August 27/02 9:20 am - Volvo to End Cycling Sponsorship

Posted by Editoress on 08/27/02
 

Volvo to End Nine Years in Mountain Biking
Courtesy Giana S. Roberge, Assistant General Manager, Team Sports, Inc.

After nine years in the sport of mountain biking, Volvo has announced that it will not renew their sponsorship of the Volvo-Cannondale Mountain Bike Team. Maud Jernstrom, Project Leader at Volvo, feels that the Team met Volvo's marketing needs, "Over the last nine years, the Volvo Cannondale Mountain Bike Racing Team has firmly established itself as the world's premier mountain bike team and in doing so has consistently surpassed our expectations both in terms of race results and media coverage. This racing success has been a result of a highly professional approach taken by the athletes and Team Sports management, both of whom have worked consistently with Volvo staff to ensure that our longer-term marketing objectives have been achieved. Our nine-year association is ending following a global review of Volvo's overall sponsorship strategy and we would like to take this opportunity of wishing Tom Schuler, his staff and our outstanding athletes, every success in the future."

During a rich nine year history the Volvo-Cannondale Mountain Bike Team racked up an impressive list of victories including two Olympic Medals, nine World Championships, fourteen World Cup overall titles, and eighty-five World Cup victories. Alumni and current team members include Missy Giove, Alison Sydor, Myles Rockwell, Brian Lopes, Tinker Juarez, Cadel Evans, Christoph Sauser, Anne-Caroline Chausson and Cedric Gracia among but a few.

In 1994, Volvo, a pioneer by being the first major, non-bicycle industry sponsor of a professional mountain bike trade team, wrote its own book of mountain biking history. The team caught the world's attention when it launched with a star studded roster and professional approach to mountain bike racing. The legacy began in their first season when the team won four World Championship titles in Vail, Colorado. VeloNews named Volvo-Cannondale its 1994 International Mountain Bike Team of the Year.

From there the palmares continued to add up, with Alison Sydor's Olympic Silver Medal in Atlanta in 1996, Gold Medals in the World Championships for Anne-Caroline Chausson in 1999, 2000 and 2001 as well as an Olympic bronze medal for Christoph Sauser in Sydney in 2000. In 2001, the team finished off their season receiving the highest of accolades from VeloNews by once again being named VeloNews International Mountain Bike Team of the Year. Currently ranked as the #1 UCI Mountain bike team in Downhill, the Volvo-Cannondale Team will finish off their season at the World Championships next week in Kaprun, Austria.

Tom Schuler, President of Team Sports, extends his gratitude to Volvo. "From our beginning, we strove to take both Volvo and Cannondale in exciting new marketing directions. I am very proud of what we accomplished as a team working together and will be forever grateful to all of our hard working staff and great athletes who have proudly worn the Volvo-Cannondale colors. I would especially like to thank everyone at Volvo and Cannondale for their long-standing commitment to the sport of mountain biking and their belief in all of us."