America’s number one ranked cycling team, Colavita/Baci Women’s Cycling Team presented by Cooking Light will partner with Italy’s International Cycling Union (UCI) registered, ASC Chirio Forno D’Asolo Professional Women’s Cycling Team. The team will be renamed Colavita/Forno D’Asolo Pro Cycling team and maintain its UCI status in 2011.

The Italy-based olive oil company Colavita USA, and Treviso-based croissant factory Forno D'Asolo SpA are both authentic Italian food producers that have a historical and enduring support for the sport of cycling. Forming a partnership will allow each company to expand on their respective passion for cycling by sharing synergies within the sporting and the food industries on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.

“This is a great partnership between two Italian companies which both support cycling, first and foremost, for the love of the sport,” said Colavita USA Vice President of Marketing John A. Profaci. “When Franco Chirio wrote to me about his idea for merging programs, it also became clear that this was the opportunity I've been waiting for, namely, to get the Colavita team over to the European UCI circuit.”

Profaci, together with Forno D’Asolo President and Founder Fabio Gallina and Team Manager Franco Chirio are enthusiastic about the collaboration between the Colavita/Baci Women’s Cycling Team and ASC Chirio Forno D’Asolo Cycling Team, both on a sporting level and from a business perspective.

“On the sport side, this merge is good for Colavita and its riders because the history of cycling is in Europe and this will provide a good opportunity for the riders to compete over here,” Chirio said. “But the advantage for us is that the future of cycling is in the USA, where the sport is growing very fast.  On a business side, Forno D’Asolo is well known in Europe and with the help of Colavita can expand distribution into the USA as well.”

The 2011 Colavita Forno D’Asolo Pro Cycling team will field a roster in both the US and Italy. Chirio, along with Colavita/Baci Directeur Sportif Rachel Heal, will coordinate an international program the best suits the needs of both sponsors and riders. Heal will continue to direct the team in the National Racing Calendar (NRC) and UCI-sanctioned events held in the US while Chirio will guide the team in a full UCI schedule of events across Europe.

“This merger between the Colavita/Baci and Chirio Forno D'Asolo teams is an exciting venture which will give our athletes the chance to compete in races across the world,” Heal said. “We are building a powerful squad that will be competitive in races both in the US and Europe and I am excited to be part of this new collaboration.”

 The core riders from both teams will return including NRC Champion Cath Cheatley. A full roster announcement can be expected in the coming weeks.

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