“We have very high expectations for our women’s team, which will be built for excellence and to win”
The current call for big teams and events to also feature women has been heard and answered by the Momentum Sports Group, the owners of the current UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team.
The American company today announced that it will launch a women’s team featuring between ten and twelve members in 2014, and that it too will race under the UnitedHealthcare banner.
UnitedHealthcare has sponsored the men’s team since 2009 and became the title sponsor one year after that. Its general manager Mike Tamayo realises the boost a women’s team will give to the sport, but also what the sponsors and the team itself could gain too.
“We are excited about adding our women’s team in 2014,” he said today. “We have very high expectations for our women’s team, which will be built for excellence and to win. Momentum knows how to build a winning team. We plan on building the women’s program in the same manner we built our successful men’s program.”
No names have yet been announced as regards riders who will be involved; those details will be finalised and made public at a later point.
The team will be primarily domestic based in year one, with the calendar and goals to be determined in time.
According to Momentum Sports Group president Thierry Attias, the timing is perfect for the new project. “We are enthusiastic about the launch of our women’s team,” he said.
“This is the right time and the right thing to do to grow professional cycling in the right direction. We believe strongly in women’s pro cycling, and this addition is a great way to not only help grow women’s cycling, it is a strong complement to what we have with our men’s program.”
For the sponsor, backing a women’s team will be an important message. UnitedHealthcare national marketing vice president Dave Tjaden sees the team members as being ambassadors of a certain lifestyle. He said that the company would be supporting “a team of amazing women athletes who embody good health and well-being. In addition to competing in races, cyclists selected for the team will serve as health and wellness ambassadors in communities across the country, inspiring both young and old to live a healthier life.”