Team Garmin-Sharp to Merge with Team Cannondale
Cannondale, a brand of Dorel Industries, Inc. (TSX: DII.B, DII.A), will become a title sponsor and technical bicycle sponsor (replacing Cervélo) for the team and will take an ownership stake in the management organization of Slipsteam Sports LLC. Slipstream Sports, the top American professional cycling organization dedicated to ethical sport and developing the next generation of champions, will manage the overall operations of the team. Garmin, a key partner of Slipstream Sports since 2008, will remain a significant sponsor of the team in 2015. More information, including the official team roster will become available later this year.
"Slipstream Sports and Cannondale share key philosophies of a focus on innovation, developing the next generation of champions and a commitment to ethical sport," CEO of Slipstream Sports Jonathan Vaughters explained and continued "We are happy to work with another company, that, like Garmin, so closely shares our goals. We will be adding some great talent to an already outstanding roster and we believe the team will build on past successes and will produce very exciting racing in 2015. We look forward to what we can achieve together, both on and off the road."
“Cannondale is excited to team up with Slipstream to create the next evolution of Cannondale Pro Cycling with the most progressive and innovative team in the peloton,” Peter Woods, President and CEO of Dorel Recreational/Leisure commented. “Professional athletes play a key role in testing our products in some of the most extreme conditions worldwide, helping us to create the perfect ride for our consumers. We are thrilled about progressing our product development approach, while bringing exciting racing to our fans around the world.”
Cannondale has been involved with pro racing since 1997 when it became the technical sponsor of the Saeco team and the first United States-based bike manufacturer to sponsor a European Pro Tour team. Since Dorel Industries acquired Cannondale in 2008, investments in professional racing have steadily increased and have enhanced the awareness of the Cannondale brand. In 2010, Cannondale became a co-sponsor of the Liquigas-Cannondale Team and became title sponsor and owner in 2013 with the creation of Cannondale Pro Cycling, when Liquigas ended its engagement in professional cycling.
Since 2007, the team has won three Grand Tours including the Giro d’Italia in 2007 and 2010 as well as the Vuelta a España in 2010. During that time, the team also won four Tour de France jerseys, including the 2009 Polka Dot Jersey and the Green Jersey in 2012, 2013 and at the recently completed 2014 edition of the race, along with countless prestigious individual races.
Founded in 2004, Slipstream Sports has evolved from a group of promising young U.S. riders to one of the top teams in the Pro Tour. Garmin came on board in 2008 and remains an important and significant sponsor of the team. Cervélo TestTeam owner Cycling United Racing merged with Slipstream Sports at the end of 2010.
Widely known for its commitment to product testing, innovation, inspiration, creativity, rider freedom, and for its announced progressive anti-doping stance, Slipstream Sports has held the yellow jersey, won individual stages and won the Best Team competition at the Tour de France. Slipstream Sports has won the 2011 Paris-Roubaix, 2012 Giro d’Italia, 2013 Liege-Bastogne-Liege, and the 2014 Dauphine.
This far, it has been announced that fourteen riders from Garmin-Sharp will remain with the team in 2015. These riders are Daniel Martin, Andrew Talansky, Ryder Hesjedal, Ramunas Navardauskas, Tom Danielson, Nathan Haas, Sebastian Langeveld, Tom-Jelte Slagter, Ben King, Nick Nuyens, Nate Brown, André Cardoso, Dylan Van Baarle, and Lasse Norman Hansen.
Bike manufacturer Cervélo, which has been bike sponsor for Team Garmin-Sharp since 2010, earlier this summer announced it will be sponsoring Team MTN-Qhubeka in 2015.