OAKLAND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team announced today that Aegis Sports Testing Services, part of Aegis Sciences Corporation, located in Nashville, Tennessee, has become a significant corporate sponsor of the U.S.-based pro continental team. This sponsorship marks the first time that a pro cycling team and a sports drug-testing lab have partnered.
“Aegis is proud to sponsor the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team,” said Dr. David Black, founder, president and CEO of Aegis. “As partners, we have a unique opportunity to spread a message about the benefits of competing drug free and contribute to our nation’s conversation about lifelong wellness for athletes of all ages and abilities.”
Members of the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team are among the fittest and most competitive athletes in the world. In connection with its sponsorship of the Team, Aegis will provide drug testing for Team members above and beyond what is required by race officials and pro cycling’s governing bodies.
Team UnitedHealthcare’s General Manager and Director, Mike Tamayo said, “Competing in professional cycling means training long and training hard – without the aid of drugs or performance-enhancing substances. The additional drug testing our Team will receive from Aegis will help us provide an extra layer of protection for our athletes, ensuring their health and fitness and clean competition.”
For more than 20 years, Aegis has been committed to research, testing and consultation that promote the wellness benefits and integrity of sports free from performance-enhancing substances. The company provides comprehensive drug testing and consultation services to amateur and professional sports organizations worldwide. Aegis Sports Testing Services, the testing arm of Aegis, conducts sophisticated testing procedures for a variety of anabolic steroids, stimulants and other performance-enhancing substances, protecting athletes and their sports at all levels from substance abuse.
“This is an unprecedented partnership that we hope will set a great example for all professional cyclists and teams worldwide,” said Gregory Raifman, Chairman and CEO of Momentum Sports Group, the owner and operator of the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team. “Together, Aegis Sports Testing Services and the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team seek to enjoy the benefits of clean competition and share those benefits with others in the cycling community and beyond.”
Pro cycling is a fast-growing sport in the United States that reaches more than 70 million fans nationwide with stage races such as the Amgen Tour of California, the Larry H. Miller Tour of Utah, and the USA Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado.
The Team heads to Argentina to kick off its 2012 campaign at the Tour de San Luis (January 23 – 29), before heading to Spain for the Volta ao Algarve (February 15 – 19), and then to Malaysia’s Tour of Langkawi (February 24 – March 4). The early season racing calendar will see the Team in Europe, South America and Asia before returning stateside for its first U.S. race, the Tampa Twilight Criterium (March 31).
About Momentum Sports Group, LLC
Based in Oakland, Calif., the Momentum Sports Group, LLC is an organization dedicated to the growth and management of sports and entertainment assets worldwide. Momentum Sports Group owns and operates one of the most successful professional cycling teams in the sport, the UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team. The Team raced as "Health Net Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis" from 2003-2008 and "OUCH! Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis" in 2009. In 2010, UnitedHealthcare assumed title sponsorship of the Team and they raced as the "UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team Presented by Maxxis.” In 2011, the Team raced as the "UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling Team" and will continue to do so through the 2014 season.
Fans can follow the team at www.uhcprocycling.com, http://twitter.com/UHCprocycling, and http://facebook.com/UHCprocycling.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 650,000 physicians and care professionals and 5,000 hospitals nationwide. UnitedHealthcare serves more than 38 million people and is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company.
About Aegis Sports Testing Services
Aegis Sports Testing Services provides comprehensive drug testing and consultation to a diverse range of amateur and professional sports organizations in the United States and worldwide. The company is committed to protecting athletes at all levels from the harmful effects of drugs and other performance-enhancing substances. Aegis Sports Testing Services is part of Aegis Sciences Corporation, a leading forensic sciences company providing toxicology services to more than 1,500 clients including pain management physicians, professional sports associations, colleges and universities, medical examiner offices, state and local government agencies, courts of law, and Fortune 500 corporations. For more information about Aegis, visit www.aegislabs.com.