The beginning of La Tropicale Amissa Bongo is closing in. January 18, 2016 the UCI 2.1 status race features some of the best teams in the world. More importantly it is the most prestigious race in Africa and it is the first race on the calendar for Stradalli-Bike Aid.
For the 10th straight year the La
Tropicale Amissa Bongo will be held in Gabon, Africa. This race consists of 7 stages. 3 stages that will take the
riders on a tour through the hillier parts of Eastern Gabon. 1 stage is an
individual time trial and the rest of the stages will be held near the flat
coastline of West Gabon.
Competing with Stradalli-Bike Aid
for the race are teams representing countries from each
region of Africa as well as Skydive Dubai Pro Cycling Team.
La
Tropicale Amissa Bongo is one of the few races during the season that amateur African cycling
teams have the chance to race with professional teams who race a full UCI
calendar. The race focuses on developing
African cycling, which makes it a large target for Stradalli-Bike Aid.
Timo
Schafer, team leader for Stradalli-Bike Aid, said La Tropicale Amissa Bongo is
the perfect place to begin the season and debut the new racing team.
“This was the most successful and exciting off season in team history between training in the United States and all around Europe, the new racers we have added to the team and the new sponsorship with Stradalli Cycle. Having the support of a great sponsor makes you even more optimistic about the upcoming season and we are excited to see what the new members of the team can do as well. Now we
get to go to Gabon, Africa to show how serious we are about our mission to
develop African cycling.” Schafer said.
Stradalli - Bike Aid has had several success stories including Mekseb
Debesay, a Eritrean professional cyclist. Dimension Data, UCI World Tour
Professional Team, bought Debesay from Stradalli-Bike Aid because of his
performances over the course of 2015. Debesay is just one success story of the
Stradalli-Bike Aid team and Dimension Data are not the only major players who
have noticed.
Matthias
Schnapka, professional rider for Stradalli-Bike Aid, feels that the new sponsorship which includes Aversa full carbon road bikes, is going to make a big difference for the upcoming season.
“We have been training with our new bikes for a couple of months and they are fantastic. Every pro cyclist in the world will tell you about the importance of having reliable equipment when competing at such a high level. I know I speak for the whole
team when I say the support from FSA - Full Speed Ahead has been outstanding. I
can say the same for Prologo Seats. Having these big companies like those go out
of their way to support us is very special.” Schnapka said.
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