The Marco Polo Cycling Team is the first professional cycling team from China. The team is an international team with the best Chinese/Asian riders integrated between experienced western riders. Management is from Europe, but the sportive target is the Asian UCI ranking, and even more then that, the development of Asian talents.

The Marco Polo Cycling Team is an unconventional and international team, in a traditional and Europe-oriented cycling scene. The team is named after Marco Polo, who brought the best of Asia and China to the outside world. Which is what the team is aiming to do in cycling.

The team is supported by several great companies, such as Museeuw Bikes, the bike brand of legendary former World Champion and winner of World Cup races, Johan Museeuw. For 2010 the main sponsorship is still open, in previous years the team was sponsored by reputed companies like Trek bicycles (the bike brand that Lance Armstrong won 7 Tour de Frances on), Discovery Channel, AMD and GE Energy.

The Marco Polo Team did have a great 2009 season, with an extremely young team, races were won in Europe, Thailand and Korea, whilst Jaco Venter became South African time trial champion and Li Fuyu won the Chinese title, plus gold and bronze medals at the China Games – the biggest sports event in China. Jaco went on to claim a 4th place in the ‘Tour de l’Avenir’, also called the tour de France for Under 23 riders. Li Fuyu signed a contract with Lance Armstrong’s Radio Shack team for 2010, bringing him to the very top level of the world again.

The team has raced all over the world and won many stage races, stages and classifications in international tours, over the past years.
For example: overall winner of the Tour du Maroc, Qinghai-Tibet (Qingzhang Plateau race), Tour du Faso (2 times), Tour de Beijing, Tour de Sri Lanka, Tour d’Indonesia, Tour de Korea, Tour de Siam and Tour of Thailand.
Several national Champions and the Champions of Asia as well as Oceania were part of the team.

Marco Polo Cycling and the Chinese Cycling Association cooperate for 5 years now, based on an agreement that aims for preparation of the best Chinese riders towards the Beijing Olympics 2008 - now continuing towards the London 2012 Olympics. The agreement guarantees availability of the best Chinese riders for the team.

Some remarkable riders on the team:
-     Liu Yi Lin the new Champion from China.
-     Leon van Bon, former World Championships and Olympic Games medalist + winner of 2 Tour de France stages.

Former riders include:
-    Li Fuyu of China winner of several international UCI races as well as Proraces in Europe. Winner of bronze and double winner of gold at China Games, Champion of China, 4th Asian Championships.
-     Bart Brentjens, former European, World and Olympic Champion mountainbike, Beijing Olympics (MTB) participant.
- Maarten Tjallingii, member of Rabobank Pro Tour team
- Thomas Rabou, former member of Rabobank team, now Team Type 1 (USA)
- Jai Crawford, member of Fly v Australia team
- Wong Kam Po (Hong Kong), former World Champion at the track

For more information: www.marcopolocyclingteam.com

History:

The Marco Polo Cycling Club was founded in 2000 and named after the famous traveller, Marco Polo. The mission and goals of the club were, and still are, to provide talented cyclists from non-traditional cycling countries -often not the richest countries in the world- an opportunity to develop into world-class professionals. 
 
Not long after the creation of the Marco Polo Cycling club a semi-professional team was started to stay true to its original mission. In the short time that the Marco Polo Cycling Team has been in existence, the team has raced all over the world and won many stages, stage races and classifications in countries such as: China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, Morocco, Burkina Faso, and South-Korea and was also successful in race in Western Europe.
 
In 2004, Marco Polo Cycling signed a contract with the Chinese Cycling Association in an effort to recruit, train and prepare the best Chinese rider for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. 
 
In 2006, Fuyu Li from the Marco Polo Cycling Team won the All China Games, Tour of Thailand as well as numerous races throughout Europe. His hard work and success resulted in a contract with the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team for 2007, making him the first ever Chinese rider to race at the sports elite level, the UCI Pro Tour. 
 
Upon signing Li with Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team, well known for their 7 Tour de France wins by Lance Armstrong. A partnership between the two Teams was created, resulting in the formation of the 2007 Discovery Channel Marco Polo Team.

Here you find two background stories on the first years and the recent time of the Marco Polo Cycling Team:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/features.php?id=features/2008/marco_polo_feb08
http://www.cyclingnews.com/features.php?id=features/2008/marco_polo2_mar08

Best results in the past from Marco Polo Cycling Team:

Marco Polo Cycling Team riders:

Liu Yilin (Shandong, China)
Wang Meiyin (Shandong, China)
Fu Xing (Shandong, China)
Leon van Bon (The Netherlands, former Olympics and World Championships medalist, winner of two Tour de France stages)
Khalid Bounida (The Netherlands)
Loh Sea Keong (Malaysia)
Ahmad Haidar Anuawar (Malaysia)
Bradeley Hall (Australia)
Jonathan Lovelock (Australia)

Team program:

February:
Mumbai Cyclothon (India)

Tour de Langkawi (Malaysia)

March
Tour de Taiwan

April
Tour of Thailand
Tour de Korea

May
Tour of Japan
Tour de Kumano (Japan)

July
Tour of Qinghai Lake (China)

August
After Tour de France races Europe

September
Tour de Hokkaido (Japan)

Oktober
Tour of Hong Kong - Shanghai
Japan Cup

November
Tour of Hainan (China)

December
Tour of South China Sea (China)