Against the backdrop of the current economic downturn and an oversupply of endurance and outdoor events, the mountain bike race industry has seen a massive decline in participation.

Despite the decline, Dryland Event Management and its main sponsors, Biogen and Momentum Health, have renewed their commitment to sport by signing a three-year sponsorship extension.

Going beyond conventional sponsorship

“We are ecstatic to once again join hands with these champions of industry. This relationship has gone beyond the realms of conventional sponsorship – there is a personal relationship that we have built with the people and the brands and we trust that this will take us way beyond in the next three years. Dryland is proud, privileged and honoured to have them on board,” said Dryland director, Henco Rademayer.

Three premier mountain bike events

After two highly successful UCI mountain bike races in 2019, namely the Momentum Health Attakwas Extreme presented by Biogen and the Momentum Health Tankwa Trek presented by Biogen, the news of a sponsorship extension may not come as a surprise. The extension also bodes well for the third event covered by the sponsorship, the Momentum Health Cape Pioneer Trek presented by Biogen, which takes place in September this year.

All three events have grown in stature and popularity in both local and international circles and attract some of the biggest names in this sport. Not only do they boast UCI status, but underline the apparent success of Dryland Event Management to present athletes and partners with world-class events.

A formidable partnership continues

Damian McHugh from Momentum Health commented, “Our decision to renew Momentum Health’s sponsorship of Dryland mountain biking events was an easy one. The sport is popular amongst both top end athletes and families looking to be active together, and the organisers have put on a world-class show at every race we were involved to date. This makes it ideal for Momentum Health to support, as we have revolutionised the medical aid industry to place more focus on being active and pursuing an active lifestyle than on the treatment of lifestyle diseases once they manifest.”

Brandon Fairweather from Biogen also enthused, “Biogen is thrilled to be extending our partnership with Dryland events, alongside title sponsors, Momentum Health for a further three years. As a sports and wellness brand, we remain passionately interested in supporting events of this calibre which promote health, wellness and competitive sport. Dryland has become specialists in putting on world class and highly competitive outdoor endurance events.”

Photo: www.zcmc.co.za