Koga extends Skil-Shimano supply deal

Skil-Shimano will ride Koga bicycles for a further two years after announcing the extension of the Dutch duo’s agreement. Koga will develop a new time trial bike during the agreement, with feedback coming from the team’s riders.

Skil-Shimano general manager Iwan Spekenbrink is pleased his riders will receive new carbon framesets for the coming seasons. “We are pleased that Koga will also remain our cycle supplier in the next two years,” said Spekenbrink.

“Koga’s intensified research and development-path over the next two years appeals to us, particularly since our specific wishes constitute one of the key starting points for the development of new products, and we also want to reap the rewards of this in the two coming seasons,” he added.

Koga has supplied the outfit with its bikes since 2006. The company was founded in the Netherlands in 1974 and started exporting its bikes to Belgium the following year.

Koga BV general manager Wouter Jager was pleased with the team’s efforts at the Tour de France in July, with the team earning itself a much sought-after wildcard invite to compete. ““It is a major priority for our team to be able to play a particularly leading role in the coming years through cooperation with the team in the area of developing new high-end products,” said Jager. “The intensive collaboration with Iwan Spekenbrink’s team enables us to achieve this goal because we can exchange knowledge with athletes that perform at the very highest level and who are extremely demanding when it comes to their equipment.”

Skil-Shimano is one of three teams that have applied for a ProTour licence for 2010. The two other outfits are both start-up teams - Lance Armstrong's RadioShack and British Cycling's Sky - but it's not yet clear whether any new ProTour licences will be issues.

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