Swedish Green Cycle notes the decision of the Lille Commerce Tribunal that felt that there was no need to rule in interlocutory proceedings against ASO, the organiser of the Tour de France.

Ruling in interlocutory proceedings, the President of the Lille Commerce Tribunal decided to communicate to the trial judge the assessment of discriminatory practices by the organizer of the Tour de France against the cycling team ProTour Green Cycle AB – in France Equipe Canyon and whose main worldwide sponsor is Unibet.

This decision does not damage the determination of the team to reserve its rights in law in France and elsewhere.

Swedish firm Green Cycle Associates AB (‘Green Cycle’) that controls the Swedish cycling team ProTour, sponsored in France by the racing cycle manufacturer Canyon GmbH and elsewhere by online betting company Unibet, listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange, had launched summary proceedings against the organizer of the Tour de France, Amaury Sport Organization, in an aim to note ASO’s abuse of dominant position.

Jacques Hanegraaf, Director Sports of that team, underlines: ‘The team needed to communicate the discrimination to which it was subject by ASO since the beginning of the 2007 season. The organizer of the Tour de France, the Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) unduly hid behind the French legislation to guarantee a prevailing position in the big races’.

Indeed, ASO had refused to consider the fact that Green Cycle has operated in France, since the past few months, under the flag of its ‘cycle’ sponsor, Canyon. Green Cycle is the owner of a UCI ProTour license since 2006 and counts many talented cyclists in its ranks, among which French Jimmy Casper and Arnaud Coyot.

It should be noted that in Belgium, Green Cycle is also involved in a substantive proceedings court case for anti competitive and discriminatory practices.

Note to the press: contrarily to erroneous information previously published in the Belgian and French press, the cycling team did not change its name from ‘Unibet.com’ to ‘Green Cycle Associates’. The Green Cycle Company has always had that name. Following a ruling in France early 2007, Green Cycle has however chosen to change sponsor for the races ran on the French territory.
Finally, Green Cycle commenced proceeding, not Unibet.

Koga extends contract with Skil-Shimano cycling team

After similar announcements by main sponsors Skil and Shimano, equipment and co-sponsor Koga-Miyata has now also announced its decision to continue its sponsorship of the Skil-Shimano cycling team over the next two seasons. "We are very satisfied with the team’s performances and exposure over the past two years," said Koga marketing manager Ruud de Vries. "In a short space of time the team has developed enormously and is now a highly professional and well-liked team with a unique personality all of its own. We expect that development to steadily continue and Koga would like to contribute to that." The team has been riding Koga’s very robust, lightweight Scandium road bikes for two years now, a bike with which it is completely satisfied. In the near future Koga will roll out a project alongside the Scandium to develop a superior team bike with the aim of supporting the team’s sporting performances even more. "The team is ambitious and that is matched by our consistent use of high-quality equipment, including high-end framesets. This need is fulfilled amply by Koga’s framesets," said Skil-Shimano manager Iwan Spekenbrink. The exclusive bike manufacturer from the Netherlands raised its profile last year with the development of a revolutionary track frame for multiple world and Olympic track champion Theo Bos. "We will now use the knowledge and contacts we acquired in this project to develop a superior new featherweight road bike," says De Vries. "We will once again be looking to take it to the next level in terms of aerodynamics, weight and rigidity. Focus this time of course will be on road use. For us, the Skil-Shimano cycling team is the ideal partner in this project. We’ll be working closely with the team’s management and the individual riders to make this project a big success." For Koga the project is important to the future of its commercial race product line, a segment the company has been active in ever since it came on the scene in 1974. There is currently no precise date for the launch of the new frame. "This partnership enables our riders to provide Koga’s engineers with valuable information in the development phase of the new road frame, to ensure it fulfils the most stringent demands pro riders make on their equipment," concludes Spekenbrink.