Infront, a Wanda Sports company alongside IRONMAN, in partnership with Velon, the business venture aimed at bringing cycling closer to the fans, has announced the expansion of the Hammer Series into Asia. Expanding the Hammer Series, a new partnership has been forged with Sun Hung Kai Properties Hong Kong Cyclothon – the biggest road cycling event in Hong Kong.
Hammer Hong Kong, presented by Sun Hung Kai Properties, will take place on 14 October. The race will be staged as part of the festival of cycling that is the Sun Hung Kai Properties Hong Kong Cyclothon.
Hammer Hong Kong is billed as a chance for cycling fans to see the best teams in the world race close up in one of the world’s most exciting destinations. As part of the Sun Hung Kai Properties Hong Kong Cyclothon, Hammer Hong Kong will see some of the biggest and best UCI WorldTour cycling teams compete for glory in a special, one-off race day on the streets of the iconic territory.
Velon also recently announced partnership agreements with seven new teams – including Team Dimension Data and NIPPO Vini Fantini Europa Ovini. The collaboration means that these teams’ riders will showcase their race performances with live data and video content, all of which is shared with organisers, teams, race broadcasters and, most importantly, the fans.
“The Hong Kong Tourism Board is delighted to bring the Hammer Series to Hong Kong, in partnership with Velon,” said Anthony Lau, Executive Director of the Hong Kong Tourism Board.
“The Sun Hung Kai Properties Hong Kong Cyclothon has grown from strength to strength since its first edition four years ago and has continued to expand and draw more top-notch cyclists from around the world.”
Lau added, “This partnership is a natural move for the HKTB to upgrade the UCI Asia Tour Class 1.1 road race into a world-class spectacle and is in line with our continued efforts to enhance every element of our diverse range of mega events which contribute to Hong Kong’s status as the events capital of Asia.”
Adam Kwok, Executive Director of Sun Hung Kai Properties continued, “Sun Hung Kai Properties is proud to be the title sponsor for the Sun Hung Kai Properties Hong Kong Cyclothon for its fourth consecutive year. We passionately believe in our ‘sports for charity’ effort and in promoting cycling at all levels to fans in Hong Kong, China and rest of the world.
“With this year’s introduction of Hammer Hong Kong presented by Sun Hung Kai Properties, an unprecedented number of WorldTour teams will be visiting and competing in Hong Kong for the first time and I’m sure fans locally and worldwide will have a whole lot to cheer for.”
Graham Bartlett, CEO of Velon, said “We’re delighted to bring the Hammer Series to Hong Kong for a spectacular finish to the 2018 series. We couldn’t ask for better partners than the Hong Kong Tourism Board and Sun Hung Kai Properties to bring a fantastic race alive for the fans in Hong Kong and internationally. The teams are all really up for a big finish.”
Stephan Herth, Executive Director Summer Sports at Infront added, “We are excited to see the Hammer Series evolve after the first successful season by adding a third race in Hong Kong to the 2018 calendar.
“Cycling is a key sport in Infront’s long-term strategy as well as an important pillar of the wider Wanda Sports business, as highlighted by events such as the recent Tour of Guangxi. This partnership with Sun Hung Kai Properties Hong Kong Cyclothon, which brings Hammer Series to China, will enable us to further develop Asian cycling and to promote this new exciting format on a global basis.”
Following an inaugural event in 2017, which was reportedly watched by more than three million cycling fans on social media channels alone, the Hammer Series is back for the 2018 season with three global races – in Norway, the Netherlands and now Hong Kong.
Each Hammer Series race provides intense competition in an innovative team-vs-team format designed for digital and broadcast viewing. Unlike traditional stage-based races in which individual riders take to the podium, the Hammer Series pits teams of five riders against each other over testing courses to determine the best team.
The exact format of the special, one-off race day in Hong Kong will be revealed in the coming weeks and will offer a high octane, ‘All Out’ finish to Hammer racing for 2018.
Mitchelton-SCOTT General Manager Shayne Bannon said, “The extension of the Hammer Series to Hong Kong is an exciting prospect for us on a number of levels. We are obviously invested in Velon and the future we see the Hammer Series playing in cycling, but we are also heavily involved in the region, particularly with our Chinese-registered UCI Continental team Mitchelton-BikeExchange.”
UAE Team Emirates participated in the debut Hammer Series event in Limburg, Netherlands, in June 2017 and has also competed in Hong Kong. Team Manager Carlo Saronni said “In the past two years, our sports group participated in the Criterium in Hong Kong and we appreciated the constant increasing quality level of the organization and of the cycling competitiveness.
“Hong Kong has everything to become an important appointment in the world cycling calendar and the Hammer Series leg will be the best way to make a huge step towards this goal. We obtained victories in the past two years in Hong Kong, we’d love to win in the Hammer Series.”
