March 28, 2012 (St. Catharines, ON) – Canada’s own Team SpiderTech powered by C10 made another breakthrough in professional cycling today, receiving an invitation to race the 2012 Tour de Suisse, the first-ever invite from a WorldTour race in Europe.

The Tour de Suisse is the fourth-biggest bike race in the world and its long tradition and popularity make it the largest regular annual event in Switzerland. Last year’s 75th anniversary edition of the Tour de Suisse was broadcast on television in more than 100 countries.

“This is fantastic news for all of us at Team SpiderTech. We made very public our vision to crack the WorldTour, and this is another step in the right direction. We will use this golden opportunity to show we can race amongst the biggest teams, in the largest races. Our results this season, three podiums early in the season capped with a few top-15 rankings in classic races, are a testament of the strength of our program,” said Steve Bauer, Olympic medallist and directeur sportif for Team SpiderTech powered by C10.

Bauer has good memories of the Tour De Suisse. During his illustrious career he stepped on the podium four times at the Swiss national tour, winning the eighth stage and finishing second overall in the 1988 edition.

Team SpiderTech has two other links with the Tour de Suisse. Newly-signed Dane Brian Vandborg has had strong performances at the Tour de Suisse, notably 26th overall in 2009 after finishing 8th in the time trial stage.

Swiss rider Raymond Kunzli is thrilled to have a chance at being selected to the eight-rider Team SpiderTech squad. Kunzli signed his first professional contract with Team SpiderTech during the off-season. “A new chapter begins in 2012. It’s a dream come true for me to have the chance to take part in an event like the Tour de Suisse right at the start of my professional career,” said Künzli.

In securing the invitation to race the Tour de Suisse, Team SpiderTech powered by C10 also owes genuine thanks for the great support of SpiderTech and its magic blue kinesiology tape that keeps our riders performing on the bike every day.

The 2012 Tour de Suisse will start in Lugano on June 9 with a 7.3-km time trial. The seventh stage, held on June 15, is a 34.3-kilometer time trial race in Gossau. The ninth and final leg will finish in Sörenberg on June 17.

“We have made some significant improvements in our operations this past off-season,” continued Bauer. “We picked up some great riders to the already solid team we had last year and we are riding stronger this season. We have great partners on board, such as SpiderTech Inc. as well as a consortium of partners dubbed C10, which includes BlackBerry, NRS Brakes, Pinetree Capital and Argon 18. We also brought on board key players to our management, such as Michael Carter and Curt Harnett, which will improve our field operations and business development tactics.”

Team SpiderTech made history last fall by becoming the first Canadian professional cycling team to race at the World Tour level, after receiving an invitation to race at the Grands Prix Cyclistes de Québec et de Montréal.

Follow Team SpiderTech on twitter at www.twitter.com/TeamSpiderTech for live updates from team vehicles in the caravan. You can also follow your Canadian team on Facebook at www.facebook.com/teamspidertech

TOUR DE SUISSE official website: http://www.tourdesuisse.ch/en