SRAM set to launch International race program with Shaw brothers and Finsterwald
Photos by Adrian Marcoux
SRAM, in partnership with Troy Lee Designs, announced today the formation of its own mountain-bike team for the 2014 season. The Chicago-based bicycle component manufacturer has had a longstanding tradition of supporting racing, from grass-roots contests through the World Cup level, and currently provides product sponsorship and technical assistance to 27 teams and 100 professional athletes around the globe. Now, the company will also fly its own colors in local, national and World Cup competition.
“For years we’d been talking about starting our own in-house team but extra resources and athlete opportunities never seemed to coincide,” says John Dawson, SRAM Mountain Bike Sports Marketing Manager. “Then it all just came together at Ft. William last season, hanging in the pit with longtime friend Craig Glaspell from Troy Lee Designs. We got all fired up on caffeine and started brainstorming the idea of creating a program that was free from outside influence. The foundation being each athlete would have total freedom to race any frame they felt was the fastest and we would take care of the rest. Now that it’s a reality, I can’t be more stoked to announce the coolest team on the mountain bike race scene—SRAM / Troy Lee Designs Racing.”
