NISSAN NORTH AMERICA - Nissan North America, Inc. (NNA) yesterday announced an agreement with Leopard SA and CSE Pro Cycling, LLC to become co-title sponsor of the professional cycling team that will be racing globally as part of the World Tour.
RADIOSHACK NISSAN TREK consists of 30 professional riders from around the world, including Andy and Fränk Schleck, Fabian Cancellara, Andreas Kloden, plus Americans Chris Horner, Matthew Busche and Ben King. The team will compete in an extensive schedule of professional cycling races worldwide in 2012, including the Tour de France, the Tour of California and the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado.
“We built a solid foundation for Nissan through our cycling partnership with the team the past two seasons and are ready to take it to the next level now as one of the title sponsors of RADIOSHACK NISSAN TREK,” said Brian Carolin, senior vice president, Nissan North America. “Our promotional activities tied to major cycling events such as the Tour of California and the Tour de France allows us to connect with millions of fans around the world. We plan to use these events to launch many exciting products here in the United States and around the globe in 2012.”
Nissan enjoys a strong presence in the health, wellness and personal fitness arena with partnerships with the Boston Marathon and New York Marathon, as well as the Country Music Marathon in Nashville, TN, where Nissan’s North American headquarters is located. Nissan also plans to actively support the RADIOSHACK NISSAN TREK pro cycling team at the Tour of California, Tour of Colorado, Tour de France and other major Pro Cycling events around the globe. The company views the partnership as a way to connect with the more than 22 million cyclists in the United States and over 40 million cycling fans that attended live events around the world in 2012.
"We're very excited to have Nissan increase their support of our team. Team vehicles and new innovations play a key role in the success of any professional cycling team and we look forward to using Nissan products as we race around the world,” said Chris Horner. “We know that Nissan has some exciting product launches on the horizon and we look forward to an excellent partnership with our Nissan friends for 2012."
“The 2011 season was filled with many great wins and we look forward to even more success in the coming season. RADIOSHACK NISSAN TREK has built a formidable group of talented riders that will be in the running to win from the spring classics right through the grand tours. We are thrilled to have the team continue to use the Nissan lineup of innovative vehicles as they compete on the world stage,” added Carolin.