Bicycle Racing News and Opinion,
Wednesday, December 14, 2016

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2017 Tour de France | 2017 Giro d'Italia

Next to knowing when to seize an opportunity, the most important thing in life is to know when to forego an advantage. - Benjamin Disraeli

Upcoming racing:

• January 1-3: Michelton Wines Bay Cycling Classic

Latest completed racing:

• October 20-23: Abu Dhabi Tour
• October 23: Chrono des Nations
• October 23: Japan Cup
• October 22-30: Tour of Hainan

Quick-Step Floors team reveals 2017 jersey

The team posted this news:

Quick-Step Floors Cycling Team – the most winningest squad of the past five years – launched today its new jersey, a predominantly blue one, although in a lighter tone than the one of 2016. In addition to that, the sleeves are turning white, thus making the kit even much easier to get spotted in the peloton. Blue and white, the two colors that stirred emotions throughout time, were incorporated also in the 2003 kit, when the team managed by Patrick Lefevere made its debut on the big scene.

Produced by Vermarc Sport, the new jersey of Quick-Step Floors Cycling Team will be even more visible in the bunch from an aerial view, and will see the main sponsor take center stage on both front and back of the jersey, as well as on the side panels; Lidl will continue to feature on the sleeves, together with janom and crivit PRO, but will also be visible from the front, on the lower half.

On the back, Peugeot, Specialized and Latexco (which keeps its place on the collar and on the upper chest) will be represented. Back to the front, right under the logo of Vermarc Sport, the jersey will be adorned with the UCI World TTT Champions logo, a reminder of the team's emphatic and record-breaking victory in October last season. Staying in tone with the jersey, also the shorts are also blue, with Quick-Step Floors, Lidl, Latexco and Specialized all present there.

For Tom Boonen, this will be the jersey he'll sport in his final pro season, and the 36-year-old Belgian shared his thoughts on the design of the kit: "I liked it straight away! It's a nice combination of retro and new style and it looks amazing and sharp. It's always important to have a good looking jersey. I'm already fond of it and it will be really great to race with it next year."

His feelings were echoed by Marcel Kittel, one of the most prolific riders of 2016, with 12 victories in his account: "It's a classy looking kit all around, with a fresh look that will make it easy to get recognized in the peloton. The white and blue combination is a nice one, not many teams are going with it. This jersey brings excitement and makes me even more eager to kick off 2017."

Marcel Kittel in his 2017 Quick Step jersey

Zdenek Stybar, talked of the joy brought by the Quick-Step Floors jersey: "Every year, in early December, when you get the jersey it's a very special moment, kind of like when you open the first present on Christmas morning. The design is smooth and I'm very happy to wear it again. I can't wait to show the kit in the biggest races of the calendar and make our sponsors proud."

"The blue was always on our jersey throughout the years, as it's a color that represents our sponsors. We are well-known for it and that's another reason that makes me confident the fans will love the jersey. It's an elegant one, and Vermarc did a great job once again with the design and fabric they picked out for our 2017 kit", concluded Niki Terpstra.

BMC racing team to ride Vittoria tires in 2017

BMC sent me this release:

BMC Racing Team and Vittoria are proud to announce a new partnership which will see the team's 28-rider roster ride on Vittoria tires for the 2017 season and beyond. Vittoria will supply tires for all of BMC Racing Team's bikes, namely the BMC Teammachine SLR01 and BMC Timemachine 01.

BMC Racing Team General Manager Jim Ochowicz said he is excited to welcome Vittoria to the team. "Vittoria is a company synonymous with professional cycling and is well-known for making excellent tires for road racing. We are thrilled to be riding with Vittoria tires from 2017 and work with the Vittoria research and development team throughout the season," Ochowicz explained.

"Our 2017 riders are already riding on Vittoria tires here at our pre-season training camp in Denia on the BMC Teammachine SLR01, which has the new red colorway for the 2017 season. At BMC Racing Team we are constantly looking to partner with the best in the industry in all areas of professional racing, and Vittoria tires are no exception."

Vittoria CEO EMEA, René Timmermans said the partnership with BMC Racing Team is an important opportunity for Vittoria. "BMC Racing Team is exactly the kind of professional cycling team that we want to partner with. Innovation and performance are at the core of Vittoria's brand identity, and our graphene-enhanced rubber compound is just one example of our innovation. Our aim for 2017 was to partner with more teams and races and BMC Racing Team was at the top of our list. Performance, consistency and balance is what we strive for, and we think BMC Racing Team's riders will love riding on Vittoria tires," Timmermans explained.

"Vittoria was founded as a tubular road cycling company, but we are now offering mountain bike and road tires and wheels. We have our own factory in Bangkok, Lyon Tyres, so we produce all of the tires ourselves and we have our own research and development center so we oversee all areas of creation, innovation and production of Vittoria tires."

Interbike following Eurobike in show dates move?

Bike-eu.com sent me this bike industry update:

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, USA – The Taipei Cycle Show was the first to react on Eurobike’s announcement to shift its 2018 show dates [to July]. Since then all eyes are on Interbike, the world’s third-largest trade show. How will the US show organizer react? The Interbike team is currently investigating the timing but also the show’s future location via a web survey.

“We launched a fact-gathering study of our customers to learn more about how we can improve our offering”, explains Interbike vice president Pat Hus, “specifically, we have heard interest from participants to explore moving Interbike to the June/July timeframe. In addition, we understand that some participants have grown tired of the Las Vegas location, so we are also exploring if there is a broader interest in a new location.” The discussion on staying in Las Vegas or to move is not new and pops up every few years.

You can read the whole story here.

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