ZipVit Sport, manufacturers of sports nutrition products and exclusive suppliers to professional cycling outfits Team RadioShack, Cervélo TestTeam and a host of other elite endurance athletes, has expanded its operation into the US.

The Swiss-registered company is a relative newcomer to the sports nutrition market and arrives in the US after taking cycling Europe by storm with its range of advanced formulas and great-tasting products.

Known as Project ZV, ZipVit Sport's range of cycling nutrition products has been developed using the latest scientific research and is aimed at sportsmen and women, whether professional, amateur or recreational. It includes energy drinks, chews, bars and gels for use before and during races or training, as well as protein-rich bars and drinks for post-exercise recovery.

ZipVit Sport has made a huge impact in sports nutrition since its launch in 2008, not least by tying up a deal to supply world-leading US professional cycling outfit Team RadioShack for the 2010 season.

Team RadioShack, whose riders include stars such as Levi Leipheimer, Gert Steegmans, Daryl Impey and Lance Armstrong, has been formed to contest leading races such as the Tour de France.

According to ZipVit, Team RadioShack's manager, Johan Bruyneel, ignored a host of a host of big name American rivals in order to approach ZipVit Sport to ask the company to be its exclusive supplier of sports nutrition.

His decision followed a season in which ZipVit Sport proved that it was a world leader in sports nutrition by powering Cervélo TestTeam during an incredible debut season which yielded stage wins in all Grand Tours and a green jersey for Norwegian rider Thor Hushovd at the 2009 Tour de France.

Warren Bailey, CEO of ZipVit Sport, said that with all the success helping to drive sales in Europe, the company is excited with its move into America.

"We have invested heavily in ensuring that our products are the best on the market and we are delighted to be offering them to sportsmen and women across America," Bailey commented.

"The science of sports nutrition is ever-changing and we are right at the cutting edge, combining the latest know-how with great flavours in easily-digestible formulations.

"Our products have helped Cervelo TestTeam and Team RadioShack enjoy great starts to the 2010 season and I am confident that America's athletes will quickly see the benefits of ZipVit Sport's products for themselves."

ZipVit Sport, which has a base in Rugelely, Staffordshire, UK, worked with Dr Robert Child, nutritionist to the Cervélo TestTeam, to develop the range, which contains key ingredients including branched-chain amino acids, colustrum, glutamine, whey protein and beta-alanine.

Its recovery products are currently the only ones on the market to include colostrum, a natural super-food which helps athletes to build and repair lean muscle, as well as helping to protect them against infection.

The new US range has a number of exclusive lines, including banana bread-flavoured ZV8 energy bars and two varieties of its popular ZV9 protein bars, chocolate coated peanut butter and banana blueberry yoghurt. America here we come!

According to ZipVit, all products are made in FDA-inspected and registered facilities with GMP standards in superior manufacturing sites across the USA, Canada and the UK.

They are all free from artificial colours, preservatives and sweeteners and use only the finest raw ingredients.

ZipVit Sport, which has set up its US headquarters in Boulder, Colorado, and has a distribution facility in California, is initially selling its products over the internet, but they will soon be available at leading Trek and Cervélo bike stores, as well as outdoor stores and progressive health food stores nationwide.

To mark ZipVit Sport's US launch, customers are being offered free starter kits containing a selection of products. The kits, which include a free RadioShack musette and Cervélo TestTeam water bottle, are available by visiting www.zipvitsport.com/uskit (tell ZipVit we sent you).

To buy products or find out more about the ZipVit Sport range visit www.zipvitsport.us and www.zipvitsport.com (Tell ZipVit we sent you).