The planned new Australian ProTour team run by Pegasus Racing has received the backing of Scott Bicycles, which has announced a multi-year backing with the squad. The deal represents the first major company to declare partnership with the project.
The title sponsor, which remains unnamed up to now, was due to be confirmed last week during the world road race championships. However it is understood that the furore over Alberto Contador’s positive test for Clenbuterol has led to the delay of that announcement, as the sponsors would prefer to go public at a quieter time. That is expected shortly, as is the naming of the full roster of the team.
The Scott backing is a major plus for the squad, which will be riding the same frames as was used by the top-notch HTC Columbia team this year en route to results such as Mark Cavendish’s five sprint victories in the Tour de France and points title in the Vuelta a España.
Scott will provide the team with the aerodynamic F01 frame for normal road stages, and the Plasma3 frame for time trials. It will also supply helmets to the riders.
“This is a true partnership and we are very much looking forward to getting started,” said Pegasus Sports CEO Chris White. “We are both performance-driven organizations who see technology and innovation as the means to drive improvement and results. Sharing this philosophy made it easy for Pegasus and Scott to come together, and we are both excited at the prospect of what our working together will achieve.”
The deal will see the company provide bikes to three different men’s teams. The biggest of these will be the squad applying for the ProTour licence, which will include triple Tour de France green jersey winner Robbie McEwen, Svein Tuft, Trent Lowe, Luke Roberts, Sergey Klimov and Christian Knees.
The other two will be backed by Virgin Blue; one will replace the current Fly V Australia Continental team, which is based in the US, while the other will be an Aussie-based under 23 squad which will be co-sponsored by RBS Morgan.
There are also plans for a women’s squad, although it is unclear if that will also use Scott bicycles.
Scott vice president Pascal Ducrot believes that the relationship will be a good one. “They bring a new culture and spirit to the professional peloton and we identify strongly with their values and their vision,” he said.
The company currently backs the HTC Columbia team. Unconfirmed reports suggest that Specialized might be considering taking over that slot for 2011.
Meanwhile Pegasus Racing CEO Chris White has said that he expects the team’s registration to proceed as normal after a slight delay. The squad wasn’t named on yesterday’s list of those going for ProTour or Pro Continental registration, as released by the UCI, but White has told the Sydney Morning Herald that the issue is a small glitch with the paperwork and would be corrected as soon as possible.
UCI spokesman Enrico Carpani confirmed to VeloNation that missing the October 1st deadline to have all the necessary paperwork submitted did not mean that the team was ruled out of being able to register.
“Teams who did not comply with all requirements by October 1st can still fulfil the application and get their licence,” he said.