The Garmin-Transitions team has officially confirmed the new partnership with Cervélo SA, with the bike manufacturing company coming on board as a co-sponsor from 2011 onwards, and the team to be rebranded Garmin-Cervélo from that point on.
Aside from giving the US ProTour team a much greater stability in terms of budget and duration of backing, the arrangement means that for the first time in its history, the Colorado-based squad will also run a top-level women’s team.
According to Garmin general manager Jonathan Vaughters, this will encompass many of the core riders from the very successful Cervélo Test Team women’s squad, will be run in much the same way and will have the same strong programme.
The details are still being worked out as to how this will all fit into place and what riders will be on board, in terms of both men and women, but Vaughters said that the partnership is a very positive step.
“All of this is still a little bit up in the air, but we are super pleased to have the partnership with Cervelo and to be riding their bikes next year,” he told VeloNation.com soon after the partnership was officially announced this evening. “Obviously there are a number of riders on the team who are extremely attractive to us.
“At the end of the day, we are going to expand all the way up to 30 riders to accommodate as much high-level talents as we can. We can respect how much talent that team has and we are going to try to accommodate as much of that talent as we can.”
Women’s squad secure:
According to Vaughters, that talent will also include many of the female riders who lined out with the Swiss team this year. Cervélo backed a women’s team before setting up the men’s squad, and that commitment remains in place.
“I think it is great the Cervélo bike company gave us the sponsorship we need to be able to run a women’s team,” he said, making it clear that the Canadian company’s input is crucial. “It is something that we wanted to do for a while, but we never had the resources to do it. The bike company is giving us the resources to make this women’s team happen, and we are also relying on their expertise to help us find the way, as regards staff and riders and how to organise it. I believe it is big win.
“I think that the core of the team will stay together. They will have a similar racing programme to this year, and Egon Van Kessel will continue as the directeur sportif. It should be one of the best women’s programmes in the world.”
Riders like Emma Pooley will be relieved to hear the news. When contacted by VeloNation earlier today, the Briton – who has developed into one of the strongest competitors in women’s cycling – said that she didn’t know what was happening with the team next year. That uncertainty has now been removed, and she will presumably be offered a contract for next season, along with many of her other team-mates.
Overall boost to team:
Garmin has had backing of Transitions this year but it is clear that the financial and technical addition of Cervélo gives it an additional clout. Vaughters said that Transitions will stay on board as the official optical supplier of the team, and said this all means that the team is in a very good position.
“I think that the financial stability and the financial position of the team is enhanced, especially as we really have a solid future with Garmin and Cervélo as partners. The financial core of the team is just rock solid at this moment in time. That is something that is difficult to get to that point in professional cycling,” he told VeloNation.
Crucially, things will not just be good next season, but also longer-term. The team now has solid backing for at least the next three seasons, putting it in a very strong position. “We have already announced Garmin’s sponsorship until 2013. The partnership with Cervélo will be at least that long.”
Part of the reason that the team has developed such a solid footing is that it has steered clear of the scandals which have befallen many other teams in the sport. Vaughters set up the team to compete cleanly and it has always been vocal about the need for its riders to perform in a correct way. Cervélo’s Gerard Vroomen has also been outspoken on the subject, and this evening’s press release underlined those shared values.
"Slipstream Sports and Cervélo share the key philosophies of developing the next generation of cycling champions and an unwavering commitment to ethical sport," said Vaughters in the communiqué. “We are happy to work with another company that, like Garmin, so closely shares our goals.
“We will be adding great talent to an already outstanding roster and we believe the new team will build on past successes and will produce incredibly exciting racing in 2011. The possibilities are endless - on the road and off - and we look forward to what we can achieve.”
Cervélo co-founder Phil White said that one important thing was for the company to be able to continue to be a positive influence. "As we have often mentioned, our primary goal has always been to have some control over the direction that cycling will take," he said. “With Slipstream Sports, we share common goals and values. Together we will be in a stronger position to keep moving the sport forward.”
The press release underlined that the independently-monitored anti-doping programme would continue as before.
In all, next year the team will have three branches. The men’s ProTour squad, the women’s team and the continuation of the Holowesko Partners U23 Development team.
Overall, Vaughters believes that the team will benefit greatly from how things have panned out. “The fit is a natural one,” he said. “We've wanted to become stronger in the Classics and we're confident that we'll come into 2011 with one of the strongest Classics line-ups in the peloton. Beyond that, we are extremely excited to create a very good women's program.”
More details of the line-up will be released in time. Before then, both the Garmin-Transitions squad and the Cervélo Test Team will line out in the Vuelta a España, which starts in Seville tomorrow evening.