LAS VEGAS, NV (BRAIN)—The Mountain’s Edge 2008 Cactus Cup Las Vegas is September 19–21, 2008 in Las Vegas.
Event organizers picked those dates with the hope of capturing those already in town for Interbike.
"Las Vegas offers everything that we need—an amazing venue next to a major city," said Ravi Rajcamoor, managing director at Swagger, producer of the race. "The timing is perfect for the industry because it’s just prior to Interbike. And, we found a great partner in Mountain’s Edge. They are committed to the success of the race because the lifestyle they provide their residents is in line with the lifestyle that mountain bikers live everyday."
Mountain’s Edge is a 3,500-acre master planned community that celebrates the rich history of the valley. When fully developed, Mountain’s Edge is planned for four elementary schools, two middle schools and a high school.
Registration opens July 1 at www.cactuscuplasvegas.com for the three-day festival and mountain bike race that’s a stage-race format. There will be an expo area at the event, but an exhibitor list hasn't been finalized yet.
The Pro and Semi-Pro categories competes in the full stage race; Expert, Sport and Beginner category riders may compete in select races that include the Exploration Peak Time Trial, Super D, Fat Tire Criterium and Cottonwood Cross County. A children’s race is also available.
Races are open to women, men and children four years of age and up. Activities are based at Mountain’s Edge, a master-planned community located in Southwest Las Vegas at Buffalo Drive and Blue Diamond Highway. The event is also a fundraiser for the HERA Women’s Cancer Foundation and the Animal Foundation located in Las Vegas.
The Cactus Cup was first launched in 1991 in Scottsdale, Arizona as a grassroots mountain bike event. The race and festival quickly became the world’s number one mountain bike event attracting 10,000 participants and 75,000 spectators with races in U.S. cities including Scottsdale, AZ, Athens, GA, Galena, IL Miami, FL, Crested Butte, CO, and Memphis, TN. International Cactus Cup events have been held in Tokyo, Japan, Cairns, Australia, Munster, France, Munich,Germany, Canmore, Alberta, Canada, Whistler, British Columbia, Canada and Sao Paulo, Brazil. The last Cactus Cup was held in 2001 in Athens, Georgia. In 2008 Swagger, LLC partnered with Mountain’s Edge Master-planned Community to revive the event in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Swagger has more than 50 years of combined experience as a sports marketing and event management organization. The United States’ leading producer of criterium racing, Swagger currently produces over forty criterium events, including America’s premier criterium the Twilight Criterium in Athens, Georgia, a race that’s enjoyed tremendous success since 1980.
