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United Pro Cycling announces title sponsor, roster
New domestic road team looks to revolutionize cycling with franchise model
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The veil of secrecy surrounding the new domestic United Pro Cycling road team was lifted Tuesday morning with the announcement of the team’s title sponsor, Toyota Motor Sales USA, as well as its team roster, equipment sponsors and unique brand of marketing and revenue initiatives.
Coming off a team training camp in Thousand Oaks, California, team owner Sean Tucker was expected to introduce the new squad at a press conference at ESPN Zone in New York City’s Times Square. City sports commissioner Ken Podziba was also expected to be on hand, to welcome the team. An appearance on ESPN2’s “Cold Pizza” was scheduled to follow at 11:30 a.m. EST.
As rumored, prominent Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team signings include reigning USPRO road champion Chris Wherry, reigning national time trial champion Chris Baldwin, Pan Am Games champion Ivan Dominguez, former U.S. Olympian Tony Cruz and four-time Argentinean national champion Juan Jose Haedo. Other key additions include Mariano Friedick, Justin England and Ivan Stevic. Sharing team director responsibilities are Frankie Andreu, a nine-time Tour de France finisher and the U.S. Postal Service director of U.S. racing in 2001-2002, and Harm Jansen, a former Saturn rider and the 2001 USPRO criterium winner.
The team will compete domestically in the U.S. during its inaugural 2006 season and will make its official racing debut on February 19th at the Amgen Tour of California, where Wherry, Baldwin and Cruz will race.
NEW PHILOSOPHY, NEW PARTNERSHIPS
At the core of the new team is Tucker’s franchise model, in which the team is owned by him and other investors, independent of title sponsorships.
“I wanted to create a business model to help sustain the team,” said Tucker, a former pro racer who gathered business experience and contacts in Silicon Valley during the Internet boom of the late 1990s. “I wanted to create a situation where, if Toyota goes away, we don’t go away. I wanted to do something different. That model doesn’t work. Sponsors spend millions of dollars building an asset and then it just dissipates.”
Tucker believes his model marks a significant change for the cycling industry. Structured in a manner similar to the fan-inclusive models of NASCAR and Formula 1, where each team is its own individual brand supported by a strong corporate partner, fans of the team will have the opportunity to develop a long-term relationship and support the team by subscribing for membership. It’s a model currently used by the Basque Euskaltel-Euskadi ProTour squad, and with limited success by the former Flanders-iteamNova.com team.
“We want to take the momentum created by Lance Armstrong and carry it forward,” Tucker said. “We want to pick up the torch and create momentum, create a true team entity. Everyone on this team is capable of winning. Sure we have the USPRO champion in Chris Wherry, but collectively our team is the star.”
In addition to serving as the team’s title sponsor, Toyota will be the exclusive truck and car sponsor of Toyota-United. The automaker will also provide marketing, advertising and promotional support. The multi-year deal marks Toyota’s first-ever sponsorship of a domestic pro road cycling team and is believed to be the largest deal ever signed for a domestic team in North America, eclipsing past or present sponsorships by Mercury, Ford, Subaru, Volkswagen or Saturn.
“We think this partnership is an ideal way to showcase Toyota’s commitment to helping people pursue their goals for a healthy lifestyle,” said Jim Farley, Toyota’s vice president of marketing.
The team has also partnered with Easton Sports for the design and fabrication of United Bicycles, L.L.C., a separate company and brand. Team bikes will feature Easton scandium tubing and carbon seat and chainstays. Easton will also provide forks, wheels, stems, seat posts, handlebars and bar tape. Shimano, the team’s only other bike-component sponsor, provided the drivetrain and other components. United Bicycles separately purchased tires and headsets and worked with each rider to customize a saddle for their body type.
750 Toyota-United team issue race bikes will be available to the public in limited quantities for $6000, with 250 limited edition Chris Wherry signature bikes available for $7000. All bikes will be shipped in late spring and will include a three-year warranty on the frame and fork for normal wear and tear. The company will also offer a “Try and Buy” program, allowing customers to test the bike for comfort and fit for 15 days to validate their purchase.
“We feel we have the most dominant team in the U.S.,” said Tucker, an entrepreneur and former racer. “We want to ensure that our riders have the best possible bikes to help them deliver great results. The creation of United Bicycles, our own bike company and brand, is something that has never been done by a professional cycling team. Easton understands our vision and has helped us design and fabricate a racing machine that meets our riders’ expectations.”
After riding his bike at team camp, Wherry said he backed the product 100 percent. “We would have conference calls where we would get almost everyone on the team together and discuss, what do you think of this, and this. It was nice to have some collective ideas from the riders, the guys who race this stuff day in and day out. They would throw out a product [to the group] and all the riders would say this company is the best, let’s go with that, or if you have a choice take this over something else, which has been really cool. The bike is super stiff and really light. I’d rate it up there with the best bikes I’ve ridden in my life. Anyone who buys one will be happy.”
Other team sponsors include Bicycling magazine, Cendant Hotel Group, Champion System, OS Performance Nutrition, SockGuy and Tifosi Optics. While it’s not as extensive a sponsor list as some teams boast, Tucker explained that was by design.
“It’s important that if we provide a value, we get compensated for it,” Tucker said. “If we asked a company for sponsorship, we would tell them, ‘We feel we’re worth X amount, and you don’t.’ And that’s okay. We believe in your product, so we will buy it. Maybe next year they will see the value we’re going to provide. Not only do we have these great riders who are going to win a lot of races, but that’s just a small piece of what we’re going to be doing.”
In addition to launching its own bike line, Toyota-United looks to generate revenue through fan membership models, merchandising and licensing. Fans choosing to subscribe will have their choice of membership participation, ranging from $25 to $100, and can elect to receive e-mailed newsletters with team race results, rider interviews and photos, exclusive team merchandise discounts, special offers from team sponsors, and other privileges. Additionally, a percentage of all paid memberships will help fund the United Cycling Foundation, a non-profit wholly owned subsidiary of United Cycling, L.L.C. addressing homelessness and supporting environmental causes in the United States. The Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team offers various levels of membership through its website.
TEAM BUILDING
Although rumors of the team’s inception originated late last summer, Tucker and team directors Frankie Andreu and Harm Jansen have remained tight-lipped about the team’s sponsorship and staff over the months. For reasons ranging from finalizing contracts to building anticipation, team management has been extremely cautious of media attention, going as far as to sticker over its equipment at team camp and ride in all-black clothing.
Tales of the team’s clashes with the UCI and USA Cycling over its originally proposed name, the United States Pro Cycling Team, and its proposed stars-and-stripes jersey were confirmed with the team introduction. Toyota-United jerseys are red, white and blue, with vertical stripes reminiscent of the USPRO champion’s jersey.
Leading the team are former Saturn teammates Cruz and Wherry, who will share the role as team captain. It will be a first-time opportunity for both. “I look forward to helping these guys,” said Cruz, who returns to full-time domestic racing after four years of European racing with U.S. Postal Service and Discovery Channel. “I’m happy to help them see what they have to do to get to that level. I have no problem sharing information with the younger guys.”
Training camp exercises included team time-trial drills, an uphill time trial and refinement of the team’s leadout train. Both Cruz and Wherry expect to play prominent roles in the team’s leadouts, as well as Friedick, six-foot-four Sterling Magnell and Tasmanian Sean Sullivan, all in hopes of delivering either Dominguez or Haedo to the finish line. Cruz also hopes to win a few criteriums for himself this season.
“I want to get back to speed I used to have,” Cruz said. “I like winning criteriums.”
For stage races, Toyota-United will look to Wherry, Baldwin and England, a rising climber, to contend for general classification. The team may look to New Zealander Heath Blackgrove at the upcoming Tour of California. Coming off a southern hemisphere summer, Blackgrove — who placed 1st, 2nd and 3rd in the 2003 New Zealand national road, time trial and criterium events, respectively — turned heads in Thousand Oaks.
“Heath has got great form right now. It’s perfect for the team,” Cruz said. “We were hoping somebody could come up with some real form. He’s just been rocketing up climbs.”
Baldwin also said he’s been focusing on the Tour of California, but is aware it may be difficult for a new team to shine in its first race.
“It will be our first test as a team, and it will also be the first test of the staff,” Baldwin said. “It’s hard to hit top form immediately.I don’t want to think about it. I just want to show up, let it rip and hope for the best.”
No matter who is riding best at the Tour of California, Jansen said the team’s long-term goals, combined with its new bonds of camaraderie, are loftier than any one race.
“I’ve seen a lot of teams, and this is as good as it gets,” Jansen said. “Everyone will find out it’s true, when they see how well these guys gel, on and off the bike.”
Look for an in-depth feature on the Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team in VeloNews later this month.
2006 Toyota-United Pro Cycling Team rosterChris Wherry (USA), formerly of Health Net-MaxxisTony Cruz (USA), formerly of Discovery ChannelChris Baldwin (USA), formerly of Navigators InsuranceBobby Lea (USA), formerly of Team Northwestern MortgageIvan Dominguez (Cuba), formerly of Health Net-MaxxisJuan Jose Haedo (Argentina), formerly of Colavita-Sutter HomeIvan Stevic (Serbia), formerly of Aerospace EngineeringJustin England (USA), formerly of Health Net-MaxxisHeath Blackgrove (New Zealand), formerly of Beveren, BelgiumJose Manuel Garcia (Mexico), formerly of Mexican national teamMariano Friedick (USA), formerly of Jelly Belly-Pool GelStefano Barberi (Brazil), formerly of TIAA-CREFSterling Magnell (USA), formerly of Team MonexDerek Wilkerson (USA), formerly of Colavita-Sutter HomeJosh Thornton (USA), formerly of Neptune-FujiSean Sullivan (Tasmania), formerly of Team Barloworld, South AfricaChris Stockburger (USA), formerly of U.S. national team
