Wim de Koeijer
Wim is SRAM's primary liaison to Saunier Duval á Prodir. He's a classically trained mechanic and comes from the flatlands of Holland. Wim doesn't know what life is without bikes. His parents say that he was born with a silver allen wrench in his hand. If you should trip across Wim at the tour, tell him he's doing a great job supporting the team. It gets kinda crazy out there and we don't tell him that enough.
Markus Korb
Based in Schweinfurt Germany, Markus loves to ride both road and mountain bikes. His current role has him providing technical and promotional support for all types of road bike activities across Europe. Markus is a skilled bike mechanic, but would rather be parasailing off the coast of Mallorca. If you bump into Markus at the tour this year bring him a pillow; he'll probably need it in the Hymer.
Alex Wassmann
Alex Wassmann was born next to a race track and recalls his first taste of pilsner in the beer garden of a German velodrome near the French border at the age of 5. While his formal education is in the arts, his specialty is testing the stress limits of his wife, parents, colleagues, managers and various motorized and non-motorized, wheeled forms of transport. Today he counts himself as a very lucky and privileged member of bicycle component manufacturer SRAM's ŒRoad products' marketing team.
Andy Grabowski
Were still not sure what Andy is doing at the tour. We don't know if its for our protection or his. Andy had built over 5000 wheelsets over his life, and has the hands to prove it. If a bike needs fixin, Andy the man. Andy is currently heading up the road tech services for all of North America. If you happen to open you door in front of Andy while he's riding, be careful! He was once a bouncer at a bar and would probably flip the car you were sitting in.
Dirk Belling
Bringing pictures and news to the world is what Dirk's been doing for the past 15 years, doing it now for SRAM at the first Tour de France is his dream come true. Dirk has been in the industry forever and has the photo library to prove it. You wont bump into Dirk at the tour. He'll bump into you. Most likely with a big long lens attached to a camera. You may be walking or riding, but Dirk will catch you in the moment. Be careful not to do anything embarrassing at the tour, cause Dirk will catch you in action.
Gaetan Vetois
Heading up European Road PR, Gaetan brings a special mix of French, British, and German culture to the product promotion. The next time you run into Gaetan, ask him about his drivers license! Gaetan is an old-timer at the tour having been there many times and even supported the caravan of craziness before. Its possible that Gaetan even may have snuck one of those pink T-mobile bikes out of the tour a few years ago.
Michael Zellmann
Michael is an avid cyclist and long-time fan. He remembers when bike races weren't allowed on TV. He owns more than a dozen bikes and races Elites and Masters categories in and around the Midwest. He is a multi-time state road, TT and criterium state champ. Also, he currently serves on the Chicagoland Bicycle Federation Board of Directors. But, most importantly, he serves SRAM as their Road PR Manager and is responsible for communicating and promoting the product as well as team successes. He is also an authority on humor and sarcasm.
Ron Ritzler
Ron is the lead Product Manager for the entire SRAM Road Group. His collection of bikes spans 5 decades, even though he's only been living in a few of those. His tenure at SRAM has brought him all over the world to places near and far, and he is at home in either the suburbs of Chicago or on a flight to Asia. His wife and 2 children are watching the tour daily to sneak a peek at dad in the action.
David Zimberoff
This will be his 3rd tour. Some people call him the boss. I just call him DZ. He'll be running around chasing the next big VIP moment. It may be signing a new team or it may be hooking up with key industry contacts, DZ will be making the plans that line up SRAM's future promotions at the tour. If you bump into DZ, make sure you have a good reservation at a 5 star restaurant, or at least a good bottle of wine for him.
