Cannondale's voyage to Italy was an epic one. Vernon Felton had the good fortune of accompanying the company overseas into the land of espresso and wine. Enjoy this taste of his trip.
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Courtesy of Bike Magazine
By: Vernon Felton
It was snowing outside when I got the call from Cannondale; in truth, the ringing phone was a welcome break from my winter routine, which consists of scrubbing mud from my chamois, battling lung infections and coughing up things that resemble a cross between a squid and an artichoke. Cannondale’s marketing manager wanted to know: Will you come out to Italy to ride with our team in Finale Ligure?
Let’s see: I can either spend the next week in soggy Washington, reorganizing my extensive mold and tuberculosis samples, or I can jump on a plane and ride the sun-drenched trails of the Italian Riviera?
It was a straightforward decision.
What was less straightforward, at first blush, at least, was the premise of the trip. There’d be no new bikes (those will arrive this summer), nor any never-seen-before technology on display in Finale.
Just to be clear here, Shiny New Stuff is basically the bread and butter of press launches. Not this time though.
This time around, Cannondale wanted to focus on its riders. In fact, this launch in Finale would mark the first time ever that Cannondale had gathered all of its top-tier global mountain bike riders (all 19 of them) in a single place. The world’s press would be introduced to the pros, we’d take a few 2012 “OverMountain” and XC bikes for some outstanding rides and we’d spend quality time getting an up close and personal view of the personalities flying Cannondale’s flag this year.
Cannondale Sports Marketing Director, Rory Mason, put it this way: “Our athletes are the window into Cannondale for people all around the world.” In other words, figure out what Cannondale’s athletes represent and you get a sense of the company that Cannondale aims to be.
To read the full article on Vernon's time in Italy, head to Dirt and Espresso on Bikemag.com.
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