Harry Heath Signs With Unior Tools Team

One of the newest and fastest growing gravity teams on the World Cup circuit has just signed 19 year old Harry Heath for season 2011. The Slovenian gravity UCI MTB team has big ambitions signing Harry Heath of Congleton UK, and the best Slovenian rider Nejc Rutar, plus 3 riders from last season returning for DH and 4X duties. Harry was 6th at the 2009 Junior World Championships in Canberra, despite a crash in his final run, and in 2010 was pretty much doing everything himself at World Cup level. Now with this new level of support his ambitions for the upcoming season are much higher: "I want solid top 20 results at all World Cups." Harry's goals are very clear and with the support of his new team quite realistic: "Last year I saw Unior Tools Team in the pits and could see they have got a great program with everything accounted for. From full mechanical support to a really professional team area, all of which takes stress off my mind so I can just get down to the racing; this is big advantage for me." Team Manager Tine Mahkovec explains how Harry Heath came onto the team: "Idea was developed in past season as part of the business strategy to promote Unior Tools in the UK. Harry is managed by Martin Whiteley's 23 Degrees, always a good reference for a rider. We saw what Harry can do and realize that he could also have positive influence on other riders." This UCI MTB gravity team, full of national champions and talented riders, is supported by Slovenian hand tools manufacturer Unior, as well as Trek Bicycles, SRAM, adidas Eyewear, SixSixOne, Muc-Off, Edelweiss RS and other partners. This will enable the team to support five riders on the UCI MTB World Cup events, some iXS European Cup events and of course other national and UCI Class events. All of the riders are also strong candidates for national teams for both World and European Championships. Not everything is about racing and results with Unior Tools Team ˆ it's also about having fun and riding for the pure enjoyment. And since the team riders live very far away from each other it will be very important to spend some time together during the events. Most of the time in Slovenia will be spent in Kranjska Gora, venue of the 2009 European Championships. Harry Heath is excited about that: "I've ridden Kranjska Gora before and was blown away by how cool the place was. This is a place I'm looking forward to spending more time riding mid-season. It will be a perfect training ground in between World Cups, so that is when I'll be there." Unior Tools Team roster for season 2011: Men: Harry Heath (United Kingdom, DH), Nejc Rutar (Slovenia, DH), Ziga Pandur (Slovenia, DH) Ladies: Neza Knez (Slovenia, 4X), Maria Michalogiannaki (Greece, DH) Team staff includes Team Manager Tine Mahkovec, Mechanic Rok Jurca and Media Manager Grega Stopar. Official website www.uniortoolsteam.com is on-line with all the latest news and information about riders. You can also follow the team on Facebook or Twitter. Photo Credit of Harry - Keith Valentine