MOUNTAIN BIKING:Haro/Adidas sign Sheppard
Sheppard hopes new sponsor pays off for him
Tuesday Oct.26/99
By CHAD DOUGLAS
Daily News Staff Reporter
If Kamloops mountain bike racer Chris Sheppard ever shows up ahead of Tour de France champion Lance Armstrong in the New York Times again, he'll be sporting some new sponsors.
Sheppard, 26, feels he has a better grip on his cross-country future since signing on with Haro Bicycles and Adidas. He was sponsored by Catera/Klein/DKNY. After considering four offers, Sheppard favoured Haro/Adidas because it accepts his two-year deal with Oakley sunglasses.

"It's a really good deal that keeps me happy," said Sheppard, who is 25th in the UCI overall rankings. "Haro is one of the only companies that allows you to control your personal endorsements and heading into the Olympic year that means a lot"
Sheppard is in a good position to qualify for the Olympics after winning a bronze medal for Canada in cross-counny at the Pan-American Games in Winnipeg.

One more strong ride at a UCI World Cup event, perhaps at Napa Valley or Mazatlan, and Sheppard should be representing his country again next year in Sydney. Sheppard admits to letting himself and his country down to end this season. He finished 45th in the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships last month in Sweden. Sheppard's partner, Seamus McGrath, came in 27th. A comparable result from Sheppard could have secured a third entry in the Olympics for Canada. Sheppard is after some redemption and relaxation at the American Mountain Bike Challenge finals in Memphis, Tenn., over the first weekend in November.

"I don't like ending the season on a bad note," said Sheppard. "It gets good coverage in the mountain bike publications because not much is going on, so I'm just going to go down and treat it more as a vacation."

Placing is not the only thing in mountain bike racing. Sheppard wasn't at his best for the U.S. finals in Vermont, but taking an early lead on Armstrong got him on the front page of sports in the New York Times. Sheppard doesn't plan to let his new sponsors down next season, so he will appear at more U.S. races with heavy media coverage. He is giving a big nod to the NORBA series, where he was sixth overall in cross country and third in short track this season. Steering dear of Europe allows Sheppard to spend more time resting and riding around Kamloops, leading up to the Olympics.

"This is the year coming up," said Sheppard. "My team is really happy if I make the Olympic team. That's great for them, but their main concern is the U.S. national series and doing well there. That's where my main stress is going to be around."

Chris Sheppard-Haro Adidas Rider

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