LAKE FOREST, CA (BRAIN)—BMX racing being new to the Olympics this year has been capturing a large amount of the attention, but mountain biking and road shouldn’t be forgotten.
And while road racing seems to get all the Olympic glory, Olympic mountain biking is a huge hit—over in Europe.
“The U.S. mountain biking community is not as concerned about it,” said Mark Peterman, director of product development for GT. “Racing (NORBA Series, Grundig, UCI) is not big anymore in America. We have moved on to festivals, events, 24 hours and gravity. Racing is now a big yawn for most American riders.”
With one of the largest mountain bike teams on the professional circuit, Giant loves the Olympics to broadcast its brand message.
“More eyes will be exposed to the Giant brand in that one race than the combined consumer/retailer hits of every 2008 world cup and NORBA national all rolled into one,” said Andrew Juskaitis, global marketing manager for Giant.
On the road side, it seems the Tour de France is still the big ticket.
“I’m not hearing much [Olympics road buzz) at all,” said Tim Jackson, brand manager for Masi Bicycles. “The Tour [de France] is still much bigger talk. The Olympics has kind of become a sideshow.”
To see what BMX suppliers had to say about BMX racing at this summer’s Olympics, be sure to read to the June 1 issue of Bicycle Retailer and Industry News.
PHOTO: Jill Kintner hopes to rekindle her BMX racing glory days as she eyes the gold while training at the USA Cycling BMX training facility in Chula Vista, California.
—Jason Norman
