Club

Season's greetings from Marco Polo Cycling and the best wishes for a happy, healthy, exciting and adventurous new cycling year! We wish the Marco Polo Cycling Team lots of success in 2012 with their new country of registration Ethiopia.

A special offer to all our cycling friends worldwide, now a cycling jersey of the Marco Polo Cycling Team for only 20 Euro!

Order now with your size and you will receive the version Marco Polo Cycling Team jersey that is still available. When you add another clothing item the shipping worldwide is for free! Otherwise add 5 Euro shipping cost. For members of the Marco Polo Cycling Club there will be 10% discount on the clothing in our webshop, so become member now at:

www.marcopolocyclingclub.com

Here you see a choice of different Marco Polo Cycling Team jerseys. You can find details in the webshop:

http://www.marcopolocyclingteam.com/en/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=55

After ten years of focus on the potential of Chinese cycling, Marco Polo Cycling decided to take a new direction and will register it’s European based UCI Continental team in Ethiopia and will become the first Ethiopian professional cycling team.

The Marco Polo Cycling Team in Europe with sports director Gilbert de Weerdt and the Ethiopian (and Eritrean) cyclists.
(photo: www.marcopolocycling.com)

Especially Northern Ethiopia is home to a great cycling culture – just like neighboring Eritrea. Marco Polo Cycling has been active for over 5 years already in Ethiopia, supporting the Ethiopian Cycling Federation with knowledge and equipment through the charity foundation Bike4All by Marco Polo Cycling. 

Team owner Gudo Kramer: “Looking back, one could say that we have never reached the full potential of Chinese cycling. I prefer to focus on the brighter side: when we came to Chinese races first, we used to be the only European team. Years later, we managed to bring Fuyu Li to Discovery Channel and qualify China for the Olympic Road Race in Beijing. Asian cycling has become a very international cycling scene now – and it is our mission to help non-traditional cycling countries to develop. From that perspective, we have been successful.
After ten years, we have evaluated what we are doing and we expect to add more value to African cycling then we were able to in China – now that there are 7 Chinese Continental Teams and several very international races.”

The team’s program will be based on a full program of UCI and Pro races in Belgium, Netherlands, Germany. Stage races in Africa, Asia, Southern Europe and also incidental participations in Gran Fondo’s (Marco Polo’s Ethiopian Solomon Shiferaw won the GP Eddy Merckx on the Mur de Huy this year) will add variety and mountains to the program.

Sports director Gilbert de Weerdt: “We firmly believe that riders can gain speed, toughness and most of the skills they will ever need in the hard and technical UCI and Pro races in and around Belgium. The development riders from Africa will be surrounded by experienced riders from here, like we did with Matthé Pronk, Jan Kuyckx and Léon van Bon this year. This year we have seen that, already in their first season, the tiny climbers from Ethiopia can survive most of the races over here. I am curious about the step these guys are making towards next season and also how good the new African riders will be. We will make sure that the program is on pro level and that they are well guided.”

Setting up the team registration in Ethiopia took more time then hoped for. Only sure about the possibility to run the team from the Eastern African country for a very short time now, the basic budget for a great program is guaranteed, but most equipment sponsors still need to be signed.
The team is hoping to find brands in the cycling industry, that would be interested to support the globalization of cycling and the development of the sport in a poor African country with great athletic potential. Brands and other interested parties are invited to contact Marco Polo Cycling.

More information: www.marcopolocycling.com - http://www.marcopolocyclingteam.com -www.facebook.com/marcopolocycling

Solomon Shiferaw and Estifanos Gebresilassie from Ethiopia and Daniel Abraham from Eritrea from the Marco Polo Cycling Team at this years Tour of Qinghai Lake UCI category H.C. race in China. (photo: Remko Kramer)

Marco Polo Cycling Club rider Hermi Beute has won the KNWU Wielermasterscompetition this year (2011). This is the overall classification for road races and criteriums for the Master category in the Netherlands. The races started in Haarlem March 13th (where he finished 3d) and ended in Ameide September 24th.
The competition included races like ‘De Groeistadklassieker’ in Amersfoort, ‘De Omloop van de Heidehof’ in Someren and the Dutch Championships. In the final race in Ameide Hermi had to finish at least 6th to win the competition. A victory cleared all doubts.
Congratulations Hermi with this great performance! A special leader jersey and shorts in Marco Polo Cycling style but in the red leader colours is being made by CCN Sportswear. If you are interested yourself in this special red edition Marco Polo Cycling kit, let us know.

Hermi Beute from the Marco Polo Cycling Club after his victory in Ameide with the leader jersey from the KNWU Wielermasterklassement.

Hermi Beute from the Marco Polo Cycling Club in one of his break-aways.

The Marco Polo Cycling Club participated in the 1st Ordos Tour of Genghis Khan in the Inner-Mongolia province in China. The team named after the most famous traveler in history competed in the race named after the most famous conquerer. With a strong Dutch selection the team raced at October 15 the Dongsheng Circuit race and at 16 the Kang Bashe Circuit race in Ordos.

Malaya van Ruitenbeek on the podium after the first stage of the 1st Ordos Tour of Genghis Khan in Inner-Mongolia, China. (photo: Remko Kramer)·

With a good team performance of the Marco Polo Cycling Club, Malaya van Ruitenbeek finished 3rd overall in the first Ordos Tour of Genghis Khan in the Inner-Mongolia province in China. In the 140 km stage in the new city of Kang Bangshi which took the peloton on a 7 km course passing a spectaculair park and some modern architectural highlights the 3rd place of Malaya never got in danger. The strong wind made the cross-wind finish straight hard and only 50 of the 80 riders finished. The stage was won by Hong Kong's Kam Po Wong ahead of Chinese Peng Da Jiao. From the Marco Polo Cycling riders Koos Jeroen Kers finished 9th, Remko Kramer 14th and Lars van de Vall 21st. The 24th place of Malaya was enough to keep the 3rd place in the overall. In the team classification the Marco Polo Cycling Club was tied in the same time as 3rd, but due too better stage results it became the 4th place.

The team from the Marco Polo Cycling Club in the 1st Ordos Tour of Genghis Khan, Inner-Mongolia, China. From left to right, Koos Jeroen Kers, Peter van Agtmaal, Malaya van Ruitenbeek, Matthe Pronk, Remko Kramer and Lars van de Vall. (photo Tijl van der Steeg)

At this moment the Tour of Beijing takes place, the first cycling race in Asia in the World Tour, the highest division of cycling. This shows the further globalisation of cycling and the development of cycling as a sport in Asia. In the first edition of this event in 2002, it was the Marco Polo Cycling Team that dominated this race. The team won 5 stages, the green points as well as the overall yellow jersey. Read the report about the Marco Polo Cycling Team at the first Tour of Beijing in the stories section or follow this link:

http://www.marcopolocyclingclub.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=63:marco-polo-cycling-team-dominates-first-tour-of-beijing&catid=1:stories&Itemid=17 

Three Marco Polo Cycling Team riders on the podium in the Tour of Beijing, this had to be celebrated, with champagne of course! (Photographer: Beijing Daily Newspaper)

Read more: Tour of Beijing, World Tour race in China

A Dutch Marco Polo Cycling Club team participated in the Tour of the Himalayas, a 3 day mountainbike event in Pakistan. The tour was organised by the Kaghan Memorial Trust as fundraising event for the school that was build in the area that was hit so hard by the 2005 earthquake www.kmt.org.pk

The Dutch team consisted of the women Ranhilde Luttenberg and Kim van de Belt, both student champions in the Netherlands and men down-hill biker Miel Barkmeyer, one of Dutch top-bikers Irjan Luttenberg and Marco Polo Cycling co-founder and team manager Remko Kramer. They competed with bikers from 12 nations in the beautiful Kaghan Valley at the outskirts of the Himalaya.

Marco Polo Cycling founders Remko Kramer and Nathan Dahlberg at the Tour of the Himalayas 2011 in Pakistan. (photo: Adam Glendinning)

Read more: Dutch Marco Polo Cycling Club team participated in the Tour of the Himalayas, Pakistan

Ethiopian Estifanos Gebresilassie from the Marco Polo Cycling Team became 3rd in stage 7 of the Tour of Qinghai Lake, a race in the H.C. highest UCI category.

Read more: Estifanos Gebresilassie 3rd in stage 7 Tour of Qinghai Lake UCI H.C.

23 year old Marco Polo Cycling Team rider Solomon Shiferaw of Ethiopia did win the Eddy Merckx Gran Fondo in Huy. After a race of 175km through the Ardennes (2500 altitude meters, he was able to beat his two breakaway companions on the same steep finish as the Fleche Wallone.
Shiferaw is one of the best riders from Ethiopia and is staying in Europe for less then two months now, to get used to the European level and way of racing. He did get a 23rd place in the pro race of Heist op den Berg and a 18th in the Pro/Am race in Koln Longerich before.

The African Marco Polo Cycling Team riders with cycling legend Eddy Merckx, Estifanos Gebresilassie, Solomon Shiferaw and Daniel Abraham, and staff member Chris Bartlett. (photo: Annabelle & Annabelle)

Read more: Solomon Shiferaw from Ethiopia wins on Mur de Huy - Eddy Merckx Gran Fondo

The Marco Polo Cycling Team is currently racing in Europe with riders from 10 nationalities! The team competes in pro races in Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany with riders from China, Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Czech Republic, Malaysia, Ethiopia and Eritrea.

The Marco Polo Cycling Team 2011 in Europe. (photo: Remko Kramer)

23 year old Ethiopian Solomon Bitew Shiferaw showed some of his potential and became 23rd in the pro kermis in Heist op den Berg, Belgium. This 165 km full pro race  was won by Belgiums top-rider Björn Leukemans from Vacansoleil.
Solomon is adapting well to the hard and fast pro races, and within one month he now is competing with the best pro’s in the world. Riders like Niki Terpstra and Nico Eeckhout finished only just a few spots behind him. There were about 200 starters, only Continental, Pro Continental and World Tour, like in most of the pro races the team is racing.
Also his teammate from Ethiopia Estifanos Kebede Gebresilassie is going well and finishing the hard races.
 
The Marco Polo Cycling Team is going well, with good competition, also from Eritrean Daniel Abraham in the pro races and getting in some nice results in Elite race, for example Malaysian Loh Sea Keong who became 5th in Kotem-Maasmechelen.
One of the team stars, Léon van Bon did get injured, unfortunately and hopes to be back racing in just over a month's time; the team does expect some remarkable results from Matthé Pronk and Jan Kuyckx in the next weeks, as they are getting in shape.

We proudly congratulate Marco Polo Cycling Club member and former Team rider Maarten Tjallingii with his excellent 3rd place in the worldtour classic Paris-Roubaix!
A very strong performance and excellent result in the hardest one day cycling race.

Maarten Tjallingii combined mountainbiking with road racing for the Marco Polo Cycling Team, between 2001 and 2005. He discovered his potential on the road with his overall victory in the Tour du Faso (Burkina Faso) and especially a 5th place overall in the Tour of Qatar.
After winning the Tour of Belgium and the Tour of Qinghai Lake (UCI H.C.) he moved from Skil-Shimano to Silence-Lotto and then to the Dutch number one Pro-Team Rabobank. 

Maarten Tjallingii at the start in the Tour of Qatar. (photo: Francis Cerny)

We proudly present the 2011 Marco Polo Cycling Team jersey. Designed, like every year, by Francis Cerny. The 2011 clothing sponsor for the Marco Polo Cycling Team is CCN Sportswear, pro quality cycling clothing from Asia. We are happy and proud to cooperate with this cycling clothing supplier that gives customers good added value, good prices, good quality, prompt delivery times and for who is interested there are also smaller quantities possible.

Now 10% discount on all Marco Polo Cycling Team clothing for members of the Marco Polo Cycling Club: Become member yourself of the most international cycling club in the world, for free: www.marcopolocyclingclub.com
 
Order your own Marco Polo Cycling clothing in the webshop or by e-mail or ask for the price list. And mention the 10% discount.

The prototype of the 2011 Marco Polo Cycling Team jersey

Interview with founders and team managers of the Marco Polo Cycling Team, the brothers Gudo and Remko Kramer in the Global Times China. They speak about the role of the Marco Polo Cycling Team in the internationalization of the sports of cycling, particularly in China and the commercial opportunities that arise with great chances for companies joining with the team.
http://beijing.globaltimes.cn/community/2011-02/621866.html

More then 30 riders from the Marco Polo Cycling Club met in Nijmegen, Netherlands for the first jubilee activity of this year.

The weather was great and after some meet, greet and chat the big group went into the forest around Nijmegen and Groesbeek. At the first hills the group fell apart and after some fast sections all stopped to re-group. A second group was formed but most joined the fast bunch. A fast tempo was set by former team riders Eric van de Meent (Dutch Student Champion MTB), Joost Legtenberg (Winner Tour du Faso), Jos Kaal (winner Tour d’Afrique and Remko Kramer but also by “mistery guest” Matthe Pronk and former MTB teamrider Dirk van de Walle (just returned from a training camp at Madagascar with Maarten Tjallingii) among others. The group split up in many small groups and a small crash in the “front group” decided the “race”. It was Dirk van de Walle who could beat Matthe Pronk and Remko Kramer at the final hard and technical climb, taking the unofficial mountainbike title of the Marco Polo Cycling Club.
After a short pause to catch back on breathing a small field rolled back to Nijmegen where some “birthday cake” and coffee was served in the University Sports Centre.
All in all it was a great day and we all agreed to do some more club activities in the near future, we hope you will also join then!

Marco Polo Cycling bestaat 10 jaar, dat gaan we met een aantal activiteiten door het jaar heen vieren. De eerste gelegenheid is komende zondag 16 januari - tevens een mooie gelegenheid om te brainstormen over meer activiteiten in 2011!!
We vertrekken om 10.00 uur stipt (maximale uitloop MPC-kwartiertje) vanaf het dan nog gesloten Universitair Sportcentrum (Gymnasion), tegenover het Erasmusgebouw te Nijmegen. Na afloop van anderhalf-twee uur mountainbiken kan daar gedoucht worden en staat er koffie/thee en taart klaar. Indien nodig/gewenst wordt er in groepen opgesplitst. in principe volgen we de uitgepijlde route, met wellicht een uitstapje het Reichswald in.
Voor degenen die met de fiets komen: er wordt gezorgd dat je wat spullen bij start/finish achter kunt laten.

Adres: Heijendaalseweg 141, Nijmegen http://www.ru.nl/sportcentrum/

Laat even weten je komt, dan hebben we een idee van de opkomst!: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The second part of the interview with Marco Polo Cycling Team manager Remko Kramer at CyclingNewsAsia about the development of cycling in China/Asia and the team.

Cyclingnewsasia (CNA):
In Part One, Marco Polo Cycling Team Director Sportif Remko Kramer looks back at 2010 and some new races for 2011. Here he tells us some inside secrets about next year’s roster and when an Asian rider will win the Tour de France. – read more:
http://www.cyclingnewsasia.com/en/features/38-general/1006-asian-cycling-special-marco-polo-cycling-team-director-sportif-remko-kramer-interview-part-2

Part 1 of the interview:
http://www.cyclingnewsasia.com/en/features/38-general/1003-interview-remko-kramer-director-marco-polo-cycling-team

Marco Polo Cycling Team managers Gudo and Remko Kramer at the Beijing Olympic Test Event. (photo: Francis Cerny)

CyclingNewsAsia is the leading cycling news website in Asia.
www.cyclingnewsasia.com

Press release December 29th 2010

Ten years Marco Polo Cycling!

Marco Polo Cycling is celebrating its tenth anniversary! The international cycling project was founded on December 29th 2000, by Nathan Dahlberg, Anno Pedersen, Remko and Gudo Kramer. Over the years the goal of Marco Polo Cycling remained the same: forming a bridge between traditional and non-traditional cycling countries.
To accomplish this, back in 2000 a strategy was developed, of a member-base club linked to the team.
For a long lasting organisation a clear and distinctive identity was chosen, not dependable on the name of the sponsor, with a structure comparable to soccer clubs - a team supported by a large member base.

The project was named after the most famous traveler in history, Marco Polo, with the Chinese-Asian cycling potential in mind. Marco Polo was the first to establish a trade relations between Asia and Europe. This exactly is what Marco Polo Cycling aims to do in cycling.

Leon van Bon with the Marco Polo Cycling Team at the Tour of China 2010. (photo: Remko Kramer)

Over the years, the club developed towards an international community of 2000+ members from over 90 countries. The team was first registered in Hong Kong, later in China. A great highlight was 2007 when a cooperation with Discovery Channel was established and the Marco Polo Cycling Team formed the Asian satellite team of the Discovery Channel Pro Tour team of Johan Bruyneel and Lance Armstrong. Several corporate partners supported the team over the years, including Discovery Channel, AMD, GE Energy, Herbalife and Trek Bikes.
Sportive successes were numerous including many wins in Asia as well as Europe. Several riders made big steps in their careers after racing with the Marco Polo Cycling Team. (examples: Maarten Tjallingii, Fuyu Li, Wong Kam Po) And the team did have several prominent riders in their ranks, such as Bart Brentjens and Leon van Bon.

At this moment the Marco Polo Cycling Club, Marco Polo Cycling Team and related Bike4All Foundation are very much alive.
The club started a brand new community site recently, www.marcopolocyclingclub.com, which makes it possible for members from all over the world to contact each other and contact the club or team. Members are proud to wear the distinctive blue uniforms with Chinese characters all over the world.
Bike4All by Marco Polo Cycling is an independent foundation that supports cycling organizations in development countries. Bike4All supported the Federations of Mongolia, Eritrea, Sri Lanka and currently Ethiopia, to develop cycling structures from grassroots level up. It is mainly supported from The Netherlands and its website is therefore in Dutch: www.bike4all.nu.

The Marco Polo Cycling Team will be on the road again as a China registered Continental Team in 2011. The team does have several new sponsors, which will make it possible to run a program with more European focus then it used to have.
A main sponsor is still missing though, so the search to increase the possibilities for the team and its talented members is still on...
Asian cycling is developing fast. Ten years ago there were often no more then one or two non-Asian teams in the races, now presence of international pro teams in Asian races is common place. Marco Polo Cycling hopes it did contribute a little bit to this trend.
The team thinks that in the 2011 environment, its mission is better served by bringing Asian and now also African riders to Europe, then to focus on winning more Asian races. By adding Gilbert de Weerdt, Rudi Dubois and their staff and experience (former Cyclingnews.com - Down Under team, amongst others) to the team management, the team did make a huge step forward in its European racing program.
Belgium transport company Frans Hendrickx & zonen will be fundamental in supporting the European program. AQ Roses will make it possible for two Ethiopian riders (earlier announced - see www.marcopolocyclingteam.com) to make the move to the team, whereas road captain Leon van Bon intends to prolong his stay with the team for another year.
In the next few weeks, the team will announce more new sponsors and riders.

More information: www.marcopolocycling.com

Become member yourself of the most international cycling club in the world!
www.marcopolocyclingclub.com

On behalf of the Marco Polo Cycling Team & Club we would like to wish you, your family and friends a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
 
2001 was the first season for Marco Polo Cycling so 2011 will be the 10th anniversary!
We hope it will be a great celebration year and hope to meet you somewhere in the world!
(If you do have any ideas for a way to celebrate our 10th anniversary, please let us know by email or through our new, interactive clubsite.)
 
Register yourself for free at the new www.marcopolocyclingclub.com website and become member of the most international cycling club in the world.
 
You are welcome to forward this Christmasphoto and wishes to all your cycling friends.

Interview with Marco Polo Cycling Team manager at CyclingNewsAsia about the development of cycling in Asia and the team.

"Cyclingnewsasia (CNA): Introduce us to the team!

Remko Kramer (Remko): The Marco Polo Cycling Team is the first professional cycling team from China. The team brings together talented Chinese/Asian riders with experienced riders from the West." – read more:
http://www.cyclingnewsasia.com/en/features/38-general/1003-interview-remko-kramer-director-marco-polo-cycling-team

Leon van Bon from the Marco Polo Cycling Team gives an interview for the China Daily Newspaper. (photo: Remko Kramer)

CyclingNewsAsia is the leading cycling news website in Asia.
www.cyclingnewsasia.com

The Marco Polo Cycling Team has been able to sign up two new riders for its 2011-squad:
Sollomon Bittew Shiferaw and Estifanos Gebresilassie will be racing for the team in 2011. The arrival of the numbers 9 and 14 from the recent Tour of Rwanda GC, has been made possible by new team sponsor AQ Roses - Rosa Plaza. This Dutch company does have interests in Ethiopia and is very happy that the riders will now get a chance to race in Europe and elsewhere. Their appearance in the Tour of Rwanda recently was their international debut. Marco Polo Cycling Team will coordinate the program of Sollomon and Estifanos with the UCI Africa center and the Ethiopian national team.
The two Ethiopian riders do have impressive aerobic capacities, but will have to work very hard on their more explosive output, technical and tactical skills.

The Marco Polo Cycling related Bike4All Foundation is working in Ethiopia for several years already, in cooperation with DIR Foundation, the Dutch HAN University and the Ethiopian Cycling Federation.
Bringing two riders to the Marco Polo Cycling team, that are coming up from a country we support through Bike4All is only a logical move to come closer to our overall mission of providing opportunities for talented riders from non-traditional countries in cycling - support the globalisation of our sport!

The team feels that the two riders will make a great combination with Daniel Abraham, a 2010 team member that will stay on for 2011. Daniel was born in Eritrea, grew up in Ethiopia and lives in The Netherlands for over 10 years now.

More news on the 2011 Marco Polo Cycling Team to follow - so stay tuned!

Eritrean Daniel Abraham from the Marco Polo Cycling Team at the start of a pro race in Germany. (photo: Francis Cerny)

BikenewsAsia published the second part of the story of the Marco Polo Cycling Team. Steve Thomas wrote a great review on how things developed into the Discovery Channel Marco Polo Team and about Fuyu Li the first Chinese in the Protour.
http://bikenewsasia.blogspot.com/2010/12/marco-polo-story-part-2.html#links

Discovery Channel Marco Polo Team riders in Europe, Chinese Li Chao and Malaysian Loh Sea Keong together with Robby McEwen at a pro-race in Europe. (photo: Francis Cerny)

BikeNewsAsia: “Following on from part one of our Marco Polo story we take things up as the whole game gets serious.

For a few of year’s major teams have been keen to take on an Oriental Asian rider, often as a PR exercise, though things have rarely gone beyond the stagier level. But standards in the east have risen rapidly, and the leading Chinese Marco Polo team rider, Fuyu Li was, at the head of things.” – read the full story :
http://bikenewsasia.blogspot.com/2010/12/marco-polo-story-part-2.html#links

Part I of the Marco Polo Cycling story:
http://bikenewsasia.blogspot.com/2001/12/marco-polo-story-part-1.html#links

www.BikeNewsAsia.com is a blog-style internet cycling magazine with lots of cool and funny articles, photos, video’s and links and some great inside cycling stories and interviews on the Asian side of the sports.