Stepping up in backing at the same time as it increases its ambitions, the Skil-Shimano team has announced that four new sponsors have come on board for the 2011 season. In order to reflect what is says is the importance it and the partners put on sustainability, the distinctive jersey has been modified to feature green strips rather than red.
The Dutch squad is pushing towards riding the world’s top races in 2011, and will do so with the backing of a quartet of new partners. These are Argos Oil, the HP technology company, the Dutch e-commerce supplier Docdata and Rotterdam New Energy, which seeks to promote a good health and sustainability initiative in the Dutch city.
“The Skil-Shimano riders will be ambassadors of this philosophy,” said the team in a press release. “In recent years Rotterdam has hosted various international events, as well as a few hundred side events in the run-up to the Tour de France, under the ‘Rotterdam New Energy’ label. The centrepiece was the Tour de France’s Grand Départ in 2010. The partnership with Skil-Shimano marks a new stage in Rotterdam’s sustainability policy.”
Of course, the Tour de France is a target of the team, which will be pushing for inclusion in the 2011 race. It rode in 2009 but missed out on selection in 2010; this season, it hopes to be back amongst the wildcard selections.
“The confidence these new partners – fantastic enterprises all of them – place in our organisation and our team is a great incentive for the whole team to pursue our ambitions with unflagging dedication,” said general manager Iwan Spekenbrink. “The bar has been raised again in all respects and we are impatient to reward our existing loyal and new partners for their commitment to this great team and the clear vision it is founded on.
“Our philosophy is based, among other things, on investing in the development of our people, fulfilling our duties as responsible custodians of the environment and giving permanent attention to innovation in all areas. Our new partners are a perfect match in this respect.”
The team will feature 23 riders in 2011, including the sprinter Kenny Van Hummel, Roy Curvers and Koen de Kort. Thomas Damuseau, Thomas Bonnin, Matthieu Sprick (France), Johannes Fröhlinger, Roger Kluge, Marcel Kittel, Martin Reimer (Germany) and Ronan van Zandbeek (Netherlands) are the new signings.
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Skil-Shimano Cycling Team 2011:
Riders already with Skil-Shimano team:
Tom Veelers, Koen de Kort, Albert Timmer, Roy Curvers, Robin Chaigneau, Kenny van Hummel (all Netherlands), Thierry Hupond, Alexandre Geniez, Yann Huguet (all France), Simon Geschke (Germany), Feng Han, Cheng Ji (both China), Bert De Backer (Belgium), Mitchell Docker (Australia), Yukihiro Doi (Japan).
New riders for 2011:
Thomas Damuseau, Thomas Bonnin, Matthieu Sprick (all France), Johannes Fröhlinger, Roger Kluge, Marcel Kittel, Martin Reimer (all Germany), Ronan van Zandbeek (Netherlands).