Fuji bicycles to sponsor GEOX - TMC in 2011

supported by Italian shoe manufacturer Geox and TMC Transformers (a leading brand in electric cast resin transformers) and the U.S.-based bicycle manufacturer.

In an agreement signed in August between Geox president Mario Moretti Polegato and Footon-Servetto general manager Mauro Gianetti, the Italian shoe company will take over as primary sponsor of Gianetti’s current squad, while Fuji Bicycles will continue as bike supplier. Geox will also have a women's team in 2011 with Fuji Bicycles as bike supplier. Additionally, Geox will support a Belgian-American amateur squad (in 2010 Fuji Test Team) that will serve as the ProTour team’s satellite program.

Pat Cunnane, President of Advanced Sports International, parent company of Fuji Bicycles said the new sponsorship agreement is a positive step forward for the Fuji Bicycle brand. "We have worked with Mauro Gianetti for several years now as sponsors of the Fuji-Servetto and Footon-Servetto teams and we are very pleased to partner with him again for 2011 and beyond,” said Cunnane.

“The power racing in the Pro Tour has clearly been a major benefit to our brands ( Fuji and Oval Concepts), as well as to our suppliers’ brands,” Cunnane continued. “We've shown our products can survive the rigors and punishment of the Tour de France, the Tour of Flanders and other major races under some of the best riders in the world and because of that we have gained immense credibility.”

The Geox-TMC pro squad as well as the amateur team will be riding Fuji ’s new ultralight road bike, the innovative Altamira. The elite women’s team, formerly the Safi-Pasta Zara team based in Italy , will be racing on Fuji ’s new women’s-specific carbon road model, the Supreme. All three teams will race on Fuji ’s D-6 time trial bike.

Mauro Gianetti, general manager of Team Geox-TMC explained “The debut of the Geox brand in cycling and the return by TMC is a project that wants to create more than just a cycling team. The objectives are not just to achieve important sporting results, the promotion of the Geox brand at an international level, the discovery and development of young talent but also the application of the patented technology of Geox for breathability. And we are confident that this continuing partnership with the Fuji Bicycle brand, already our great sponsor for two years, will enable us to reach our goals for the team."

Gianetti has signed some top talent for the Geox-TMC squad for the 2011 season including 2008 Tour de France winner Carlos Sastre and 2005 & 2007 Vuelta a España and 2009 Giro d'Italia winner Denis Menchov. Other riders signed to Team Geox-TMC in 2011 include Giampaolo Cheula, Rafael Valls, Arkaitz Duran, Noe Gianetti, Fabio Felline, Matthias Brandle and Marco Corti from Footon-Servetto, plus Spanish climber David De la Fuente from Astana, Fabio Duarte, Marko Kump, Matteo Pelucchi and Marcel Wyss.

The women’s team, called Diadora-Pasta Zara, is lead by team president Maurizio Fabretti. Diadora-Pasta Zara will feature Americans Mara Abbot, winner of the 2010 Giro d'Italia Femminile and Shelley Evans, U.S. National Criterium Champion. Russian Olga Zabelinskaya and Eleonora Patuzzo junior world champion in 2007 will also be key elements of the formation.

The intern ational amateur squad, directed by Bernard Moerman, includes top-ranked amateurs former USA-military Champion Ian Holt, Peter Horn (USA), Aaron Pool (USA), Finland’s U23 champion Paavo Paajanen, Anthony Louis (Fr), Arne Casier (Bel) and Thomas VanHaecke (Bel).

Team Geox-TMC