Yellow Jersey an Official Supplier to Team Wiggins
For a company involved in the British Cycling community, there are a few big names we would love to be able to associate ourself with. The heroes of British cycling have always seemed somewhat out of reach, and to no surprise. The giants of the track and road are in such demand, that all but the biggest international brands are squeezed out. It could almost seem like a fool’s errand to pursue these riders and teams at all especially bearing in mind we don’t sell sexy bikes like Pinarello or glorious looking kit like Rapha. We sell one of the most functional products a person can buy, insurance. I’m glad we’re an optimistic office.
In 2015, to our delight, we were able to secure sponsorship of the Women’s road race team Matrix Pro Cycling, led by double Olympic medallist Laura Trott (who we were lucky enough to interview). Our involvement with Matrix, like a lot of these things, came through a ‘friend of a friend’ situation. Knowing the right people, it seems, can pay off. And it is very much the same sort of situation which has led us to become an official supplier to Bradley Wiggin’s (who clearly is the biggest name in British cycling) own development team, Team Wiggins.
This is a bit of news we have been sitting on for a little while, ever since proving the extent of our unique cycle insurance policy; written in house by a team of cycling enthusiasts, and signed off by our underwriter with whom we have worked for the last twenty five years. I may have ‘accidentally’ mentioned our involvement to a few of you at races and events over the last couple of months, but we are incredibly excited to make an official announcement right at the start of 2015’s Tour de France.
The team was founded by Yellow Jersey wearing Bradley Wiggins towards the end of the 2014 road season as a vehicle by which he could build up to Track competition at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio. Wiggins moved over to the team at the beginning of May, in time to wear the new team colours for his record breaking hour ride, and joining eight regular riders who will be supplemented by others on a race to race basis. Each of the eight are development riders, likely to be some of the British cycling’s brightest stars over the coming few years.
So what can Yellow Jersey cycle insurance bring to a team supported by the biggest name in British Cycling?
Well there is some precedence to Pro teams losing bikes on big tours. Only last year, Team Sky had their entire stock of bikes stolen ahead of the Haut Var, a French two day event early in the season, with the same happening to Team Cult Energy this year before the same race. While larger teams may be able to recover financially from such a massive loss, smaller teams are often not as fortunate. Team Garmin Sharp had no option but to retire from the Tour of the Mediterranean after their equipment was stolen in 2013.
We are effectively offering much the same cover to Team Wiggins as we do to you. Our £15,000 limit for a single bike needed to be lifted a little, the first time we’ve had to do so. “The deal ensures that the team will be back on the road quickly, should the worse happen.” Andrew McQuaid, the Team Wiggins Manager commented “Yellow Jersey is a good fit for us given the race-centric nature of the product, their competitive focus and their genuine passion for cycling and we are looking forward to working with them.”
As a cycling company, it is hard to overstate our pride at having been asked by Team Wiggins to support their racing season this year. We are, first and foremost, fans of cycling, and to be associated with the biggest name in British Cycling feels like a fantastic achievement.
Find out more about what our cycle insurance has to offer, including crash damage whilst racing