March 30, 2004 – USA Cycling, along with Team Big Bear and Blue Wolf Events, announced Jeep as a sponsor of the 2004 NORBA National Mountain Bike Series. Jeep, which was previously a NORBA sponsor, will be the title sponsor of the mountain cross events at five NORBA National events. The agreement includes qualifying opportunities for the invitation-only Jeep King of the Mountain Series and the inclusion of two NORBA branded teams to compete against several nations whose athletes excel at the gravity end of the mountain bike spectrum.
As a made-for-television event, the Jeep King of the Mountain Series features the world’s best gravity riders who represent their countries in a team effort on a course that can best be described as a marriage between dual slalom and mountain cross disciplines. This year, countries whose riders received invitations include the United States, Australia, South Africa, England, France and The Netherlands. And while each team will consist of one male and one female rider per country, their competition in 2004 will not only come from each other, but from two NORBA teams that will qualify through the newly dubbed “Jeep King of the Mountain” mountain cross events at select rounds of the 2004 NORBA National Mountain Bike Series.
“It’s obviously a great partnership between two established and prestigious series,” said Jeff Frost, co-organizer of the NORBA National Mountain Bike Series. “It seems like a natural move to create a relationship between the two premier mountain bike properties and the element of television coverage for the NORBA National Series is valuable to the exposure and growth of the sport.”
The first round of the Jeep King of the Mountain Series will be held at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, Calif. on May 16th. One day earlier, the second round of the 2004 NORBA National Mountain Bike Series, also at Infineon Raceway, will serve as the qualifier that results in the selection of the two NORBA teams that will compete the next day.
A different qualifying procedure will be used for the remaining two events in the Jeep King of the Mountain Series as a points based system will take over in determining the NORBA teams that will compete against several nations' teams. The NORBA mountain cross events at Snowshoe, W.Va. and Mt. Snow, Vt. will combine as a qualifier for the Jeep event in Boston, Mass. July 10-11 while the NORBA stops at Schweitzer Mountain, Idaho and Snowmass Resort, Colo. will serve as a ticket to the Jeep King of the Mountain event in Denver, Aug. 14-15.
Television coverage of the qualifying rounds will be featured within three one-hour specials, one per event, which will be broadcast nationwide in syndication by network affiliates.
“This is a great opportunity for every party involved,” commented Gerard Bisceglia, CEO of USA Cycling. “As a path to the rich and prestigious Jeep King of the Mountain Series, there is more on the line in a NORBA mountain cross event, raising the intensity of competition. The branding of a NORBA team to compete against other countries along with network television coverage gives us an added dimension in which to expose our sport to a greater audience.”