After many days of waiting, now it is time to officially announce that our team received a place in the Continental Tour in season 2012.
Main sponsor of the team will be PKN Orlen company. Poland's biggest enterprise decided to increase involvement in sport. After many successful projects in racing area, including the Dakar Rally and Porsche SuperCup, it is time to step into the cycling world. Orlen decided to also promote the name of their top-quality fuel named Verva.
Team base will be placed in Cracow, Poland, and naturally Orlen will be registered as a Polish team.
The bikes will be provided by well-known Italian bicycle manufacturer - Pinarello. They believe that contracts with promising, new teams will give them many benefits in future. American company, Giro, will make Orlen's helmets. French firm Mavic will provide us with the high-quality bicycle parts. And the last secondary sponsor is Nike - one of the most famous companies in the world will use the best known technology to produce our cycling clothes. It's a honor for us to cooperate with them.
Top level of equipment will surely help our team to reach all goals for the upcoming season.
The last thing that we would like to reveal on this presentation is a jersey which Orlen riders will use during the 2012 season. Here it is:
More information about the team will appear as soon as possible.
Edited by dudi2401 on 24-03-2011 22:47
Nice presentation and really looking forward to your team next season.
One comment though, i believe Giro is American rather then Italian. Well, according to wiki it is, and they are part of Easton-Bell, which is also American (USA).
An information about the first ever Polish team to get a place in Continental Tour in season 2012 a few days ago caused an immediate increase of interest in cycling among Polish fans. Orlen surely have started a kind of revolution and that was proved today by a great number of spectators during 2011 Polish championship. Naturally dudi2401 - Orlen Cycling Team Manager was among the crowds and we would like to present now an exclusive interwiev with a man, who began this project:
First of all, it is a great pleasure for us, that you agreed for that interview.
We would like to ask about preparations for the upcoming season. How does it look right now?
Everything is progressing perfectly. Right now, we focus on a transfer season, which will be opened soon. We have to use time left in order to gather as many information about cyclists as possible. I already have got some names on my shortlist, now it is time to observe and look for more suitable riders.
Can you tell us some details about cyclists, that you are interested in? Are they riders specialized in a particular kind of stages? Also are they mainly Poles or maybe Orlen will look for foreign riders too?
I cannot tell any specific names right now. Cyclists on my shortlist are not Poles only, but our priority is to create the best place for young Polish talents to rise and improve. We are also interested in riders from Poland's neighborhood, people who come from the Eastern part of Europe. That is why we are exploring other countries too in order to get many info about riders avaliable there. It is obviously connected with PKN Orlen's strategy, which is planning to promote Orlen products in East-Central Europe. Nevertheless, our priority is to get top Polish cyclists that will be available during the transfer season.
What about the goals and calendar for season 2012?
We will begin calendar creation as soon as we get the final roster. However, we did gathered some information about available races.
What are the expectations? Is Orlen going to be an important part of the Continental Tour?
I hope so! We will do our best to reach the highest positions in every race and to achieve our goals. However, it is our first season in pro peleton. We are in the beginning of this adventure and, as we know, beginnings are always hard. Next few days will surely affect on our future in CT, but we are optimistic and ready to fight.
Thank you so much for this interview and good luck in season 2012!
Today, Orlen Cycling Team revealed also the helmets that will be in use this season. Here they are:
