Luxury Swedish car maker Volvo has come on board as the official vehicle partner of the Grindrod Bank Berg & Bush MTB event.
The Grindrod Bank Berg & Bush mountain bike event is thrilled to announce Volvo as their new official vehicle partner.
The Swedish luxury vehicle brand that prides itself on not following the norm, and doing things “the Volvo way”, not only joins Berg & Bush as a vehicle partner, but also providing the prize money for the “Volvo Summit”.
A rider makes his way up the lung-busting Spioenkop during the 2015 Grindrod Bank Berg & Bush event. This year Volvo will be sponsoring the prize money for the Volvo Summit – a 2km race up Spioenkop that will take place after the first day of riding at The Descent. The first male and female rider to reach the top will each receive R20 000. Image credit: Em Gatland
The Volvo Summit, an event within an event where any participants of The Descent can enter to race up a 2km stretch of the famous Spioenkop after the first day’s riding, speaks directly to Volvo’s philosophy of doing things differently – that’s why the prize for the first male and female rider to reach the top of Spioenkop is R20 000 each.
Riders finishing second, third, fourth and fifth – both male and female – will also earn a share from the ‘dash for cash’. A remaining R23 000 from the R100 000 purse will go towards prizes in the original two-day event.
“Everything we do starts and ends with people,” says Michelle Naudé, marketing director of Volvo Cars South Africa. “At Volvo we always say, ‘we’re Volvo, we put people first’. So for us it makes sense to partner with an event that has become renowned over the years for putting their riders first. At Volvo we’re always looking for fun interactions; that’s why the Volvo Summit is the perfect fit for us too.”
Volvo, of course, also cares about cyclists. All their cars come standard with an auto-braking system called City Safety which in their newest cars – the XC90 and S90 – includes pedestrian and cyclist detection as standard.
The City Safety system uses a windscreen-mounted camera to detect cyclists and, if necessary, the car is able to apply full braking force to avoid a collision with a cyclist should the driver not react in time. This feature can be added as an option on other Volvo models.
Braking is one thing the Berg & Bush won’t ask riders to do, though, when they are flying down the kilometres of sweet singletrack at the event.
Volvo, however, will be giving all Berg & Bush riders a break should they decide to purchase a Volvo. All entrants will get a 5% discount off any new Volvo or Volvo accessory they buy; a unique cyclist’s discount.
“We are very pleased to welcome Volvo to the Berg & Bush family,” says race founder Gary Green. “We pride ourselves on being a unique and memorable mountain biking experience with not only something for everyone, but with something special for everyone who takes part. The Volvo Summit is just another element that makes the Berg & Bush unique and with Volvo’s generous involvement we’ve been able to make it the richest two kilometres in South African mountain biking.”
For more information please visit: http://www.bergandbush.co.za/
