With the first races for the team fast approaching, Nissan North America today announced what is a ‘multi-year’ sponsorship deal with the RadioShack team. VeloNation noted the car company's presence on the jersey on December 7th when the sneak preview was released.
The 25 man ProTour squad will use a variety of vehicles from Nissan during international racing and training, including many of the biggest events.
According to a press release issued today, Nissan “plans to actively support Team RadioShack at the Tour of California, Tour of Missouri, Tour de France and other major Pro Cycling events around the globe. The company views the partnership as a way to connect with the more than 21 million cyclists in the United States and the 40 million cycling fans that attended live events around the world in 2009.”
Seven-time Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong welcomed the new backers on board. “We're very excited to have Nissan join as a partner of Team RadioShack. Team vehicles and new technologies play a key role in the success of any professional cycling team and we look forward to using Nissan products as we race around the world," he stated.
RadioShack is a new team set up using many of the riders from the 2009 Astana team. Armstrong, general manager Johan Bruyneel and riders like Levi Leipheimer and Andreas Klöden have all migrated to the new setup, while Tour de France Alberto Contador will remain with the previous squad.
The partnership appears to be at least partly motivated by a desire to emphasise a more ecological face to the motor brand. "The connection between health, wellness and sustainable mobility, such as Nissan supports with the upcoming Nissan LEAF(TM) electric vehicle and our Green Program 2010, is a natural,” claimed Nissan Marketing vice president Christian Meunier. “Nissan has been a proud supporter of the LIVESTRONG Challenge and looks forward to working together with the LIVESTRONG Foundation and their fight against cancer.”
The RadioShack team will get its season underway in eleven days time at the Tour Down Under in Australia.