MADISON, Wis. (Feb. 26, 2020) — Saris announces today a long-term strategic alliance with the Indoor Specialist eSports Cycling team, a predominantly US-based, elite-level racing team competing on Zwift.
The partnership is anchored by media and activation opportunities designed to reach a global and rapidly growing community of eSports enthusiasts. The program provides additional cross-functional benefits for Saris such as product engineering data, business and consumer analytics, and promotional events.
In the year since its formation, Indoor Specialist has seen great success.
"We are actively working to alter the way people see riding on the indoor trainer," says team co-founder Matt Gardiner. "Racing on Zwift is unlike any other discipline of cycling, and our team aims to be the best at it."
Indoor Specialist is a top-ranked team in-game and has excelled in Zwift's Pro-Am racing circuit, a recent expansion by the company into professional eSports. The team, which was founded in February 2019, won the 2019 Zwift USA National Championship with team sprinter Holden Comeau taking the win in dominant fashion.
"The trainer is the most important piece of equipment for eSports cycling and the H3 is truly a racing machine," says Comeau. "We're thrilled to be working with Saris in what is truly a strategic partnership in this exciting new sports vertical. We're helping to create exceptional products for world-class athletes who are racing right now on Zwift, and we're setting the stage for the talented women and men who will undoubtedly be joining us and winning championships in the near future."
Saris says the partnership will help refine and improve their offerings to indoor cyclists.
"Having our product used at the highest level of sport is an integral part of our product development process. Indoor Specialist is adding a new dimension to this, and it has already led to direct improvements to trainers in the field and laid the foundation for eSports-specific development in the future," says Jesse Bartholomew, director of consumer product at Saris.
ABOUT INDOOR SPECIALIST
Indoor Specialist is an elite eRacing team on the Zwift platform. The team approaches eRacing as a dedicated discipline, and it is comprised of former professional athletes, full-time workers and dads from California, United States, to Victoria, Australia. In the year since its formation, the team has won a national championship, seen massive success in Zwift's Pro-Am racing circuit and been a key leader in the Zwift community of riders and racers. For more information, visit www.teamindoorspecialist.com.
ABOUT SARIS
At Saris, bikes are at the heart of everything they do. Through their products, Saris propels all types of bicyclists forward be it in pursuit of personal enjoyment or peak performance. Through their advocacy, Saris promotes healthier, happier, bike-smart communities both locally and nationally. Based in Madison, Wisconsin, Saris proudly dreams, designs and builds car racks and indoor bike trainers, as well as public bike systems and infrastructure. For more information, visit www.saris.com.
