August 19, 2005 “” The 2nd annual Infineon Technologies Cougar Mountain Classic (formerly known as the California Outdoor Sports Championships), announced today their official bicycle, tire and suspension sponsors.

Gary Fisher and Trek have signed on as Official Bicycle co-sponsors, Kenda as Official Tire, and X-Fusion Shox as Official Suspension sponsor. The event takes place Sept. 9-11, 2005 and will bring several thousand amateur and professional mountain bikers, gravity racers, road cyclists, trail runners, road runners, vendors, media, and outdoors sports fans to the three-day festival at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, CA.

Gary Fisher, dubbed the “Founding Father of Mountain Bikes” by Smithsonian Magazine, and whose inspiration for the creation of his mountain bikes came from the mountains and terrain surrounding the San Francisco Bay Area, will be an Official Bicycle co-sponsor for the event.

“The event brings so many different types of riders together for one weekend of racing and activities,” said Ryan Atkinson, Assistant Brand Manager for Gary Fisher. “It’s a great way for cyclists to get exposure to styles of riding they may not have had an opportunity to see at other events.” Gary Fisher’s classic bicycles will highlight the event’s Vintage Bicycle Concourse.

Trek, America’s largest bicycle manufacturer since 1976, has signed on as an Official Bicycle co-sponsor for the event. “From the Sea Otter Classic to the Cougar Mountain Classic, Trek continues to believe in the value of American bike racing,” said Zapata Espinoza, Trek’s communications manager. “Mixing it up among friends on the weekend at an event such as the Cougar Mountain Classic is what two-wheeled passion is all about.” All of the Trek Volkswagen race bikes are made from the same proprietary OCLV Carbon that’s used to build the Tour de France winning bikes of Lance Armstrong and are available at more than 2,000 dealers nationwide. The Trek Volkswagen team, the longest racing partnership in off-road history, has four members representing the USA at the World Championships in Italy this year and Trek VW rider & five-time 24-Hour world champion Chris Eatough will be competing at the Infineon Technologies Cougar Mountain Classic. Eatough currently leads the NORBA Marathon series. Kenda USA, the event’s official Tire sponsor, will be providing 360 pairs of tires to all event category winners.

“If Cougar Mountain can become another Sea Otter, or even better, I want in on the ground floor,” said Jim Wannamaker, Kenda’s North America sales and marketing director. Kenda USA is known throughout the cycling industry for their generous support of amateur, or grass roots, riders.

“Amateur racers are important to Kenda, we want them to feel important,” said Wannamaker. “They are one of the key elements in helping the company grow in terms of product development, product usage, product recommendations, and sales.”

Kenda holds the top three positions in cross-country racing tires according to Mountain Bike Action Magazine, September 2005 issue. The John Tomac Nevegal Stick-E 26 x 2.10 tire with Stan’s No Tubes holds the first position, John Tomac Nevegal Stick-E 26 x 2.10 tire (without Stan’s ) came in second, and Kenda’s John Tomac Nevegal 26 x 1.95 DTC tire took third. Kenda’s premier road tires consist of the top rated Kenda Kaliente Iron Cloak and the Kenda Kriterium. These two tires are the key models used by Team Kenda Tire, Kenda’s women’s pro racing team.

X-Fusion Shox, a designer and manufacturer of high-performance mountain bike suspensions, is the event’s Official Suspension sponsor. “X-Fusion Shox is super excited about sponsoring the Infineon Technologies Cougar Mountain Classic,” said Alex Wheeler, U.S. Marketing Manager for X-Fusion Shox. “The event creates a very unique opportunity for us to showcase our product since the X-Fusion Shox brand is so new in the United States, much like the Cougar Mountain Classic is young, now in its second year. This partnership gives us a chance to grow steadily with the event and as the event evolves into a world-class festival of cycling, like the Sea Otter Classic, or even half that, we feel X-Fusion Shox can grow to become a significant player in the US mountain bike suspension market.” X-Fusion Shox focuses mainly on cross-country and ultra-endurance markets with a special emphasis on female riders and racers, a market they feel is severely underserved with a lot of room for product development and improvement. “X-Fusion Shox sees the growth potential for the ultra-endurance events,” said Wheeler, “so we’re super-stoked about the 8-hour endurance events going on at the Cougar Mountain Classic.” X-Fusion Shox sponsors the Tokyo Joe’s / GoLite Mountain Bike Team who will be competing this year at the event. About the Event: Festival-goers can participate in everything from competitive and non-competitive cycling and running events to a swap meet, a vintage cycling concourse, a grape stomping contest and many other events for the whole family. The three-day event is a partnership between Sea Otter Classic LLC and Infineon Raceway. The Infineon Technologies Cougar Mountain Classic is the end-of-summer festival of road cycling, mountain biking, gravity racing, running, and expo and bookends its sister event, Monterey’s world-renowned Sea Otter Classic, April’s unofficial cycling season opener.

The event offers one last chance for riders to qualify for the National Off Road Bicycling Association (NORBA) National Championships that take place one week later, Sept. 17-18, in Mammoth Mountain, CA. The event also offers a full program of road and off-road cycle racing and is listed on the National Road Calendar (NRC) and the American Mountain Bike Challenge (AMBC) series. In addition to pro, amateur and recreational road and mountain bike cycling events for all age groups and skill levels, the event offers a pro and amateur All American Trail Running Association (AATRA) sanctioned running event called the 15K Road/Off-Road SuperRun.



EVENT OVERVIEW:

WHAT: 2nd Annual Infineon Technologies Cougar Mountain Classic

WHEN: September 9-11, 2005

WHERE: Infineon Raceway

ROAD CYCLING: Road circuit race, (NRC, NCNCA)

MOUNTAIN BIKE: Cross-Country, Short track, Downhill, Mountain-cross (NORBA, AMBC affiliated)

RUNNING: Road and trail running race (AATRA)

EXPO: Trade team trailers, cycling and running vendors, family activities, wine tasting, vintage bicycles

SWAP MEET: Buy. Sell. Trade. Pro teams and sales rep.’s sell off used gear and excess stock

PARTICIPANTS: On-site registration is available for a full slate of amateur racing classes, with entry fees ranging from $30 to $45. Non-competitive events for mountain bikers and road cyclists are $10 each

SPECTATORS: $10 per car per day or a three-day pass for $20

CONTACT: For more information call 650.364.7612, email info@cmclassic.com, or visit http://www.cmclassic.com/