Specialized and High Road Sports have announced a three-year agreement for Team HTC-High Road to ride Specialized frames, forks and helmets. Both the men’s and women’s teams will ride Specialized products in competition.
The men’s teams will ride the Tarmac SL3 in road races, the Roubaix SL3 in cobbled classics, and the Shiv TT bike in time trials. The women’s team will ride the Amira in road races and the Shiv in time trials. Both the men and the women will wear the new Prevail helmet in road stages and the TT3 on time trials.
RBA sat down with High Road Sports boss Bob Stapleton (r) and Specialized honch Mike Sinyard (l) to talk more about the new unionnnn.
RBA Mini-View: Bob Stapleton
RBA: What does it mean to you to be associated with Specialized?
Stapleton: Specialized is an iconic brand in the sport. It almost created the sport at a recreational level. I think we come into this with the intention of trying to do things together. We’re both hungry to try to do big things.
The HTC-Specialized bikes will run Shimano DuraAce drivtrains and wheels, Pro Components and Fizik saddles.
RBA: Your team doesn’t seem to have any trouble drawing successful riders and retaining them.
Stapleton: From an athlete perspective, it’s the place to be. We have a vacancy and I’d like to see it come from a west coast technology company. Cycling is green and relevant, with 160 million enthusiasts in the US and Europe; there are 31 million college-educated cyclists.
People give me a lot of credit for managing the rider relationships. It’s really the management team. We’ve got eight different managers from five different countries, guys like Eric Zabel, Allan Peiper, Brian Hölm, they’ve been in these teams their whole lives. They deserve most of the credit. Every rider gets the same support, same equipment, same sport science nutrition. It’s THE place for young riders to be but you have to work for the team. There are going to be chances to win but you have to be ready to perform.
The High Road team bike was mounted with the new SRM PC7 power meter.
RBA Mini-View: Mike Sinyard
RBA: Why sponsor three teams?
Sinyard: The first one is because I personally love it. We learn a lot from working with athletes and riders. It’s part of our heritage and it’s in the DNA of the company. We’re super excited to be working with Bob. He has the same vision and mission that we do. I’m very much inspired by Bob.
Specialized isn’t just about me its about this brand its about all the people who work here work at athe shops and buy the ecquipment aned bicycles. I would hope this goes on forever.
RBA: You must be excited to work with Mark Cavendish.
Sinyard: We also are excited to do—every rider has special needs—we look forward to working with him. One of the things we have is this UCI weight limit. Instead of putting weights on there to make the bike heavy enough, we’ll put weight where it makes sense.
AND NOW FOR THE OFFICIAL VERSION...
SPECIALIZED AND HIGH ROAD SPORTS JOIN FORCES
Specialized Bicycle Components and High Road Sports have joined forces to create a powerful partnership aimed at building a global cycling franchise based on the world's most successful men's and women's cycling teams. Team HTC-High Road, operated by High Road Sports, announces a multi-year partnership beginning in 2011 to continue its unequaled success using the market leading, technically advanced products of Specialized Bicycle Components.
"We are thrilled by this foundational partnership with the iconic global cycling brand of Specialized," said High Road's founder, Bob Stapleton. "Mike Sinyard is an authentic entrepreneur and his company is a dominant force in both professional racing and bringing innovation to millions of recreational cyclists worldwide. Our partnership is focused not only on athletic success but also on developing superior products and promoting cycling as a part of a healthy lifestyle for the more than 160 million enthusiasts in Europe and the USA alone."
"We come together with aggressive plans and motivated partners who are excited about the compelling sport of cycling. We want to further build on this platform and recruit leading technology and lifestyle companies to work alongside our existing partners, which include HTC, Shimano, Oakley, as well as our marketing partners, Google and Skype. Together, we are focused on adding a long-term, innovative co-title partner with naming rights in advance of the major races this summer, including the Tour de France," added Stapleton.
Mike Sinyard is equally enthusiastic about the partnership. "I've always respected Bob (Stapleton) and the teams he has built. Our organizations have a lot in common: Their team headquarters is just down the road from ours, both crews focus on riders' needs first, and we've both achieved great results that are fueled by the love of cycling. High Road will drive us hard to continually improve our bikes and helmets, and we'll deliver the best materials in the world to help them win races."
Specialized will supply the team's frames, forks, and helmets. The men's squad will race the S-Works Tarmac for most road races, the S-Works Roubaix for cobbled classics, and the Shiv TT in time trials. The all-new S-Works Prevail and TT3 helmets will protect the riders in road and TT applications, respectively.
"We are especially excited about the HTC-Highroad women's team, which is every bit as strong and successful as the men's squad," continued Sinyard. "Through close work with these top-tier riders, we can continue to grow and improve the performance and fit of our women's bikes and equipment."
The 11-strong women's squad will race on Amira road bikes, built specifically for high-performance riders and racers, and Shiv TT bikes for the time trials. They will also wear Prevail and TT3 helmets.
AND IN CASE YOU MISSED THIS....
Specialized and Astana Continue Winning
Partnership
“We are proud that Alexandre
Vinokourov and Team Astana will ride Specialized frames, forks, cranks, and
helmets in 2011,” said Ben Capron, Specialized Chief Brand Officer. “The
relationship with the Team is about competing and winning, but also about
supporting young riders in the sport. We are committed to the U-23 and junior
development programs in addition to the top team.”
The 2011 Team Astana roster is a combination of proven
veterans like Vino and Aussie powerhouse Allan Davis, plus new additions such as
Czech phenom, Roman Kreuziger, and the prodigious Francesco Masciarelli.
Astana have a quiver of Specialized equipment at their
service, including the Tour-winning Tarmac SL3 and all-new S-Works Prevail
helmet. Nothing is lighter and stiffer than the S-Works Tarmac SL3, so it will
be the team’s mainstay road weapon of choice, while the 3-time Paris-Roubaix
winning S-Works Roubaix will handle the cobbles during the Classics. The Shiv
TT, winner of the 2010 Time Trial World Championship, will help Astana beat the
clock in the time trials.
The Specialized-designed S-Works SL FACT carbon crankset
delivers unsurpassed stiffness at only 597 grams, over 150g less than the
competition.
The S-Works Prevail is the best complete performance helmet
in the world, offering riders the best combination of ventilation, aerodynamics,
comfort, and light weight, while the Specialized TT3 is proven aerodynamic in
wind tunnels and multiple race wins.
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