Katie Compton will be adding orange to the blue as she enters the MTB season
As Katie Compton’s ’cross season came to a close with her silver medal at Worlds, questions abounded about who would replace Planet Bike as her main sponsor. Compton had an impressive season, winning 5 World Cup races on top of her World’s podium, and the results attracted the Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team, which includes Bart Aernouts and U23 World Champion Lars Van der Haar. Compton joins with New Zealander Rosara Joseph as the first female riders on the roster.
Compton has made clear that the 2012 Olympics is a major goal, and signing with the Rabobank-Giant Offroad Team for the next two mountain bike seasons will be a large step in achieving this.
From the Rabobank-Giant Press Release:
“I am very excited to join the Rabobank-Giant Off-Road Team for the next two years, which I believe will be the best of my career,” Compton said. “I have high expectations and goals for myself, for both cyclocross and mountain biking. I am happy to be part of such a respected and well-run team.”
Adding Compton and Joseph represents a big step forward for Giant as it expands into women’s off-road racing.
“This year the rankings of the team’s top-three men and top-two women will count toward UCI team rankings,” said Rabobank-Giant Off-Road Team Manager Jan ten Tusscher. “The continued expansion and globalization of our team played a key role in acquiring both Katie and Rosara.”
Compton, the current U.S. Champion in both short-track cross-country and cyclocross, will focus on the XC World Cup this year with the aim to qualify for the 2012 London Olympics.
“Katie’s at the top of her game, and we’re proud that she has chosen the Rabobank-Giant Off-Road Team and Giant bikes to help take her XC and ’cross racing to an even higher level,” said Giant Global Marketing Director An Le.
