Slipstream Sports, LLC Signs Garmin as Title Sponsor as GPS Leader Gears up for Tour de France
Garmin International Inc., a unit of Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), the
global leader in satellite navigation, announced today its title
sponsorship of Slipstream Sports, an elite cycling team that will be
showcasing its dedication to clean competition in one of the biggest
events in professional sports: the Tour de France. In tackling the
daunting stages of the Tour — and redefining the face of cycling — Team
Garmin will train and race with the Edge 705 GPS-enabled cycling
computer and travel with nüvi 770 personal navigation devices. The
sponsorship will extend through 2010 and the entire team – from kits to
cars, will be re-branded for the Tour de France.
Garmin and Slipstream officials and athletes will hold a Webcast press
conference on June 18, 2008, at Noon Eastern Standard Time. Interested
parties may attend at http://www.videonewswire.com/event.asp?id=49186.
Additional information on Garmin’s title sponsorship, including the new
team logo and visuals, will be revealed on July 3 in Brest, France, in
the press room at Penfeld Parc des Expositions de Brest.
“Slipstream cyclists are setting the standard for success through
integrity and sportsmanship,” said Jon Cassat, Garmin’s vice president
of communications, “and this fresh perspective on work ethic and
accountability is in keeping with Garmin’s worldwide reputation for
accomplishing great things through teamwork.”
Packed with detailed maps of North America and Europe — and several
million preloaded points of interest — the widely acclaimed nüvi 770
will help Team Garmin’s tour bus and support vehicles travel with speed
and ease across two continents. Barely bigger than a deck of cards, the
nüvi 770 features traffic alerts, Bluetooth compatibility,
route-planning capabilities for multi-stop trips and instant answers to
the questions: “Where am I?” and “Where’s my car?”
The Edge 705 represents several breakthroughs in cycling technology,
including power compatibility, wireless unit-to-unit connectivity and
the ability to monitor GPS position, heart rate, speed, cadence,
altitude and gradient on the same display. And Team Garmin will be able
to share data – including saved rides, waypoints and workouts –through
ANT+Sport™ wireless technology.
Team Garmin cyclists and coaches can track their progress, share
workouts and participate in an online community – even sharing recent
rides with fans around the world. Garmin Connect calculates measurements
such as time, distance, speed, elevation and heart rate. This
information is displayed through charts, illustrations, reports and a
variety of map representations including street, photo, topographic, and
elevation maps as well as the popular Google Earth application.
Garmin and Slipstream Sports share similar success stories rooted in
hard work, innovation and an unwavering insistence on quality results.
Just as Garmin is a global leader with facilities in North America,
Europe, and Asia, the Slipstream squad assembled elite athletes from
around the world. Team Garmin features several Tour de France stage
winners and five National Champions from the USA, Sweden, UK, New
Zealand and Canada. At this summer’s Olympics in Beijing, 17-year-old
phenom Taylor Phinney will be among the members of Team Garmin competing
for gold at the Games.
“We are thrilled to partner with Garmin and believe that establishing
this title sponsorship is further evidence that a new era of cycling is
upon us,” said Jonathan Vaughters, CEO of Slipstream Sports, LLC, the
sports management company that runs the team. “Garmin’s commitment to
innovation and integrity mirrors our own.”
Slipstream Sports is dedicated to promoting ethical competition and
developing the next generation of cycling champions. In 2007, Slipstream
partnered with the independent Agency for Cycling Ethics (ACE), to
create the most progressive anti-doping system in the professional
sports world. The team of 25 riders undergoes combined voluntary testing
at least 700 times throughout the cycling season. Team director Jonathan
Vaughters’ staunch “ride clean or go home” philosophy earned him a
nomination by Sports Illustrated for the prestigious Sportsman of the
Year award.
During the season, television coverage of professional cycling reaches 4
billion people, a number that is sure to grow as the sport emerges as an
easy and enjoyable solution to global challenges associated with the
environment and health issues. All around the world, riders of all ages,
abilities and demographics are getting back on their bikes. And few
competitive teams travel as far and as often as an elite cycling squad —
the sport itself rewards getting from Point A to Point B the most
efficiently — and Garmin’s wide range of products offer assistance every
step of the way.
For more information on Team Garmin, visit www.garmin.com/teamgarmin
and www.slipstreamsports.com.
For additional information on the July 3 event in Brest, contact Jake
Jacobson or Marya Pongrace.
About Slipstream Sports
Founded in 2005, Slipstream Sports LLC is a highly progressive sports
management company dedicated solely to promoting the ethical growth of
American cycling.
About Team Garmin-Chipotle Presented by H30
Owned and managed by Slipstream Sports, a sports marketing and
development company, Team Garmin-Chipotle Presented by H30 is dedicated
to promoting ethical sporting and developing the next generation of
cycling champions. In 2007, Team Slipstream partnered with Agency for
Cycling Ethics (ACE), to create the most progressive anti-doping system
in the professional sports world. Each of the team’s 25 riders will
undergo combined voluntary testing at least 700 times throughout the
2008 season, 20 times the number of tests that most professional
cyclists are subject to annually. Team Slipstream will be competing in a
full schedule of professional cycling races in the U.S. and Europe
throughout 2008. Additional information is available at www.slipstreamsports.com.
About Garmin International Inc.
Garmin International Inc. is a member of the Garmin Ltd. (Nasdaq:
GRMN) group of companies, which designs and manufactures navigation,
communication and information devices – most of which are enabled by GPS
technology. Garmin is a leader in the general aviation and consumer GPS
markets and its products serve aviation, marine, outdoor recreation,
automotive, wireless and OEM applications. Garmin Ltd. is incorporated
in the Cayman Islands, and its principal subsidiaries are located in the
United States, Taiwan and the United Kingdom. For more information,
visit Garmin’s virtual pressroom at www.garmin.com/pressroom
or contact the Media Relations department at 913-397-8200. Garmin, Edge
and nüvi are registered trademarks, and ANT+Sport and Garmin Connect are
trademarks of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries. Anticipated product
availability dates are based on management’s current expectations and
are not guaranteed. All other brands, product names, company names,
trademarks and service marks are the properties of their respective
owners. All rights reserved.
Notice on forward-looking statements:
This release includes forward-looking statements regarding Garmin
Ltd. and its business. All statements regarding the company’s future
product introductions are forward-looking statements. Such statements
are based on management’s current expectations. The forward-looking
events and circumstances discussed in this release may not occur and
actual results could differ materially as a result of known and unknown
risk factors and uncertainties affecting Garmin, including, but not
limited to, the risk factors listed in the Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the year ended December 29, 2007, filed by Garmin with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (Commission file number 0-31983). A
copy of Garmin’s Form 10-K can be downloaded at www.garmin.com/aboutGarmin/invRelations/finReports.html.
No forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. Forward-looking
statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and Garmin
undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information,
future events, or otherwise.