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LeMond Fitness - Blender Magazine Pro Team Announced (2/13/03)
PRESS RELEASE: February 20th 2003 New York, NY LeMond Fitness – Blender Magazine is New York’s first professional Cycling Team The ’98 Yankees, the ’86 Giants, the ’69 Mets were all great championship teams. If all goes according to plan, that is the company New York’s first professional cycling team is intending to keep. The LeMond Fitness-Blender Magazine Professional Cycling Team is the first professional cycling team based in New York and will debut on the U.S. National Racing Circuit in 2003. Spawned from long time elite amateur powerhouse, the Kissena Cycling Team, a program that has groomed such professional as George Hincapie and former World Champion Peter Mazur, the move into the pro ranks was inevitable. With the support of its sponsors the team intends to focus on the National Racing Calendar, beginning in March with the Pomona Valley Stage Race. LeMond Fitness and Blender Magazine are the primary sponsors for this new New York based UCI Division III pro team, and Kissena Sports, the company that manages the team, is grateful to have them on board. LeMond Fitness brings to the team not only financial, technical and equipment support in association with LeMond Bicycles, but most importantly the priceless input of Americas three-time Tour De France champion and two-time World Champion, Greg LeMond, who will play a key role within the team as the senior advisor. The partnership between Greg LeMond and Kissena Sports was a natural one, since both share a common philosophy: to focus on younger up and coming talent. To that end, the organization will attempt to identify promising cyclists and create a network of young cycling talent that will act as a “farm system” to the rosters of the elite amateur and professional teams. Blender Magazine, seeking exposure outside the traditional mediums of the entertainment industry has recognized the value in affiliation with a well-run professional cycling organization. Lance Ford, Executive Vice President of Dennis Publishing, the publisher of Blender Magazine sums it up perfectly; "Rock n rollers have always enjoyed dressing in multi-colored spandex, so the tie-in with a cycling team seems like a natural fit (excuse the pun). That and the fact we see cycling as an emerging sport, almost x-treme in some regards when you understand what it takes to ride up a mountain, then careen down the other side in a tight bunch of 200 riders, elbows and nobbly knees flying! This kind of adrenaline is consistent with what Blenders young, active demographic considers entertainment. The motto of our relationship with the LeMond Fitness-Blender Magazine Team is " when you roll look out for the rocks.” Kissena Sports intends to build a long term, mutually beneficial relationship with Blender, one of the newsstands hottest periodicals. 2003’s line-up will see a mix of younger riders looking to develop and experienced veterans who will act as their mentors. The team’s Captain, Bill Innes has long been a fixture on America’s podiums, with a Silver Medal at the National Criterium Championships and wins in some of the Northeast’s toughest road races to his credit. Former pros Andy Crater (Ofoto) and Marco Aledia (Shaklee) add plenty of finishing speed and some track flavor to the team, while Eneas Freyre has been tearing up the roads of the Northeast for the past two seasons. The team’s emphasis on youth is demonstrated by the inclusion of 2003 Australian Under-23 Time Trial Champion Adrian Laidler. In Addition to the pro squad, Kissena sports will maintain it’s feeder team, the Kissena Cycling Team; these amateur racers will race many of the same events as the pro team in order to gain the experience and exposure of top level competition. Both squads are currently attending a training camp in Tucson, AZ and made their team debut at the Valley of the Sun Stage Race this past weekend in Phoenix. The following sponsors graciously support the LeMond Fitness-Blender Magazine Cycling Team: LeMond Fitness (www.lemondfitness.com) Blender Magazine (www.blender.com) American Italian Cancer
Foundation (Honorary Sponsor) (www.aicfonline.org) The LeMond Fitness-Blender Magazine Cycling Team’s equipment needs are generously met by Bicycles: LeMond Bicycles (www.lemondbikes.com)
LeMond Fitness-Blender Magazine 2003 Roster: Team Advisor: Greg LeMond PRO ROSTER: Bill Innes (USA), Team
Captain AMATEUR ROSTER Chris Beardsley For more information visit www.kissenasports.com |
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