Emile Abraham Testing Stradalli White R7 Frame; Reviews and Findings

Stradalli Racing continues to push the envelope of what a cycling team can do in a single season. Designing and manufacturing their own frames, team Stradalli has unveiled its new White Stradalli R7 bike which is now in production and available as of spring 2015. Even bigger news is that accomplished pro racer Emile Abraham will be racing for team Texas Roadhouse - Stradalli Cycle on the brand new White R7. Abraham (pictured above) has a long and impressive resume in Pro cycling since 2001 with nearly 40+ wins including the his home race, the tour Trinidad and Tobago International and has raced and won all over the world. Currently the team leader for Texas Roadhouse-Stradalli Cycle, Abraham is the first pro cyclist to test out the new R7 and so far it has not disappointed.

When asked about the new frame and why it is being tested out with the Texas Roadhouse Stradalli Cycle team owner Tom Steinbacher had this to say; “I didn’t pick one cycling team over another. Emile is a badass, look at his resume. You put him in a Crit race; he wins, if you put him in a circuit or road race he wins. I’m pretty sure if we dropped him in the ocean with a bike he would find a way to win. You win and finish in the top 3 of all those races you know what you are doing. We have our guys in Florida and we have our guys with Texas roadhouse and others around the country and internationally. I went with Emile because of his track record. There is no one I trust more to literally beat up on the new frame and tell me what he honestly thinks about it. I need the best to review how this bike will work. Emile has been in more races than I can count and he knows what it takes to win those races. That’s why when I had to find someone to test out the frame it was him, no question about it.”

The decision to go with Abraham wasn’t surprising, but what has surprised people in the industry is how quickly the frame went into production for public sale as well as being used in professional races. After going through rigorous wind tunnel and factory tests along with countless reviews, Steinbacher wanted to put the frame under the ultimate test, having Abraham use it in Pro races. This is certainly an aggressive move by the team and Steinbacher wasn’t shy about the decision.

“We are going against the titans of the racing world and we have spent years putting together a great product and now a great team. This is a frame built for racing at the highest level of competition and I want everyone to know it. We spent years designing and manufacturing the R7 and it is ready to be shown off. I want other teams, fans of the sport and anyone else who follows cycling to know exactly what we are bringing to the table. Stradalli has the best bikes, the best sponsors and the best riders in these races and we are going to win and look good doing it. Emile has been working with this bike for months and I wanted him to be the first one to use it in pro races. The results speak for themselves and we are ready for the next step. People are going to know very soon if you want to win you win with a Stradalli Cycle!”

Stradalli has begun to sell the R7 “Team Edition” publically and racers from around the world have inquired about it already. This is a major boost for the team as a whole and seems to be the start of what could be the most successful season for the entire team, racing as well as business. 

VICTORY for Team Stradalli at Florida Pro Crit Championship

Would the moves work? Would the new players, the new frames and products, the new training routines, the new strategies, the countless hours of work, would they all pay off and result in wins? The answer is YES! The reviews are in and yes the plan worked; yes it was all worth the effort because team Stradalli has won the Florida Pro Crit Championship!

Ruben Companioni led one of the most talented Florida pro teams ever to start a race for team Stradalli. In an extremely competitive pro field, Companioni along with Sebastian Morfin, Yosvany Falcon and Grant Potter all contributed to a team victory. This win is extremely special because of how competitive the Florida Pro Crit Championship field was this year. Team owner Tom Steinbacher was undoubtedly pleased by the news Saturday; “Last year we did our best but I knew we had to start over, rebuild the team, rework the frames, our strategy, everything and it started from the ground up. When we came in 4^th  last weekend at the NCC UCI Crit ,I was very proud of the results but to be very honest it just made this weekend’s Pro Crit race more nerve-racking. I wanted this team to prove that we are on the right track and it wasn’t a fluke that we are getting great results. This is the validation I and the entire company needed. We know that the hours we spent working were all worth it because it was a step in the right direction.”

Steinbacher is not exaggerating with the exception of the team name, a few racers and Princess, the team mascot, the owner of StradalliRacing cleaned house and made drastic changes to his team. The changes came fast with the early acquisitions of Companioni and Morfin to join an already talented team. There was even more pressure put on finding the best sponsors to contribute with SAFETTI’s uniforms, JACO Athletics’ gear, FSA (Full Speed Ahead) contributing the cranks and DIADORA providing the carbon cycling shoes.

Every inch of this team was reevaluated during the offseason and the moves have paid off with early dividends with the results already seen.  “Words cannot express how excited I am right now. I wanted the best possible team I could build and put together and when you go with the aggressive approach you run the risk of making mistakes. I know a lot about this sport, I love this sport but until you start winning and competing at the highest of levels you aren’t sure if you are going in the right direction. I believe in this team, from the racers to the people who put the bikes together to the people who answer the phones at our shop in Pompano. We are a team and when we win it is a team win. But it is a long season and we don’t have much time to celebrate. Our sponsors, our riders and the rest of team Stradalli racing know that the only way we are going to make a statement this year is to keep getting results like this, keep winning and everyone else will know we are the team to beat!”