News from Stradalli - Bike Aid pro cycling team

Our boys from Stradalli - Bike Aid pro cycling team trying to drop Andrè Greipel the Gorilla at last weeks night Crit in Germany. Not an easy task.

Bike Aid Provides Dozens Of Stradalli Bikes For Refugees And Youth In Blieskastel

To many in the cycling community Bike Aid is a large group of cycling enthusiasts with a professional German race team sponsored by Stradalli Cycle. However, the backbone of the group, the teams, the racers and everything that is Bike Aid is charity work. This week the charitable efforts of these amazing people were in plain view as dozens of new bikes were donated to refugees and youth in Blieskastel, Germany.

Thanks to the savings association Saarland eV and many other contributors including Stradalli Cycle, many young people were able to receive these brand new mountain bikes to enjoy and use for transportation.

Bike Aid does considerable charitable work in Eritrea, Africa as well as other parts of the world. They raise money and awareness for war-stricken areas of Africa and give hope and opportunity to many of the residents of the community.

“You’ve all probably heard about the success the team has had in bringing young African cyclists to Europe and giving them an education as well as an opportunity to have a real career in pro cycling. That’s great but what about the people who aren’t going to be pro cyclists? They need help as well and when you visit these communities or meet with some of the young men and women from there it is very humbling because you hear their stories and you are amazed at how positive an attitude they have and how much they enjoy life. That’s why I was very happy to help in any way I could.” Stradalli Cycle CEO Tom Steinbacher

It wasn’t long before the young men and women were riding their new bikes over to the local BMX race track. Bike Aid does outstanding charitable work all around the world, specifically working with refugees of many countries in Africa as well as Syria. If you would like to contribute to these efforts please contact Stradalli Cycle. 

Stradalli Cycle y el equipo continental Bike Aid unen fuerzas para el 2016

El fabricante estadounidense de bicicletas de carbono, Stradalli Cycle, anunció la semana pasada su vinculación al equipo alemán profesional Bike Aid como patrocinador y proveedor oficial de material. El nombre del equipo para el 2016 será Stradalli-Bike Aid.

El equipo correrá con objetivos como la promoción del juego limpio y la ayuda a ciclistas del continente africano para que se conviertan en corredores de la categoría World Tour. El equipo además de correr apoyará el trabajo social y la beneficencia en comunidades alrededor del mundo.

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Stradalli - Bike Aid Gears Up For La Tropicale Amissa Bongo

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.

          

Stradalli Cycle – Bike Aid Add 2016 Rio Olympics Bound Janvier Hadi To Roster

If you were curious whether the Stradalli Cycle – Bike Aid Conti Team from Germany would be lacking depth and talent for the upcoming UCI racing season due to the loss of Mekseb Debesay who signed with the Dimension Data World Tour Team last month. Well there is nothing to be concerned about as the team has rounded out its field of African riders with Janvier Hadi who will be representing Rwanda in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero and the 2015 Tour of Rwanda winner Jean Bosco Nsengimana.

“When Mekseb left there was a gap but we knew there was an abundance of talent waiting for an opportunity.  There are world-class athletes looking for a chance to race in Europe. We have guys who are going to the Olympics and are winning the Tour of Rwanda yet they have a hard time getting on a conti team. That doesn’t make any sense and it shows why the Stradalli Cycle – Bike Aid cause is so important. It gives these outstanding cyclists the chance to compete at the top levels of cycling.” Stradalli Cycle CEO Tom Steinbacher

The story of Hadi and Nsengimana is truly inspirational as they come from Rwanda, a country devastated by genocide, poverty and war. While many wonderful charities have sent food, money, medicine and other methods of assistance there is one thing that is desperately needed as well, opportunity. The people of Africa are in desperate need of a chance to better their lives and that is what the goal of Bike Aid is all about, giving young African cyclists the chance at a better life.

“For years if you won a big race in Africa it was nice but it didn’t mean you would even get an interview with a conti team because of the cost it requires to get you into Europe to race. We are changing that but we haven’t reached our goal yet. If our roster has 1 or 2 success stories this year there are people who would think that we succeeded. We want multiple success stories each year to show continued progress and this year we are proud to announce we will have 6 riders from Africa on the roster. That is a huge leap forward for us and we are excited about the progress we are making in such a short period of time.” Eric Haus (Founder and CEO of Bike Aid)

Stradalli Cycle - Bike Aid Will Continue Inspiring Charity Work In Africa

You may not know the difference between a Wal-Mart bicycle and a full carbon road bike but you do know about the devastation and poverty that is day to day life in many countries of Africa. There are hundreds of charitable organizations trying to help and a great example is Bike Aid, a German cycling club with over 600 members who help to bring aspiring cyclists to Europe.

The Conti Team has races all over the globe in hopes to raise awareness of their cause and in only two years they have real success stories they can be proud of. Mekseb Debesay, one of the young cyclists from Africa who was given an opportunity to race in Europe because of Bike Aid has signed on to be a teammate of Mark Cavendish for team Dimension Data in the World Tour.

“The story of Debesay is a great success for him as well as for our cause. It is always a challenge to try and educate people on what you are doing and why they should support you but when you have true success stories you can start showing them results for their efforts. With the success of the program we are getting more attention and help than we ever thought possible in such a short period of time and we are excited that 2016 is expected to be our biggest season yet with more African cyclist on the team than before and we will also have the help of our new title and bike sponsor Stradalli Cycle from America.” Bike Aid Racer Spokesman Matthias Schnapka

The full carbon bike manufacturer from Florida has been looking to sponsor a Conti Team for a while but took a special interest in Bike Aid because of what they represent. 

You can read more about the Stradalli Cycle - Bike Aid Conti Team as well as their cause and updates during the 2016 racing season. 

Bike Aid Concept Showing Results In Their Second Year

Mekseb Debesay is officially a teammate of Mark Cavendish in the World Tour.

After 2 years of hard work, the most successful rider of the Conti team will now be riding side by side with Mark Cavendish in team Dimension Data, formerly known as MTN-Qhubeka, for the 2016 racing season.

Eric Haus, President of Bike Aid, said that this proves the teams goals are being accomplished exactly as they hoped for. 

“This is truly a success story that has turned out just as we have hoped it would. Mekseb is well respected and one of the most popular cyclists on the African continent. He has won many victories for our team. We used our media work and our racing calendar as a platform for our successes. The leap from our team to the highest class of cycling is exactly what we want to achieve in our project for African riders,” Haus said.

Bike Aid has has had similar success last year with Dan Craven, who successfully completed the Vuelta a Espana in 2014 with Team Europcar.

Timo Schafer, Team Coordinator for Bike Aid, is looking forward to working with the new riders for 2016.

“Mekseb leaving does create a big gap for the team, but this also creates an oppurtunity for the young racers looking to have a shot next year. We have a number of new African talents for 2016 and we are excited to see how it will evolve in the team, and hopefully we will see more success stories.” Shafer said.

The Stradalli-Bike Aid Continental Cycling Team is the first professional cycling team in Saarland, Germany. Stradalli Bike-Aid promotes and stands for fresh, honest cycling with a socially sustainable background. The team competes annually in more than 100 races on all continents and has already achieved considerable international success with multiple podium appearances.

The Stradalli-Bike Aid Continental Team promotes talented athletes from Africa by helping them to fulfill their lifelong dreams of racing in Europe. They assist with sports training, education and internship offers as a cultural exchange program. Stradalli-Bike Aid plans to make cycling a fascinating experience for as many individuals as possible, regardless of their social and cultural backgrounds.

Photo Shoot For Stradalli Cycle - Bike Aid Conti Team

Fun day of riding and photo shoots with The Stradalli Cycle – Bike Aid Conti Team and The Wizard Racing Development Team in Florida

The Stradalli Cycle-Bike Aid Conti team enjoying sunny South Florida during training camp to get ready for the 2016 season

2015 A Year In Review For Stradalli Cycle

As we look back and review 2015 for Stradalli Cycle this was certainly the year where the company made their presence felt around the entire world. Whether it was our full carbon road bikes being used in the UCI Road World Championships at Richmond 2015 or our full carbon Mountain Bikes racing in Andorra, Stradalli established themselves as a global brand and we are just getting started.

USA Crits: Racing all over North America the team bonded early on with a great combination of seasoned vets and young talent. The team led the overall points standings for the majority of the season and had more pro racers finish in the top 10 of the standings than any other team including a 2^nd place overall finish.  

Local Domination: While we compete all over the world our home is South Florida and we wouldn’t be able to move forward unless we had a strong foothold in our own backyard. Our pro racers compete in local events throughout the year and this season saw more Florida racing victories than any other.

Mountain Biking: Whether it was Doug DeWeese dominating the FSC Championship on his full carbon 29er full suspension or Bob McCarty winning big races all over North America there is no doubt that we have some elite MTB riders who spent the year stuffing the company trophy case.

Sponsors Commit Early: With the success that 2015 brought and new teams forming in 2016 the sponsors were lining up early. We welcome new sponsors Papa John’s Sea Sucker, Catlike Bicycle Helmet among others and want to say thanks to past sponsors who committed to coming back early on including Safetti, Demon’s Cycle, Jaco Clothing, Diadora, FSA, Met-Rx, Bill Bone Bike Law and others. 

Richmond 2015 UCI Road World Championships: Despite great customer reviews on all our full carbon bikes Stradalli is not interested in just bragging, we put our money where our mouth is and that’s why we became the official sponsor of the Colombian National Team. Our full carbon road bikes were used in the races at Richmond 2015 and held their own against the top brands in the world. They were also featured and used during coverage of the races by ESPN Deportes, Universal Sports and others. 

New Teams: Flamingo Racing LLC announced the formation of the new Florida based cycling team: Stradalli Cycle/Papa John’s Woman’s Elite Team. This newly formed team will be racing across North America next year in the USA Crits Series and elsewhere.

Full Sponsorship: People want our full carbon road bikes and more so they want to be part of the Stradalli movement. The company joined with Wizard Racing Development Team for the upcoming season.

Bike Aid: The deal became official in December; we would become the title and bike sponsor for Bike Aid and form the Stradalli Cycle- Bike Aid Conti Team. This German pro team has years of experience racing all around the world in UCI competition and will be turning heads in 2016 armed with the Stradalli Cycle full carbon Aversa road bikes. 

However, Bike Aid is more than just a race team; they raise awareness for an outstanding cause and bring opportunity and education to poverty-stricken communities in Africa. They give you African athletes an opportunity to compete in professional cycling. This is a great cause we are excited to be a part of.

The most successful year in company history wouldn’t be possible without the support of our loyal customers. We want to thank you for your support and hope you will join us for the unforgettable ride 2016 is certain to be.

Video of the Stradalli Cycle - Bike Aid Conti Team Training In South Florida

The Stradalli Cycle - Bike Aid team is currently visiting South Florida to meet with officials and train in preparation for the 2016 UCI racing season. The German men's pro team has been enjoying the sites of South Florida including Fort Lauderdale Beach, Miami, Boca Raton and more.

It also is an opportunity for the team to test out and review the Stradalli Cycle full carbon fiber Aversa road bikes that they will be using next season.

Stradalli Cycle/Bike Conti Team Aid Visiting South Florida To Train

The newly created Stadalli Cycle/Bike Aid Conti Team is in South Florida visiting from German. The team is training 6 hours a day and testing out the full carbon Aversa road bikes that they will be riding in the UCI 2016 season. They have also been enjoying the sights of Miami, Ft. Lauderdale, Boca Raton and even taken a couple of rides out to the Everglades. It hasn't been all work as they have enjoyed plenty of sites including sitting court side at a Miami Heat game and checking out the giant snowman on Ft. Lauderdale Beach on A1A.

"Stradalli Cycle has a great reputation when it comes to their bikes and we know how well their USA crits team did last year as well as how the Colombian National Team did on the full carbon fiber road bikes at Richmond 2015 UCI Road World Championships this past September as well. We were excited to try them out and they are awesome. We cannot wait to ride them next year in competition." Nikodemus Holler

Joining the team for their ride down A1A was Stradalli Cycle pro racer Ruben Companioni as well as CEO Tom Steinbacher. 

Powerful Video Of Why Stradalli Cycle Teamed Up With Bike Aid For A Great Cause

There were multiple reasons why Stradalli Cycle wanted to team up with Bike Aid in 2016 to form the Stradalli Cycle Bike Aid Conti Team. While the team itself has highly talented pro racers, it is the cause they raise awareness for that is truly the main reason why they caught our attention. 

2016 is still a ways away but we want to immediately start bringing attention to this important cause. Please watch this short video to see how cycling is more than just a sport and it can save and change lives all around the world! 

Stradalli Cycle Officially Becomes Title And Bike Sponsor For Bike Aid

StradalliCycle will be the title and bike sponsor for the GermanProfessional Continental Team Bike Aid for the 2016 racing season. The commitment includes title sponsorship, providing full carbon road bikes for the 2016 UCI racing season as well as to help raise awareness for the mission of Bike Aid; helping athletes from Africa reach the highest levels of European cycling as well as provide education and other resources to their communities.

“What grabbed our attention about Bike Aid was not just the high level of talent they have but each pro cyclist’s commitment to the club's awesome cause. They have the talent to race for almost any team but these guys believe in this cause so much that they race and work to bring awareness to it.

Stradalli Cycle/Bike Aid will field a competitive team and will bring a lot of good, positive and clean changes to the cycling world.” Stradalli Cycle CEO Tom Steinbacher

There were several companies who were interested in sponsoring Bike Aid for the 2016 UCI season but the team and members were looking for the right sponsor who would commit more than just financially.

“We wanted to find a sponsor who is going to be a part of our cause and our mission. Tom believes in our cause, he believes in his product and he will support both relentlessly. Everyone saw how great the Stradalli Cycle full carbon road bikes performed at Richmond 2015 UCI Road World Championships and in plenty of other races all around the world the past several years but we needed more than just a great bike. Tom understands how to build awareness and get people on board the way we need to help our efforts become even greater." Bike Aid President Eric Haus

Bike Aid was searching for more than just a financial commitment and because Stradalli Cycle was interested in both the title sponsorship as well as the bike sponsorship and their long history of aggressive marketing it seems like the perfect fit for both sides.