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UFC Recruits
Manitou and Giant |
Race Face Performance
Products, along with Giant
Bicycles and Manitou
is proud to announce the third annual Race Face Ultimate Freeride Challenge
(UFC) is officially underway! And this year, the contest is bigger than ever
with a total "winner takes all" cash prize of US$25,000!
The contest, which spawned the pro-riding careers of Tyler Klassen and Matt
Hunter is now in it's third year and will be taking another freerider from the
amateur ranks and deliver them to super stardom.
"The first two contests have been amazing." says Race Face's Marshall
Rutman "Tyler is now one of freeriding's elite and Matt Hunter is well
on his way - having just finished filming his New World Disorder segment and
securing an invite to the Red Bull Rampage."
"In our third year, we definitely wanted to raise the bar." Continues
Rutman "Being able to offer a US$25,000 cash prize really lets us accomplish
what we wanted to do with this contest - that is to help the winner realize
their true potential as a pro rider. To do that, they need to be riding every
day, be available for photo shoots, filming, traveling etc. That's pretty tough
to do when you have a day job. This prize money will allow the winner to make
a living by riding their bike - the true definition of a professional rider."
The huge bump in the UFC prize money is thanks to Giant Bicycles and Manitou
who've come on board as the official bike and suspension sponsors of the Race
Face Ultimate Freeride Challenge III and IV.
"We're really excited to have Giant and Manitou sponsoring the contest
with us for the next couple years" continues Rutman. "They're putting
out some awesome DH/Freeride specific product and are making some serious inroads
into the freeride market. Their support of this contest and next year's UFC
shows their commitment to the progression of the freeride scene."
Same as last year, riders will put together a one-minute riding video that best
represents their view on the current freeride scene. They will also submit an
ADDITIONAL 30-second lifestyle segment, which will give the rider a forum to
showcase their personality and to explain what freeriding means to them. Once
again, a star-studded jury at Race Face will judge the videos and we'll pick
our 16 favorite videos. The sweet 16's riding segments will then go up against
each other with our online community voting for who they think should advance
to future rounds. The 16 riders will become 4 semi-finalists and from those
four, our online community will choose two UFC finalists. At this point, we'll
show our community the finalist's lifestyle segment for them to vote on who
they think should become the third Ultimate Freeride Champion. And just like
last year, we'll fly the two finalists down to the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey
California, where we'll tally the votes and crown the UFC III winner.
The winner of the contest will be signed to a bike contract by Giant, a suspension
contract by Manitou and of course a components, clothing and protection contract
by Race Face worth over US$25,000.
Race Face Bicycle Components Inc. is a manufacturer of high-end performance
mountain bike components and clothing. Sixty-five full-time employees currently
produce cranks, bottom brackets, chainrings, seatposts, handlebars, headsets,
and a lifestyle cycling clothing line for sale in thirty countries worldwide.
Sound simple enough? Then get off your computer, grab your buddies and start
filming. Here are some dates you need to remember:
February 6th, 2004 - Submission deadline for the UFC III
March 6th, 2004 - First round of videos go online
April 17th, 2004 - Winner announcement in Monterey, California
Make sure to download the entry form from our site (www.raceface.com/ufc) and
include that with your video.
Good luck and maybe we’ll see you in Monterey.
THE RACE FACE HOME TEAM
For more information on the Race Face Ultimate Freeride Challenge, visit raceface.com/ufc
