The 2017 season will see the launch of WM3 Pro Cycling – and today it was announced that the riders will be aboard Ridley bikes.
The team is the new home for Marianne Vos after her long term Rabobank-Liv set up lost its sponsor, and she’s joined by some stars of the peloton including Lauren Kitchen Kasia Niewiadoma, Anouska Koster.
Belgium brand Ridley have been announced as the brand new bike sponsor for the squad, and the team will be set up with their machines from January 1. Ridley also sponsor Lotto Soudal, which is ‘independent from but related to’ the World Tour men’s team, Lotto Soudal.
The brand solidified their commitment to women’s cycling this year, rolling out an increased offering of women’s models. They do not believe that women require a different frame geometry to men, so all of their women’s bikes share identical frames to the men’s models with female specific touchpoints as standard.
The top end race bike is the Ridley Jane (akin to the men’s Ridley Noah), which TWC is currently testing. They also offer an endurance race model, the Ridley Liz (same as the men’s Ridley Fenix) which we’ve already tested and reviewed.
Speaking about the commitment to the team, CEO of Ridley Jochim Aerts said: “Marianne Vos has visited us in Paal-Beringen for some extensive testing of our women’s range. She was impressed about our bikes and immediately confident about a partnership for the next couple of years.”
He added: “It’s more than just a partnership. Marianne Vos and all other top cyclists from the team will be representing our new women’s range of products. We invested a lot in women’s cycling because we believe they deserve to be supported equally as men. On top of that, women’s cycling is growing rapidly. Together with WM3 Pro Cycling, we want to familiarize this growing community even more with Ridley”.
Team manager Eric van den Boom WM3 Pro Cycling commented: “We agreed a collaboration for five years. Ridley Bikes is already well known and we would like to help reinforcing Ridley’s position in women’s cycling.
“We’re present in various cycling disciplines. Road cycling is a priority but we’re also very active in cyclocross. Ridley can support us in all disciplines with the best materials and by this partnership we’re contributing to innovation on all aspects.”
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