South African mountain bike and gravel racer, Catherine Colyn, is about to embark on her greatest challenge yet – competing in North America’s prestigious off-road racing series, Lifetime Grand Prix. But the gutsy racer from Paarl first needs to raise the funds and TREAD Media and OneMovement Management are collaborating to help drive this project. Here’s how…
Intro photo credit: Jacques Marais
Here’s the challenge:
Catherine will compete in six major American races from 22 June until 23 October (four months) – they are listed below.
She needs to get to the USA and back
- She needs to base herself in Colorado for the four months
- She needs to travel domestically within the USA to each race
- She needs to eat
- She needs to book accommodation at the race venues
- She needs to ensure her two bikes (MTB and gravel bike) are serviced and race-ready
- She needs international medical cover
All of this is expected to cost $17000, which is a small fortune in South African Rand – about R312000.
Here’s the plan:
Just under R75000 has already been raised by Catherine. We want to now find five companies/brands to each commit R50 000 to Catherine’s campaign. Each company will get branding on Catherine’s Ciovita racing jerseys for the duration of her American racing campaign and rest of the year. Brand exposure through curated posts to her online channel of over 6800 followers. The series produces its own media, which includes digital and video media that’s watched internationally.
Here’s more about Catherine’s selection as one of only two South Africans to the prestigious Lifetime Grand Prix Series.
TREAD Media has committed to covering Catherine’s US campaign with regular updates. These will include:
- Progress reports leading up to and during her four-month campaign, generated by OneMovement Management
- Fresh images of Catherine in her branded racing kit
- Banner advert on the TREAD website for Catherine’s 2023 US campaign duration. There are over 53000 unique monthly visitors to the TREAD website and over 25000 subscribers to the TREAD weekly mailer.
- Description of your business/brand and website link in the footer of each of Catherine’s progress reports
“Our policy is that while we help with exposure and awareness through publishing of content, we don’t normally get directly involved in raising funds. But with Catherine, it’s a bit different. She’s the one South African female in the selected elite/pro field of 35 at this prestigious racing series, which takes place in the US, but which attracts global interest,” said Sean Badenhorst, co-founder and editor of TREAD Media.
“Over the past few years our TREAD Media staff members have become both directly and indirectly involved in helping women’s mountain biking grow. One of the obvious barriers to growth is opportunity. Here, Catherine has been presented with an incredible and rare opportunity and it would be sad that the only reason she can’t fulfil her goal of competing in the Lifetime Grand Prix series is money,” he added.
If you have a company/brand that’s keen to support in some way, please make contact with Catherine’s manager, Tyrone Rawlins via email: tyrone@onemovement.co.za
Lifetime Grand Prix Series 2023
22 April: Sea Otter Classic | MTB 100km | Monterey, California
3 June: Unbound Gravel | Gravel 200 miles | Emporia, Kansas
8 July: Crusher in the Tushar | Gravel 69 miles | Beaver, Utah *
12 August: Leadville 100 | MTB 100 miles | Leadville, Colorado *
16 September: Chequamegon | MTB 40 miles | Cable, Wisconsin *
30 September: The Rad Dirt Fest | Gravel 110 miles | Trinidad, Colorado *
21 October: Big Sugar Gravel | Gravel 100 miles | Bentonville, Arkansas *
*Events Catherine will compete in.
Check out the Lifetime Grand Prix Series website here.
