Is the first time you have had support from the Dave Rayner Fund?
No this will be my second year being supported by the fund. I really appreciate the backing and am honoured when called a ‘rayner rider’ at races.

What is your cycling history ?
I started riding to and from school and it quickly escalated from necessity to hobby to dream. In the junior category I spent some time in Belgium, kermesse racing. This experience made me want to live abroad after finishing college. So I headed to the states last year in search of hard racing and a place to further my career.

What team are you joining in 2016?
I’m back with Astellas again this year

Tell us a bit about your team.
16 riders, split into a crit and a road race squad. I’m on the road side of things along with a few other u23 riders. There’s a developmental focus so we can learn off the experienced riders. That added with our youthful exuberance and hopefully there’ll be a great environment to race in!

Do they have a website/FaceBook or Twitter we can link to?
http://www.astellascycling.com/
https://www.facebook.com/astcycling
https://twitter.com/astellascycling

What is your race programme looking like?
It will be focusing on the USA PRT (Pro road tour) along with the UCI America tour. First up is San Dimas and Redlands stage races in sunny SoCal.

Where are you going to live?
I’ll be based in southern Pennsylvania this year with teammate Jake Sitler and fellow DRF rider Olly Moors. Hillier terrain than last year’s base in Milwaukee. I’ve spent some time there around the Philly classic race and felt very at home.

Your Twitter name and any website or blog links.
Follow @dan_gardner96 for updates, pics and results throughout the year!