March 17, 2006 – Marie-Hélène Prémont can now ride without the added weight of financial worries on her shoulders. The 28-year-old Quebecois mountain biker with a top-five ranking in the UCI World Cup standings last year and a silver medal at the Athens Olympics, was pleased to announce an impressive sponsorship package with Quebecois pharmacy chain Familiprix. What makes the package so unique is the fact that the Familiprix will support Prémont’s athletic and academic endeavors.

Prémont is currently completing a Masters in Pharmacolgy in addition to racing as an elite mountain biker. “I have a three-year agreement which removes an enormous financial weight from my shoulders. I can now compete without the stress of financial worries.”

Without going into details about the agreement, André Rhéaume of Familiprix, remarked that the amount “was in the six-figure range.” He was later quoted saying, “The fact that Marie-Hélène is studying to become a pharmacist and that she is a positive role model heavily influenced our decision. As a company we wanted to highlight her sportsmanship and success to encourage youth to take up sport.”

Prémont is eager to begin her 2006 season, “I’ll be kicking off my season with the Commonwealth Games, I fly to Australia this Saturday. I feel great and I know I’m ready.” After the Commonwealth Games, Prémont will head to Curaçao, in the Caribbean where she will participate in the first round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup.

For pictures from the press conference with Marie-Helene Premont courtesy of Veloptimum please visit : http://www.geocities.com/velonouvelle/art/6/3mars/Velop16.html