Team Quick Step will switch from Specialized to Eddy Merckx bikes for 2010 in a new three year deal.
“We are very happy with the deal reached with Eddy Merckx Cycles Company,” says Patrick Lefevere, Managing Director Team Quick Step, “it’s a matter of pride for us to have by our side such a prestigious brand and a cycling icon like Eddy. Our relationship is based on mutual respect. Founded 30 years ago as one of Eddy’s ideas, today the company is an international player with Eddy at its heart. We’re sure that this relationship will be mutually beneficial, allowing both the team and the company to grow further and to reach some important common goals in the professional field.”
It’s a strong move for Merckx, as CEO Pieter Vansynghel explains. “We want to grow from being a family run business to an international business. The return of the brand in the Pro tour is a logical next step within this growth pattern.
“We have strongly invested in the development of new, high-end racing bikes, the reorganisation of the distribution and the optimisation of logistics. The fact that a Belgian top team is riding Eddy Merckx bikes in the year of celebrations 2010 has a very special meaning to us. In 2010 Eddy Merckx will be 65 and his bicycle business will have existed for 30 years. One of the highlights will undoubtedly be the Tour de France, which will pass through Meise to celebrate Eddy Merckx. More lustre will be obviously added to the event by the participation of a Belgian top team on his bikes.”
“We have had great successes in all the Flemish cycling classics and lots of victories in all great tours. There is no better way to vouch for the top quality of our bikes. Today we are ready again to ride at the front of the pack. In the past I have successfully worked together with Patrick Lefevere with the Domo Farm Frites Team. Therefore, I am very pleased that we are back in a partnership today,” added Eddy Merckx, honorary president of Eddy Merckx Cycles.
