December 26, 2004 — Principal Sports Management Group announced today the formation of the Ofoto/Sierra Nevada Professional Cycling Team, combining the resources of both sponsors’ existing programs.

The eleven-rider Ofoto/Sierra Nevada squad includes four riders and one manager from each of Sierra Nevada’s and Ofoto’s 2004 teams, along with three newcomers.

The returning Ofoto team members are Jackson Stewart, 2003 Canadian National Champion Dominique Perras, Tim Larkin, Scott Zwizanski, and Ofoto/Sierra Nevada Racing Manager Robin Zellner.

Returning from the Sierra Nevada team are 2004 Nature Valley GP Champion Ben Jacques-Maynes, 1996 and 2000 New Zealand Olympian Glen Mitchell, Russell Hamby, John Hygelund, and Ofoto/Sierra Nevada Operations Manager Kurt Stockton.

The three new riders are 2004 New Zealand Olympian Hayden Godfrey (ex-Health Net/Maxxis), neo-pro Ian Dille (ex-Snow Valley), and Matt DeCanio (ex-Prime Alliance), who returns to pro cycling after a one-year hiatus.

Regarding the new team members, Stockton said, “Hayden, Ian, and Matt are talented riders who will add a good deal of experience to the team and we are absolutely confident that their personalities will be a good fit for our program.”

The young Ofoto/Sierra Nevada team — with only Mitchell, Perras, and Larkin over age 30 — will bring a balanced attack in support of stage race leaders Perras and Jacques-Maynes, sprinters Godfrey and Stewart, and all-arounders Hamby and DeCanio. Mitchell and Larkin will serve as the team’s co-captains.

Describing the rider selection process, Zellner said, “Kurt and I weighed all our personnel decisions carefully and based them on what we know about the guys we’ve worked with in the past and the good things we heard about the new guys from people we trust.”

The Ofoto/Sierra Nevada Professional Cycling Team is licensed as a UCI Continental Team and will be operated by Zellner and Stockton, co-owners of the newly formed Principal Sports Management Group LLC.

“It was our decision to move in a new direction with our cycling team and we’re really excited about our partnership with Sierra Nevada, who shares our commitment to cycling and our belief in its potential to promote our brands,” said David Rich, Vice President of Marketing, Ofoto, Inc.

Similarly, Sierra Nevada Brewing Co. President Ken Grossman said, “We’ve always seen the need for a co-sponsor to take our program to the next level and we believe that this mix of sponsors, staff, and riders is going to turn a lot of heads next season.”