Marzocchi GoPro DH Team Energizes The MTB Community Backing Young MTB Riders For 2011 Season

Online, April 14, 2011 (Newswire.com) - Who is going to step up and be the young hero of downhill mountain biking? Marzocchi, GoPro, Intense Cycles, Shimano and WIDSIX think they have the answer to that very question. What Marzocchi and GoPro have planned for 2011 and beyond is to spot light 3 young Pro's and bring them into a professional racing organization and spot light these kids as young ICONS for our youth to aspire to. By backing these young pro riders, Marzocchi and GoPro are showing that kids are important in the mountain bike community... and the industry needs to get more kids involved in the sport.

When asked about the Team, Stikman, Marketing Director of Intense Cycles USA, said, "We have scaled back doing our factory race program for 2011, as we see it much more important to be a part of new exciting adventures. Hooking up with Marzocchi Suspension and GoPro was a lucky deal for Intense Cycles. We wanted to be involved with some younger programs that are appealing to the new crop of riders and racers, the Marzocchi GoPro DH Team is exactly what we are looking for and will continue to go after these types of programs. It also helped that the kids were pretty eager to ride our bikes and being that Sam and Bryson (we will give Tyler the benefit of the doubt, being so close to the border haha) are American kids and we make our bikes right here in our California factory, we could not be more stoked. It has been a good time so far and we have only just begun, I look forward to the guys ripping it up on the various Intense Cycles models: M9 Downhill bike, Tracer2's for super-D's and tazer's for 4X and dirtjumping. Pumped!"

The young pros that Marzocchi and GoPro have chosen to spotlight will energize a sport and bring the "cool" back to the sport. As industry leaders, Marzocchi Suspension, GoPro HD Cameras, Intense Cycles, and Shimano all work hard at getting the attention of that 30 year old target audience, but for the future of the sport and the overall health of the DH environment, companies must find a way to engage the youth. If the industry leaders fail at making our sport cool and attractive to our youth, the industry will exhaust its efforts and loose out to Xbox and Game Boys.

"I've been in the bike business for decades and seen it go from the garage to mega-million dollar enterprises. It's not a surprise that the sport we love so much is in dire need of more kids to participate and become infected with the world of bikes and downhill racing. The Marzocchi GoPro Junior program is geared at developing young riders into seasoned Pros! Our USA DH program is non-existent making it nearly impossible for talented kids to become top notch professional racers. Sports such as skiing, snowboarding, motocross, hockey, etc all have amazing youth development programs and mountain bike racing has NADA! That's a shame and we are going to work hard at to get more kids stoked to become DH racers. Fortunately we've teamed up with power house companies like Marzocchi Suspension, GoPro, Shimano, and Intense Cycles USA to provide these young talents with the best products on earth! Now, its time to go racing!", stated Bryson Martin, Founder of Marzocchi USA & Team Manager of Marzocchi GoPro DH Program,
when asked about the new youth program. Frank Martinez of Shimano kept it short and sweet, "Team Shimano is proud to be a part of the Marzocchi GoPro DH Team. We can't wait to see these guys do some damage in the 2011 season!"

When developing the concept of a youth program that targeted young DH racers to step up and become the heroes of this generation of the MTB world, the team knew they needed a killer web presence and online marketing campaign. Marzocchi GoPro knew exactly who to go to for a project like this and recruited WIDSIX.com, a company that is in the Athlete Digital Branding Industry. When approached about the concept, Roope, President of WIDSIX.com, was immediately on board. "When the Marzocchi GoPro DH team approached us about being involved in this project, we were STOKED! There is a huge lack of kids in the industry. DH has become a rich 30 year old's sport and this is a huge step in bringing the youth back into the forefront. The youth are the future!"

So far Marzocchi Suspension, GoPro, Shimano, WIDSIX and Intense Bicycles have all seen potential in this program and have made a strong commitment to make the project a success. The team always welcomes more participation from industry leaders and sponsors from the following areas: components, drive trains, travel bags, clothing, energy drinks, and helmets.

For more information about this program, please visit: http://www.marzocchi-gopro-dh.com