Norco Bicycles named as bike sponsor for M1 Pro Cycling Project

Four days after announcing a new title sponsor, H&R Block Canada, the M1 Pro Cycling Project has lined up a bike sponsor, Norco Bicycles, for its UCI continental team. The squad formed by M1, which will ride during the 2015 season, will be called H&R Block Professional Cycling Team.

“Norco has its roots in Canadian cycling, and partnering with M1 Pro Cycling project is an opportunity to support the sport and to grow with elite athletes in a very competitive landscape,” said Norco Bicycle’s marketing manager Chris Cook. While supporting H&R Block Professional Cycling Team will help us to test and prove our Tactic race bike, it will also provide a direct channel for Norco Race Development, our system of continuous learning and improvement for the bikes of tomorrow.”

Norco has supported Canadian team throughout its 50-year history. In 1980, it sponsored its Factory BMX team. In the mid-2000s, it supported Symmetrics Pro Cycling, which has Svein Tuft, Christian Meier, Zach Bell, Jacob Erker and Geoff Kabush as alumni. In 2014, Norco supported development teams such as Jet Fuel, Team H&R Block and Premier Tech, as well as an enduro team, an international mountain bike team and its Factory Team.

“Having a world class Canadian bike manufacture support a new Canadian professional team shows the commitment that this company has toward the sport,” said Mark Ernsting, CEO of M1 Pro Cycling.

The H&R Block Professional Cycling Team will race aboard the Norco Tactic road race platform and a team-issue time trial frame.

Ernsting and M1 Pro Cycling plan to develop pro continental or WorldTour squad as early as 2018. The UCI continental H&R Block Professional Cycling Team would continue once the higher-division team arrives to support the development of pro cycling in Canada.