Official: Alberto Contador’s cycling team, Team Polti Visit Malta, continues to grow, and ‘allies’ with Formula 1

Ukyo Katayama, former Japanese Formula 1 driver and founder of a continental category cycling team that bears his name, has joined as a partner HAYF Sportsthe society of the brothers Alberto and Fran Contador and the Italian Ivan Basso managed by Team Polti VisitMalta.

“It is the first time that we welcome a new partner in the structure. One of our main objectives together with Ukyo will be to work from day one on the development of Japanese cycling, taking advantage of the experience we have acquired in Spain in recent years in training cycling,” he said. Fran Contador, general manager of Team Polti VisitMalta.

In addition, he added that they seek to “contribute to increasing the number of practitioners, awakening a growing interest in this sport and, why not, one day seeing a great Japanese cyclist competing as a protagonist in the most important races in the world.”

For its part, Basso He described the step taken as a “strategic operation that looks to tomorrow, rewards the seriousness and passion” of this work that will allow them to “build an even more important future.”

“His arrival represents a great opportunity for our project, not only because of his career and his notoriety in his country, but because we immediately felt a great personal harmony. We hope that this is the beginning of a long path together, during which we can share great experiences, continue growing our project and celebrate many successes together,” declared the two-time winner of the Giro d’Italia (2006 and 2010).

For his part, Katayama commented: “Being able to partner with champions who have left their mark on the biggest stages, and thus create incredible growth opportunities for the talents of my country, allowing them to compete at even higher levels and in close contact with the European environment, is an immense pleasure.”

“I am very excited about the goals that we can achieve by joining forces. By combining international knowledge and perspectives with a clear vision and dedication, we will also be able to contribute to the development of Japanese talent with a solid and lasting impact on this sport,” said the driver with experience in Formula One and endurance racing, such as 24 Hours of Le Mans or the Dakar Rally.