PlayHard GiveBack, an online company that helps athletes raise funds to support their careers and the social causes of their choice, has signed as the presenting sponsor of the 2014 inaugural Tour of Utah Women’s Edition. The top women’s professional and elite cycling teams from across North America will compete on Wednesday, August 6 in a one-day circuit race for a $10,000 prize purse.
The Tour of Utah Women’s Edition will take place prior to the finish of the Tour of Utah’s Stage 3 presented by Utah Sports Commission at Miller Motorsports Park in Tooele, Utah. This is the first time in the 10-year history of the Tour of Utah (August 4-10) that a women’s professional cycling race has been part of event week.
PlayHard GiveBack (PHGB), based in Ketchum, Idaho, was founded in January 2013 with a focus on assisting action, endurance, lifestyle sports athletes and youth sport teams while giving back to organizations that generate positive community impact. The company chose to sponsor the Tour of Utah Women’s Edition to help meet the needs of female athletes struggling to fund their racing and to promote the event as a marketing platform for cycling.
“At PlayHard GiveBack, we work to harness the energy and potential that exists on both sides of the aisle and align athletes with charities via a product line that produces profit for both. We hope this sponsorship provides a springboard for many other cyclists over the years to come,” said PHGB Founder and CEO Spencer Brendel, who played four years of NCAA Division III hockey for the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. In addition to earning a degree in Business and Entrepreneurship in 2014, Brendel was awarded a grant to start PHGB through the Wild Gift Organization that same year.
PHGB announced that it will also sponsor DNA Cycling presented by K4 women’s domestic elite team, which is based in Utah. This is the first road cycling team that the company has endorsed. PHGB also supports a men’s and women’s under-23 development cycling team in California and the National Interscholastic Cycling Association.
Festivities at Miller Motorsports Park will begin at noon on August 6 with a Tour of Utah Lifestyle Expo. The Tour of Utah Women’s Edition Rider Sign-In will be from noon-12:45 p.m., followed by the circuit race on the East Course of the complex. Stage 3 presented by Utah Sports Commission for the Tour of Utah is a 118-mile road race from Lehi to Miller Motorsports Park. The men will finish on the same 2.2-mile section of the East Track between 3:30-4 p.m.
Teams at 2014 Tour of Utah Women’s Edition
(National Racing Calendar rankings as of July 28)
- Canyon Bicycles – Shimano
- Cloud Racing p/b Ride 2 Recovery
- Colavita / Fine Cooking (No. 7 on NRC)
- DNA Cycling p/b K4 (No. 9 on NRC)
- Guru Cycles p/b Haute Wheels Racing (No. 10 on NRC)
- JET Cycling
- Intermountain LiVe Well p/b Bountiful Bicycle
- Optum p/b Kelly Benefits Strategies (No. 3 on NRC)
- Pepper Palace Pro Cycling (No. 13 on NRC)
- SKINourishment p/b Paceline Projects
- Team Tibco / To the Top (No. 1 on NRC)
- UnitedHealthcare Pro Cycling (No. 2 on NRC)
- Vanderkitten Racing (No. 8 on NRC)
Photo © Christy Nicholson / EchelonDesignPhoto.com
