2015 Speed Week Athens Twilight Pro Criterium ,first official USA crit race

2015 Speed Week Athens Twilight Pro Criterium ,first official USA crit race

Team Stradalli cycle went to Athens Georgia to make a statement, that they were a team to be reckoned with.
After lots of blood, sweat and tears the team left Speed Week having proven just that. Ruben Companioni  finished 2^nd in one of the most competitive races of the year, but this was a win for the entire team as owner Tom Steinbacher discussed; “Look at the field, look at the course. You are going against the defending NCC Champ, Daniel Holloway, you are going against a fully stacked Pro field with world champions and Olympians. This is where you have to prove what you are made of and right now I’m completely ecstatic.”

Stradalli brought a full team including Ruben Companioni , Sebastian Morfin, Yosvany Falcon, Grant Potter, Cesar Grajales and Abel Quintana, a new rider to the team. This was the biggest group to go to any race this year and before the race Stradalli cycle received a special call ups for 2 riders, Ruben Companioni and Yosvany Falcon were among the call-ups to begin.

It didn’t take long before there were some fireworks first a 9 man break and then Olympian Bobby Lea went down in turn 1 causing several riders including Ruben Companioni to crash as well.

“My heart jumped in my throat when I saw Ruben go down. You worry about these guys like they are your own kids , they are going extremely fast and it’s not like they are wearing nfl football pads. Ruben hurt his lower back and got bad road rash but got up and got back in there.” He is a real fighter.

Following the crash, Companioni went into the Sram Wheel Pit to get his bike fixed before returning to the race. After 2 laps another break in the field formed with Holloway and Companioni  leading up front and with in minutes it was just 2 racers of the front alone .  Companioni continued to battle, rotating in the breakaway to finish 2^nd with plenty of time left over to wipe the blood off and put on his Stradalli Cycle ball cap and ascend to the podium.

“What an exciting race. I never feel like an owner at these events, I always feel more like a fan ( and father )
but I am so proud of what we accomplished this weekend. Stradalli Cycle/ SAFETTI and Team Texas Roadhouse/Stradalli have been doing great this season and we wanted to come into Speed Week and make people realize we are contenders at every race.” Tom Steinbacher

Steinbacher wanted an “all hands on deck” mentality this weekend because of the competition. Speed Week is the first official USA Crit Race of the year and with brutal competition from all around the world it was important that Stradalli have an impressive showing. The sponsors; FSA providing their cranks, SAFETTI providing the uniforms, DIADORA providing the shoes and JACO Athletics providing additional athletic clothing as well as the new racers added to a team of veterans has played a major role in the early success of the team.

“I wanted this to be a team building experience and it was a great weekend. We stayed together, trained together and ate together and I feel that the younger guys all learned a lot from the veterans. I see a lot of teams out there with the next young stud of cycling but if you cannot surround that youth with veteran guidance and a “team” mentality it doesn’t usually workout the way you planned. This is such an exciting year and we circle races like these on our calendars because we know how important they are. The field was stacked but we left Georgia knowing AND proving we can compete with anyone and we raced and worked togther like a Family !” 

Blain doing what he does best,taking the top step with his baby blue Stradalli faenza.

  Congrats awesome job well done again!

Vittorio Brumotti Partners with Full Speed Ahead

This will already be a huge weekend for Stradalli Racing and other companies in the cycling world. The 25th anniversary of the Sea Otter Classic will bring over 75,000 competitors, sponsors and fans to Monterey California. This is one of the biggest race events in North America on the cycling calendar and Stradalli Cycle Race Team Owner Tom Steinbacher promised there would be big news. Well he didn’t lie as Full Speed Ahead (FSA) who is already a sponsor for Stradalli race team, announced a partnership with former bike trial World Champion Vittorio Brumotti. 

Not only is Vittorio Brumotti a huge name in the cycling world, he holds 10 Guinness World Records, not too bad. This is an exciting announcement for FSA as it will bring more attention to the brand as a whole and what better place to do that than the Classic. Not only will there be huge crowds on hand, but hundreds of cycling sponsors will be trying to get brand awareness with race results, attractions and more. Partnering with a great organization like FSA at one of the biggest events in North America is a great way to not only get some brand recognition but turn some heads at the same time.

 “We love our relationship with FSA, they have been great sponsors and partners for a long time. We wanted to come to the Sea Otter Classic this weekend and get people talking about us. Of course I want to do that with what our riders are doing this weekend, and we expect big things from them. But I wanted to get some buzz going before the racing even started and of course FSA steals the show. Vittorio Brumotti’ reputation speaks for itself. The guy is one of the most iconic and famous people to have ever gotten on a bike and what he can do on it, I stand there watching like a little kid because I am just amazed. He is probably the greatest trick rider in the world and to watch him in person. 

For the company as a whole, Stradalli wanted to make an impact this weekend and not just with their race team. Stradalli Cycle has new frames in development, current frames winning races all over the country, riders winning races all over the country as well and they wanted to bring all that progress to a big race weekend like the Sea Otter Classic and show people they are a serious manufacturer and team. A partnership with Full Speed Ahead is a great way to start and their announcement of partnering with Vittorio Brumotti has certainly made an impact. FSA sponsors over a dozen major racing teams, many who compete in the Tour De France and other major races around the world. Being a part of the FSA family is a big accomplishment for Stradalli Cycle and shows they have to be considered a force to be reckoned with moving forward.

Visit Stradalli.com for more information on the Stradalli Race Team and the best bikes!

Stradalli Cycle

Visit StradalliCycle.com

Healthy dinner in Georgia for Team Stradalli with friend and cycling buddy UFC Fighter Cole Miller

Look at these bad boys…

From the left

Yosvany Falcon - Veteran Pro Cyclist former Cuban National team member

Ruben Companioni Blanco - Pan American medal winner and top level Pro Cyclist 
Cole Miller - Pro MMA - UFC Fighter and World Champion medalist

Sebastian Morfin - Pro Cyclist and State Champion

Thomas Steinbacher - Stradalli team owner and entrepreneur

Princess the Stradalli Team mascot and 7 lbs happy cheerleader :)

Stradalli Begins 2015 NCC Season With a SPLASH!

The buzz around the Stradalli Race team for the 2015 NCC season was certainly warranted. Saturday night, at the Sunny King Criterium Pro Race, the first for team Stradalli in 2015, newcomers Ruben Campanioni and Sebastian Morfin led the team to an exciting 4^th place finish despite facing steep competition. Almost 25 race teams and 120 racers entered the competition. This was a great opportunity for the team to prove that its offseason moves were warranted and the results speak for themselves. No one was more excited than team owner Tom Steinbacher.

“This was an absolutely amazing way to start the season. I am so excited, we not only had great support from our fans and sponsors, but we were able to get off to a great start for our season. I knew brining in Ruben and Sebastian was going to help us be more competitive than in years past, but I am amazed at how quickly we have now seen the impact and results. This is a big step for team Stradalli and it shows we are headed in the right direction. You do not come to the Sunny King Crit and place in the top 5 without having an offseason of hard work and dedication. I am so proud of our team and it’s like I told them all day on the drive up here, we can do this, we can steal the show each race because we have the talent to do just that!”

The offseason Steinbacher is referring to was certainly a busy one for team Stradalli. It began with a more focused look at all aspects of the team starting with the bikes themselves. Stradalli manufactures and uses its own frames and the team wanted to make sure that the frames and other products being used were going to be an asset rather than a negative for the upcoming season. Next came the sponsors; Jaco Athletics providing performance wear, Safetti providing the uniforms, FSA providing the cranks and Diadora providing the shoes. There is little doubt that Steinbacher wanted to have the best gear and products available to help lure big talent to the team. Once these were in place he was able to add Campanioni and Morfin to an already talented race team and the results are showing.

“You have to build a team from the ground up and in cycling that means the equipment being used. Stradalli has to have amazing frames and products if it is going to compete in the NCC against some of the giants in this sport. We cannot just show up with anything and anyone and think we are going to compete. After last season I took a long look at this team and said we need to start over, I wanted better equipment, better athletes, better training routines, better everything. This was the most time and energy we have put into this team and I am so proud of the results. This is the start, this race is what justified all the hard work we did this offseason and it shows we are going to be a team to watch this season!” 

Bob McCarthy and Doug DeWeese racing  their Stradalli bikes  to the top step of the box off the 12 Hour Santos Race...