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Team Sky will ride Pinarello bikes next season after the British UCI WorldTour team and the Italian company agreed to extend their current sponsorship until the end of 2013.
The British team – now the most dominant pro cycling team in the world, with at least two jersey contenders due to start the Tour de France tomorrow – had been linked to a switch to Specialized.
A founding partner of the team from its inaugural season in 2010, Pinarello currently provides the team of Bradley Wiggins and Mark Cavendish with Dogma 2 road race and Graal time trial bikes.
Team Sky’s Head of Operations Carsten Jeppesen said:
“Team Sky are really happy to have Pinarello as a partner and look forward to building upon what is already a really strong working relationship.
“From a performance perspective we have come a long way in the three years we have been working with Pinarello. Their dedication to performance and servicing the team really sets them apart.
“As a team we are always looking to improve and with Pinarello we have the best possible opportunity to do that.”
Fausto Pinarello, president of the Italian company, said:
“Working with Team Sky has been hugely rewarding for Pinarello in the last three years and we are delighted that the team will again use our bikes during the 2013 season.
“Pinarello and Team Sky have worked closely together to develop our bikes and we’re proud to have played a part in Team Sky becoming the best team in the world. 2012 has been a great season so far but there is so much more to come in the near and long-term future.
“We’re already working hard to ensure Team Sky will again have the best bikes in the peloton in 2013.”
