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Germany's powerhouse triathlon siblings, Andreas and Michael Raelert have joined forces with BMC for 2011 season.


The Swiss bike manufacturer BMC is making a striking debut in the sport of triathlon. Effective immediately, Andreas and Michael Raelert are on sponsorship board at BMC. The two Rostockborn athletes are considered the most promising candidates for victory at the most famous endurance sporting event in the world, the Ironman in Hawaii. Andreas Raelert, runner-up at the race in 2010, impressively won the European Championship at the 2010 Frankfurt Ironman, setting a new record on the bike leg. His younger brother Michael remains unbeaten since winning the 2009 World Championship at the Ironman 70.3 distance. After his victorious appearance at the 2010 European 70.3 Championship in Wiesbaden, he went on to defend his World Champion title the same year. In doing so, he became the first-ever two-time World Champion in the history of the Ironman 70.3 event.

Recently, Michael Raelert was chosen to become the first non-American best endurance athlete in the United States.

The bike sponsorship with the German brothers marks the start of a strong commitment in the global sport of triathlon for BMC. The great potential of the Raelert Brothers brand was crucial for our long-term, three-year partnership. The pair found a dream partner with excellent products in BMC. “Right from the beginning, the achievement of shared goals really went without saying", describes Mike Hürlimann, CEO of BMC, the negotiations. "We are convinced that we can offer Andreas and Michael critical support in the development of their dominance in the triathlon with our legendary timemachine. We will also work very closely with one another on further developments in the specific product range for triathlon", added Hürlimann.

The biggest goal of Andreas and Michael Raelert remains their first race together at the ironman distance: the showdown on Hawaii in 2011. "One day we will even run together, never against each other, and cross the finish line in Hawaii hand in hand. That is our biggest dream; it's what we live for", is how Michael Raelert once accurately described the passion they share for their sport. But the mutual goal does not only comprise the purely athletic side. Even in their marketing, the athletes from Rostock will embark on new and thus shared paths in future and from now on are positioning themselves as the global brand Raelert Brothers – Passion for Triathlon, which is synonymous with their virtues and genuinely expresses their passion for the sport. "With the premium Swiss brand BMC, we have found the ideal partner who not only stands by us in the athletic field, but also as our independent Raelert Brothers brand in order to achieve our goals together", stated Andreas Raelert when describing the decisive motivations for the future cooperation. "The proverbial Swiss Precision of defining goals and then consistently pursuing them is what convinced us on this matter," continued the Hawaii runner-up from 2010.

"The triathlon is a constantly growing market around the world in which we see great potential forourselves. If BMC makes this kind of commitment, this occurs over the long-term and with decisive pervasiveness. Andreas and Michael are a perfect match for us. The intensity and seriousness as well as their truly natural air in combination with their social involvement for the sport also complement our image very well", stated Frank Schreiner, Head of Marketing at BMC.

"As in road racing and mountain biking, BMC is not just concerned with working with the best, butalso with forming a healthy foundation. We therefore establish our commitment on a broad basis: In addition to Andreas and Michael, we were also able to obtain the top Swiss athletes from the ewz power team, Ronnie Schildknecht, Stefan Riesen and Sven Riederer for BMC; Patrick Wallimann, Julien Loy from France and Jenny Fletcher from the USA perfectly round off the team internationally", according to Schreiner.