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Podium positions are
important for sponsors, but let’s face it, the top riders are there to be brand
ambassadors predominantly to the media and their talent and commitment puts them
in a position where they do not have to pay for their bikes and gear.
However, some progressive thinking sponsors are seeing the
benefits of spreading their brand beyond the podium contenders
and infiltrating the middle of the racing pack – the
commercial sweet-spot where numbers are bigger and race
experiences are virtually guaranteed to be repeated at weekend
‘braai’ banter. And what better for a cycling brand’s
credibility than to be praised far away from the race
environment, where peer recommendations undoubtedly carry more
weight than advertising.
Alan Cotton and Albert Retief are two middle-of-the-pack
riders that have used their passion for mountain biking to
gain the attention of sponsors. They’re not podium contenders,
but they’re serious about their riding. It was their passion
for the sport that secured them a three-year sponsorship from
Subaru. Now they’ll be mobile brand ambassadors for the BBB
parts and accessories brand and will be know as Team BBB.
In fact, such is the depth of their passion that both have
actually made mountain biking their work as well as their
play. Cotton runs a mountain biking tours company, while
Retief is the Product Manager for Probike, South Africa’s
largest bicycle wholesaler and distributor.
And understanding the importance of communication, Cotton
and Retief have carried their sponsors’ exposure beyond the
country’s mountain bike trails and onto the two websites that
they run, mtbonline.co.za and live2ride.co.za – incidentally,
two of the most active mountain biking websites in South
Africa.
Cotton is based near Cape Town, while Retief lives in Port
Elizabeth and they hook up for stage races where, over the
past few years, they’ve built up a high level of mutual
respect and understanding for each other’s strengths and
weaknesses. And three Absa Cape Epic finishes together make
them one of the few teams that has survived the ultimate
friendship test! And one of the few teams to have completed
more than two editions of the grueling multi-day event.
In the near future, Team BBB will be in action at the Karoo
to Coast and the Maxxis Marathon, both in September, where
Retief and Cotton will dust off the winter cobwebs and begin
fine-tuning for their primary goal, the 2008 Absa Cape Epic.
“Team BBB is focused on the 2008 Cape Epic. As a team we
want to improve on our best overall position of 72nd and try
to finish in the top 50 for 2008,” says Retief. “It is also
our goal to show how reliable and effective BBB bike parts and
clothing are, by using as much of the product as possible in
our preparation for – and racing of – the Epic.”
BBB is an innovative Dutch-based parts and accessories
brand that has been successful in challenging the more
established cycling brands to become a leader in its category
globally. In South Africa, BBB has only recently partnered
with Probike SA, which is using it’s slick distribution
network and highly rated marketing and advertising platforms
to ensure BBB becomes the leading parts and accessories brand
in South Africa. Team BBB is just another ingenious platform
from which the brand will be promoted by Probike.
Retief and Cotton will be riding Raleighs specced with BBB
seat posts, stems, handlebars, bar-ends, cassettes, chains and
eyewear in both training and racing. Oh, and they’ll be kitted
out in strongly-branded BBB clothing so they’ll be easy to
pick out on in the middle of the pack. Look out for them in
person or follow their progress on
www.mtbonline.co.za.
article courtesy www.raleigh.co.za
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