William Hill unveiled as Official Sponsor of Spanish cycle race La Vuelta 09

Leading online betting company williamhill.com has been unveiled as the Official Sponsor of La Vuelta 09, including the title rights to the prestigious "Green Jersey" for leading sprint rider. In a deal for an undisclosed sum, Williamhill.com, the online sports betting division of high street bookmakers William Hill, has agreed terms with La Vuelta to become the backer of the 3,266km tour, commencing in Assen, Holland on August 29th and culminating in Madrid on September 20th, 2009.

Ricardo Carioni, Spanish Territory Manager for williamhill.com, commented: "This is a tremendous honour for williamhill.com. We understand and respect the history of La Vuelta and more particularly the passion that it ignites within the cycling community. "The coverage of La Vuelta is far reaching and provides for strong brand visibility across multiple TV networks right across Europe for three solid weeks. "William Hill is a company with more than 75 years of history as the leading betting company within the UK, but the online business has only evolved in recent years and to be associated with La Vuelta is of tremendous pride to us". Trust Pablo Lopez-Barajas, Commercial Director, Unipublic & La Vuelta, said: "We are delighted to have reached an agreement with Williamhill.com. The involvement within sports sponsorship from leading companies in new business sectors, shows what a great sporting environment Spain is enjoying at the moment and particularly the sport of cycling and La Vuelta. "Williamhill.com is one of the most respected brands in its business and we appreciate the trust that they have in our sport, as a means of expanding within Spain". Williamhill.com offers customers betting opportunites in thousands of events each year and plans to offer many     intriguing and special markets on La vuelta, from outright winner, to match bets between leading riders and special odds on individual stages. New customers to williamhill.com will be able to earn a free €25 bet on La Vuelta.