Iwan Spekenbrink, the manager of the current Skil-Shimano team, has announced the creation of a new team, called 1t4i. The new team will be built around the infrastructure of the existing team but, with a much more international emphasis, will move to a new base in southern France. It had already announced that the team was to switch to Felt bikes from Koga, but the team will also lose the sponsorship of power tool manufacturer Skil, which has been the team’s name sponsor since 2005.
The team’s future has been assured for at least three years, with sponsor Shimano continuing its support, along with Felt and Pearl Izumi. The name of the team’s new name sponsor will not be announced until the new year, until which time it will be known as 1t4i.
“We are very proud that we’ve succeeded in connecting a big international partner to our team and that we have the trust of our other partners,” said Spekenbrink. “This enables us to realize this ambitious project and join the global elite of cycling. We eagerly look forward to the future and are very motivated to shape this project further.”
1t4i represents the key values of the team, with the one ‘t’ being ‘Team Spirit’, and the four ‘i’s being Inspiration, Integrity, Improvement and Innovation. In line with the move that saw its jersey’s iconic red stripes turn green at the beginning of this year, the team will continue with its commitment to the environment.
“Project 1t4i will execute its operation CO2-neutral,” says the team statement. “Moreover, the team functions as ambassador of the non-profit organization “Trees for Travel”, that applies itself to the maintenance of the environment by means of CO2-emission reduction and compensation.”
With key riders Marcel Kittel, John Degenkolb, Alexandre Geniez, Patrick Gretsch and Tom Veelers, the team describes itself as having a French heart, a German spine and a Dutch basis. The main goal for the team is an appearance at the Tour de France, and it expects to achieve ProTeam status in 2013.