Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux can rely on an additional partner for 2022. Indeed, Italian brand Vini Zabù joins the family of sponsors of the UCI World Team from Belgium. Vini Zabù is the Sicilian branch of Italian wine group Vini Fantini, which is historically involved in Italian and international cycling, lately as title sponsor of an Italian Pro Team since 2020. Vini Zabù will appear on the race kits of the riders of Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert, which will be unveiled in the beginning of 2022. Moreover, the products of the Italian organization will be consumed throughout the season by the riders, staff and partners of Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert. The partnership was presented this Wednesday at Vini Fantini headquarters in Ortona, Italy, in the presence of CEO Jean-François BOURLART, COO Maxime SEGERS, Sports Director Valerio PIVA and Rider Lorenzo ROTA and of the Sciotti family.
Vigneti Zabù is the Sicilian winery part of Fantini Group. The winery is located in the heart is the wine region: Sambuca di Sicilia, in The province of Agrigento. An extraordinary area untouched by factories and rich in oenology history with ancient vineyards of over 60 years old, Sambuca di Sicilia is a land of generations of vintners. With bright skies and the crystal-clear waters of Lake Arancio. Vigneti Zabù works in the area to preserve the nature and ensuring the highest quality of the grapes.
Led by Jean-François Bourlart since the takeover in 2001 of the amateur club VC Ath, Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert has climbed the cycling ladder step by step. It competed at Continental level in 2008 before becoming Pro Continental in 2011, achieving success in the Amstel Gold Race 2016 thanks to Enrico Gasparotto and three overall victories in the UCI Europe Tour 2017, 2018 and 2019. In 2021, the structure acquired a World Tour license and compete in the most prestigious events, with a roster of thirty riders from eleven different nationalities. During its first year in the elite peloton, the team made resounding debuts in the Giro d’Italia and the Vuelta a España with a stage victory in both Grand Tours, in addition to nine days leading the general classification of the Vuelta.
“We are delighted by this partnership with the great Italian group Vini Fantini, and in particular its subsidiary Vini Zabù. We have had a long love affair with Italy, not only because we have welcomed many Italian riders in our team, but also because of two key moments in our team’s history: the victory in the 2016 Amstel Gold Race thanks to Enrico Gasparotto, an Italian rider, as well as the magnificent success of Taco Van der Hoorn on our very first Giro d’Italia, which triggered then a series of victories for the team. In addition, our structure is renown for its friendliness and family aspect. We had the opportunity to taste the Vini Zabù products during our team building and share them with our partners during our end of season Gala, and they will greatly contribute to maintaining the family atmosphere! We look forward to defending the colors of Vini Zabù and helping them to further establish themselves in the Belgian and French market."
« After thirteen years of presence in Italian teams with the group Farnese Vini, we’re happy to start this unprecedented partnership with Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert. The team is omnipresent in breakaways and distuinguishes itself by its combativeness. Nowadays, the team is recognized for its achievements in the most prestigious cycling events. Just like our group, the structure stands for a clean and honest sport as it is driven by passion and love for the job. The presence of the Vini Zabù logo on the team kits offers a great guarantee in terms of visibility for Vini Zabù on the sportive side, but also in commercial terms. Belgium is one of our major export partners, so it is a fantastic opportunity for our group to reinforce its position on the market. »
