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Cycling Team Shifts Sponsorship Strategy

1/27/2023

For nearly two decades, the Colavita Foods brand was synonymous with amateur bike racing. Recently the core group of members that make up the team, decided to get back into the local community for race team support. Now, with the help of Easy Coffee Roaster and a handful of Four Corners businesses, the team will target a slate of races throughout the region in 2023. By Connor Shreve. This story is sponsored by Happy Pappy’s Pizza & Wings and Kroeger’s Ace Hardware

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Easy Coffee Roaster / 81301 Coffee House - https://81301coffee.com/

Read the Full Transcript

One of the most recognizable cycling teams in the Four Corners is getting a fresh start this season. You're watching the Local News Network, brought to you by Happy Pappy's Pizza-n-Wings and Kroeger's Ace Hardware. I'm Connor Shreve. For the better part of two decades, Colavita Foods has adorned the jerseys of one of the most well-known local amateur cycling teams. But this year the team is moving on from the global brand in favor of fostering partnerships with local businesses like Easy Coffee Roasters, the team's new title sponsor.

They're all local. We're all local. They know the races that we want to do. They want to support us and help us get out and, you know, do what we love, which is be in the mountains, and race.

Team manager, Rachel Lasiewicz, is hoping to add to the team's roster of about a dozen racers. She believes that growth will bring more possibilities.

There are so many athletes in this town. So, like cycling is our beginning and who knows where we're going to go? We can go into running. We can potentially go into triathlon. Like, it's an exciting time. And now that we have this really solid base with these local sponsors and the support, it's a really cool, cool place to be.

With Four Corners area races at the heart of the team's schedule, the team's program remains similar to previous seasons and with those local races, team member Keith Ashmore says it makes sense to have more local sponsors.

Races like Iron Horse and Mesa Verde 12 Hour and you know, Escalante races in Dolores. There's racing in Telluride, there's racing in Ridgeway. I mean, there's a lot of stuff within a couple hours to go challenge yourself. You know, there's gravel races and so we plan on, you know at least some of our members being in a lot of those races. And it just gets our sponsors out there in front of local people. You know, local athletes.

While many of us opt to ride or race solo, team member Ryan Tenge enjoys the camaraderie of being part of the Easy Coffee 81301 team.

It's just a really nice opportunity to also meet other like-minded people and see some really, really outstanding areas and terrains and push ourselves in different environments with our equipment.

Tenge says, just because there's no racing right now, team members still meet up for various outdoor adventures throughout the winter. The Easy Coffee cycling team will focus on the Mesa Verde 12 Hour Relay in May as its biggest early season race. If you'd like to explore joining the team, reach out to @easycoffeecycling81301 on Instagram. Thanks for watching the Local News Network. I'm Connor Shreve.

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