Nissan in gear for launch of UCI World Championships

Nissan is gearing up for the start of the 2007 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships as headline sponsor for the first time.

The championships will take place at Fort William, Scotland, from September 3rd to 9th with more than 700 top riders taking part.

It is the first time the championships have been held in the UK and the first time the event has been sponsored by Nissan – under a new initiative, “Nissan Sports Adventure”.

Nissan will have an exciting stand at the tournament, where visitors can meet women’s downhill champion Tracey Moseley who will be signing autographs on Friday between 2.30pm and 3.30pm, Saturday between 1pm and 1.30pm, and Sunday after her race between 2pm and 4pm.

Nissan has also built a fantastic trials area incorporating a Navara, and this will be included in the trials finals where riders will put their skills to the test. Visitors to the Nissan stand can also enter a competition to win a top of the range mountain bike or a trip to California, and can view the Nissan range of vehicles including the award-winning 4x4 range.

Nissan Sports Adventure sees the car-maker taking its promotion of adventure sports, including mountain biking, and an active outdoor lifestyle to the next stage.

Nissan will be working with the UCI to develop mountain biking across all levels, particularly via the high profile World Championships which attract a global television audience.

ICU president Pat McQuaid underlined the importance of the agreement between the international federation and Nissan.

“Mountain biking is a modern and dynamic discipline with an attractive image and enormous potential,” he said. “The interest shown by a company like Nissan confirms this. Thanks to the joint efforts of Nissan and the ICU, everyone associated with mountain biking will see fantastic progress in the years to come.”

John Parslow, Nissan’s 4x4 category manager, added: “Nissan has historically supported adventurous activity but now we are stepping up a gear and will really show the passion that we as a company hold for sports adventure and the environments in which they unfold.

“Through a calendar of events, activities and content we hope to inspire adventure spirited people throughout Europe – building the association between the Nissan brand, our naturally capable 4x4 range and adventure sports. Nissan becoming title sponsor for the World Championships really demonstrates this.”

Nissan Sports Adventure is also headline sponsor of the 2007 UCI World Cup, in a partnership which has been agreed until at least 2009.

The Nissan UCI Mountain Bike World Championships features four disciplines: cross country, downhill, 4-cross and trials and will be held at Leanachan Forest, Fort William.

For more information about Nissan Sports Adventure, please visit nissan-sportsadventure.com. To find out more about Nissan’s naturally capable range of 4x4 vehicles visit nissan-capabilities.co.uk.