Weir & Team WTB Off Santa Cruz, On Cannondale

http://www.bikerumor.com/2011/02/20/weir-team-wtb-off-santa-cruz-on-cannondale/

posted by ZachOverholt - February 20, 2011 - 12am UTC


If you haven’t heard by now, Mark Weir, the Novato, California downhill and endurance legend, has now ended Team WTB‘s relationship with Santa Cruz Bicycles in favor of their new sponsorship with Cannondale.While unexpected by most, Mark described the amicable move stating, “It was a long process and involved more than just changing frame sponsors. It is a move to be a better ambassador to the sport, which we as a team find most important.”

Mark and the rest of the WTB team (with the exception of Bobby McMullen, who will stay with Santa Cruz by his own accord) will all be aboard Cannondale’s line of 2011 mountain bikes, including the sweet new OverMountain category which contains the completely reworked Cannondale Jekyll.

Check out the entire story, from Weir and WTB’s perspective after the break!

From WTB:
After a great deal of consideration and some heavy soul searching, Mark Weir made the call to change Team WTB’s bicycle frame sponsor from Santa Cruz to Cannondale. “It was a long process and involved more than just changing frame sponsors, Weir said. “It is a move to be a better ambassador to the sport, which we as a team find most important.”

Knowing that you can’t race bikes forever, Weir understands that the clock is always ticking and wants to use what the Team has learned through the years to bring more people to the sport. And, after almost a decade with the same brand, it was becoming increasingly difficult to make that happen even after a year of producing some of his most impressive results. Then, when securing contracts beyond a year became an uncertainty that Weir and the Team couldn’t afford, they felt that looking for new support would be the best solution.

Weir further explained that both sides were ready for a change. “We have done a lot together but it had come to the point that, as riders and racers, the Team needed more of a commitment to continue to grow the sport we love,” Weir said, adding that moving forward with Cannondale is important for that progression. Those included in the move were long-time riding buddy and WTB co-worker, Jason Moeschler, as well as local Novato protégé, Ben Cruz. Bobby McMullen, for reasons of his own, has decided to stay on with Santa Cruz—a decision that Weir and the Team fully supports.

Team WTB is thankful for all the years of support from Santa Cruz Bikes, especially the progress the partnership has facilitated in the all-mountain category. Together, WTB and Santa Cruz were founding sponsors of the Downieville Classic and the Sierra Buttes Trail Stewardship. WTB has also been a long-standing sponsor of the Santa Cruz Syndicate and looks forward to continuing that commitment.

Additional incentives for the Team to make some changes surfaced with the growth of local efforts to make more legal places to ride, like the proposed Novato Bike Park in Marin County, CA, with kids’ programs to follow. Soon, it became clear that the benefits of a new partnership would out way the doubts when together with one of Cannondale’s best dealers, Mike’s Bikes, a powerful team could be made to start change in their own back yard.

“Having a son of my own, it’s important to me that he have access to the opportunities in life that I didn’t,” Weir explained. “Growing up in Marin, I didn’t have many options to ride in the dirt without getting chased by law enforcement or other people who felt mountain bikers were somehow a threat to the community.”

As for the bike, Cannondale has always been an innovative company when it comes to frame design and the new Over Mountain line of bikes is no exception. Having known very little about how the system works, the Team wanted to move forward without sacrificing performance for principle. Cannondale had shipped a frame (Jekyll) so Weir could properly put it to the test.

“Having witnessed the bike go fast enough to win the Mega Avalanche and the over-all Enduro Series in France this past year with one of the best enduro pilots in the world, Jerome Clementz, I knew that they must have done it right,” Weir said. “After my first ride I knew their progressive thinking and long R&D process with Fox Racing Shox made a super capable all-mountain machine.” He added that having the ability to change travel on the fly on a bike that can be built well under 30 lbs. (even with heavy wheels and tires) makes it work really well in all aspects of trail riding.

“It’s bittersweet,” Weir explains about all the changes. “On one hand, we value the time and support we’ve had over the years with Santa Cruz, and on the other we have all the energy and opportunity that comes with a new partnership, and that’s hard not to be excited about.” He added, “The bike brings balance to our lives and moving forward with Cannondale was a choice to not only keep that dream alive for us, but for whoever we can touch along the way.”

 

YEah, they have been arguing over this over on MTBR for the last week or 2.

 

I wonder how Santa Cruz will spin this????

 

Mike F. posted this in the MTBR post:

before this thread goes anymore sideways, i'd like to offer some points of reference regarding weir. bear in mind, first and foremost i am proud to regard him as a friend, and in spite of what people who have never met him think, he's one of the most loyal, stand-up guys out there. he is good people.

secondly, regarding athletes and marketing - while there are plenty of you who really don't give a rat's ass who rides what bike, or are somehow surprised to find that companies actually pay athletes to ride their bikes, the fact remains that athletes who generate visibility and end up in magazines and videos and win races help raise the profile of the brands they ride for. they are ambassadors for that brand. weir is a broadly talented guy who can podium both XC and DH races, and is one of the most prolific and consistent off-road racers in northern california, which is our company's backyard. he rode for us for a long time, and did a lot to elevate the image of our bikes in the eyes of regular riders and other racers. he is also a crusty smack-talker and a genuine character in an environment (bike racing) that is sorely lacking in real fast people who don't mind adding some "color" to the mix.

there is value in all of that, and cannondale recognizes it. i'm gonna miss him.
__________________
SCB corporate stooge/doublespeak manager

 

Not a big deal. Professional athletes go where the money is, not a big shocker. Did anyone expect him to stay with Santa Cruz if Cannondale is willing to pay him more?

 

On the Santa Cruz board.....Weir is a douche bag......on the Cannondale board......Weir will give the C'dale bikes more street cred.

 

this has been a fact for a while.
http://www.vitalmtb.com/photos/feat...le,2013/Mark-Weirs-Cannondale,15474/sspomer,2

 

Thanks, 12 days ago, I guess it's old news now, I must have slept through the official announcement!:lol:

Nice rig!

 

i think it was just kind of like "heres mark at the urge and hes also riding a cannondale now..." so i think this article that you linked to is the first "official" press release. and yeah, those bikes look sick! i like the one that jerome clementz ran for the Mega in 2010.

 

the bike Clementz rode ar Mega was a Moto from 2010

 

Nice bikes but where is my water bottle going to go?