Italian chemical company adds support to new team of Rochelle Gilmore, Nicole Cooke and Fabiana Luperini
Italian chemical company Faren is to join the Honda Women’s Team as a title sponsor, the team has announced. The team, whose big name riders include Olympic an former World champion Nicole Cooke, Commonwealth champion Rochelle Gilmore, and five-time Giro d’Italia winner Fabiana Luperini, will now be called Team Faren-Honda.
“Faren is a Chemical Product company with a strong motto and mission to develop innovative and environmentally friendly products, in order to reach the realisation of a ‘Clean Chemistry’ project,” according to a statement from the team.
“A company with a mission supports a women’s cycling team with a mission,” it adds.
Antonio Mosetter, the president of Faren, reportedly has a strong passion for cycling and is looking forward to being involved with the new team, which will be run by experienced director Walter Ricci Petitoni. The team, through Cooke, Gilmore and Luperini – as well as a number of other strong riders including Italian national team regular Luisa Tamanini, two-time Swiss championn Jennifer Hohl, and 21-year-old Australian Miffy Galloway – expects to win Classics, Grand Tours and World Cups.
The team’s focus though – like many others in the women’s peloton – will be the Olympic road race in London, which could potentially see Cooke and Gilmore sprinting against one another in front of Buckingham Palace.
“With such enthusiastic and passionate sponsors involved in our organisation we’re very motivated to win,” said Gilmore. “Faren and Honda Motor Europe share our mission to succeed so we naturally feel very proud to be involved with these two companies. Endeavouring to respect the environment is also a strong clear synergy between cycling, Faren and Honda Motor Europe’.
Team Faren-Honda’s first race will be the Tour of Qatar between February 1st and 3rd, where Gilmore won the opening stage last year.