New Cycling Teams Announcements
Honduras National Team, Pactimo/Jake Kane Elite, Nicole Freedman to lead Velo Bella/Kona Women's Elite Squad

The Honduras National Cycling Team Announces
2006 Roster and Sponsors
Tegucigalpa, Honduras
The Honduras National Cycling Team today announced their roster and sponsors for the 2006 racing season. Leading the team will be top Honduran rider Jose Armando Orellano and 2005 National Champion Cristian Velasquez. The team will also concentrate on developing its talented U-23 riders Sergio Campos, Arnulfo Martinez and Daniel Meza, as well as juniors Aleymi Martinez and Georges Haimes.

The Elite National Cycling team, which races in the larger UCI sanctioned stage races in Central America and the Caribbean, has added TIGO Wireless as title sponsor. TIGO is the leading cellular phone network in Honduras and is extending its service throughout Central America.

“We are proud to be working with TIGO, their sponsorship will allow us to take our team to another level” said Manuel Vela, Co-Director of the team. “Our riders are talented, hard working and professional. Now with the help of TIGO and our other sponsors, they can concentrate on training and racing, and the team management can concentrate on growing the sport of cycling in Honduras.”

“This team is our best ever, a combination of experienced stage racers who have raced with us for years, and some very talented and enthusiastic young riders who are eager to learn,” said Vela. “They race well together, and are fine ambassadors of the sport and their sponsors as well.”

The team is based in the city of Tegucigalpa, and trains in the mountainous regions of Honduras.

“The terrain in Honduras is very hard and hilly, but our riders face challenges in both their training and daily lives, and they have reached the elite ranks of cycling through hard work and determination” said Reniery Guillen, the team coach and co-director. Guillen, one of top coaches in Central America, recently returned from a UCI coaching seminar held in Switzerland.

In addition to Vela and Guillen, the team management includes international sponsorship coordinator Brian Husen, a former US elite rider who left full-time racing in 1999 for Honduras as a Peace Corps Volunteer. Executive Director for a regional NGO, he will help promote the team and its valued sponsors.

"We are thrilled to add TIGO, Pepsi-Gatorade-Honduras, and Limar Helmets this month to our impressive list of sponsors both inside and outside the world of cycling," said Husen. “The team is negotiating with several others sponsors and will be announcing their names soon. We are excited to develop long term partnerships that will allow us to promote our sponsors, win some races, and further develop the sport of cycling in Honduras.”

TIGO, www.tigo.com.hn, using the new GSM band based technology, is a subsidiary of Millicom International Cellular S.A. (MIC) used in the cellular telephone market operates in Latin America (Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador y Paraguay). MIC, based in Luxemburg, has 16 cellular operations in Asia, Latin America, Europe and Africa. MIC and TIGO operations connect approximately 387 million people around the world.

The 2006 Roster:
Cristian Valasquez - National Road Race Series Champion 2005
Jose Armando Orellana – National Road Race Series Champion 2003
Roman Canales
Luis Vallecillo – National Road Race Series Champion 2004
Carlos Vallecillo
Carlos Gutierrez
Alfredo Paz
Ramon Argeta
Arlen Rodríguez
Daniel Meza (Sub-23) – National Cross Country Race Series Champion 2005
Sergio Campos (Sub-23)
Arnulfo Martinez (Sub-23) – National Junior Road Race Series Champion 2005
Georges Haimes (Junior)
Aleymi Martinez (Junior)
For more information on available sponsorship packages or media enquiries, please contact Brian Husen at brianh@entremares.hn .

Pactimo/Jack Kane Racing Bikes team
Raleigh, NC. The management of Southeastern Sport Cycling, LLC is pleased to announce the introduction of America’s newest elite team, Pactimo/ Jack Kane Racing Bicycles.

The Pactimo/Jack Kane Racing Bikes team boasts one of the strongest rosters in the United States. For 2006 the team will focus on the NRC schedule along with both the elite Road Race and Criterium championships.

The team will be co-captained by Corey Fisher and Joey Coddington. Both racers bring years of racing prowess to the team which they plan on sharing with the young team. “There is so much young untapped talent on this team, it’s really scary” Coddington said. One of the names to watch this year will be 21 year old Owen Nielson. “Nielson is arguable one of the fastest sprinters on the east coast. I would put him up against just about anybody” said team director Jonathan Kane.

The team has also signed Hatcher Roserbrock one of the nations top time trialists. Rosebrock will be targeting the TT national championships. Other key highlights of the team’s roster include Boyd Johnson, Charlie Pendry, and Jay Charles.

Pendry, a pro mountain biker, will be splitting his time this year between the asphalt and the dirt. Both Jay Charles and Charlie Pendry are phenomenal climbers who look to show their talents in some of the harder mountainous stage races like the Tour de Toona and Tour of Shenandoah.

The teams title sponsor Pactimo, is a custom cycling clothing manufacturer that specializes in unlimited color digital printing with low minimums. Pactimo will provide the team with full custom racing kits. “Partnering with a top tier team like this one allows us to receive crucial real world product feedback” said Karl Heidgen of Pactimo.

The team will be riding custom built Jack Kane Racing Bicycles. Jack Kane racing bicycles are built in Jacksonville, North Carolina. “Jack Kane Racing Bicycles is very excited to be involved with the team because it allows us to constantly test and develop new frames” said owner Jack Kane. The team has been supplied with custom road, TT, and track frames. After testing out his new race rig at training camp, Boyd Johnson said “It’s nice to have a frame that was built by racers for racers. These bikes are really fast and completely dialed.”

The team will kick off the 2006 season at the Jefferson Cup in Charlottesville, VA.
Roster:
Corey Fisher
Joey Coddington
Hatcher Rosebrock
Owen Nielson
Blair Craig
Boyd Johnson
Charlie Pendry
Colin Barry
Andrew Olson
Curtis Staples
Jay Charles
Jake Brimlow
Team Director: Jonathan Kane
Sponsors:
Pactimo (www.pactimo.com)
Jack Kane Racing Bicycles (www.kanebikes.com)
Manulife Financial (www.manulifefinancial.com)

Industry Partners:
Thomson – Seat Posts and Stems (www.lhthomson.com)
Cane Creek – Wheels and Brakes (www.canecreek.com)
Crank Brothers – Quattro Road Pedals (www.crankbrothers.com)
Perf4mance Training –Testing, Coaching, (www.per4mancetraining.com)
Sock Guy – Team Socks (www.sockguy.com)
Bell – Helmets (www.bellsports.com)
Campagnolo – Drivetrains (www.campagnolo.com)

VELO BELLA-KONA ANNOUNCES 2006 ELITE ROAD TEAM
Nicole Freedman to Lead
Velo Bella-Kona is pleased to announce their Elite Road team roster for 2006!
Created from internally developed Velo Bella talent and additions from the former Ford-Basis Cycling Team, you will be seeing the pink, blue and black at road races, criteriums and stage races across North America.

The team will be lead by the legendary “Snerf” herself, Nicole Freedman. Nicole is notorious for her hilarious way of relating our exciting sport to the outside world, as well as for her leadership and coaching talents. Nicole will also be adding additional Velo Bella-Kona sponsored “women’s racing’ clinics to her schedule in order to help Velo Bella-Kona fulfill its goals of bringing new female riders into the peloton and teaching them the skills necessary to step up on the podiums across North America.

Making up the roster will be Velo Bella-Kona racers with solid 2005 seasons, Hiroko Shimada, Jennifer Chapman and Jane Zeigler, as well as the talented time-trial specialist Kele Murdin (formerly of Ford Basis) and Jennifer Joynt, both fresh faces to the Velo Bella-Kona organization. Wendy Simms and Kristin Danielson will make a few guest appearances from the Velo Bella - Kona Pro MTB team along with former Ford-Basis rider Alisha "Little" Lion.

Keeping with Velo Bella-Kona’s PRIMARY focus of growing women’s cycling as a whole, the Elite Team will be adding other Velo Bella Elites from their growing talent pool of club members as guest riders to join them at select races to help foster growth and experience at the national competing level. Additionally, the Elite Team will be joined by hundreds of amateur racers who will compete in local road races throughout the United States.

The Bellas will be riding custom painted Kona carbon Queen Zing road and TT bikes, complete with Easton wheels, posts, stems and bars; Selle San Marco’s new Glamour Aspide saddles; Crank Brothers Quattro pedals; Truvativ cranks, and Wipperman chains. Hincapie Sportswear, Giro Helmets, Patagonia outerwear, Zeal Optics and SIDI shoes, will protect the gals from the elements. Pedros and Ultimate Support will be super-charging the Velo Bella - Kona Podium Boys’ toolboxes with the best tools, lubes, and Bike Stands available on the market to keep the Bellas bikes running clean and smooth.

Myke Berna, (formerly of Charles Schwab Women's Team, Autotrader.com, Mercury, and Saturn Cycling) will be overseeing the gals’ upcoming training camp and acting as Director Sportif. Brent Chapman is Team Manager, and Dr. Massimo Testa (formerly Team Physician for such Tour de France teams as Mapei and Motorola) will be providing physiological testing and training at the UC-Davis Sports Performance Clinic.

Roster:
Nicole Freedman
Hiroko Shimada
Jennifer Chapman
Kele Murdin
Jane Ziegler
Jennifer Joynt
Wendy Simms
Kristin Danielson
Alisha Lion

Velo Bella-Kona’s contagious spirit and unique approach to women’s competitive cycling have created a following across the United States and around the world. The Bellas encourage women to ride and race, no matter what their level.

Velo Bella-Kona is a non-profit, grassroots, multidiscipline cycling team based out of Watsonville, CA. The Velo Bella-Kona mission is to encourage a healthy and active lifestyle through cycling and laughter. They inspire women to get out and ride a bike, race a bike, and to eventually grow the pool of talent and have a lot of fun along the way. While the core Velo Bella-Kona Team is a committed group of female racers, membership includes female cyclists interested in completing their first race, century, or even group ride. More information on Velo Bella-Kona can be found on their website: www.velobella.org

Jed Peters
Business/Sponsorship Coordinator
Velo Bella-Kona Cycling Team
925-354-1301
www.velobella.org
www.konaworld.com