Wilier Triestina will be the bike supplier to all teams under the Astana banner – the WorldTour men's team, Astana's UCI women’s team and the Astana City and Vino-Astana Motors UCI Continental men's teams – from the beginning of next season.
Announcing the news, the team and bike manufacturer said that the partnership 'will be wide-ranging, both in terms of duration and the areas addressed', leaving the actual length of the agreement unspecified.
Astana will initially ride the Wilier 0 SLR road bike and Wilier Turbine time-trial bike but over time the riders 'will be increasingly involved in designing products, and especially in developing new bicycles, aiming to raise even further the already excellent level of innovation present in Wilier bicycles', according to the press statement.
Image 13 of 24
The team has been aboard Argon 18 bikes for the past three seasons, riding to Grand Tour stage wins, Grand Tour GC podiums and one-day race wins. Team general manager Alexander Vinokourov said he is pleased about the change of supplier and the new partnership.
'I’m very glad that we start working with Wilier,' Vinokourov said. 'It’s a very successful company with a long history and it has always been a family business. This fits perfectly with the mentality of staff and riders at Astana, where we treat each other like family as well in our quest for victories in what will be the 15th season of the team on the highest level of professional cycling.
'We are happy to cooperate with this brand, I’m sure they can raise the bar for us while we can do the same for them. We’ve tested their road and TT bikes, both are an excellent piece of equipment. At Astana, we hope that this bike helps us to win even more races next year.
'I thank them for their trust in our team and look forward to a successful partnership.'
