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Trek UK has partnered with cycling satire blog Cyclismas to launch a team of "professional bike commuters" who will "compete on the streets and trails in the daily race to get to work."
The Trek-Cyclismas Professional Commuter Team is a six-person team, consisting of three men and three women, who commute to work by bike over a variety of distances and terrain. The team will be competing at the "highest level" of "getting to work sport", and will face competition from "other ride-to-workers and Strava segment racers across the UK," says a media release posted after 12pm on April 1st.
Along with additional rider support from Bontrager, VeloVixen, Juice Lubes, Chapeau!, Vulpine, Aftershokz, and Visual Impact, the will compete in a "full calendar of commuting events" in 2013, "including Cycling Superhighways, Derby-Loughborough Uni-Derby, The Hell of North London, the Ronde Van Hebden Bridge, and Backyard Cheeky Trail To Front Door Enduro."
A website for the TCPCT contains the "ten commandments of commuting all cyclists should know, techniques to help you get commuting like a pro."
These ten commandments include: "Your local bike shop is your friend….Know your rights as a cyclist…" and "Riding your bike to work isn’t that different from driving in your car. It might take slightly longer, but it doesn’t mean that you’ll arrive hot and sweaty. So don’t let it stop you from commuting like a pro."
The decision to sponsor a professional commuter team represents an extension of Trek’s involvement in professional road and mountain bike teams, said today’s press release.
"Commuting is on the rise across the globe, and the number of people training to become professional commuters is growing significantly."
Trek UK’s Chris Garrison said: “Sponsoring a team of professional commuters was really a no brainer for us. Commuting is a segment of the market that has huge participation levels, and there is a significant portion of people who are competing during their daily commutes. Sponsoring a team of elite commuters allows us to cast our net a bit wider into the top levels of cyclesport.
"This team is no joke.”
Lesli Cohen of Cyclismas said: "The project was tailor-made for our input. Everyone at Cyclismas likes to ride a bike, talk about themselves, and pretend to work, so TCPCT is a marriage made in heaven for us. We’re delighted to help showcase the team as they live the dream, one stoplight at a time."
Part of the Trek-Cyclismas Pro Commuter Team’s vision is to encourage more people to take up cycling, both recreationally, and as a form of transport. Trek and Cyclismas have established a website and social media feeds that team riders will use to share stories and advice, discuss equipment and provide commentary following commuting events.
“Ultimately, the goal of any team sponsorship that Trek enters into is designed to create a source of inspiration for people who might want to start riding bikes,” said Garrison. “We want the website, videos, and stories from the team riders to provide a resource to people who have said to themselves ‘I want to ride to work, how do I start?’.
