Saxo Bank launches free website Taking the lead for Tour de France fans
Saxo Bank, the online trading and investment specialist, and main sponsor of Team Saxo Bank, has launched a new and unique concept for The Tour de France, combining video, audio and text into a free online storytelling universe.
The ‘Taking the lead’ project is designed for media partners to embed daily stories and weekly issues onto the website http://www.saxobanktakingthelead.com.
Laurits Fischer-Hansen, Head of Sponsorship at Saxo Bank, says: “Pre-produced content such as interviews with Saxo Bank’s co-CEOs, riders, mechanics, soigneurs and other staff will be available for free on the website when it goes live. Newswires and web portals will be able to integrate all of the content to their sites without any cost. During the Tour we will be producing three to four daily stories as well as rider diaries and a so-called ‘Morning call’ featuring Team Owner Bjarne Riis or Sports Director Kim Andersen.”
Laurits Fischer-Hansen adds: “Saxo Bank is launching the ‘Taking the lead’ site because we want to display that winning and teamwork is what Saxo Bank has been about from the outset, but also to ensure that all fans of the sport have access to news and videos from the Tour. As our CEOs and founders have said, the sponsorship gives Saxo Bank the opportunity to highlight our values of endurance and passion, and show what sports and business can achieve together”.
Source: Saxo Bank
Wounded Soldiers Cycle Wisconsin and Illinois
Soldier Ride is a program of Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) that provides key rehabilitation opportunities for this generation of wounded warriors and raises public awareness for those that have been injured while fighting overseas.
Wounded Warrior Project is a non-profit organization whose mission is to honor and empower wounded warriors. WWP offers services and programs like benefits and career counseling, advocacy initiatives, and combat stress seminars to aid in the transition from hospital bed to an independent, productive life. All participants with a disability or missing a limb or limbs are provided the adaptive equipment they need to cycle.
NOTABLE GUESTS:
- Governor of Wisconsin, Jim Doyle
- Governor of Illinois, Pat Quinn
- US Paralympic Athlete Greta Niemanas, cyclist in the Beijing Games
DATES AND TIMES:
Waterloo, WI
- Thursday, June 11, 10:00am: The ride will begin at the Trek Bicycle headquarters for the opening launch ceremony, then cycle about 40 miles to end outside Oconomowoc.
Milwaukee, WI
- Friday, June 12, 12:00pm: The Ride will tour the Underwood Creek region around Wauwatosa, passing through the towns of Honey Creek Parkway and Bluemound Heights along Bluemound Road between Glenview Road and 52nd Street before passing by Miller Park, and ending along Canal Street to the Harley Davidson Museum around 12:00 pm.
- Friday, June 12, 7:00pm: The riders will be on the field at Miller Park, thanks to the generosity of MillerCoors, as they’ll throw out the first pitch for the Brewers vs. White Sox game.
Chicago, IL
- Saturday, June 13, 11:00am: Following breakfast at Snap-on Tools in Kenosha, the North Shore segment will launch from downtown Highland Park at the Highland Park Fire Station at 1130 Central Avenue.
- The Ride will travel along Central Avenue to turn south onto Green Bay Road and ride through the downtown of Glencoe, Hubbard Woods, and cycle along Green Bay Road through Kenilworth and Wilmette before stopping for the riders lunch at Dawes Park in Evanston on Sheridan Road along the lake (this event is not open to the public but supporters are welcome to visit with the ride participants at the War Memorial Flagpole).
- The Ride continues down Sheridan Road to Chicago, where participants will follow the roads adjacent to Lake Shore Drive to the McCormick Place Hyatt.
- Sunday, June 14, 9:00am: This final segment will begin at the historic Stockyards at 42nd and Packard (open to the public), with Chicago Ald. Jim Balcer (11th) conducting a Retiring of the Colors ceremony. The riders will travel along 39th Street to Archer Avenue for about 12 miles, to a reception hosted by the Chicago Firefighters Union at Sundown Meadow Park. This is a ticketed event.
Source: www.woundedwarriorproject.org
Audi Partners With Lance Armstrong’s Trek-LIVESTRONG U23 Cycling Team
- Two Audi Q7 TDI clean diesel SUVs will be used during the 2009 racing season
- Vehicles will transport team’s gear and supplies during races
- Diesel vehicles are typically 25% more efficient than gasoline vehicles
Audi of America announced that they will team with the Trek-LIVESTRONG Under-23 (U23) Cycling Team for the 2009 racing season, donating two Audi Q7 TDI clean diesel vehicles to provide support to riders while competing. The Audi Q7 TDI is one of America’s first highly efficient, seven passenger SUVs providing a luxury option for U.S. drivers who want fuel economy, cleaner emissions, and less imported oil. The Trek-LIVESTRONG U23 Team was created as a project to help develop the next generation of great American cyclists under the leadership and training guidance of 7-time Tour de France winner, Lance Armstrong.
The Audi Q7 TDI SUVs will be used throughout the 2009 racing season to transport the team’s gear and supplies during races. The vehicles, which will be driven by the team director and team mechanic, will carry food, water, extra wheels, extra bikes, dry clothes and other necessities for the riders before, during and after the race. Sponsors, media or VIPs may also accompany the team director in the vehicles during the race as a hospitality benefit.
The Audi Q7 TDI clean diesel SUVs are a fit for the Trek-LIVESTRONG Cycling Team because of their fuel efficiency and cargo space. The vehicles will be driven along tremendous distances during the season without time to stop for refueling, and diesel vehicles are typically 25% more efficient than gasoline vehicles. Due to its EPA estimated 25 miles per gallon on the highway, the Audi Q7 TDI offers highway driving range of more than 600 miles, far more than a comparable gasoline-powered vehicle. Cargo space is also a necessity for bike and parts storage, and the Audi Q7 TDI sets a new standard for acceleration and power with 225 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque, while seating seven, or towing up to 6,600 lbs.
The Trek-LIVESTRONG Cycling Team is made up of eleven riders from the United States, Canada, New Zealand and Japan, and includes US Olympian and world champion Taylor Phinney. When the vehicles are not at races, the two Audi Q7 TDI SUVs will be on display at either Mellow Johnny’s, Armstrong’s bike shop in downtown Austin, TX, or at the Audi dealership in the showroom, exhibited with official team bikes.
Source: Audi of America
Denver Athlete to Compete in the Most Challenging Hand Bike Race in the World
Matt Updike to Conquer Challenge Alaska
On July 19 through July 27, local Denver Paralympics athlete Matt Updike is going to compete against 38 top athletes from around the globe in the longest and most challenging hand cycle race in the world – Sadler’s Alaska Challenge to raise money for The Colorado Chapter of the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation.
267 grueling miles over 7 excruciating days and with over 16,000 exhausting feet of elevation gain, the Sadler’s Alaska Challenge is not for the faint of heart. Only the most aggressive, highly trained and talented athletes in the world are capable of meeting this challenge. To mark the 25th Anniversary of the race, organizers have carved out a brutal new route with a mountain top finish. Described by a race organizer, Heather Pulcinski, as “way more climbing, way more Alaskan, way more difficult and way more scenery,” Denver Paralympian Matt Updike will attempt to conquer the new route and take home a win (a major feat which Matt accomplished once before in 2004).
After competing in Beijing in 2008, Matt was eager for his next major challenge. When asked about his participation in the race, Matt provided four reasons for taking on this tortuous and most difficult race on the planet, “It’s the most challenging race in the world; it is the 25th anniversary of the event making it the most prestigious year ever; its an amazing way to promote the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation; and quite frankly, I like the pain!”
Matt Updike: In September of 1997 at 26 yrs old, Matt was in an automobile accident that left him paralyzed from the chest down. Matt was an extremely active guy at the time that had moved out west a couple of years before the accident from Upstate NY to experience the mountains of Colorado. An avid skier, mountaineer and cyclist prior to the accident, Matt continues to do many of these things albeit in a different fashion. Since that life changing moment, Matt has focused on what he can do and made the most of life. Cycling, more specifically hand cycling, has became his true calling. Matt’s fundraising page can be found at http://teamreeveallstars.kintera.org/mattupdikechallengealaska
Source: Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation
Top U.S. Professional Cycling Team, Garmin-Slipstream, Partners With ADSI to Continue Anti-Doping Program
Participation in Anti-Doping Science Institute’s New Program Continues to Demonstrate Garmin-Slipstream’s Dedication to Anti-Doping and Ethical Sporting
Slipstream Sports LLC and its chief venture, the Garmin-Slipstream Professional Cycling Team, isn’t just sporting a new name in 2009, when it will officially be called Garmin-Slipstream. The top U.S. team today announced that it will participate in a new program run by the Anti-Doping Sciences Institute (ADSI) to further its anti-doping mission. The program will include profiles from testing conducted over the last year and will share data with UCI and other international and national anti-doping agencies. ADSI has been involved in the management of the Garmin-Slipstream anti-doping program since June of 2008 as part of its previous relationship with the Agency for Cycling Ethics.
All 29 athletes on the team are voluntarily participating in the program, which will test them over 600 times in 2009. There will be an intense focus on EPO and related substances as well as continued focus on longitudinal profiling of blood and steroid levels. Detection of traditional doping products will also be included. Providing the oversight and program design for ADSI is Don Catlin, one of the leading names in anti-doping in the United States.
“When we began our anti-doping program in 2007, we wanted to help turn the tide in professional cycling,” said Jonathan Vaughters, Director Sportif of Team Garmin-Slipstream. “We wanted other professional athletes and teams to put their resources and efforts into the fight against doping. It worked. In 2009, we’re on a mission to continue what we started. With partners like ADSI and Don Catlin, we aim to continue to foster the ideals of fair sport.”
The testing program will be comprised of both blood and urine sampling and will focus on EPO, CERA and related drugs, but it will also include full screen testing for doping agents such as testosterone, cortisone, anabolic steroids, and masking agents. In addition, blood and steroid profiles will be used to detect longitudinal abnormalities and remove a rider from competition if suspicious results are found. Analytical work will be performed by Anti-Doping Research, under contract to ADSI, as well as other labs selected by ADSI. This combines the best of traditional testing and longitudinal testing into one program. By participating in this testing regimen, Garmin-Slipstream’s intention is to simply prevent any rider who could be doping from competing, and to continue to inspire fair sport.
“I have been involved in doping control for decades. When I developed the first anti-doping laboratory in the United States at UCLA in 1982, my hope was to prevent doping in sports and to work with teams and athletes who shared that hope,” said Don Catlin. “Team Garmin-Slipstream has proven that they do. I’m thrilled to be able to work with them.”
Team Garmin-Slipstream has been dedicated to anti-doping since its inception and the new Catlin program is an extension of its original intentions. It began participating in independent monitoring programs under the ACE model in 2007.
“We’re collaborating with Team Columbia on this effort with ADSI because we strongly believe that by working together, we can continue to help inspire fair sport,” said Vaughters. “Trust between teams and management is essential to success – on and off the road – and our fans and athletes alike deserve that trust.”
Source: Slipstream Sports LLC
MapMyRide.com Partners with USA Cycling
MapMyRide.com (http://www.mapmyride.com/), the premier source for interactive mapping, community-based forums, and online tools and content for cyclists, is proud to announce its partnership with USA Cycling, a 65,000-member organization governing competitive cycling in the United States. MapMyRide.com is confident that USA Cycling members, clubs, and event promoters will benefit from its tools and services.
The main benefit of the partnership to USA Cycling members is that it can offer MapMyRide.com’s new premium membership services at the discounted rate of 10% off the standard membership price. “We feel that access to the premium membership tools from MapMyRide.com will be valuable to USA Cycling members’ training programs,” said Mercedes Hickey, Affinity and Sponsor Programs Manager at USA Cycling. “We plan to use the web, race packet handouts, and our newsletters to make sure that our members are aware of this great opportunity.”
MapMyRide.com premium memberships will include unlimited personal-use map printing, exportable training data, magazine subscriptions, premium member designation, gear discounts, free basic training plans, advanced training reports, MapMyPoints participation, and official MapMyRide.com gear discounts.
MapMyRide.com will offer value to USA Cycling in the partnership by allowing USA Cycling race directors the ability to utilize advanced features such as Google Earth (http://earth.google.com/) course flyovers for their event websites, advanced map printing, and race promotion on MapMyRide.com. USA Cycling affiliates will also be able to directly integrate MapMyRide.com mapping technologies into their own websites for visitors to use. Finally, MapMyRide.com will feature all USA Cycling events mapped at MapMyRide.com in its list of cycling events. This promotes the events to more than 1.7 million monthly site visitors and 500,000 registered members in the MapMyRide.com community.
“We are excited that USA Cycling has embraced the ideas behind our technology and are eager to take advantage of its benefits to help promote and raise awareness for cycling in the United States,” said Doug Ziewacz, VP of Business Development at MapMyRide.com. “USA Cycling’s endorsement is a great statement for the MapMyRide.com community and we look forward to a long and fruitful relationship.”
USA Cycling members interested in taking advantage of the 10% off discount on a MapMyRide.com premium membership should visit: http://www.mapmyride.com/cycling_expert?pc=usac
Source: MapMyRide.com
Cycling Across Iowa for Strong American Schools
Strong American Schools is sponsoring a team of bike riders who will be cycling across Iowa to raise awareness for the need for K-12 education reform. The team of community activists will be riding in the Des Moines Register’s Annual Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa (RAGBRAI) and will be appearing in Ames on Tuesday, July 22nd.
Two-thirds of new jobs being created in today’s economy require higher education or advanced training. By 2012 Iowa will have between 150,000 and 200,000 more jobs than workers; and at least half of these occupations will require postsecondary education or training. However, only about half of Iowa students who enroll in 4-year colleges after high school manage to earn a bachelor’s degree within six years.
Strong American Schools is a nonpartisan public awareness and advocacy effort aimed at elevating discussion amongst America’s leaders about the need for education reform. The organization believes three common-sense solutions should be included in education reform: effective teachers in every classroom; increased time and support for student learning; and rigorous standards.
Members of the team will available at the festival and throughout the bike tour to discuss why Iowans should make education a top priority in the 2008 presidential election.
Date:
Tuesday, July 22nd 2008
Time:
10:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Location:
Strong American Schools booth & tent
Iowa State Center Parking Lot
Ames, Iowa
Members of the team and officials from Strong American Schools will be available throughout the day to discuss why education reform is crucial to securing the economic future of Iowa and America.
Source: ED in ’08