Following the news that Matrix Fitness Pro Cycling will be registered as a UCI professional team next season and having signed British road champion and two times Olympic gold medallist Laura Trott, Trek have today confirmed they’ll be sponsoring the ambitious team in 2015.
The Matrix team have currently been using Bontrager parts but now Trek, which owns Bontrager, will supply the team with their latest 690g Émonda SLR frame, launched this summer and ridden in the Tour de France. They’ll have the Speed Concept at their disposal for time trials.
All bikes will be decked out with Bontrager wheels and components and Trek’s Precision Fit program will be used to ensure each member of the team has a good fit on their new bike.
"Sponsoring the Matrix Fitness team as they make the step to the pro ranks is meaningful for a number of reasons. We've been dedicated to women cyclists ever since our first Women's Specific Design bike hit the market in 1999," said Chris Garrison of Trek UK.
"We're hugely proud to have some of the most well-known riders in the world racing our bikes next year. We believe one of the foundations to grow cycling is to get more women on bikes, and we feel that supporting this team provides an important aspirational element to foster that, not just for women and girls, but for all cyclists."
Stef Wyman, director of the Matrix Fitness program, added: "As a team we are looking to make a big step up to the pro ranks. We have to know we’re giving our riders every chance to reach their maximum potential. Trek are a huge brand, and it’s really pleasing they chose to partner with our team.
‘It’s a massive vote of confidence in the project we have set out to them. We certainly hope to do them proud and hopefully we’ll be racing their bikes in the some of the world's biggest races like the Women’s Tour and the Tour of Flanders."
Trek’s new Émonda, launched just before the Tour de France this summer and ridden by the Trek Factory Racing team, claims a frame weight of just 690g (size 56cm), making it the US company’s lightest ever frame. Slap a load of top-end components on it and you’re looking at the possibility of a 4.6kg complete bike.
The frame has size-specific ride-tuned performance which means each frame size has been engineered specifically for the riders, and Trek says the frame boasts the most sophisticated tube optimisation intended to produce the best stiffness-to-weight ratio possible. You can read about it in more detail from the launch event here, and Mat even got to take one for a spin.
7 thoughts on “Trek sponsors Matrix Fitness Pro Cycling women’s team in 2015”
So are Vulpine still title
So are Vulpine still title sponsors then?
Also, all this talk of providing the riders with the best kit, but no mention of a choice between aero (Madone) and weight (Emonda) for road races? (Obviously, the article does mention the TT bike)
notfastenough wrote:So are
No. They’re still sponsors, just not title sponsors
Maybe Trek think the Emondo is the best choice for them for all races? There’s no mention of the Madone in the press release
We stuck with the Émonda
We stuck with the Émonda because it’s the newest bike we have. No other reason, really. The team hasn’t had a chance to ride either the Émonda or the Madone. TFR has riders on both bikes because the riders were able to choose between the two based on previous experience with the Madone. We opted to go for the weight savings over the aero advantage, given the need to get the bikes ready for January 1.
Is it me or does it seem odd
Is it me or does it seem odd that a cycling clothing brand sponsors a cycling team BUT does not make the the cycling clothing..?
I would be keen to know who the clothing manufacturer is and if there is any conflict here…
#justsaying…
FG
PS Where is Nick? He is silent ATM on any/all Vulpien related posts.. I miss him!!
Fixie Girl wrote:Is it me or
Vulpine’s cycling clothes steer fairly well clear of the whole ‘racing scene’, I believe. I don’t believe they stock many (if any) lycra-based garments. It’s less sports-kit, and more… well, y’know, actual clothes.
The Matrix Fitness kit is made by Milltag, who go in for that sort of thing. I assume the two companies get along relatively well.
No more odd than any other
No more odd than any other sponsor who are not directly involved in making anything that is used by a bike racing team – eg Mapei, Sky, Lotto, Alpecin etc
Late to the party here, but
Late to the party here, but to answer a few questions:
Vulpine aren’t a co-title sponsor for 2015. However we had a very positive year with them and are very happy to continue working with them, in a non-title capacity, for 2015. Nick still has, and always will have, an influence in the thinking of the team. He’s part of the family.
Vulpine produce casual clothing, and tailored ride clothing. Milltag, our race wear partner, produce lycra race clothing. They are very different products, and very different markets. In our opinion, they are both among the best people to work with.
As their market is so different, the partnerships have worked very well, hence both continuing to work with the team in 2015.
I don’t see this as any different from lets say Nike or Adidas being a casual clothing parter for a team sponsored by Bio-Racer or Champion Systems for race clothes.
As a team, we were very keen to use the new Emonda from Trek. We are a first year pro team, we aren’t yet a Team Sky or Trek Factory Racing. When we get to those levels, we will, I’m sure, have several options available. However the backing from Trek is 1st class, as are the bikes. Once you’ve seen the Emonda, and used it, and put that in relation to the riders and their size who are on the team, you’ll see exactly why we are very happy with the Emonda across the board.