# Aqua Blue Sport

Aqua Blue Sport was an Irish UCI Professional Continental cycling team founded in January 2017 which folded at the end of the 2018 season.

## History

The team was set up by businessman Rick Delaney, assuring funding for at least four seasons with two-year rolling contracts offered to the riders. The project was based on a self-sustaining finance model, with revenue generated from an online cycling marketplace www.aquabluesport.com being used to fund the professional team.
Aqua Blue Sport featured a 16-rider roster for 2017. Having gained considerable success in the early months of its maiden season, Aqua Blue Sport was invited to the 2017 Vuelta a España. Despite losing their team bus to an arson attack, the team continued at the Vuelta. On stage 17 of their first Grand Tour, Stefan Denifl crossed the finish line first, ahead of Alberto Contador at the summit finish of Los Machucos, however his win was later stripped after he confessed to blood doping. In its first year, the team won its first individual stage, its first national champion, its first overall at a stage race, and its first stage at a Grand Tour (although the latter two were later stripped as a result of Denifl's doping admission).
On August 27, 2018, the team announced that it would not be racing in 2019, citing difficulties in obtaining race invitations from race organizers and a failed merger with the Vérandas Willems–Crelan team. and ceased racing immediately.

## Team roster

    As of 5 January 2018.
| | Rider | Date of birth |
| Shane Archbold (NZL) | Shane Archbold (NZL) | (1989-02-02)2 February 1989 (aged 28) |
| Adam Blythe (GBR) | Adam Blythe (GBR) | (1989-10-01)1 October 1989 (aged 28) |
| Matt Brammeier (IRL) | Matt Brammeier (IRL) | (1985-06-07)7 June 1985 (aged 32) |
| Mark Christian (GBR) | Mark Christian (GBR) | (1990-11-20)20 November 1990 (aged 27) |
| Stefan Denifl (AUT) | Stefan Denifl (AUT) | (1987-09-22)22 September 1987 (aged 30) |
| Eddie Dunbar (IRL) | Eddie Dunbar (IRL) | (1996-09-01)1 September 1996 (aged 21) |
| Conor Dunne (IRL) | Conor Dunne (IRL) | (1992-01-22)22 January 1992 (aged 25) |
| Andrew Fenn (GBR) | Andrew Fenn (GBR) | (1990-07-01)1 July 1990 (aged 27) |
| | Rider | Date of birth |
| Aaron Gate (NZL) | Aaron Gate (NZL) | (1990-11-26)26 November 1990 (aged 27) |
| Lasse Norman Hansen (DNK) | Lasse Norman Hansen (DNK) | (1992-02-11)11 February 1992 (aged 25) |
| Peter Koning (NED) | Peter Koning (NED) | (1990-12-03)3 December 1990 (aged 27) |
| Michel Kreder (NED) | Michel Kreder (NED) | (1987-08-15)15 August 1987 (aged 30) |
| Daniel Pearson (GBR) | Daniel Pearson (GBR) | (1994-02-26)26 February 1994 (aged 23) |
| Casper Pedersen (DEN) | Casper Pedersen (DEN) | (1996-03-15)15 March 1996 (aged 21) |
| Larry Warbasse (USA) | Larry Warbasse (USA) | (1990-06-28)28 June 1990 (aged 27) |
| Calvin Watson (AUS) | Calvin Watson (AUS) | (1993-01-06)6 January 1993 (aged 24) |

## Major wins
### 2017

    Stage 4 Tour de Suisse, Larry Warbasse
    United States Road Race Championships, Larry Warbasse
    Overall Tour of Austria, Stefan Denifl
    Stage 17 Vuelta a España, Stefan Denifl

### 2018

    Stage 1 Herald Sun Tour, Lasse Norman Hansen
    Elfstedenronde, Adam Blythe
    Ireland Road Race Championships, Conor Dunne
    Stage 1 Danmark Rundt, Lasse Norman Hansen

### Supplementary statistics

Sources
Grand Tours by highest finishing position :
| Race | 2017 | 2018 |
| Giro d'Italia | – | – |
| Tour de France | – | – |
| Vuelta a España | 128 | – |
| Major week-long stage races by highest finishing position |||||
| Race | 2017 | 2018 |
| Tour Down Under | – | – |
| Paris–Nice | – | – |
| Tirreno–Adriatico | – | – |
| Volta a Catalunya | – | – |
| Tour of the Basque Country | – | – |
| Tour of the Alps | 73 | – |
| Tour de Romandie | – | – |
| Critérium du Dauphiné | – | – |
| Tour de Suisse | 39 | 41 |
| Tour de Pologne | – | – |
| Benelux Tour | – | – |
| Monument races by highest finishing position |||||
| Monument | 2017 | 2018 |
| Milan–San Remo | – | – |
| Tour of Flanders | – | – |
| Paris–Roubaix | – | – |
| Liège–Bastogne–Liège | 32 | 66 |
| Giro di Lombardia | – | – |
| Classics by highest finishing position |||||
| Classic | 2017 | 2018 |
| Omloop Het Nieuwsblad | 58 | – |
| Kuurne–Brussels–Kuurne | – | – |
| Strade Bianche | – | – |
| E3 Harelbeke | – | – |
| Gent–Wevelgem | – | – |
| Amstel Gold Race | – | 59 |
| La Flèche Wallonne | 105 | – |
| Clásica de San Sebastián | – | – |
Legend :
| — | Did not compete |
| DNF | Did not finish |
| DNS | Did not start |

## National champions
### 2017

    American Road Race, Larry Warbasse

### 2018

    Irish Road Race, Conor Dunne