January 13/03 10:10 am - Jim Miele Passes Away, Minnaar to Haro

Posted by Editor on 01/13/03
 

Jim Miele Passes Away

Jim Miele passed away on Sunday (January 12th). For people who have been involved in the sport or the bicycle industry for less then a decade, this name will not mean as much as to those whose memories stretch back further.

I first came across Jim in the early 1970s when I became involved in cycling seriously. At that time, there were few places where an enthusiast could obtain equipment, but one of them was Jim's International Cycles in Toronto. Jim also sponsored the Catena team which Jocelyn Lovell rode for and, along with Dave Viney and Sigi Koch, built a velodrome in Woodbridge in the 1970's (which could remove flesh down to the bone if you crashed...).

In the 1980's Jim was the Bianchi distributor, and later started the Miele bicycle company, which was extremely successful. I remember going up to the Miele factory one day with Len Ramsey to look at his operation, which was certainly the most advanced of its kind for Canada at the time (he was also pretty generous with the Scotch, as I recall). Jim was particularly noted within the industry for his ability to forecast what would be the hot bike colours in the following season.

When the mountain bike craze took off, Jim was not as sucessful, and the factory eventually went under. He resurfaced in a retail operation in north Toronto, but could not repeat his earlier successes.

A key participant of the growth of cycling in Canada has been lost to us. Thanks to Ralph Massaro and Peter McCaffery for letting us know about this loss.


Visitation will held at:

Jarrett Funeral Homes
1141 St. Clair Avenue West (St Clair and Dufferin)
Toronto, Ontario
Phone: 416-654-7744

Tuesday January 14th
2:00 - 4:00 and 6:00 - 9:00

Funeral Service will be held on:

Wednesday January 15th
10:00am at Jarrett Funeral Home followed by Prospect Cemetery.


Haro Bikes Signs Greg Minnaar 2003

VISTA, CA January 13th, 2003 -- Haro Bikes announced today the signing of former World Number One and South African Downhill superstar Greg Minnaar to its mountain bike team for the upcoming 2003 season. Financial terms have not been disclosed.

"We're excited to bring Greg and former Global team mate Mick Hannah together again in the same program", said Jim Ford, Haro's President, "The addition of Greg to the team should make Team Haro Lee Dungarees a powerhouse in downhill and 4X events while providing us with invaluable input into the design and performance of our mountain bikes".

"Greg is a proven champion with incredible bike handling skills. I have been a big fan of Greg Minnaar since I first noticed him on the World Cup circuit in 1999. He has the ability to bring home a championship for our company and our sponsors," said Mike King, Haro's Mountain Bike Team Director.

Greg's first appearance for Team Haro Lee Dungarees is scheduled in April, at the 2003 Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, California.

Greg's accomplishments include being the 2001 UCI Downhill World Cup Champion, winning a bronze medal at 2001 World Championships, and winning a World Cup Downhill event in Kaprun, Austria.

Other notable results include a second place downhill result in Mont Sainte Anne, Canada and a second place finish in Leysin, Switzerland earlier that year. Greg finished the year ranking ninth in the World Cup standings in 2002.

Greg will join Mick Hannah and Mike King to make up the 3-person Haro Lee Dungarees downhill and 4X squad. He will compete in all NORBA and World Cup downhill and 4X events as well as selected European Red Bull and Maxxis Cup downhill events.