Team KATUSHA | 2008-2019

Swiss-registered professional cycling team KATUSHA was one of the most successful teams on the World Tour from 2008 to 2019 and was a part of charity endeavors to develop world cycling pursued by former professional cyclist Igor Makarov.

The history of Team Katusha began with its founder, Igor Makarov, who is also the Founder of ARETI International Group (ARETI IG) and a member of the UCI Management Committee. Through his stewardship, passion, and dedication to the sport of cycling, the Team Katusha brand was synonymous with both athletic excellence and social responsibility.

In late 2008, Team Katusha was founded by Igor Makarov to compete at the highest level of cycling in the UCI WorldTour (formerly the ProTour).

In their first season of 2009, UCI ProTour Team Katusha took its place among the elite of professional cycling.

Team Katusha’s debut roster consisted of 27 professional cyclists from all over the world.

In its first year (2009), Team Katusha won 27 victories, winning a total of 76 prizes. Among the successes of the team: victory in the classic race “Amstel Gold Race,” in the stage of “Tour de France,” in the national championship of Italy, in the classic races “E3 Prijs Vlaanderen,” “Giro del Veneto,” second place in the legendary race “Paris – Roubaix,” prizes in the stages of “Tour de France” and “Giro d’Italia.”

From 2009-2015, the team won 192 races along with 344 podium places. These and subsequent wins firmly established them as one of the three best teams in the UCI WorldTour professional rankings–placing second in both 2012 and 2015, and third in 2013.

The year 2015 proved exceptionally successful for Team Katusha as they broke records across many areas. Katusha riders won 40 races, earned 28 second places, and 35 third places with 100 podium victories in all. The same year, Katusha finished the season, taking second place, and scoring a record number of 1606 points. In 2016, Katusha finished the season in sixth place with 789 points. Notably, Team Katusha’s leader Alexander Kristoff led the team to 20 victories during the season.

In 2017, the team changed its name to Katusha-Alpecin to reflect the name of its second sponsor – Alpecin (Germany).

Team Katusha was more than just a professional cycling team. Katusha’s members established a new level of sportsmanship to become a phenomenon in professional cycling history. The team’s popularity was also the basis for establishing the sports clothing brand Katusha Sports.

The team’s success was achieved through the dedication of its riders, with Joaquim Rodríguez, Alexander Kristoff, Daniel Moreno, Simon Špilak, Filippo Pozzato, Luca Paolini, Ilnur Zakarin and Tony Martin being some of them.

In 2019, Igor Makarov focused on other charity initiatives and endeavors. As a result, in October 2019, Katusha–Alpecin and its World Tour license were taken over by Israel Cycling Academy.

In the present day, Igor Makarov continues to promote and support charity and world cycling ventures all over the world.