Four Professional teams on Schwalbe ONE
This year, two world tour teams and two professional continental teams are riding on Schwalbe ONE. Three of the four teams are nominated for the Tour de France. Never before have so many cyclists lined up at the start of the world's leading stage race on Schwalbe tyres.
In July 2014, the AG2R team took its place at the top of the steps before the Arc de Triomphe in Paris. They were winners of the Tour de France team rankings – and were also stage winners of the crowning stage. The team naturally wants to build on these achievements in 2015.
A team from Switzerland has made it to the top tier of competitive cycling! After its successes over the course of last season, this year has proven to be the right time for the IAM men's team to be become the seventeenth UCI WorldTeam. The cycling team that was founded just three years ago has acquired the services of a range of new cyclists, who are supporting its most popular riders Mathias Frank, Heinrich Haussler and Matthias Brändle.
It is the first African cycling team to enter professional competitive cycling – supported by a project that is characterised by its flair and optimism. The majority of the cyclists come from Africa, and the team is based in South Africa, which with seven team members, accounts for the biggest share of its members. The team is further strengthened with athletes from Europe and overseas.
The Danish team has acquired a Professional Continental license for the first time. This higher racing class offers the opportunity to be able to take part in highly acclaimed races. The cyclists, who hail from seven nations and include the two Germans Linus Gerdemann and Fabian Wegmann, are starting the new season highly motivated.
TUBELESS is on the way
The teams are supported by the Schwalbe Race Support including Felix Schäfermeier, Junior Product Manager at Schwalbe. Felix works right on the racing circuit and here are his impressions from Down Under: "Wider tyres are now finding increasing use. What is more interesting, however, is that the interest in tubeless is also getting bigger – attitudes start to change. In Australia in January we used the Schwalbe ONE Tubeless during a world tour for the first time – and to great success!"
Swiss champion Martin Elmiger and Roger Kluge from IAM Cycling were especially impressed by the Schwalbe ONE Tubeless. "Its rolling characteristics are like those of a track tyre." From a track specialist like Roger Kluge, the praise doesn't get any better than that. "It offers very direct handling characteristics around the curves! And the air pressure of just 7 bar ensures a great deal of cycling comfort. But that's not all: At the same time, it offers more grip and added safety."
They are supported by our Race Support and ride in certain races specifically on TUBELESS. Swiss champion Martin Elmiger purposely chose to ride TUBELESS at Paris-Roubaix. The tires allow less air, more ‘comfort’ and thus more power reserves over the infamous cobbled streets which at Paris-Roubaix is the most common cause of breakdowns. At the same time however, the danger of snake bites is also reduced. "Both together is only possible with TUBELESS." Of which Martin Elmiger is convinced. He finished an excellent fifth place without a puncture!
