Italian UCI WorldTour cycling team Lampre-Merida has announced that its title sponsors have agreed to renew their backing through the 2015 season.
The commitment of Italian pre-laminated steel company Lampre and Taiwanese bicycle manufacturer Merida means that the squad will retain the same name it has held since 2013.
Merida said its decision to extend has been aided by the presence of two Asian riders on the team’s line-up for 2015, with the company also set to back the squad in 2016.
Merida vice-president William Jeng said: “Our company has entered the WorldTour with Team Lampre-Merida, and after two seasons we can only come to a thoroughly positive summary of this cooperation. The team has been improving its performance, and its line-up has been getting more and more international.
“We therefore are excited to announce that as per next year Team Lampre-Merida will have two professional riders from Asia in its line-up. After China’s Xu Gang, Chun Kai Feng is going to join its ranks for 2015. He will be the first rider from Taiwan to compete at cycling’s highest level, the World Tour. All of this has convinced Merida to extend the existing title sponsor contract until the end of 2016 early on.”