Boardman becomes official bike supplier for Podium Ambition as team looks to gain Women’s WorldTour status

UCI Women’s WorldTour team Podium Ambition has announced a two-year partnership which will see its atheletes riding Boardman Bikes. Riders including Dame Sarah Storey, Joanna Rowsell-Shand and Katie Archibald will be on bikes from the aerodynamic AIR and SLR Endurance ranges as the team looks to gain Women’s WorldTour status in its first professional season.

The team is also looking to qualify to race at the World TTT Championships in Qatar on October 9 and will therefore be using Boardman’s ATT and TTE bikes.

Chris Boardman, the chairman of Boardman Bikes, said: “As a company we love what Podium Ambition are trying to achieve and we are delighted to be able to do our part to help some very talented riders. I’m looking forward to supporting them and watching the team race. Although this is a two-year arrangement, we intend this to be only the start of a long term partnership.”

Sarah Storey’s husband, Barney, is Podium Ambition team director. He commented: “It’s no secret we are a huge fan of Boardman Bikes in our household since Sarah won gold in the 2008 Beijing Road Time Trial and three successive World Time Trial titles from 2009-2011 using the Boardman ATT.”

In November, Andy Smallwood, the managing director of Boardman Bikes, told road.cc that the firm’s investment priority was its new performance centre where test facilities will feature a wind tunnel. He did however add that it was also keen to get back into sponsoring a professional team.

Explaining the motivation for working with Podium Ambition, Smallwood said: “We have been looking for a way back into Professional team sponsorship and the professionalism, ambition and rider roster of Podium Ambition made working with Sarah and the team a logical decision. The connection with the team will also give us a valuable resource in our continuous process of product development”.