The New Year begins with the establishment of another local professional sports group—Team Winston-Salem. The cycling team will be officially announced at a gathering of team members, city leaders and community supporters on Thursday, January 9. Jon Hamblen—a former professional cyclist and advocate for the Winston-Salem region—will serve as team director.
Comprised of professional cyclists from across the country and headquartered in Winston-Salem, Team Winston-Salem will begin competition in February at the Hincapie Donaldson Crit in Greenville, South Carolina. Following Greenville, Team Winston-Salem anticipates competing in more than 30 races during spring and summer 2025. Included in its first season racing calendar are the Wake Forest Road Race, which takes place in Winston-Salem in March, and the Winston-Salem Cycling Classic, which is in May.
“Cyclists from across the country and beyond widely view Winston-Salem as an access point to one of America’s best cycling regions,” Hamblen said. “The diverse road surfaces and the terrain of the region helps us attract elite cycling athletes from around the globe. Team Winston-Salem isn’t here to just play nice—we’re here to train hard, leave our marks where we compete and bring trophies back home.”
Flow Automotive is the title sponsor of Team Winston-Salem. Salem Sports Events and Riazzi, Rhyne & Swaim Investment Group are gold sponsors. Other key sponsors are National Cycling Center, Haro Bikes, Julbo Eyewear and Shelco. The Downtown Grille, American Premium Beverage and The Incendiary Brewing Company provided food and beverage for the launch event at the Pilot View Center at 500 West Fifth Street in Winston-Salem.
“It was important to us to keep our city’s name front and center in our own team’s name,” said Jonathan Kelly, team organizer and avid cyclist. “With the support of Flow Automotive and others sponsors, we were able to make Winston-Salem very prominent in our name as part of our mission to promote the city and region while we’re in other parts of the country.”