News for June 7
Olive Oil Looks Like Lifesaver ForceSud
ForceSud's jersey will soon have an olive-tree logo added to it, with
the name of its new sponsor -- Tramier -- above it in red lettering.
The team will henceforth be called ForceSud-Tramier. Tramier, an
olive-processing company with its headquarters at Vitrolles in
Provence, has agreed to sponsor the team for the rest of this season
and for an additional three seasons (that is until the end of 1999),
including making up existing salary arrears of the team's riders.
Henri-Pierre Tramier, the boss of Tramier, which is no 1 in the
business in France and number 2 in Europe, was not prepared to
disclose the amount his company is adding to the team's budget. The
team will presumably also have to seek out new riders to augment those
still with the team -- Christophe Bassons and Dominique Arnould have
irretrievably gone, to Festina and Agrigel, respectively.