January 19/04 5:59 am - Gears Racing Mountain Bike Team For 2004

Posted by Editoress on 01/19/04
 

Gears Racing Announces Mountain Bike Team For 2004
Courtesy GEars Racing

Toronto, Canada, January 19th, 2004: Mr. Mark S. Bonham, Chairman, and Mr. Kevin Wallace, President, of the Gears Racing Institute ("GRI") are today very pleased to announce the composition of the Gears Racing Mountain Bike Team for the year 2004. The complete list of racers signed to the team is listed below.

"We welcome back many of our experienced riders to the team this year, and are pleased to announce several new additions to the team", stated Kevin Wallace. "The pool of talent we have attracted to GearsRacing is very impressive. Each of the riders has committed to the development-team concept that is unique to the Gears Racing Institute."

As Canada's largest development team in the sport of mountain biking, management takes the objective of matching seasoned and experienced athletes with promising up-and-coming future stars on the racing scene through a mentoring program. The GRI is committed to nurturing Canada's junior athletes in the formative stages of their careers as they develop into professional athletes.

"This year, we welcome back as Espoirs Sophie-Anne Blanchette, Catherine Vipond, Martin Lazarski, Adam Coates, and Frederic Bussieres", continued Kevin Wallace. "They will be mentored by the experienced elite racers consisting of Mathieu Toulouse, Trish Sinclair, Kiara Bisaro, and Ricky Federau. As part of the development emphasis, the GRI will now support these senior elite racers at all of the international and Canada-based World Cup races in 2004, in addition to select NORBA and Canada Cup Series races."

As part of the recognition of the success of this development concept, the GRI is very pleased to note that thirteen of its athletes have been selected by the Canadian Cycling Association to represent Canada on the Canadian National Team for 2004. GearsRacing has the largest representation of athletes on the Canadian National Team.

The GRI is pleased to announce the promotion of racers Danelle Kabush, Sue Trimble and Matt Patterson to the GRI National Team project. They are joined by veteran Greg Reain, and a new member of the GRI team - Andrew Watson.

Gears Racing is proud to be sponsored by Shimano Canada, Specialized Bicycles, Sugoi, Michelin Tires, RockShox, Stoney Ridge Estate Winery, and Bonham & Co. Inc.

The Gears Racing Institute is a specialist, non-profit foundation created to identify and develop world-class competitive mountain bikers for Canada. For more information on the team, visit www.gearsracing.com .

For further information: Mr. Kevin Wallace/Ms. Ira Kargel, GRI, (905) 271-2400.

Gears Racing Mountain Bike - Team Roster

Division/Name

World Cup
Kiara Bisaro
Ricky Federau
Trish Sinclair
Mathieu Toulouse

National Espoir
Frederic Bussieres
Adam Coates
Martin Lazarski
Sophie-Anne Blanchette
Catherine Vipond

National Senior Elite
Danelle Kabush
Matt Patterson
Greg Reain
Sue Trimble
Andrew Watson

Provincial
Paul Brown
Michael Dennis
Craig Hawkes
Sean Ito
Chris Jackson
Heather King
Cameron Mackenzie
Tim Oliver
Paul Skafel

Team Management

Kevin Wallace, President
Ira Kargel, Vice-President
Ron Vanderleeuw, Team Captain/Head Mechanic
Ryan Hindmarsh, Training/Development Manager