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Gears Annnounces 2003 MTB Squad

(Toronto, ON) December 4, 2002 – Mr. Mark S. Bonham, Chairman, and Mr. Kevin Wallace, President, of the Gears Racing Institute (“GRI”) are today very pleased to announce the composition of the Gears Racing Mountain Bike Team for the year 2003. The complete list of racers signed to the team is listed below.

“The coming year promises to be a very exciting one for Gears Racing,” stated Kevin Wallace. “Without a doubt, we are building on the success of past years by attracting new talent of a very high caliber to the team while welcoming back our previous racers. Our reputation as a development team that places its greatest emphasis on meeting the needs of the racers themselves has drawn significant interest to our organization. The GRI will continue that emphasis in 2003 as we strive to help individuals meet their goals”.

As Canada's largest development team in the sport of mountain biking, management took the objective of matching seasoned and experienced athletes with promising up-and-coming future stars on the racing scene. “This strategy worked extremely well in the past year, with riders such as Kiara Bisaro, Ricky Federau, Frederic Bussieres, Martin Lazarski, and Sue Trimble showing consistently impressive personal bests as the seasoned progressed”, Kevin stated. “These results were due, in large part, to the positive team atmosphere and mentoring process adopted by returning team members Mathieu Toulouse, Julian Hine, and Trish Sinclair.”

“This year, we welcome new junior racers to the team, such as gold medal winner in the Team Relay, World Championships Max Plaxton, Sophie-Anne Blanchette, and Catherine Vipond. As well, we have a number of senior racers joining at the National Team level, such as Tim Oliver and Matt Patterson, who are ready to prove themselves at this demanding level of competitive racing. Because of their personal success, individuals such as Kiara Bisaro and Ricky Federau can now act as mentors to these riders along with Matt, Trish, and Julian.”

Gears Racing is proud to be sponsored by Shimano Canada, Specialized Bicycles, Sugoi and Bonham & Co. Inc. As part of the development program, team members participate in a training camp held in the spring in Phoenix, Arizona as well as several team-specific training events. As an example, this year the GRI is pleased to announce the addition of Marnie McBean, a 3-time Olympic Gold Medal winner in the sport of rowing, to the management team. Marnie will provide specific training and counseling on the development of a positive winning mindset that is necessary to excel at the highest levels of competition.

The Gears Racing Institute is a specialist, non-profit foundation created to identify and develop world-class competitive mountain bikers for Canada. For more information on the team, visit www.gearsracing.com

GEARS RACING 2003 MOUNTAIN BIKE – TEAM ROSTER

North American Male, Senior
– Mathieu Toulouse – Fourth Place, Canadian Nationals Eighth Place, Pro MTB Stage Race, 2002 Sea Otter Classic
– Julian Hine – Fifth Place, Pro-Elite Men, Canada Cup Series 2002
– Ricky Federau -2002 Canadian National Espoir XC Champion First Place, Espoir Men, Canada Cup Series 2002

North American Female
– Trish Sinclair – Second Place, Pan-Am Games, 2002
– Kiara Bisaro – First Place, Pro-Elite Women, Canada Cup Series 2002 Eight Place, World Championships 2002

National Espoir Male
– Frederic Bussieres – First Place, Junior Expert Men, Canada Cup Series 2002
– Adam Coates – Fourth Place, Junior Expert Men, Canada Cup Series 2002
– Martin Lazarski – 2002 Canadian National Espoir Cyclocross Champion

National Junior Male
– Max Plaxton – Gold Medal, Team Relay, World Championships 2002

National Male
– Greg Reain Third Place, 2002 Trans-Rockies Challenge
– Michael Dennis Third Place, 2002 Trans-Rockies Challenge
– Tim Oliver Third Place, Pro-Elite Men, Ontario Cup Series 2002
– Matt Patterson Fifth Place, Pro-Elite Men, Ontario Cup Series 2002

National Female
– Sue Trimble – First Place, Pro-Elite Women, Ontario Cup Series 2002
– Sophie-Ann Blanchette – Second Place Jr Expert Women, 2002 Canadian Nationals

National Female Junior
– Catherine Vipond First Place, Junior Expert Women, Ontario Cup Series 2002 Ontario

Provincial Male
– Jeff Weber Craig Hawkes Paul Skafel Shawn Ito

Provincial Female
– Danelle Kabush
– Heather King
– Nancy Manning – Gold Medal, World Masters, 2002

Provincial Male, Junior
– Paul Brown
– Cameron Mackenzie
– Warren Manning

Provincial Female, Junior
– Liza-Jane Manning

Team Management
– Kevin Wallace, President
– Ira Kargel, Vice-President
– Ron Vanderleeuw, Team Captain/Head Mechanic
– Ryan Hindmarsh, Training/Development Manager
– Marnie McBean, Training/Development Manager





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