The announcement today of the move from longtime bike sponsor Kestrel to Cannondale is just one change in Andy Potts' professional life. But it's a big one.
Super-swimmer Potts became a U.S. Olympian in 2004 after fewer than 2 years as a triathlete. He spent most of the aughts aboard Felt's bicycles before moving to Kestrel at the end of 2010. He re-upped with Kestrel exactly 3 years later, and the timing for this move to Cannondale suggests that his deals with Kestrel were each for 3-year terms.
Why Cannondale for Andy?
The former 70.3 World Champ has been sniffing the top spot in Kona, 4th place each of the last 2 years. In 2015 his time gap to the winner at the finish was not much more than his time gap during the bike leg. The clock is ticking for this 39-year-old. The window is only ajar. This is a Craig Alexander-like change. Potts is looking to find that missing 5 to 7 minutes just in aerodynamics and technology.
Potts averaged in the neighborhood of 310 watts in Kona last year according to those close to him. His position has been optimized by Mat Steinmetz over the last couple of years. Can technology changes place him in the Kienle, O'Donnell, Frodeno territory? Will Cannondale's Slice get him there? Maybe. The Slice is better than the Kestrel 4000, but the Slice alone is probably not worth 5 or 6 minutes in Kona. Andy is banking on the relationship with Cannondale's support team to get him the rest of the way there. The team will need to look more closely at tires, wheels, hydration systems, and apparel than in years past if he wants to make up that time. Damon Rinard, previously of Cervelo, coming over to Cannondale exactly a year ago, will certainly be a key member of the technology team on which Andy will rely.
The obvious question: Why not move right to the Slice RS? This is what Cannondale's pro cycling teams are riding and it is beyond dispute that this is a fast frame. It would be no surprise if the Slice is an interim bike for Andy, but he won't be riding the RS, because if he were he'd be on that bike right now. Either Andy Potts will be aboard a Slice in 2016, or there's a new bike in the hopper not yet announced.
For now, Potts is splitting the difference, choosing a bike that is more aero than his Kestrel 4000, and is more geometrically sound for his larger frame than the Slice RS. The Slice handles predictably, is not a super bike, and is easier to travel with and work on.
There may be a further motive, which fits together with the other change in Andy's professional life. Last month he announced Andy Potts Racing, another club-team in the same theme as Wattie Ink or Cobb Mobb. Pro athletes are starting their own teams and the most notable might be Chris McDonald's Big Sexy Racing. One question is whether Andy Potts Racing will dabble in equipment sales and, if so, with whom, with what brands, and to what degree?
(Some of these questions might be answered later this month, as Andy is scheduled to address the TBI Conference on the explosion of amateur club-teams.)
The deal announced is not just with Cannondale but with its sister apparel company Sugoi. Andy will still be a TYR athlete for wetsuits, swim skins and the like. The Sugoi deal does not replace TYR, but rather replaces Fusion, which was Andy's apparel sponsor in 2015.
