ENSCHEDE - Jan ten Tusscher beschikt volgend jaar over het op een na beste mountainbike-team ter wereld.
De Enschedese teammanager heeft in Cannondale en Vredestein twee nieuwe sponsors gevonden om de verdere sportieve groei van het huidige Heijdens-Ten Tusscher team mogelijk te maken.
Zodoende werd hij in staat gesteld om een internationaal topteam samen te stellen. De ploeg telt in 2006 vier mountainbikers, waaronder de Zweed Fredrik Kessiakoff. Hij werd zowel 4e op het wereldkampioenschap als in de wereldbeker. Bovendien won Kessiakoff een manche in de marathon wereldbeker. Hij krijgt de Nieuw-Zeelander Kashi Leuchs en de Denen Peter Riis Andersen en Jakob Fuglsang als ploeggenoten.
Fuglsang, die dit jaar al bij Heijdens-Ten Tusscher reed, won de wereldbeker voor beloften en werd 2e bij het Europees kampioenschap in die categorie. Maarten Tjallingii verlaat de ploeg. Ten Tusscher heeft tevens een opleidingsploeg onder zijn beheer.
In dit Heijdens-Ten Tusscher Team rijden de jonge Nederlanders Marcel Groothuismink, Jordi Luisman, Maarten Krommendijk en Axel Bult.
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Cannondale Announces Formation of New Mountain Bike Racing TeamCannondale today announced the formation of a new powerhouse cross country racing team which will contend for the top spot on the World Cup circuit. This multi-year partnership with global tire manufacturer Vredestein blends established winners with young rising stars for a program that will find itself on podiums well into the future.
This cross country team is a fundamental part of Cannondale's commitment to mountain bike racing and development which aims to support all disciplines of the sport from the top level pros to the aspiring young athlete, from cross country to gravity events.
Jeff McGuane, President of Cannondale Europe: "With the continued diversification in the sport of mountain biking, we felt it necessary to communicate our cross country product story with a team focused on cross country racing. In addition, we recognize that the gravity disciplines and riders are best served through a program focused on those races and events and not contained within a classic cross country-based team structure."
The team also announced its roster which contains two faces familiar to Cannondale, plus two young hopefuls. With three riders in the UCI top twenty, this young and focused team will target World Cup events, the World Championships, and the 2008 Olympic Games to be held in Peking.
Swedish rising star Fredrik Kessiakoff remains aboard a Cannondale and will continue his rise to the top levels of the sport with the new team. Fredrik finished fourth overall in the UCI Cross Country World Cup rankings in 2005 and eighth in the Marathon World Cup after winning his home round of Falun, Sweden.
Kiwi Kashi Leuchs will return to the Cannondale family in 2006, joining Fredrik as a formidable pairing for the World Cup season. In addition, Kashi is targeting the 2006 World Championships which will be held in his native New Zealand. "I'm excited to return to the Cannondale family and also to be able to contribute to a racer support program like the one I started with," stated Kashi, referring to Cannondale Europe's plans to launch a grassroots program in 2006.
Peter Riis Anderson also joins the team from Denmark. Peter is currently ranked 12th in the UCI world rankings, and finished fourth at the Marathon World Championships.
Completing the team is another Danish Dynamite, Jakob Fuglsang, the 2005 Under 23 World Cup Champion and currently the top ranked rider in the UCI U23 ranking. Jakob comes from the Heijdens-Ten Tusscher Team, also sponsored by Cannondale and Vredestein in 2005.
The team is managed by Jan ten Tusscher and Ruud Poels and is linked with the Heijdens ten Tusscher development team, which gives promising young riders like Jakob a chance to compete at the highest level of the sport and ultimately paves their way to a professional racing career.
The team will race aboard the Cannondale Scalpel equipped with Lefty fork. The Scalpel has won more World Cup cross country races than any other full suspension bike. In addition, the team version weighs less than most hardtails on the circuit.
Vredestein, known and recognized in the ProTour for its road race tires, is committing to the cross country sport as well with the development of a new line-up of mountain bike tires in addition to its commitment to the team.
In addition to the new products announced at Eurobike, a number of new tires will be a developed together with the riders of the team. Henk Kranenberg, Vredestein Manager of Bicycle Tires, states "we are really excited about working with these top riders. We believe in a close and lasting cooperation with the team to develop a tire line-up that gives the riders a winning edge."
