UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling will switch to Wilier Triestina bikes in 2014, the American team has announced. The Professional Continental squad has ridden frames by Hong Kong based Neil Pryde since 2012, but will change over to the Italian brand next season.
“We are very excited to partner with a high quality bike brand with such an outstanding legacy of producing premium race bikes,” said team president Thierry Attias. “This is a brand that has produced an excellent product for more than a century and we are looking forward to the 2014 season and the start of a long1term relationship with Wilier.”
The 2014 will see UnitedHealthcare join the steadily increasing number of major men’s teams to field a women’s roster, which will include Giro d’Italia champion Mara Abbott and British Critérium champion Hannah Barnes.
“Wilier is a perfect fit for this team as we continue to grow,” said the team’s general manager and team director, Mike Tamayo. “When we met with Wilier at their headquarters in Italy, we expected to discuss specifics on the bike frame. Not only did we discuss specifics, Wilier showed us a beautifully crafted model that was even in the correct team paint scheme that they had already produced for us. That spoke volumes. We are excited and looking forward to a great partnership with Wilier.”
Wilier Triestina was, until this season, a long term partner of the Lampre team, before the blue-fuchsia team switched to new co-sponsor Merida’s frames. The Italian brand, established in Rossano Veneto in 1906, supplied the Colombia team in 2013, but is very happy to have struck up its partnership with UnitedHealthcare.
“The UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team has been one of the most well run teams in the sport for more than a decade now and we are pleased to partner with the team as it enters its 12th season,” said Angelo Cilli, president of Wilier Triestina USA.
“Over the past few years, we have watched Team UnitedHealthcare build an incredibly strong name for itself and provide significant value for its sponsors. The results it has produced on the bike are impressive. But equally important is the manner in which the team presents itself on and off the bike, and being associated with a growing team and brand like this is important to us,” he concluded.