The Norwegian-registered women’s Hitec Products-UCK team will wear clothing supplied by Craft for the next two seasons, the team announced today. The team has been in existence since 2009 but steps up for 2011 with the acquisition of Swedish champion and Worlds bronze medallist Emma Johansson. The team will now wear the same brand of chothing as that worn by the new Luxembourg team of Fränk and Andy Schleck.
“We are very happy to announce that Swedish Craft, who develop high tech clothing for all sorts of sports, have entered into an extensive 2 year sponsor agreement with Scandinavia’s best women procycling team,” said team manager Karl Lima in team statement.
The two-year deal will take the team through to the London Olympic Games in 2012, where Johansson will be looking to go one better than the silver medal she won behind Great Britain’s Nicole Cooke in Beijing. Johansson’s partner, former Norwegian rider Martin Vestby, is also joining the team as a director; the two are to be married in the New Year; the Swede has hinted on her website that she may take on her new husband’s name, so watch out for Emma Vestby in 2011!
“We are very excited to have such a professional sponsor at our side towards the Olympic Games in 2012!” exclaimed Lima.
Johansson and Johanne Bergseth, the team’s other new recruit, got together with Craft’s development and design team this week to test the first iteration of next year’s kit, so that last minute adjustments can be made; both were reportedly very happy with the quality of the clothing. The team has released the design of Johansson’s Swedish champion’s jersey, as well as that of Norwegian champion Lise Nøstvold, but the standard team jersey will not be revealed until a later date.
“We can tell already that it will look magnificent!” Lima concluded.
2011 Hitec Products-UCK Line Up:
Johanne Bergseth (Nor)
Lisa Brennauer (Ger).
Tone Hatteland (Nor)
Cecillie Johansen (Nor)
Emma Johansson (Swe)
Emilie Moberg (Nor)
Sara Mustonen (Swe)
Lise Nøstvold (Nor)
Kristine Saastad (Nor)
Marie Voreland (Nor)
Frøydis Waersted (Nor)