Announcing a backing which appears to align strongly with the nature and demands of the races, the organisers of the Tour of the Battenkill and the Great American Cycling Series have revealed that they have signed a two year agreement with Stan’s NoTubes for 2012 and 2013.
The tubeless wheel systems producer is joining with organisers Anthem Sports for the six events: April’s Tour of the Battenkill in Cambridge, New York, May’s Tour of the Dragons in Bennington and Manchester, Vermont, August’s Tour of the Catskills in Hunter and Windham, September’s Tour of the Adirondacks (Lake George Region, New York) and Tour of Vail in Colorado plus October’s BattenFall Classic in Cambridge.
The first Battenkill event starts things off with a huge pro-am race on April 14th which will see up to 3000 amateurs and professionals line out, one day prior to the 1.2 Professional Invitational.
In addition to the sponsorship agreement between the race and the company, the events will also see the participation of the Stan’s NoTubes / AXA Equitable Elite Cycling Team.
Commenting on the news, Stan’s principal Cindy Koziatek indicated why the partnership came about. She said the demands of the series align with what the company is about. “The partnership of the Great American Series and our road tubeless technology is a win-win,” she said. “The race conditions are renowned for tough challenges for both riders and equipment.
“The Stan's NoTubes/AXA team is the first road tubeless team of its kind and has ridden our tubeless road wheels thousands of miles already. We're looking forward to them participating and the chance to lend support to road racing in the upcoming series with genuine enthusiasm.”
The race organisers aren’t ruling out adding more events to the five-race list for the 2012 series.
According to Anthem Sport’s and Great American Cycling Series race director Dieter Drake, the backing should lead to future growth.
“With Stan’s NoTubes’ support and enthusiasm, we’ll be able to expand the series into other interesting areas of the US in 2012 and 2013,” he said, showing ambition to keep developing what is in place.
Because his races often include several dirt road sections, he echoed Koziatek’s feelings that the partnership was a logical one. “Stan’s grew up in the mountain biking world where the technology is proven. Their road products are taking off now, and participants racing tubeless in our series will benefit from Stan’s mountain bike legacy on the many challenging dirt road sections that make the events popular.
“If you’re riding Stan’s tubeless rims, then you’ll have a much better chance of a puncture-free race.”
Earlier this month it was announced that the pro Tour of the Battenkill on April 15th will be preceded by the 22 mile Bike Marathon Battenkill ride, which feature triple Tour de France winner Greg LeMond.
Stan’s Notubes Great American Cycling Series 2012:
Tour of the Battenkill - April 14-15 – Cambridge, New York
Tour of the Dragons - May 5-6 - Bennington & Manchester, VT
Tour of the Catskills – August 3-5 – Hunter & Windham, New York
Tour of the Adirondacks – September 15-16 – Lake George Region, NY
Tour of Vail – September 29-30 – Vail, Colorado
BattenFall Classic - October 6-7 - Cambridge, NY