Élite
JULIE BRESSET
Extremely young Julie Bresset took the world by surprise in her debut year, back n 2010. But without a doubt in 2011 she more than lived up to the expectations of her team, BH Suntour, when she became the number one UCI ranked rider, the U23 European and world champion, and the world champion with the French team. Rubbing shoulders with the biggest names of today’s MTB around the world, the French rider is now on a par with them. Julie is very nice and likeable, and despite her new status at the international level, she has remained the same. Bright days and lots of achievements lie ahead for her.
VIRGINIA BERASATEGUI
Virginia is one of today’s talents in world triathlon. Virginia Berasategui has followed in her father’s footsteps. Javier Berasategui was the first Spanish Finisher in the Hawaiian Ironman. There is no doubt that Virginia has improved on her father’s achievement. Since childhood, she has been involved in sports like swimming, cross-country running, etc. and the discipline that best suits her is triathlon. When she started with the Olympic Distance, she won several medals in the World Championships from 1992 to 1998. She progressed to Long Distance and the Ironman trials a few years later and reaped great success: World Champion and European Long-Distance Champion, winner of Lanzarote Ironman and, above all, her recent performance in Hawaii, where she came 3rd in 2009 and 4th in 2010. With a strong character and a great capacity for sacrifice, Virginia achieved great success in 2010 despite problems caused by a lesion on her sole.
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ROMAN KREUZIGER
The Czech cyclist is one of the most promising talents in world cycling. He has been signed up by the Astaná team to cover Alberto Contador’s discharge. This is a tough challenge for a cyclist who is aiming for the maximum with his ARQUS glasses. He has already been named Junior World Champion on roads and won a Silver Medal in the time-trial event in 2004. As a professional, he has won the Tour of Switzerland, the Tour of Sardinia and the Tour of Romandie. In 2008, he was proclaimed the 2nd Best Young Rider in the Tour, beaten only by Andy Schleck. Although an all-round cyclist, Kreuziger is particularly outstanding as a climber, a truly promising star.
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ENEKO LLANOS
Born in Vitoria, he is one of the most respected long-distance triathletes. His first steps in triathlon were taken with his brother Hektor. Eneko took part in the first triathlon trial ever held in the Olympic Games, in Sidney in 2000. Eneko Llanos then began to flirt with other modalities, with some success, such as the XTERRA World Championship and the Long Distance World Championship, as well as the World Sub-champion title in Olympic Distance Triathlon. Following the Olympic cycle in Athens, Eneko Llanos sought motivation elsewhere, and devoted himself entirely to what had initially been his dream in the world of triathlon: the Ironman. Although his beginnings were not especially promising, there is no doubt that Eneko has made spectacular progress: in his first performance in Hawaii in 2007, he came fifth and was winner at the Lanzarote Ironman, one of the most difficult in the world. His career in the Ironman event includes 3 Top10 in Hawaii, and European Champion in Frankfurt. All of these are great successes for this strict vegan who, in addition, has helped us develop the special SEC SEG triathlon trainers.
IVÁN RAÑA
Ivan Raña is a legend in Olympic Distance triathlon. Born in Órdenes, Galicia, Iván has always been captivated by competition, at first in cycling and later in triathlon. Clearly he has had most success in this sport. Raña was proclaimed World Champion in Long-Distance in Cancun and European Champion in Hungary at 23 years of age; a record hard to break. He has always been among the best triathletes in the world, and, from 2002 to 2004, his status as super star was undeniable. Following this period of success, and driven by his desire to try new sensations, Iván Raña signed up with the Xacobeo-Galicia cycling team. Iván was fulfilling a dream: “I have always wanted to be a cyclist; I do not want to win the Tour”. At all events, fortune failed to smile on him and he dislocated his clavicle. In 2009, Iván decided to return to triathlon and try to reach top form for the London Olympic Games in 2012.
NICOLA SPIRIG
The Swiss athlete has become a reference for triathlon competition in recent years due to her tenacity, dedication and some major victories. Nicola completed her first triathlon at the age of 10 and, despite having devoted a large part of her life to the sport; she found time to graduate in Law. An exceptional athlete, in 2010, she regained the title of European Triathlon Champion she had won in 2009. She did so relying on her strong points, the cycling section (for which she uses our Daggon helmet) and the section on foot, which is when her unbreakable strength comes into play. Her performance at the Alpe d’Huez triathlon and the Ironman 70.3 in Monaco has also been outstanding, and was winner at both events. Nicola Spirig, or “Swiss Miss” as it says on her helmet, is clearly one of the favourites to win in the London Olympic Games in 2012.
YULIYA YELISTRATOVA
Triathlon’s young promise Yuliya Yelistratova has chosen to wear SPIUK in 2012. This will be an important season for her, since she will take part in the Dextro Energy Series, the World Cup and, most importantly, the Olympic Games. Yelistratova is one of the triathletes with the highest potential in the ITU rankings, in spite of being one of the youngest. The young Ukrainian triathlete competed in an elite race – the Alanya European Cup – for the first time when she was 15, and she was 9th. Since then she has won lots of medals in international events. Last year she was 5th in the European Championships and 3rd in the European rankings. In the past two seasons, she earned the gold medal in the Eilat European Cup, was 5th in the Huatulco World Cup, and won the Tarzo Revine U23 European Cup, the Brno European Cup and the Beijing Premium Asian Cup. In 2010, she took the Tiszaújváros World Cup.
ROGER ROCA
Roger Roca has dedicated his life to sport, but it was only a few months ago that he was rewarded for his efforts with the 2011 world duathlon title. With his new status, Roger faces the new season with the responsibility to defend his title and a strong feeling of hope.
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LLOYD MONDORY
AG2R-La Mondiale (Fra)
World Tour Road Cyclist
ANNA VILLAR
Ayala Team (SPA)
MTB Rider – Spanish Champion
RUIZ DE LARRINAGA
MMT-Spiuk (ESP)
Cyclocross Rider – Spanish Champion
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JIMMY JHONSEN
Compressport – Spiuk (DEN)
Triathlete
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AINHOA MURUA
(ESP)
Triathlete
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BLEL KADRI
AG2R-La Mondiale (FRA)
World Tour Road Cyclist
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RETO HUG
(SUI)
Triathlete
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RADKA VODICKOVA
(CZE)
Triathlete
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CARLOS VERONA
Burgos 2016 (ESP)
Professional Cyclist
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MAXIME MAROTTE
BH Suntour (FRA)
MTB Rider
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NICHOLAS WARD
(GB)
Triathlete
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JOSELYN BREA
(VNZ)
Triathlete
BH SUNTOUR
The MTB BH Suntour team competes at the top international level using the most advanced accessories and bicycles. The French team wear the Daggon helmet and the latest, carbon-soled ZS11MC trainers for participating in the most important events of the UCI world cup, and the one in the French cycling calendar. The team led by Michel Hutsebaut perfectly combines the experience of well-established riders , like Hélène Marcouyre, Sébastien Hansen or Pierre Lebreton, with the explosiveness and determination of promising riders, like Maxime Marotte, Laura Metzler, Caroline Mani or, 2010’s revelation, Julie Bresset.
BRETAGNE SCHULLER
The French team has been making progress since its creation in 2005. Established in Brittany, France, the team coached by Emmanuel Hubert will show how aggressive they can be in all the races they compete in, especially the French Cup. The Professional Continental team want to take part in the Tour de France, the chief target for all French teams. The squad is made of such top riders as Dimitri Champion (French Champion in 2010) or Laurent Pichon (former French Track Cycling Champion) and young guns like Johan Le Bon. The young rider of the team sponsored by Spiuk was World and European Junior Champion in 2008 and hopes he will continue building an excellent career.
CAJA RURAL
The team of the so-called ‘Marea Verde’ (Green Tide) started as an amateur team, serving as a springboard to a great number of pros. The team’s progress has been remarkable over the past years, and currently they are competing with Professional Continental teams and have a chance to ride at the Vuelta a España, their prime goal in the past seasons. The team have been outstanding in the past, and this has led their fans, the ‘Marea Verde,’ to cherish hopes that they will compete in the leading race in Spain. The newcomers this year feed these hopes. Among them are sprinter Manuel Cardoso, young promise Francesco Lasca, climber André Cardoso and all-terrain cyclists like David de la Fuente, Hernani Broco or Marcos García.
PINDAMONHANGABA
In Brazil, besides football and samba, they love cycling. The team of the town of Pindamonhangaba was established in 2009 and is a now a Continental team. Back in their début season, they already showed they were an interesting team, leading the UCI America Tour team points competition. Most riders in the team hail from Brazil. Out of them, current Brazilian time trial champ Magno Nazaret stands out. They have a women’s team too, three of whose members took the top three spots in the Copa América.
VERANDA RIDEAU
The French team are one of the world’s best amateur squads in the world. They gather excellent pros and some young hopes from France such as Freddy Bichot, Samuel Plouhinec, or Willy Roseau. They have been wearing Daggon helmets for the best protection of their riders for years.
EXTREMADURA-SPIUK
A classic of Spanish neo-professional cycling, this Extremadura-based team has belonged to various categories, always supported by Spiuk (ever since its creation). A squad characterised by aggressiveness on the road, Extremadura-Spiuk makes an ideal testing ground for riders to take the leap into pro cycling.
