Iwan Spekenbrink announces new top cycling team

Iwan Spekenbrink, general manager of the current Skil-Shimano, is proud to announce the birth of a new top cycling team. According to Spekenbrink, next year, the current structure of his team will form the basis of a new international cycling project with a new main sponsor and strong technical partners who represent a new ambitious face in the world of modern cycling. The future of the team is ensured for at least 3 year. A European multinational, of which the name will be revealed at the beginning of next year, has attached itself to the project for that period. Shimano Inc. (bicycle parts), Felt Bicycles (frames) and Pearl Izumi (cycling clothes) support the ambitious plan.

The management is grateful to its current main sponsor Skil for the pleasant and successful cooperation and the confidence of the past years. As Skil-Shimano, the young cycling structure has experienced a steady growth and has established a firm basis by working with a clear view, clear core values and a personal philosophy. The new set-up allows the team to definitively join the international cycling top. The main sponsor will be presented in spring of 2012 as a central part of its new marketing and communication strategy. Until then, the team appears on the cycling roads as "Project 1t4i".

The five guidelines, collected under the working title 1t4i (Team spirit, Inspiration, Integrity, Improvement, Innovation), form a short summary of the mission, view, core values and method the team represents and that are also shared by the partners of the team.

The creation of a perfect and believable top sport environment gets a new dimension within cycling. Scientific experts in the field of training, training analysis and nutrition provide high-end additions to the sports staff. A personal expert will support the technical partners permanently in the constant development of materials so the cyclists have access to the most competitive equipment.

The team will get a new team base in South-France under the name Pro Cycling Experience to intensify and optimize the training of the cyclists. This team base will also be accessible to cycling enthusiasts, touring cyclists, fans, companies and media.

Where the team goes for innovation, team spirit and believable top sport in terms of policy and method, "green" will also be reflected in the communication and image of Project 1t4i. This color will be a clear element in its expressions. Project 1t4i will execute its operation CO2-neutral. Moreover, the team functions as ambassador of the non-profit organization "Trees for Travel", that applies itself to the maintenance of the environment by means of CO2-emission reduction and compensation.

With promising cyclists such as Marcel Kittel, John Degenkolb, Alexandre Geniez, Patrick Gretsch and Tom Veelers, the team has a good future in addition to a strong basis. In the coming period, the team will be further reinforced. The goals is participation in the Tour de France and all other big races. Project 1t4i expects to be a World Tour team in the new season of 2013. The team clearly has a French heart, a German spine and a Dutch basis, with an international focus, which is in line with the company activities of the main sponsor and other partners.

"We are very proud that we've succeeded in connecting a big international partner to our team and that we have the trust of our other partners. This enables us to realize this ambitious project and join the global elite of cycling. We eagerly look forward to the future and are very motivated to shape this project further," Iwan Spekenbrink emphasizes the high ambitions of the new team Project 1t4i.