Sports | Thursday 23 February, 2017 10:04 am |

AS IT UNVEILS NEW NAME, IDENTITY AND MAJOR NEW PARTNERS

 

UCI World Tour team will line-up at the Abu Dhabi Tour with new co-title sponsor Emirates, and partners ADS Securities and International Golden Group

 

 On the eve of the biggest cycling race in the Middle East, the UAE’s first-ever professional cycling team today unveiled a new name, logo, team kit, and three new sponsors that includes a new co-title sponsor – the iconic international airline, Emirates.

 

The team, which last December was awarded the final license to compete on the UCI World Tour – the premier annual male elite road cycling tour, has undergone a transformation in recent months, and will now be known as UAE Team Emirates. It will ride under that banner for the first time at this week’s Abu Dhabi Tour.

 

The announcement that one of the most iconic brands in world sports is to extend its international sponsorship strategy into a professional cycling team for the first time, represents one of the most significant sponsorship deals in cycling’s recent history. The iconic Emirates logo will now feature on the UAE Team Emirates team jersey.

 

The support of the globally-renowned airline brand is a huge boost for both the team and professional cycling more broadly. Emirates is the world’s largest international airline, operating to 154 cities in 83 countries across six continents. The brand is known worldwide as one of the leading supporters of world-class sports events, teams and clubs and has enjoyed long-term, highly successful sponsorships in football, rugby, tennis, horseracing, golf, cricket and F1, among others. 

 

 

Sheikh Majid Al Mualla, Divisional Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations Centre for Emirates, said: “This is our first foray into supporting a professional international cycling team, and there is no better place to do it than our home of the UAE.  We believe that through our support of UAE Team Emirates over the next four years we will help bring the UAE to the world stage of cycling. Emirates aims to create more meaningful connections with cycling fans around the world, and we hope that the pro-cycling team will inspire continued development of the sport in the UAE.”

 

The announcement was made at a specially-convened media event in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi, which also saw the team confirm two further new sponsors - ADS Securities and International Golden Group (IGG).

 

Abu Dhabi based international financial services company, ADS Securities, is a leading forex, bullion and online trading firm, and its Chairman, His Excellency Mahmood Ebraheem Al Mahmood, is delighted to be partnering with UAE Team Emirates:

 

“Cycling’s popularity has grown immensely in the last several years and while cyclists may not necessarily know a lot about finance, they have an innate understanding of risk.  We are confident that this is the beginning of a great partnership and are thrilled to be one of the first organizations to formally support a UAE-based team competing at the very highest level in professional road racing.”

 

Mr Fadel Saif Al-Kaabi, CEO of defence and security services provider, IGG, said:

 

"This is a fantastic opportunity for IGG; supporting UAE's top athletes is a habit that we are immensely proud of, and something which we have done in an abundance in the past. This latest partnership with UAE Team Emirates is particularly exciting given the massive developments having been made to unveil the new team to the world."

 

UAE Team Emirates President, Matar Al Dhaheri, was thrilled to have been able to announce three major new sponsors in such a short period of time since the team’s own unveiling just over a month ago.

 

"The commercial interest in this team has been so exciting, and it is a huge honour to have attracted three such impressive organisations as Emirates, ADS Securities and IGG to join our new family,” said Al Dhaheri.

 

“My thanks go to the management teams at all three companies, but of course I’d like to thank in particular our new co-title sponsor Emirates. To announce a partnership with such an iconic and experienced brand in world sports is a major milestone for the team and I believe it is one of the best partnerships in the history of cycling.

 

“These new partners, together with our fantastic roster of current sponsors – lead sponsor Kopaonik Property Investment, Colnago, Champion System, Met and Mitsubishi Motors - offer us the stability needed to establish a world-class team that will help us take great strides over the coming years," he concluded.

 

UAE Team Emirates was born out of a former Italian UCI World Tour team, and is owned by Swiss-based company CGS Cycling. In early January the new team was unveiled as Team UAE Abu Dhabi together with a new lead sponsor – the UAE-based company Kopaonik Property Investment LLC. Now, almost two months down the line, and having attracted the additional support of Emirates, ADS Securities and IGG, the team has evolved to become known as UAE Team Emirates.

 

Continuing in his previous role is UAE Team Emirates General Manager - Italian cycling legend Giuseppe Saronni. Saronni has been managing professional cycling teams since 1991, only one year after having ended a glittering career as a cyclist in which he collected 205 victories, including twice winning the iconic Maglia Rosa (Pink Jersey) at the Giro d’Italia and beating Greg LeMond to win the World Cycling Championship in 1982.

 

Known affectionately within the cycling world as Beppe, Saronni has steered successive professional teams to glory on the road, including four World Champions who have raced for his teams wearing the famous Rainbow Jersey, and wins at many of the most prestigious races in the world including the Giro d’Italia, Milan-San Remo, Liège-Bastogne-Liège, the Tour of Flanders, Paris-Roubaix, the Amstel Gold Race, and the Giro di Lombardia.

 

Well-known cyclists to have raced in Saronni’s teams include Maurizio Fondriest, Ján Svorada, Pavel Tonkov, Gilberto Simoni, Michele Scarponi, and Damiano Cunego. Now under the new UAE Team Emirates banner, Saronni is hoping to steer a new generation to success over the coming years

 

“My passion is for building a true family of riders who come together, work hard as a team, and strive towards a common goal. Over the years we have built a great tradition and with UAE Team Emirates I believe we have a great opportunity to do that once again,” said Saronni.

 

“We have an exciting squad that includes a number of really promising young riders. Our 26 riders will compete in all forms of racing this year, with a strong mix of GC specialists, some exciting Classics riders, good climbers and fast sprinters. We have a really exciting future, and I couldn’t be more happy for this season and beyond.”

 

UAE Team Emirates’ first race under the new team banner is the Abu Dhabi Tour from 23 – 26 February. A UCI World Tour race, it features four stages taking place across the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, three of which are likely to suit the sprinters and one which takes in the mountains around the city of Al Ain, finishing at the 1025m summit of Jebel Hafeet.

 

The UAE Team Emirates’ team of eight for the race is Diego Ulissi, Ben Swift, Manuele Mori, Louis Meintjes, Andrea Guardini, Kristijan Durasek, Rui Alberto Faria Da Costa and Simone Consonni.

 

One man not competing in Abu Dhabi this week, but who has a particular interest in the new roster of team sponsors, is UAE Team Emirates’ Emirati rider Yousif Mirza. The 28 year old, who hails from Ras Al Khaimah, represented his country at the Rio Olympics in 2016, and has been given the chance to ride with a UCI World Tour team for the first time this season.

 

“I have seen at first hand the impact that the arrival of professional cycling in the UAE is having on participation and active lifestyle in my country,” says Mirza. “The Dubai and Abu Dhabi Tours have done a great job in giving a profile to this sport, and now I’m sure that this new team, with the support of great local partners, can take cycling to the next level in the UAE and inspire many more people to take to two wheels in the next few years.”

ENDS

For more information and all future media enquiries please contact Sahar Makki:

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About UAE Team Emirates

UAE Team Emirates is a professional cycling team licensed to compete on the UCI World Tour, the pinnacle tour of men’s professional road racing. Owned by Swiss-based company CGS Cycling, the management team comprises Mr. Matar Suhail Al Yabhouni Al Dhaheri - President, Mr. Giuseppe Saronni – General Manager, and Mr. Mauro Gianetti – Promoter.

 

UAE Team Emirates’ 26 man squad for the 2017 season comprises:

RIDER	DATE OF BIRTH	NATIONALITY
AIT EL ABDIA Anass	21.03.1993	MAR
ATAPUMA HURTADO Jhon Darwin	15.01.1988	COL
BONO Matteo	11.11.1983	ITA
CONSONNI Simone	12.09.1994	ITA
CONTI Valerio	30.03.1993	ITA
ĐURASEK Kristijan	26.07.1987	CRO
FARIA DA COSTA Rui Alberto	05.10.1986	POR
FERRARI Roberto	09.03.1983	ITA
GANNA Filippo	25.07.1996	ITA
GUARDINI Andrea	12.06.1989	ITA
KUMP Marko	09.09.1988	SLO
LAENGEN Vegard Stake	07.02.1989	NOR
MARCATO Marco	11.02.1984	ITA
MEINTJES Louis	21.02.1992	RSA
Mirza alhammadi Yousif	08.10.1988	UAE
MODOLO Sacha	19.06.1987	ITA
MOHORIC Matej	19.10.1994	SLO
MORI Manuele	09.08.1980	ITA
NIEMIEC Przemyslaw	11.04.1980	POL
PETILLI Simone	04.05.1993	ITA
POLANC Jan	06.05.1992	SLO
RAVASI Edward	05.06.1994	ITA
SWIFT Ben	05.11.1987	GBR
TROIA Oliviero	01.09.1994	ITA
ULISSI Diego	15.07.1989	ITA
ZURLO Federico	25.02.1994	ITA

 

UAE Team Emirates Official Partners are:

• Kopaonik Property Investment LLC (lead sponsor)
• Emirates (co-title sponsor)
• ADS Securities
• International Golden Group
• Colnago
• Champion System
• Met
• Mitsubishi Motors

 

 

About Emirates

Emirates, a global connector of people and places, has received more than 500 international awards and accolades for excellence, including Skytrax’s ‘World’s Best Airline 2016’. With a fleet of over 250 fuel-efficient and wide-body aircraft, the multi-award winning airline flies to 154 destinations in 83 countries. In 2016, Emirates launched a host of exciting new routes including: Cebu and Clark in the Philippines, Yinchuan and Zhengzhou in China, Yangon in Myanmar, Hanoi in Vietnam, Fort Lauderdale in the US and cargo-only destination Phnom Penh in Cambodia. Destinations announced for 2017 include Zaghreb in Croatia and a daily service to Newark in the United States via Athens.  The airline is the world’s largest operator of the Airbus A380 with 89 A380 aircraft in service. The airline’s innovations on the double-decker include an Onboard Shower Spa for First Class passengers and an Onboard Lounge in First and Business Class.  Emirates is also the industry’s largest operator of Boeing 777s with more than 160 in the fleet. Currently, 223 aircraft worth US$108 billion are in the order books. Emirates connects its passengers with sports such as football, rugby, tennis, horseracing, golf, cricket and F1, among others. 

 

About ADS Securities

ADS Securities is an Abu Dhabi based international financial services company, dedicated to providing the highest quality investment opportunities for institutional, private and retail clients.  It offers unique online trading, global market, investment banking and wealth management services.  Established in 2011, ADS Securities is part of the ADS Holding group and in a short period of time has established itself as a leading forex, bullion and online trading firm.  It is regulated and licensed by the UAE Central Bank, and was established with initial capital of US$400 million.  ADS Securities is headquartered in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE.  A regional HQ office, ADS Securities Hong Kong Limited, regulated by the SFC (AXC847), was launched in December 2013.  ADS Securities Singapore Pte was established in Singapore in 2011, and provides customer support across the region.  In the UK, ADS Securities London Limited is authorised and regulated by the FCA (577453), and is a wholly owned subsidiary of ADS Securities’ parent company.  For more information please go to www.ads-securities.com

 

About International Golden Group (IGG)

Established in 2002 with headquarters in Abu Dhabi, International Golden Group (IGG) PJSC specialises in providing high-end defence and security solutions. Recognised as a leading supplier to the UAE Armed forces, Ministry of Interior, and other defence and security authorities, IGG provides unsurpassed levels of services to our growing customer base by employing highly dedicated and experienced personnel. At IGG, they ultimately aim to build alliances and partnerships in the defence field by entering into long-term partnerships with strategic business partners, both locally and internationally. Their dedication and focus are aimed towards moving into complex system integrations, assembly and manufacturing.