grio di Sardegna from Feb. 22-27. The results will help towards Team SpiderTech's application process for one of the 18 licences on the World Tour.
"We just jumped a really big step right now just to have Professional Continental status and we'll see what happens," said Bell. "But it's our turn now, the riders that have achieved things, to win some races and go to the Tour de France."
Tuft - who last year won a stage in the Tour of Denmark while finishing second overall, and won the Eneco Tour's prologue before finishing fifth overall - had options after leaving the Garmin-Transitions team he raced for in 2010.
He was compelled to join Team SpiderTech by the possibility of building something that goes beyond simply cycling.
"For me, racing at the very top level is important, but what's really important I've found through experience and through learning it the hard way is that being part of something that's real, being part of something that you feel is really good and that you can get behind, that you feel is healthy - at the end of the day that's more important than being on the very best team in the world," he said.
"Externally that looks like the place to be, but internally that may not be the healthiest for you as a person."
Tuft has been a part of both big and small teams during his career and believes the culture within Team SpiderTech is ideal for success. Personal clashes and competition for spots and opportunities at the big-time can tear apart squads, which is why riders need to have similar outlooks.
"One of the biggest tricks to finding that team culture is finding guys that can say, 'You know what? I'm not going that great right now, I'm not at my very best, but I can give everything I have to my teammate so he can have a chance at winning,"' explained Tuft. "It's very easy to make that decision, you just need a bunch of guys that are humble and realize it's more important for the team as a whole, rather than the individual, to have success."
Identifying future cyclists and getting into the pipeline is also important, which is why Bauer also announced plans for a development program aimed at the 5,000 or so hockey players in the elite bantam, midget and junior levels across the country.
Scouting and testing will begin in July and August.