jhanscom posted on September 13, 2007 18:37
Sponsors, Host Cities and Athletes Gearing up for the
2007 U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross presented by Crank Brothers
September 12, 2007 – The series that embodies the explosive growth of cyclocross in the United States – the 2007 US Gran Prix of Cyclocross presented by Crank Brothers -- returns this fall for a fourth installment. The series will once again attract the best racers from across North America who compete for the series overall championship and an automatic USA Cycling world championship berth.
“We have an incredible roster of national series sponsors lined up for 2007 who have seen the tremendous value in partnering with the USGP,” said Bruce Fina, Executive Director, US Gran Prix of Cyclocross. “With our sponsors, start-list of elite athletes and world-class host cities and venues, the 2007 US Gran Prix of Cyclocross will maintain its distinction as the premier cyclocross series on this side of the Atlantic,” added Fina.
The 2007 USGP will see Crank Brothers returning as the main series sponsor -- this year as a Presenting Sponsor. Crank Brothers has supported the USGP since its inception four years ago.
“We are absolutely thrilled to have Crank Brothers return as our series presenting sponsor,” said Fina. “Crank Brothers is a tremendous partner of ours and they have helped fuel the growth of the USGP from the beginning.”
SRAM returns to the USGP as the Official Neutral Support Provider. Additionally, the SRAM Most Aggressive Rider will be named at each event in the Elite Men and Elite Women races according to specific criteria and, to make it interesting, a crowd vote. SRAM will be onsite to show their three complete road groups - Rival, Force and RED. RED was recently launched, will be viewable at every USGP event, and is the lightest (1950 grams) and most innovative road gruppo ever introduced.
Also returning in 2007 is Clif Bar who will continue their venue sustainability program enabling the U.S. Gran Prix to leave each venue in as good, if not better, condition then when it arrived. Clif Bar will also present the Clif Bar Kid’s ‘Cross Clinics at each venue. Held the Friday prior to each weekend series, the Clif Bar Kid’s clinics will feature an all-star line up with Ben Turner, Clif Bar Cyclocross Development Team; Danny Summerhill, 2007 UCI Cyclocross World Championship silver medalist; Geoff Proctor, US National Cyclocross Team coach and USGP Technical Director.
VeloNews returns as Official Media Partner of the USGP and will once again publish a comprehensive US Gran Prix Series Guide in Issue 18.
Thule enters as a first time series sponsor and will joins as Official Bicycle Rack of the USGP.
Selle Italia returns again as the Official Saddle. Athletes will once again be challenged at each venue on the Selle Italia run-up.
Other US Gran Prix of Cyclocross series sponsors include Challenge Tires (Official Tires),
Craft (Official Clothing), MAVIC (Official Wheel), CyclocrossWorld.com, Bike Clicks and BikeReg.com.
The 2007 schedule will again include six days of racing -- four of which will take place in new venues. The USGP kicks off October 27 – 28 in Louisville, Kentucky. The second stop will be held just outside of Trenton in West Windsor, NJ on November 17-18. The series will then return to Portland, Oregon for the fourth consecutive year for the series finale on December 1-2. Sponsors of each stop in the series will be announced in the coming weeks.
Registration on BikeReg.com opens on September 15th for all categories. Pre-registration is mandatory for Elite Men / U23 race and the Elite Women.
For more information on the USGP, visit www.usgpcyclocross.com.