|
Trek Marco Polo Cycling Team 2008 |
|
|
|
|
Friday, 14 December 2007 |
Despite Discovery Channel stepping back as main sponsor, Marco Polo Cycling will have a Chinese Continental team on the road again in 2008. Trek bikes saved the future of the team, by increasing their support.
The team will be known as Trek – Marco Polo Cycling Team.
The team will have 4 Chinese riders on board: Xing Yandong, Yu Tong, Liu Yilin and Fuyu Li. Fuyu Li is returning from a year on the Discovery Channel Pro Tour squad, which brought him Olympic Qualification by taking Pro Tour points.
Other riders that have been part of the Marco Polo family in 2007 and stay on the team, include Loh Sea Keong of Malaysia and Russian sprinter Sergey Kudentsov, who is currently 4th in the UCI Asia Tour ranking.
New to the team are Japanese riders Ken Onodera and Yu Takenouchi, plus Australian climber Jai Crawford, with one rider to be named soon.
The cooperation with the Dolphin Mountainbike team will remain. The
team shares the Trek Bikes involvement and this will make it possible
for Rudi van Houts, Alban Lakata and (former Olympic and World
Champion) Bart Brentjens to race on the road, preparing their Olympic
mountainbike season.
The program of the team will include all major races in Asia, plus a
program in Europe and a few side steps like Giro del Capo in South
Africa. This all with the main goal to help the Asian riders to develop
towards Pro level.
The team will have a talents program for young Asian riders in Europe
additionally and is increasing its role in Chinese cycling by promoting
leisure cycling and building a Chinese cycling community.
|
News