Brendan Fairclough Signs With 23 Degrees

Britain's most talented young downhill rider has recently signed a multi year management deal with 23 Degrees Sports Management, a company based in Spain. Brendan, who turns 19 in January and will be taking to the 2007 World Cup circuit in his first year as an elite rider, is no stranger to World Cup podiums. His first came in the mixed weather conditions of Pila, Italy, in the penultimate round of the 2005 season where famously he nearly missed the qualification cut-off after having a time consuming fall down an embankment. Scraping into the final and having luck on his side, Brendan amazed many when at 17 years of age found himself in 3rd place at the end of the day. If there was any doubt about the result and the role the weather played, Brendan soon put that to rest with his technically brilliant ride to 5th in the World Cup finals this year, on arguably the world's most demanding track, Schladming, Austria. That result secured Brendan the first ever World Cup title awarded by the Union Cycliste Internationale for junior downhill, a title Brendan is very honoured to have won after some pretty disappointing luck at the Worlds in New Zealand this year. "My first year as a pro had some pretty mixed results. Crashing at the worlds and having my bikes go missing on the way to Brazil, and some other bad luck, made it a tough season. While I really enjoyed my time on the circuit in 2006 with Orange, it's become really clear to me that I need a little more structure and organisation around me so that I can focus purely on racing and training. This is where 23 Degrees comes in, and I'm really happy to be joining a company that also has some of the sport's best riders on its books. There's a proven track record. Peaty (Steve) has been a major influence and source of support for me in my career so far, and I plan to keep in regular contact with him away from, and at, the races. Having Steve's personal support and 23 Degrees' professional support, gives me all that I need to make 2007 an even better year", said Brendan on his signing. Martin Whiteley of 23 Degrees says "I've obviously been watching Brendan for a while now. In fact our first general discussion goes back to Schladming '05, so I'm really excited that Brendan has decided to sign up. He, along with our other recent signing Sam Blenkinsop, represents, in my opinion, the next generation of truly talented stars of our sport. Our goal for Brendan is to place him in a professional team that has a solid support structure and a race program that suits his goals. We have a few offers now that we're helping Brendan sort through and we expect to have him placed by mid December. Our recent re-signing of Matti Lehikoinen, Justin Leov, David Vazquez, and Cam Zink, as well as ongoing relationships with Greg Minnaar, Liam Killeen and Kyle Strait, gives us a strong stable of diversified and talented MTB athletes going into 2007." www.23degrees-sports.com