RADIOSHACK LEOPARD TREK presents 2013 Team and New Sponsors 18.01.2013: RADIOSHACK LEOPARD TREK Team kicks off the season in Spain

RADIOSHACK LEOPARD TREK Team kicks off the season in Spain
            



The off season is over and it’s time to begin the 2013 racing season.  All the planning and logistics are ready to be put into play as RADIOSHACK LEOPARD TREK riders mount up for the first WorldTour race of the season on Sunday in Australia, while the rest of the team has gathered in Benidorm, Spain, for a training camp and team presentation to the media.


With four new riders added and Luca Guercilena taking over as general manager, some changes took place, but for the most part, it’s business as usual for the hard working group at RSLT.


“We’ve put in the time and effort during the off season to come together as a team,” said General Manager Guercilena. “This was important to us as we look to return our riders to their highest level of abilities in 2013.  We met with the riders and discussed their ambitions and goals, merged them with those of the overall team, and have established our race calendar for the year.”


First up will be the Santos Tour Down Under, taking place in Adelaide, Australia January 20 to 27. After a difficult year, Andy Schleck has trained well in the winter and looks to make his racing debut Down Under.  “I want to get in as much racing as possible this year,” said Schleck, hoping to make up for missed time in 2012 after a crash ended his season with a broken pelvis. 


Schleck will also participate in the Ardennes races in the spring before focusing on the Tour de France in July.  With a shorter number of time trial kilometers in the 100th edition of the race, Schleck sees the chance for a climber like himself to raise the level of competition and looks forward to riding in France.


“I don’t know if I can return to the form I saw in 2011, but I’m only 27 and I will do my best to get back to that place.  I think I still have many opportunities to win.”


Also looking forward to a return to winning ways is Fabian Cancellara.  A crash kept the Swiss champion from participating in his beloved Paris-Roubaix in 2012, making the goal to win a third Roubaix all the more tantalizing for Fabian.  “I can’t wait to be back there in the heat of battle once again,” said Cancellara. 


“I’ve worked so hard during my winter training and I’m certain that with some luck I can get back into the best possible race rhythm.”  The cobbled classics will figure prominently on the calendar in the spring for RADIOSHACK LEOPARD TREK and those with ambitions to do well on the cobblestones will certainly have opportunities to shine in the team colors.


Stage races will make up part of the team goals too, with Andy Schleck, Chris Horner, Andreas Klöden and Robert Kišerlovski teaming up with others to contest the multi-day races that help prepare them for the three Grand Tours on the calendar. 


May’s Amgen Tour of California will be a top priority for the American sponsors and past winner Horner hopes to deliver a top podium place again in 2013.  Other important stage races will be the Tour of the Basque Country, Critérium du Dauphiné and Tour de Suisse, with a wide variety of riders stepping into key positions for these races.


“It will be a pleasure to help these riders achieve their goals as we strive to succeed as a team,” concluded Luca. “We have started the season well, with Hayden Roulston becoming the new Road Champion of New Zealand. We hope there are many more victories to come.”


Today, the team is happy to announce three new partnerships.



ANONIMO


RADIOSHACK LEOPARD TREK gladly welcomes the watch brand ANONIMO as a new sponsor. The origin of ANONIMO goes back in 1936. These outstanding watches are produced with the famous ‘Swiss Made’ Label.


ANONIMO shares a lot of values with road cycling: design, reliability, precision, longevity. In May ANONIMO will show the first results of this new collaboration by presenting a limited edition of 250 pieces with a titan case and a rubber strap, perfectly in line with the new ANONIMO design.




SKODA

The team has also reached a sponsorship agreement with Pragautos Losch S.A., the Škoda Importer for Luxembourg, which a partner of the LEOPARD TREK continental team in 2012. Pragautos Losch will provide the team with Škoda Superb and Škoda Octavia cars.


“Škoda has a long association with cycling, dating back to the start of the company in 1895 when the founders Vaclav Laurin and Vaclav Klement began manufacturing bicycles. To further root our committment to cycling, supporting cycling events and teams is the centrepiece of our sponorship strategy,” says Marketing Communications Manager Thierry Limpach.


“Today we are very excited about our association with RADIOSHACK LEOPARD TREK. It’s a fantastic opportunity to team up with some of the best professional riders. We’re really passionate about the upcoming season and looking forward to share some intense moments together with cycling fans from Luxembourg and all over the world.”



GAERNE

Finally, we can announce that our riders will be riding GAERNE cycling shoes. GAERNE made its debut in the world of cycling halfway through the 1980s, right from the start linking its name with the most promising cyclists and real champions.


Based at Coste di Maser in the Province of Treviso, the company was set up in 1962 by a master in sports footwear production, Gazzola Ernesto, who gave the company its name. GAERNE cycling shoes were an immediate success. A distinctive style “signature” together with innovatory technical characteristics such as the micrometric closure, wearability and comfort enabled the company to conquer both the Italian and international markets.


Today, Gaerne is one of the leader manufacturers of cycling shoes and motorcycle boots sold throughout the world.


"In all our shoes, GAERNE’s watchword is no-compromise quality. Only the best materials are used and every detail is designed and tested to ensure that all footwear meets the essential requisites of a GAERNE shoe - wearability, comfort, strength and protection", says Ernesto Gazzola, President of GAERNE.


 “We decided to sponsor RADIOSHACK LEOPARD TREK because we really believe in this team and especially in their new philosophy. To be sponsor of is this team is for us a great honor and we are delighted to play our part in this important project.”


The team will also announce a new partner in the spring.


More information and images of riders and bikes can be found on our website: WWW.RADIOSHACKLEOPARDTREK.COM

- Leopard also photo