Two well-known companies in the mountain biking community signed on as major sponsors of the Windham, New York round of the 2012 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup from June 28 to July 1. Scott Bikes has become the title sponsor of the World Cup cross country race while Stan's NoTubes is now the title sponsor of the downhill race.
"This year's race preparations have been challenging. Windham (the town and the mountain) suffered devastating losses after Tropical Storm Irene and Hurricane Lee swept through late last summer. The damage was monumental, businesses were ravaged and houses swept downstream. But the community rallied around amazing support from near and far to get ready." said Nick Bove, race director of the Windham 2012 Mountain Bike World Cup.
"Scott Sports and Stan's NoTubes have shown tremendous faith in our rebuilding efforts and we are ready and eager to welcome back the international mountain bike racing community."
Scott USA already sponsors race team programs in North America. "We have two globally dominant cross country programs and a downhill program," said Adrian Montgomery, marketing director for Scott USA. "The Scott-3Rox Team [of Geoff Kabush] was created to develop North American riders and our commitment to the Windham World Cup will help showcase the talent of the Team here in the US. It's so important to support bringing the World Cup back to the birthplace of mountain biking and Scott is wholeheartedly supportive of the event."
Based in the relatively nearby Big Flats, New York, Stan's NoTubes is supporting its home World Cup. "Stan's NoTubes is proud to sponsor the downhill race at Windham for 2012. We have lent our support to the UCI events held at Windham for the past three years have found it to be a very positive experience for both sponsors and competitors alike and we're extremely pleased to support them again this year," said NoTubes co-founder Cindy Koziatek.
"As a small New York State-based company, we feel strongly about supporting the local economy and the biking industry as a whole. We look forward to having our Stan's NoTubes Women's Elite Mountain Bike Team present as well as live tech backup to assist our many supporters also attending the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup event in Windham."
The World Cup festivities in Windham will feature UCI cross country and downhill races, Pro-Am Kenda's Race the World cross country and Gravity East downhill races, the GNH Lumber Kids' fun race, a Thursday night "Ride the Pond Challenge," a Friday night Block Party on Main Street and live music on Saturday night with bike trials demonstrations and motocross aerial stunt shows.
There will be no fees charged to enter the venue or the consumer and tech expos. To help defray organizing costs and to keep the World Cup in the US, a minimal fee for parking - US$10 for an entire carload for one day, or $25 for three days - will be charged.
Windham is the eighth stop on the 2012 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup tour that also visits Pietermaritzburg, South Africa; Houffalize, Belgium; Nove Mesto na Morave, Czech Republic; La Bresse, France; Val di Sole, Italy; Fort William, Great Britain; Mt. Sainte-Anne, Canada; Val d'Isere, France; and Hafjell, Norway.
