This is interesting. The Toyota-United team, who created their own brand of bicycles, is now being sponsored by and will ride Fuji bicycles. The interesting thing is that United will continue to pimp its United brand of bikes, and sell them through Fuji's distribution network. Another interesting tidbit is this quote from the team's press release when it was launched last year:
"It's important that if we provide a value, we get compensated for it," Tucker said. "If we asked a company for sponsorship, we would tell them, ‘We feel we're worth X amount, and you don't.' And that's okay. We believe in your product, so we will buy it. Maybe next year they will see the value we're going to provide. Not only do we have these great riders who are going to win a lot of races, but that's just a small piece of what we're going to be doing."Sounds like Fuji has seen the value, considering their kick-@ss performance last year, and signing some great riders this year. Anyway, I've always had a soft spot for Fuji, since it was my first racing bike (and survives to this day as my fixed-gear commuter). Plus Lynne had a pimp Professional last year, but had to sell it before we moved. They always put out d@mn sweet-looking bikes, and the team issue is no exception. It's too bad they have such short top tubes.
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