Joe Praino Captures Cannondale Tour de France Facebook Contest

Joe Praino, a resident of Arlington, VA., earned himself a trip overseas to experience the world’s most prestigious cycling race, the Tour de France, up close and in person. Praino edged four other finalists in Cannondale’s Trip de France social media campaign for the right to experience the behind-the-scenes action for one of the sport’s elite race teams, Team Liquigas-Cannondale.

From May 5^th through June 3^rd, consumers submitted a short video to Cannondale’s official Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/RideCannondale), explaining why they were the most qualified to serve as Team Liquigas-Cannondale’s honorary member.

After being one of five selected finalists, Praino’s video tallied the most online votes, which took place June 8^th – 17^th on both Cannondale’s and Peloton Magazine’s Facebook pages (http://www.facebook.com/pelotonmagazine).  In his winning submission entry, Praino sports a Liquigas-Cannondale cycling jersey, while showcasing pictures of himself as a kid and riding on his first road bike.

Praino incorporates plenty of humor into his winning video including: rubbing olive oil on his legs as part of race-day preparation, sipping mineral water out of a tea cup and celebrating his victory  by standing on furniture, while receiving congratulations from his wife.

“I’m very excited about this opportunity and am looking forward to being in the trenches with cycling’s best,” said Praino. “This is a thrill of a lifetime and I have to thank Cannondale for providing me with this unique experience, as well as my family and friends for rallying behind me and voting for my video.”

In addition to expenses paid hotel and airfare, Praino also receives a Cannondale SuperSix road bike, a SUGOI kit (includes a cycling jersey and bib shorts) and a year subscription to Peloton Magazine.

“On behalf of everyone at Cannondale, we would like to congratulate Joe Praino for being selected as the grand prize winner of our Tour de France Facebook contest,” said Bob Burbank, General Manager, Cannondale. “We want to thank all of the applicants who took time and effort to submit videos for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, along with everyone who casted votes for each of our finalists. We are very excited about Ivan Basso’s chances at winning the Tour de France, as well as all of the athletes and personnel that will be representing Team Liquigas-Cannondale at this year’s race.”

Every member of Team Liquigas-Cannondale will be riding Cannondale’s newest innovative road bike, the SuperSix EVO. Featuring a BallisTec carbon construction, the SuperSix EVO frame weighs only 695 grams, making it the most efficient road bike ever designed.

The 98^th running of the Tour de France features 21 overall stages that cover 3,460 km (2,150 miles). The Tour de France officially kicks off on Saturday, July 2 in Passage du Gois and concludes July 24 on the Champs-Elysees in Paris on July 24.

Follow Liquigas-Cannondale on Twitter (@Liquigas_Cdale) and on Facebook (Cannondale Bicycle Corporation).