power2max will provide the Etixx - Quick-Step Team with the power2max Type S K-Force Light BB386 Evo power meter for the 2015 season. Based on the feature "designed2fit" the Type S K-Force Light power meter is highly compatible with almost every road bike frame and perfectly fits with the Specialized S-Works models as well as it is one of the lightest and stiffest spider based power meters on the market.

Starting with the Tour de San Louis (Argentina, 19th – 25th of January) six Etixx – Quick-Step riders, among them the World Champion, Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) and Mark Cavendish (United Kingdom) will race with the power2max Type S BB386 Evo for the first time, followed by the Santos Tour Down Under (Australia, 20th to 25th of January), where another seven athletes of the team will fight for the first victories of the year.

"It is a big compliment for such a young brand like us that Etixx - Quick-Step has chosen power2max to be the team's power meter. With the power2max Type S K-Force Light we provide a very precise and highly reliable power meters to the Team riders. We're convinced that with our Type S they can perform at their best and of course, we are already curious to see all those famous riders, like the World Champion, Michal Kwiatkowski, Tom Boonen, Mark Cavendish and Tony Martin, race with power2max." comments Julia Leenders, power2max Marketing & Communication Manager

"We are very excited to start this partnership with power2max as our technical partner for power meters" Etixx – Quick-Step Sport and Development manager Rolf Aldag said. "In a short time since their inception, power2max have already built up a good reputation. Etixx – Quick-Step is always focused on performance and committed to technology. We feel that power2max shares the same values that guide our activities day-by-day. Science and a technological approach is becoming more and more important in cycling. Thanks to the support of power2max our technical and training staff will be able to monitor the workout of our athletes and provide them with the best training program, as well as analyze their effort during competition, and give them the right feedback to perform at the top."

24-year-old Michal Kwiatkowski, isolated for Poland after his teammates gave everything on the front to chase down breakaways earlier in the race, gained a golden reward for an enormous risk. Kwiatkowski attacked with 6.9km to go, in anticipation of a final climb (1.1km, 6.6% average gradient) and then a descent to a flat finale of the 254.8km UCI World Road Championship on Sunday.

The move was perfectly timed. Kwiatkowski went on to win gold despite the best effort of the riders behind him. A small group of favorites tried to chase him down in the final kilometers. Several national teams had multiple riders still present in the peloton, but the gap was too much to hope the race ended in a bunch sprint, which forced a select group to chase down Kwiatkowski. He was able to hold the elite group behind him off in the final meters to become world road champion for the first time in his career.

"Our team did incredible work," Kwiatkowski said of his Polish teammates the day of his victory. "We just tried to control the bunch the whole day. I was in the front and I didn't plan to attack on the second-to-last descent. But I saw the opportunity to be in the group in front, which had five riders at that point before the last climb. I caught them and could relax a bit, and control my effort on the last climb. Even a small advantage on the last climb can be difficult to chase down a rider like me from there. I saw it was possible from the Under-23 race before, that it's possible to make it. I'm not the best sprinter compared to guys like Simon Gerrans and Alejandro Valverde, but in the end it worked and it is an incredible feeling. I think for Polish cycling this is really important to have a beautiful victory like this. This season has been amazing for Poland with Rafal Majka and his performance at the Tour de France for example. Now I have this rainbow jersey, and it's an amazing feeling. I told the guys at a meeting yesterday that I felt great and I said it again at the start of the race. I really needed support from them and they did it all the time. I felt relaxed all day. With these weather conditions it was important to stay in front. This made it much easier for me to have such great help from my teammates. It kept me comfortable and gave me big energy at the end. I have to thank them, and I have to also dedicate this to my girlfriend Agata and the Polish nation as they give me such big morale, and I am so proud to give this back to them."

Kwiatkowski became the first Polish rider in UCI history to win road gold, and only the third rider in team history to earn the rainbow jersey on the road after Tom Boonen in 2005, and Paolo Bettini in 2006 and 2007.

"I am only 24-years-old, but in the second half of the season I just felt great and it showed in the final kilometers," Kwiatkowski said. "At 1.5 kilometers to go it felt like so much left to go, but what can I say. I saw guys coming, I had a little bit of an advantage, and I knew it was all or nothing. I went full gas and I made it after a really risky attack. In the end, it worked."

Kwiatkowski begins his 2015 season in the Rainbow jersey at Tour de San Luis, which starts on the 19th of January. While the young rider is still learning, he knows the honor that being a World Champion brings every time he is at the start line of a race.

"I want to thank Etixx – Quick-Step as they have always had confidence in me and because of this growth as a rider with them, I believed I could win with this kind of attack on the last lap," Kwiatkowski said. "I am so proud to be the third Etixx - Quick-Step rider to wear the rainbow stripes on the road. It shows the winning tradition of this team. It gave me big motivation to train hard during the winter, and I have great pride in wearing this Rainbow jersey. I am still developing as a rider, and thanks to the great support I get with Etixx – Quick-Step I believe I can represent this jersey well in 2015, and work toward more big goals in the future."

Etixx Sports Nutrition also made its debut in Australia at the race, where Etixx is a major sponsor and the exclusive sports nutrition partner! Etixx is very proud to have the Etixx – Quick-Step team and Australian rider Mark Renshaw at the event riding in their new kit.

Etixx Sports Nutrition is now available in Chemist Warehouse stores throughout Australia. Riders, fans and all serious athletes can also get some great opening specials throughout Santos Tour Down Under at the Tour Village.

Etixx hosted a VIP launch dinner at Chianti Restaurant in Adelaide last Thursday. Sport Director Rik Van Slycke offered his thoughts at the event in the video below.

PHOTO GALLERY ©Trent van der Jagt

Our next moment was La Vuelta a España Stage 10, where the team went 1-2 at the 36.7km ITT in Borja.

Tony Martin made the most out of the last kilometers of the time trial, winning with a time of 47 minutes and two seconds (46.818 km/h) despite not having the fastest two intermediate checkpoints. Meanwhile, team leader Rigoberto Uran moved himself into 3rd in the GC by a blazing fast time trial performance. He finished 2nd in the stage, just 15" down on his German teammate. Fabian Cancellara (Trek Factory Racing) was 3rd, 18" down on Martin.

La Vuelta race leader Nairo Quintana (Movistar) suffered a crash, and lost time as a result. Alberto Contador wore the Red Jersey after this stage and went on to win the overall.

Martin's victory was the 60th overall, which was the third consecutive year the team won more than 60 races. Martin's victory was another milestone for the team, as they also won at least one stage of every grand tour this season, and one stage of every grand tour for the last seven years.

"Looking back, I remember saying it was one of the hardest time trials that year, and by the end of the season I still believed it was," Martin said. "The mountain made this time trial challenging, as it was hard to find rhythm and energy for the descent and flat sections that followed. It was also very technical, and it was hot. But I made up time in the second half of the course, and as always my Specialized Shiv helped me with performance in the technical sections. I was super happy to get a win in a time trial that didn't necessarily suit my skills. Plus, my teammate Rigoberto Uran was on the next step of the podium. That showed the strength of the team."

"Our preparation for time trials on this team has always made the difference and it was no exception at La Vuelta," Uran said. "Together with the staff we analyzed all the details, and at the end I think I did very well. When Davide Bramati told me on the radio that at the second intermediate time I had the same time of Tony, I couldn't believe it! It was really important to have that time gap from the team car, and to know we had a chance to go 1-2 I really went full gas. I lost some time in the last part, but to be honest the last 10 kilometers were really for big engine like Tony. Tony is a three-time world champion in this discipline, so to finish behind my teammate was nothing but an honor. I was really proud of what we did that day."