November 28, 2008 (Philadelphia, PA) – Fuji bicycles is pleased to announce its title sponsorship of Fuji-Servetto for the 2009 season. Registered previously with the UCI under the name of GM Bikes, the ProTour team acquired title sponsorship from Fuji bicycles and Servetto, an Italian company. The ProTour team will also be supported in 2009 by TMC Transformers and by the government of Cantabria.
For Fuji bicycles, the largest brand of Advanced Sports, Inc., headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this will be its first foray into the Pro Tour ranks. Previously the sponsor of U.S. Continental team Toyota-United, Fuji continues to expand its presence in the elite sports arena. In addition to Fuji-Servetto, Fuji bicycles will sponsor the Pro Continental team Elk Haus, based in Austria. Fuji also continues to sponsor Equipe Nurnberger, the top-ranked women’s pro team out of Germany, U.S. Olympian and current National Champion in triathlon, Matt Reed, and the JBCA.
“We are thrilled beyond belief,” said Advanced Sports’ Director of Marketing Karen Bliss. “We’ve had competitive road bikes for a long time – Judith Arndt, Regina Schleicher, Ivan Dominguez, Dominique Rollin and Tyler Hamilton all can attest to that. Now with the addition of our new D-6 time trial bike, we are Pro Tour ready.”
Fuji-Servetto’s team headquarters will be situated in Cantabria, a province in northern Spain. The team has signed four new riders for 2009: Andrea Tonti and Davide Viganò (Quick Step), Daniele Nardello (Diquigiovanni) and Ricardo Serrano (Tinkoff). The remainder of the current Fuji-Servetto roster is comprised of riders from the 2008 Scott-American Beef squad including David Cañada, Eros Capecchi, Ermanno Capelli, David De la Fuente, Jesús Del Nero, Arkaitz Durán, Alberto Fernández de la Puebla, José Ángel Gómez Marchante, Héctor González, Beñat Intxausti, Josep Jufré, Javier Megías, Ángel Gómez, Juanjo Cobo, Iker Camaño and José Alberto Benítez. The squad, lead by the General Manager Álvaro Crespi, will have its roster finalized in the coming weeks.