© Bettini

World Champion Giorgia Bronzini announced Monday that she will race with Fuji-sponsored Diadora-Pasta Zara for the 2012 season.

A multiple Giro d’Italia Femminile, Trophee d’Or Femminile, and Giro della Toscana stage winner, the 28-year-old Italian sprinter won her second consecutive UCI World Championships Road title just last month in Copenhagen.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to have one of the best riders in all of women’s cycling riding Fuji,” said Fuji Director of Marketing Karen Bliss. “Giorgia will be riding our top-of-the-line, ultra-lightweight women’s road bike, the Fuji Supreme, and we’re confident that it will carry her to many more victories.”

“The Supreme was developed with the invaluable input we’ve gleaned from a long line of top women athletes,” added Bliss. “It is, by far, one of the best women’s-specific race bikes on the market. And with Giorgia’s input on our 2013 product development, the possibilities are even more exciting.”

Fuji has had a long history of supporting women’s cycling. The century-old brand sponsored the first U.S. Women’s National Cycling Team in 1974, and since the mid-’70s, Fuji has sponsored elite and amateur women racers across all cycling disciplines all around the world. It is this devotion to the sport that attracted Diadora-Pasta Zara Sport Director Diana Ziliute to Fuji as the team’s bike sponsor for the 2011 season and why she is excited to continue the relationship through 2012.

“For us, Fuji has been fantastic,” said Ziliute. “They’ve supported our team not only with incredible products but also with their enthusiasm and dedication to women’s cycling. We look forward to continuing this winning collaboration with them.”

More details to come on the 2012 Diadora-Pasta Zara right here on Fuji’s women’s pro team blog.

© Bettini

On Monday, October 17th, Diadora-Pasta Zara will announce its roster for the 2012 season. Our lips our sealed, but let’s just say Monday will be very exciting. Stay tuned!

Shelley Olds amidst the peloton of the Elite Women's Road Race. © Bettini

Five of the Diadora ladies competed in the UCI Road World Championships in Copenhagen, Denmark, with Oxana Kozonchuk taking a team-best 16th in the 140-km elite women’s road race and Olga Zabelinskaya grabbing a top 20-finish (16th) in the 27.8-km women’s individual TT. Shelley Olds, again battling injury, finished 22nd in the women’s road race, and Inga Cilvinaite and Claudia Hausler came in with the second group behind the peloton, 41 seconds back of winner Giorgia Bronzini.

Diadora-Pasta Zara’s Rachel Neylan was among the 3,000 cyclists who came out for the Amy Gillett Foundation’s 120-km Gran Fondo, eager to tackle the hilly course along Great Ocean road from Lorne to Victoria, Australia aboard her Fuji Supreme.

The foundation – created in honor of Amy Gillett, an Australian professional cyclist who was killed in 2005 while training with her team in Germany – seeks to raise awareness about road safety and  eliminate cycling road fatalities.

Rachel is an avid supporter, and on Sunday, with the help of Fuji distributor Oceania Bicycles – who sponsored Rachel on the ride – she was the fastest woman on the course, putting in the best time in the women’s category.

When Rachel showed up at the start line, it was her Supreme Team Edition that stole the show, so Rachel decided it was time to show her Supreme some love. Read what she had to say about her lightweight racing machine on her blog HERE!

For spec and geometry info on the Fuji Supreme LTD Team Edition and to find a dealer near you, click HERE!

Claudia Häusler capped off a great week of racing in Italy with a spot on the final podium of the Giro della Toscana Femminile.

With top-20 finishes in 3 of the last 4 stages – including a 7th-place finish in the Stage 4B individual TT and a 4th-place finish in the 100-km 5th stage – Claudia found herself on the final GC podium, 2nd by less than a minute to American Megan Guarnier.

While the 6-stage Giro Della Toscana Femminile didn’t get off to a great start for Diadora-Pasta Zara – with a 9th place finish in the opening stage Viareggio team time trial – Stages 2 and 3 brought the Diadora ladies two podiums!

In the 117.1-km 2nd stage from Porcari to Altopascia, Alona Andruk took 3rd in the field sprint finale, with teammate Oxana Kozontchuk finishing strong behind her at 15th.

And in the 137.6-km 3rd stage, Diadora’s star climber Claudia Häusler finished 2nd in the final sprint of the Category-1 ascent. The Volterra climb shattered the peloton, and it was left to Claudia and HTC-Highroad’s Judith Arndt to battle it out for the stage victory. Oxana again finished in the Top 20 at 16th.

Claudia currently sits at 3rd in the GC – 33 seconds back of race leader Ina Teutenberg of HTC – heading into the final three stages of the Italian race won by Diadora Sport Director Diana Ziliute just two years ago.

“Really versatile,” “racy,” “enthusiastic,” “friendly, fun handling” – learn more about what BikeRadar and Triathlon Plus had to say about the 2011 Fuji Supreme 2.0: Fuji’s top-of-the-line women’s road bike inspired by product feedback from the riders of Fuji-sponsored Diadora-Pasta Zara.

Check out the review HERE!

With Top-10 finishes in all but 1 stage of the 6-stage Trophee d’Or Feminin, Diadora-Pasta Zara’s stint in Saint-Amand-Montrond, France was undoubtedly a successful one.

Shelley Olds sprinted to 5th in today’s 88.3-km Stage 6,  Olga Zabelinskaya to 5th and Shelley to 9th in the 94.9-km Stage 5, and Claudia Häusler claimed 5th in the Overall GC! Congratulations to the Diadora ladies!

During the team’s 3-week break from racing following the Giro Donne, Diadora-Pasta Zara’s Claudia Häusler decided it was time to hit the mountains! And on a Fuji hardtail no less! Above is a photo Claudia snapped of her Fuji SLM 1.0 on a training ride through the gorgeous mountains of her native Germany.

Claudia wrote to Fuji: “The last 3 weeks I was free and enjoyed some hours riding on my brand new super-light mounty: the Fuji SLM 1.0! Wow! I love the mountains, and I’m so happy with my new bike!”

But Claudia’s Fuji Supreme is certainly her first love! Here, Claudia and her boyfriend pose with their respective Fuji road bikes.

Claudia is now in Saint-Amand-Montrond, France with teammates Inga Cilvinaite, Oxana Kozontchuk, Shelley Olds, Eleonora Patuzzo, and Olga Zabelinskaya, racing in the 6-stage Trophee d’Or Feminin – and racing well!

Claudia is currently 7th in the GC, Shelley 18th, Inga 19th, Olga 20th, and Oxana 24th – a Diadora-Pasta Zara Top-25 Domination.

Claudia finished 9th in today’s 7.5-km individual time trial in Orval, the team finished 5th in Stage 2′s Team Time Trial, and Oxana Kozontchuk – whose brother Dmitry is currently racing for Fuji’s GEOX-TMC squad in the Vuelta a Espana – finished 10th in the race’s opening 76.9-km stage.