“Leopard SA, the managing company that also holds the WorldTour licence of the RADIOSHACK NISSAN TREK team, has a strong belief in Luxembourgish cycling and wanted to invest in it by obtaining a continental licence as well”, says Flavio Becca. “With this young team we are able to structurally search for talent and provide experience and training to young and promising athletes, not only from Luxembourg but also from other countries.”

“The LEOPARD TREK continental team started off as a spontaneous idea at the table where RADIOSHACK NISSAN TREK was restructured and rebranded”, continues General Manager Johan Bruyneel. “Very soon, however, we got convinced that the creation of a development team on the continental level was the ideal way to search for talented young riders and coach them so that one day maybe they can be part of the ProTeam.”

“The team roster is built up around eleven riders, coming from seven different countries,” says Director Adriano Baffi. “The majority of them are still U23 riders, so this is really a project for the future. With Bob Jungels, Alexandr Pliuschin and Giorgio Brambilla we have three absolute bright prospects to lead the team on the road. Our goal is for the 2012 season to be an ideal learning experience for each one of the riders. I am really excited to see them grow in terms of endurance and experience.”

"Today was a very exciting day," says Bob Jungels. "This team is a beautiful project and it's amazing to work with such fine staff and equipment. I'm confident that we will obtain some good results over the season. I am one of the leaders of this team, of course, but our mail goal for this season is to get race experience."

Triathlon

“By adding Dirk Bockel, one of the world’s best triathletes, to the roster of the team, we take on a very inspiring challenge. The crossover between cycling and triathlon will be fascinating for all parties, with bike technology as the common factor”, says Bruyneel.

Dirk Bockel, currently ranked 5th in the world in Ironman triathlon, has placed in the top ten each time he has raced in the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii, beginning with his successful debut at the Bejiing Olympics in 2008, where he raced for his home country of Luxembourg.

Bockel, 35 years old, will start his season at the Abu Dhabi International Triathlon on March 3, where he placed 2nd and 3rd the past two years. “Abu Dhabi is the first goal of my season,” says Bockel.  “The race is said to have the second hardest field of the year, with all the big names participating. It’s really a race where you don’t hold back. I’m hoping to improve on my past results there, so that means going for the win.”