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Thanks to Jeremiah for this.
PRESS RELEASE
December 22, 2003.
Santa Cruz, California
Santa Cruz Bicycles announced today the formation of the Santa Cruz Syndicate. Comprised of top athletes in Gravity racing, street, urban, free ride and ultra-marathon, the Santa Cruz Syndicate is anything but a typical factory racing effort.
“Our goal was to assemble a group of athletes that would travel the world riding and racing under the Santa Cruz banner, in all facets of mountain biking”, said Rob Roskopp, owner of Santa Cruz Bicycles.
“We didn’t feel that having a standard factory racing team, with X number of Downhill and Cross-country racers in the standard formula was the way for us to go.” continued Roskopp. “It made much better sense to have athletes that would still race in the top events in the World, but would also participate in street and free-ride events, festivals and contests”.
Team operations will be based in Temecula, CA, and run by former professional racer Derin Stockton. Stockton, who ran the ITS/Santa Cruz team in 2003, said the new direction “isn’t some marketing gimmick, but a reflection of how companies are spending their marketing dollars and what they need in return to commit sponsorship money”.
A few interesting details of the Syndicate are that all riders are allowed to sign individual sponsors for personal items, such as clothing, goggles, helmets and shoes. The equipment package will be provided by the team, and will be identical for all riders.
“Allowing members to sign certain personal sponsors is the best of both worlds for us” said Stockton. “We will still be very much like a traditional team at major racing events, but with our athletes being able to retain personal sponsors, and thus their identities in the sport, it increases our overall exposure and lets our athletes keep sponsor relationships they have built over the years which is good for everybody involved”.
Headlining the Syndicate is current World Cup downhill Champion Nathan Rennie from Australia. Rennie’s main goals are to repeat as World Cup Champion and win a World Championship. “I’m really happy to be a part of this squad,” stated Rennie. “Everything will be top notch, bikes, equipment, and support. All I have to do is ride my bike.”
Joining Rennie is American Kirt Vories, who will be racing all major gravity events and still continuing with his successful All Ride program, which brings the vibe of street and dirt riding to new venues and people across North America via mountain bikes. “This team allows me to concentrate on racing, and keep my All Ride program going too.” Commented Vories. “I already have a national title in slalom, and I want to add a downhill title to it.”
Waiting to fill the large shoes of their teammates will be Americans Cameron Zink and Henry O’Donnell. Both are still 17 years old, and have another year in the junior class. Zink (whose free-riding was for the Santa Cruz backed Superheroes team in 2003) will be splitting time between the two disciplines, allowing him to develop his racing and free-riding skills, the latter of which will still be in conjunction with the Superheroes Team. O’Donnell, the 2003 Junior National Downhill Champion, had a breakout season in 2003 and looks to continue focusing on improving his racing in the future.
Rounding out the Syndicate is Ultra-Marathon racer Mark Hendershot. Hendershot will be competing in various ultra-distance events, including Sea Otter, various National events and the 24-hour solo World Championships in Whistler, Canada.
Sponsors for the Santa Cruz Syndicate are: Santa Cruz Bicycles, SRAM Drivetrains and Rock Shox front suspension, Progressive 5th Element rear suspension, Easton Components, Avid Disc brakes, WTB rims, hubs and seats, Truvativ Crank, bottom bracket and chainguides, Cranks Brothers pedals and ODI grips.
For more information about The Crew you can check www.santacruzbicycles.com and www.dsdesignonline.com |
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