TORONTO, ONTARIO--(MARKET WIRE)--Aug 28, 2008 -- Cervelo, Zipp, Speedplay, Vittoria and 3T are pleased to announce Cervelo TestTeam. Beyond racing, this new professional cycling team will provide a comprehensive, engineering-driven test ground for new product development.

"We are proud to have played an important part in taking Team CSC from fourteenth to first in the team world ranking and in Carlos Sastre's Tour de France victory," said Gerard Vroomen, co-founder of Cervelo. "It was the dedication to excellence by both the equipment sponsors and the team that made it happen. Most of all we appreciate the confidence Bjarne Riis had in us back in 2002 and thank him for these past six years. The financial realities of pro cycling today have caused a change in priorities for the team, and we respect that.

Our main reason to work with a team is to develop new products, and how better to accomplish that than by owning the team."

Since its inception, Cervelo's focus has been on R&D with a strategy built on four pillars: theoretical analysis, lab testing, materials and manufacturing research, and road and race testing.

- Theoretical analysis - Utilizing partnerships with key software vendors, and Cervelo's custom created software programs, this provides state-of-the-art lay-up analysis and tube shapes.

- Lab Testing - For countless hours at the windtunnel and in the structural testing lab, Cervelo engineers put new products through a strict regimen of their own tests, highly developed procedures that surpass current industry standards.

- Materials & Manufacturing Research - Material research and manufacturing techniques provide a unique competitive edge. The pursuit of these disciplines has resulted in a test lab in California focused on developing the techniques for future generation Cervelo frames.

- Road and Race Testing - For the past six years this was accomplished in collaboration with Team CSC. As with all testing, Cervelo and its partners know that product development will be more efficient and effective with complete control over the activities and goals of the team.

"Cervelo TestTeam will race as a professional cycling team with a Continental Pro standing," explained Vroomen, who sees the approach as a positive step that could help make the sport healthier. "Currently pro cyclists are judged only by their racing results, which places a lot of pressure on them to perform. Race performance is only one component of Cervelo TestTeam. Our riders will also be involved in field-testing and providing technical feedback. In addition they will participate in activities with our customers, making them more accessible to cycling fans."

Cervelo TestTeam will be managed by Cycling United Racing, out of Switzerland together with the professional women's team currently known as Team Cervelo-Lifeforce. "As a partner of the women's team, we have seen their very high level of professionalism and their impressive results," said Andy Ording, President of Zipp. "So it was a natural decision to use the current platform and reinforce it with additional staff."

A four-year commitment of additional private funding provides a competitive budget and makes the concept achievable. With the core of the roster now confirmed, detailed announcements will be made in the next few weeks.

As for the team name, Cervelo TestTeam is a working title. Several companies have already expressed an interest in becoming a major sponsor, which may affect the final name of the team.

ABOUT CERVELO

Phil White and Gerard Vroomen founded Cervelo in 1995 when their design for a new time trial bicycle, built at the request of a professional cyclist, failed to garner interest from traditional cycle manufacturers. Today, Cervelo is the largest time-trial bike manufacturer in the world. The company is recognized internationally as one of the most innovative and fastest growing bike manufacturers the sport has seen in years. This has culminated in Cervelo being the #1 brand that readers of VeloNews, CycleSport, Inside Triathlon and Slowtwitch (all publications for serious cyclists and triathletes) intend to purchase in 2008. For 2008, Cervelo currently produces ten different models. Its products are available internationally. Please visit www.cervelo.com for further information.

ABOUT SPEEDPLAY

Speedplay is a creative design company dedicated to producing innovative, high quality pedal systems to enhance cycling performance, efficiency, safety and comfort. For more information about Speedplay products, visit www.speedplay.com.

ABOUT THE NEW 3T

3T is a venerable name in Italian cycling. Since 1961 many of the great champions have put their trust in 3T handlebars and handlebar extensions. The re-launch of the 3T brand in 2007 has brought major new investment in advanced design and engineering. 3T renewed its entire product range to provide world-class racers with high-performance cycle components that meet and exceed all of their demands. The company's goal is to offer the ultimate performance, together with an unwavering focus on safety and a love of elegant form that has characterized 3T since its distinctive shield first appeared on racing cycles. For more information, visit www.thenew3T.com.

ABOUT VITTORIA

With its annual production of more then five million tires (mainly for race bikes) and seven hundred thousand cotton products like tubulars, produced in its Lion Tyres factory in Thailand, Vittoria is one of the largest race bike tire specialists and producers in the world. Its mission is to create higher value for it stakeholders and users by offering the best available technologies. More then twelve professional teams (Pro Tour and Continental), several National Cycle Federations and the UCI Technical Centre in Aigle (CH) have for many years used Vittoria tires for their races and training programs. See the web site www.vittoria.com, or for questions, email info@vittoria.com.

ABOUT ZIPP

Zipp Speed Weaponry was founded in 1988 with the sole mission of making athletes faster on their bikes. Over the course of the last twenty years, Zipp has done exactly that, by drawing on its core competencies of design engineering, composites knowledge, and wind tunnel development. It is these competencies that have allowed Zipp to deliver a series of firsts in the cycling industry. From the first carbon disc wheel to the first carbon crank to the first wheel to achieve negative drag in the wind tunnel. These firsts have helped Zipp athletes to become champions in the toughest races in the world, on the fiercest roads in the world from the cobbled roads of Belgium to the Queen K in Kona. Visit www.zipp.com for further information.

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