BOULDER, Colo. (BRAIN) — Britain's Team Sky will use U.S.-made Stages Cycling power meters for the 2014 race season, the company announced Tuesday.
The sponsorship agreement is a major milestone for the company that began shipping its meter, which is permanently attached to a bike's left crankarm, about a year ago.
"This sponsorship, and what it means for Stages Power, is very exciting for our company," said Pat Warner, Stages Cycling's senior vice president. "We are humbled and honored to be collecting data for one of the best teams in the sport. It's a huge responsibility and we both have great confidence that Stages Power can help Team Sky be successful this season."
Tim Kerrison, Team Sky's head of performance support, said, "As a team, we see the power meter as a very useful tool. The results that we get, both from training and racing, help us to quantify how our riders are performing, which then allows us to make informed coaching decisions. Stages have worked hard to develop a high quality product that is extremely lightweight, reliable and simple to use whilst retaining the precision and accuracy that we require at Team Sky. We welcome Stages as a technical partner for 2014 and look forward to continuing to develop and improve our performances on the road, informed by the data generated by the Stages power meters."
Stages marketing manager Matt Pacocha said the Stages meter's price has attracted many riders in the last year, but the Team Sky agreement shows the product has the chops for high-level use, regardless of price.
"Not only are we more affordable than anyone else in the category, but we're proving that the product meets the needs of one of the world's best professional cycling teams," Pacocha said.
The team is already training with Stages power meters. Team Sky and other sponsored athletes get a blue Stages meter, unlike the black models sold at retail. The company said the team's power meters are otherwise the same as those sold at retail.
