Stradalli – Bike Aid take wins at German Elite State Championships

Stradalli – Bike Aid sent three riders to the German Elite State Championships this past weekend. A field of 130 riders from all regions of Germany lined up in Kassel Wolfhagen to compete for the title of their respective State regions.

Matthias Schnapka, Joschka Beck and Patrick Lechner fought through the hills and wind of Germany to bring home incredible results in a race which only saw 50 riders finish.

Inevitably, due to the wind and hills, a breakaway would slip away with Matthias Schnapka of Stradalli – Bike who would win his elite state championship title for 2016 Saarland .

Patrick Lechner drove the race hard from the beginning, allowing Schnapka to take advantage of the breakaway when the opportunity was presented. Though Lechner missed the breakaway because of his hard work, Lechner would still place second in his respective region’s championship in Rheinland Pfaltz.

Joschka Beck of Stradalli – Bike Aid also brought home a strong second place finish against riders of his region who are noted for being exceptional racers at higher levels. Joschka placed second in the Hessen state.

Stradalli – BikeAid pro cycling team recently returned to Germany after a large block of UCI racing in Belgium. The German Championships attract the best riders in Germany, but the UCI level racing truly brings the Stradalli – Bike Aid riders to another level. Racing against World Tour teams all season has taught the Stradalli – Bike Aid riders many lessons, but their fitness is reaching new levels allowing them to win at the UCI level.

The team has brought home podiums consistently in the UCI Africa Tour and was fighting in breakaways in prestigious races such as Challenge Mallorca and Vuelta Andalucia. Vuelta Andalucia is notorious for being one of the hardest early season stage races in the year and the Stradalli – Bike Aid riders still competed in breakaways throughout the duration of the race.

2016 has been an exceptional year so far for Stradalli – Bike Aid. The team is currently preparing for Tour of Qinghai Lake, the most prestigious race in the UCI Asia Tour. The success in the German Elite Championships gives the riders and management confidence Tour of Qinghai Lake will be another successful tour on calendar of Stradalli – Bike Aid pro cycling team

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 – Bike Aid today raced UCI 1.1 Dwars door de Vlaamse Ardennen, a hard 179.6 kilometer one day race starting and finishing in Erpe – Mere, Belgium.

The race runs through many famous climbs in Belgium. Though Belgium is noted for being flat, this particular race covers 14 well respected climbs. It is a race similar to many of the Ardennes Classics, which are consistently won by the best climbers in the world.

Stradalli – Bike Aid showed a full team and put their top finisher, Niko Holler, in the front group and well positioned to compete for victory. The extremely hilly race would see only 77 of 196 starters finish the race and Holler pulled an amazing result finishing 22^nd and matching his result at UCI 1.HC Eschborn – Frankfurt last weekend in a field against top level riders such as UCI World Time Trial Champion from Etixx – Quickstep Tony Martin. BMC, Lotto – Soudal and Orica – GreenEdge are just a few of the top level organizations which sent riders to compete at Vlaamse Ardennen.

The team will continue its European campaign with the goal of performing at peak capacity for Tour of Qinghai Lake in July.

Pictured above is Niko Holler who looks a lot fresher in this pic holding princess than he did after today’s race. 

Team Stradalli – Bike Aid to Tour of Qinghai Lake again – a true peak of the season

The race also known as The Tour de France of Asia takes place in some of the most astonishing places on earth. The Tour of Qinghai Lake leads through the highlands of the Chinese region “Qinghai” near Tibet and along one of the biggest salt lakes on earth.

After participating the last two years 2014 and 2015, this will be the 3^rd year in a row in which Team Stradalli – Bike Aid has received invitation to this race. The 2016 Tour of Qinghai Lake will be a very special edition as it is the 15^thanniversary of the Tour. To be invited again to this race means a lot to the team as the Tour of Qinghai Lake is the most important race in Asia and ranked with HC category in the calendar of UCI. This is the highest category in rankings apart from World Tour races. Qinghai Lake will again give the team the opportunity to race side by side with big teams such as Lampre – Merida of the World Tour during the same time as the Tour de France in July.

The team has been proving their strength over the year against World Tour teams since the beginning of the year. The team first travelled to Challenge Mallorca where they were a constant factor in breakaway moves. The team then continued their aggressive racing style at Vuelta Andalucia Ruta del Sol. The team recently grabbed a 22^nd place finish at UCI 1.HC Rund um den Finanzplatz Eschborn – Frankfurt, widely known as one of the hardest races in Germany and Europe.

Florent Horeau, who will fill the role of head sport director for Stradalli – Bike Aid in Qinghai Lake, said preparations for Qinghai Lake are the most important for the team.

“The whole schedule and planning of the season is targeted to this race. We have been able to show good performances in the past two years with many Top – 10 results, but this year we want to achieve the next level and be focused on this race,” Horeau said.

Stradalli – Bike Aid will continue using the carbon Aversa frame for Qinghai lake. The Aversa frame has proven itself over a wide variety of terrain and racing conditions and will suit the racers needs for the toughest stage race in Asia. The team fully believes in their capabilities to impact the race and will be using the best technology to do so.

Especially with the new rider from Rwanda, Jean-Bosco Nsengimana, team Stradalli – Bike Aid want to play an important role in the general classification of the race. To achieve this goal it is necessary to be perfectly organized and to have a square schedule for every rider to be in top-shape at this time.

Horeau said another goal will be to fight with Meron Teshome from Eritrea for stage-wins.

“Meron already proved lot of times that he is a fast sprinter.” Horeau said. “He has been especially good this year. He already beat one of his biggest competitors a couple of times in the sprint. That gives us confidence and hope to also play a good role in the daily sprints.”

Not only in terms of sport the Tour of Qinghai Lake will be a highlight of the season. The race is well-known for its unique location on altitude and given the fact that the stages will be held at altitudes between 2.400m and 3.800m this will be a very special challenge for the body and also the mind of each and every rider. The team recently traveled to the Tour of Eritrea where they raced and excelled in similar altitudes after preparing on Alpe d’huez in France and STEPS training facility in Germany. Nevertheless the racing will still be tough and the riders will be rewarded for their agonies with breath-taking views and landscapes at the top of this unique scenery that is quite impossible to find the right words for.

In terms of media, the Tour of Qinghai Lake is a real eye-catcher! Every stage will be live broadcasted in the Chinese TV channel CCTV 5 ensuring huge media coverage as well as the reports in the countless daily newspapers. A peak of about 2 million spectators per day on the race roads well-rounding this awesome event and makes it to a unique platform for riders, teams and also the sponsors to present to the Chinese and Asian markets!

We hope that we will be also able to bring you again breath-taking pictures and stories from the Tour of Qinghai Lake also in 2016!

Round um den Finanzplatz Eschborn - Frankfurt, one of Germany’s most important and hard one-day races, can be won by either sprinters or early attackers. It creates a beautiful race in which riders have the opportunity to make the difference before the flat finish in the center of the city. The race is 206.8 km and the presence of the Taunus Mountains and their challenging climbs could see the race change at any time and requires to the riders to focus 100 percent of their energy into every moment of the race.

180 riders lined up to complete the circuit which featured 8 categorized climbs with gradients of 20 percent. The race which saw the riders race uphill at insane speeds had only 56 finishers. On the first lap riders were already losing contact with the bunch.

Stradalli – Bike Aid lined up their best riders to compete against Etixx – Quickstep and Team Katusha. The team knows the strength of the World Tour teams from their early season racing in Challenge Mallorca and Ruta del Sol and came fully prepared to attack the race.

Etixx – Quickstep fielded a talented team which included Niki Terpstra, Giani Meersman and 3-time UCI Time Trial World Champion Tony Martin. Terpstra, winner of the 2014 edition of Paris – Roubaix and Meersman did not finish the race. Martin was the last of 56 finishers of the tough, hilly route through Frankfurt.

Alexander Kristoff of Team Katusha would take the final sprint of the day, but he was not the only winner at Eschborn - Frankfurt. John Degenkolb could feel like a winner after almost a three-month injury break. Degenkolb celebrated an impressive comeback even if he did not finish with the best time. Degenkolb rode in the service of his team, Giant-Alpecin. After nearly 160 kilometers he reduced his pace instead of hurting himself over the fourth and final time on the Mammolshain mountain. Degenkolb finished the race in the team bus. Giant – Alpecin teammate, American Caleb Fairly, also pulled out of the race.

The race would finish hard and fast in the Frankfurt city streets and Milan – San Remo winner Alexander Kristoff would take the sprint handily. The Argentinian Maximiliano Richeze from the Belgian Etixx - Quick-Step team and the Irishman Sam Bennett Germany Team Bora – Argon 18 rolled in behind for second and third place.

Stradalli – Bike Aid rider Nico Holler had an incredible ride finishing 22 in the main pack. Holler is a climber by specialty, but still managed to be at the front of the group for a tight fast sprint. Eschborn – Frankfurt is widely considered one of the hardest races in Germany and it is a huge result for Holler and Stradalli – Bike Aid to be at the front attacking and competing with the best teams and Europe.

Great Deal On Stradalli 29er full carbon fiber mountain bike frame

Stradalli Cycle introduces a new deal that cannot be beat. Call now and you receive the 29er full carbon fiber mountain bike frame for only $899.00   That’s a savings of $700! But that’s not it! If you call and mention this ad you will also receive a FREE Stradalli Cycle racing jersey AND a pair of running shoes! Call 954-283-8585 

Stradalli Cycle Ready To Test And Review Mountain Bikes At Trans-Sylvania Epic

The only way you become the best is by constantly pushing and testing yourself. Stradalli Cycle believes in that which is why they are entering the Trans-Sylvania Epic this summer in Pennsylvania. It’s not only a great event to take part in but it is also a great opportunity to see how the Stradalli Cycle mountain bikes hold up against some of the other top brands.

The Trans-Sylvania Epic is an annual mountain biking event held every summer in central Pennsylvania and welcomes over 200 MTB riders from all around the world. It has quickly become the biggest mountain biking stage race on the east coast and every year seems to get bigger and bigger. Stradalli Cycle CEO Tom Steinbacher has heard a lot of big things about the Epic and decided this was the year to test his brand and racers against some of the best in the world.

“I know Bob McCarty and Cesar Grajales are great mountain bikers but stage races are different. Bob has been riding for over 20 years and he has never been in a stage race. If we want to say we are the best we have to prove it. The Stradalli – Bike Aid Continental Team is grabbing wins all over Europe and Africa which is great but we are more than just a full carbon road bike manufacturer. We have elite level full carbon mountain bikes as well and that is what Bob, Cesar and I plan on proving this summer at the Epic.” Tom Steinbacher

Whether it’s outstanding reviews or the large amount of wins Stradalli seems to grab every year, the company has been entering bigger races each year in a massive effort to not only build their brand but to also prove their bikes can go up against any other manufacturer, not just with road bicycles but MTB as well.