Garmin the global leader in satellite navigation is proud to announce that it has extended, for an additional three years, its title sponsorship of Team Garmin-Transitions, the ProTour cycling team dedicated to ethical sporting and developing the next generation of cycling champions.
The extension for the U.S.-based team, comprised of elite talent from around the world, is an addition to the company’s current sponsorship through 2010, marking one of the most significant multi-national sponsorship deals in the history of professional cycling.
“The success of the team spans the globe and surpassed our expectations for the first year and a half of our title sponsorship, bringing Garmin’s reputation for quality, commitment, performance and productivity into countless households in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia,” said Jon Cassat, Garmin’s vice president of communications.
“Our objectives were – and continue to be – to integrate our products on sports’ biggest stages and to build global brand awareness. Whether capturing victories around the world, winning national championships or working to develop future generations of talent, Team Garmin has helped us achieve those objectives and has made an impression on billions of potential customers.”
The partnership, which will run until the end of 2013, will provide the team with the opportunity to continue its founding mission: building the next generation of cycling champions. It will also allow Garmin, Slipstream and their partners to develop new technology that will give the team advantages on the road. Most importantly, the long-term sponsorship provides the team with a platform and foundation for retaining and recruiting the best riders in the sport.
“Since signing with Slipstream prior to the 2008 Tour de France, Garmin has seen an outpouring of support from cyclists and sports fans across the globe, along the roads of major tours and in the stores of our retail partners,” said Dan Bartel, Garmin’s vice president of worldwide sales. “Whilst providing feedback on product development, the team has shown fans everywhere that the best-in-class Edge® 705 cycling GPS can stand up to the sport’s steepest challenges, while suiting the needs of cyclists of any calibre.”
Garmin, which has spent 20 years developing technologies and innovation to enhance users’ lives, has already used the team’s unique perspective and invaluable feedback in developing the new GPS-enabled Edge 500 (expected availability Winter 2009), which tracks speed, distance, time, GPS position, elevation, calories burned, climb and descent.
After the ride, data downloaded to Garmin Connect allows cyclists and staff to study the statistics, looking for any room for improvement for the next day. This data also provides fans and the media access to the riders’ data.
The team benefits from Garmin’s GPS technology in the support vehicles as the iconic Garmin nüvi® helps the team bus and support vehicles travel with speed and ease across two continents. The route planning capabilities, preloaded maps and points of interest help the team caravan, especially in grand tours when every day brings different destinations and challenges.
“When Garmin first decided to partner with us, we said we believed that a new era of cycling was upon us. Today, with this significant extension, we can now say – the era is here,” said Jonathan Vaughters, CEO of Slipstream Sports, LLC, the sports management company that runs the team. “Garmin’s commitment to innovation and integrity mirrors our own, and knowing that we have their partnership for the next four years, means that we can continue to develop the next generation of cycling champions. We can continue to make technological innovations that will give our riders a competitive advantage on the road. And off the road, we can continue to help better the sport.”
Garmin and Slipstream Sports share similar success stories rooted in hard work and innovation. Just as Garmin is a global leader with facilities in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, the Garmin-Transitions team assembles elite athletes from around the world.
Team Garmin features Giro d’Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta stage winners as well as national champions from several countries. Garmin’s employees and customers, like the cyclists, staff and fans of Team Garmin, are in the air, behind the wheel and on the move. And they are always thinking of ways to adapt and improve.
“Garmin’s business goals are to extend the reach and success they have achieved in the US and Europe and to create a global marketing platform for their brand,” said Matt Johnson, President of Slipstream. “The extension of this sponsorship is a testament to the team meeting those business goals.”
Owned and managed by Slipstream Sports, Team Garmin-Transitions is dedicated to promoting ethical sporting and developing the next generation of cycling champions. In 2007, Slipstream created the most progressive anti-doping system in the professional sports world and now works with Anti-Doping Research, Inc. (ADR) and ADSI (the Anti-Doping Sciences Institute) to continue its anti-doping mission.
For more information on Team Garmin, visit www.garmin.com/teamgarmin and www.slipstreamsports.com.
About Garmin Ltd.
The global leader in satellite navigation, Garmin Ltd. and its subsidiaries have designed, manufactured, marketed and sold navigation, communication and information devices and applications since 1989 – most of which are enabled by GPS technology. Garmin’s products serve automotive, mobile, wireless, outdoor recreation, marine, aviation, and OEM applications. Garmin Ltd. is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. For more information, visit Garmin's virtual pressroom at www.garmin.com/pressroom or contact the Media Relations department at 913-397-8200. Garmin, Edge and nüvi are registered trademarks, ANT and ANT+ are trademarks and Garmin Connect is a service mark of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries.
Notice on forward-looking statements:
This release includes forward-looking statements regarding Garmin Ltd. and its business. All statements regarding the company’s future product introductions are forward-looking statements. Such statements are based on management's current expectations. The forward-looking events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and actual results could differ materially as a result of known and unknown risk factors and uncertainties affecting Garmin, including, but not limited to, the risk factors listed in the Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 27, 2008, filed by Garmin with the Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission file number 0-31983). A copy of Garmin’s Form 10-K can be downloaded at www.garmin.com/aboutGarmin/invRelations/finReports.html. No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Garmin undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise.
About Slipstream Sports
Founded in 2005, Slipstream Sports LLC is a highly progressive sports management company dedicated solely to promoting the ethical growth of cycling and developing the next generation of cycling champions.
About Team Garmin-Transitions
Team Garmin-Transitions is dedicated to promoting ethical sporting and developing the next generation of cycling champions. Team Garmin-Transitions competes in a full schedule of professional cycling races in the U.S. and Europe. Additional information is available at www.slipstreamsports.com.
