As we approach the tail end of the year the annual sponsor merry-go-round begins, and it’s nothing different over at Team Solution Tech - NIPPO - Rali, who have brought the Chinese brand evolve in as frame sponsor and its distributor, Rali, as the co-title sponsor of the team to sit alongside existing partner Elitewheels in a Chinese double-header, further adding weight to the argument that China is no longer an emerging upstart at the highest level of our sport, but becoming a genuine contender to the established players.
The team, previously Team Solution Tech - Vini Fantini, is aiming to best its 2025 season which saw 23 victories – including the general classification at the tours of Hainan and Shanghai – with its sights firmly set on a debut Grand Tour slot.
Elitewheels and evolve frames - Flying the flag for premium Chinese tech
Elitewheels is not new to the team; The riders have already been employing the brand’s previous generation wheels, the Drive, the Drive Helix SS, and the Velo TT, over the most demanding parcours on the race calendar, and now get to put new models, the Drive II, Drive Helix CS, and Drive TT to the test. These new wheels have been meticulously modelled using CFD analysis, with validation testing undertaken at Silverstone Sports Engineering’s wind tunnel in the UK.
The Drive II, a full 5 watts faster than its predecessor, takes care of business as the team’s powerhouse wheelset for general duties, while the Drive Helix CS, with its undulating rim profile, is deployed for more technical courses or in windy conditions where the helical laminar airflow created by the waves lends stability to the setup and allows the riders to focus on putting the power down. When the time comes to race against the clock the Drive TT disc wheels comes out, with a winder internal width keeping up with modern trends, and aerodynamics validated at Silverstone showing that the wheel itself only requires 76 watts to sustain a speed of 45km/h.
“Elitewheels are stiff, fast, and just incredible,” says Dušan Rajović, the 5-times Serbian national champion on the road and in the time trial. “The Helix is perfect for rolling stages, and the deep wheels for flat-out speed. I love them.”
Wheels without frames won’t win any races, and so it makes sense for Elitewheels’ sister brand, evolve, to come on board with the Italian team via its Panamanian distributor, Rali. This partnership began at the 2025 edition of the Eurobike trade show, allowing the Italian team a chance to get hands on with the frames and build a solid working relationship.
evolve’s CIMA frames are manufactured with high-modulus carbon to keep the weight as low as possible, with a medium unpainted frame tipping the scales at a feathery 650g. Low weight alone though won’t cut the mustard in today's aero-obsessed peloton, so it’s unsurprising that the CIMA has, like the team’s wheels, been given the Silverstone wind tunnel treatment. With the brand’s proprietary aero water bottles installed the CIMA is 4.1 watts faster, equating to a 48 second saving at 300 watts over a 40km course.
There has been a growing trend in consumer circles for Chinese products in the last few years, but until now this hasn’t necessarily been reflected at the racing level. This partnership is not only about bringing premium, high performance equipment to a well-established team, but it’s also a real breakthrough that puts Chinese brands firmly within the European race scene, with Elitewheels and evolve effectively acting as ambassadors for the industry’s latest big market, one that is no longer ‘emerging’, but competing at the highest level.
This competitive partnership represents the tip of the iceberg for the two brands, with Elitewheels also sponsoring four additional Continental Teams across Germany, Italy, and the Philippines, and evolve also sponsoring one Continental team, bringing a wealth of experience at multiple tiers of racing to the party.
To lean more about evolve's frames then head to its website here, and likewise to dive into Elitewheels' range then head here.
Team Solution Tech - NIPPO - Rali - A consistent force in the UCI ranks
While the team’s title sponsors may be changing for the year ahead, the team identity and ethos remain unchanged. 2026 will be Team Solution Tech - NIPPO - Rali’s third in the UCI ProTeam ranks, with the team’s ranking rising 4 places off the backs of good placings across the season, and an aggressive, breakaway-forwards style.
The team’s star sprinter, Dušan Rajović, racked up several points classifications and the overall classification at the Tour of Shanghai, providing a stable base of points to allow the team to become an increasingly competitive force in the high mountains, whilst maintaining a reputation for clinical leadout work in the sprints.
Cool heads prevail at this level, and so the WorldTour experience of Yukiya Arashiro, Valerio Conti, and Alexandre Balmer will be of benefit to the less experienced riders out on the road in races of the likes of the UAE Tour, Strade Bianche, Milano-Sanremo, Tour de Romandie, Tour de Suisse, and Il Lombardia, all of which the team competed at in 2024 and 2025, and will certainly look to ignite the racing at again for the upcoming season.
