April 5, 2017 (Silver City, NM) - The Tour of the Gila is proud to once again be sponsored by the legendary cycling apparel brand, DECCA, for our leader jerseys. The historic Belgian brand knows pro cycling and has worked with the world's best teams and riders since 1970, including Sean Kelly, Freddie Maertens, Joaquin Rodriguez, Alexander Kristoff, and many others.

DECCA remains one of the last few cycling apparel brands that continues to make their clothing locally in Belgium, by Belgians. Their quality in development and production has allowed them to build a legendary reputation by constantly testing the boundaries of what technical fabrics can do, maintaining their place in the major leagues of European cycling clothing manufacturers.

GÇ£They asked us which race they should work with first in the USA,GÇ¥ Michael Engleman of Mission Sports Group, North American representative for DECCA, said. GÇ£We said that a classic brand like DECCA couldnGÇÖt do better than to partner with a classic race like Tour of the Gila. They are both what cycling is all about GÇô epic stages in unique locations, which produce stories that become historic.GÇ¥

The general classification red leader jersey will feature the Zia symbol from the New Mexico state flag GÇô a theme that will run throughout the leader jerseys in 2017. Brian and Lynn Robinson of Southwest Bone & Joint Institute return as the sponsors of our white best young rider competition, along with Freeport-McMoRan for the King and Queen of the Mountain Zia polka-dot leader jersey. SkyWest Media GÇô a consulting, marketing, and media firm with offices in Silver City, New Mexico, and Tucson, Arizona GÇô will be a new sponsor this year of our green, pointGÇÖs classification jersey.

About the Tour of the Gila

The Tour of the Gila takes place in and around Silver City, New Mexico and consists of road race stages, an individual time trial, and a criterium. Stage 1 for the 5-day race, is a point-to-point road race en route to the ghost town of Mogollon. The criterium is held in downtown Silver City with high speeds, 90-degree turns and a brutal climb to weed out the weak. The iconic GÇ£Gila MonsterGÇ¥ road raceGÇÖs final climbing stage ends with a climb up to the tiny enclave of Pinos Altos, nestled in the Gila National Forest. www.tourofthegila.com

Photo Credit
DECCA Sportswear