In the first few years since its launch, Onza Tires relied on collaboration with individual athletes for the development and marketing of its tire range. Whether in Enduro and Mégavalanche races with René Wildhaber and Myriam Saugy, in BMX and Fourcross with Roger Rinderknecht and David Graf or in freeriding with Robert Jauch - Onza Tires got these athletes rolling.

Now Michel Manz, owner of Onza's parent company Apex Sport LLC, has announced the next step in sponsorship in a press release: "With Gates-Nicolai, a professional racing team will be supported for the first time in the coming two seasons 2012 and 2013. For one of the team riders, nothing will change: David Graf was the only rider from Gates-Nicolai already riding with Onza Tires. However, the rest of the Nicolai team is following suit: The young Frenchman Joris Bigoni will be competing in national and international downhill races, the German veteran Frank Schneider will be taking on enduro races and long descents, and David Graf and Quentin Derbier will be racing in the BMX and fourcross disciplines. With this squad, Gates-Nicolai covers gravity and fun-oriented mountain biking well. And can provide feedback on a wide range of products."

As the owner of the parent company Apex Sports LLC, Michel Manz also sees some parallels between Onza Tires and Nicolai: "Like us, Kalle Nicolai is consistently going his own way. And in doing so, he is not focusing on growth come hell or high water, but on innovation and a flexibility that is only possible for smaller players on the market. That's why I'm sure that Gates-Nicolai is the right partner for Onza Tires. Especially when it comes to establishing the brand more firmly in the downhill segment."

www.nicolai.net
http://gates-nicolai.dbap.de
www.onzatires.com

Source: Press release