Athlete aims to compete in national and international world championship events throughout year
Ridgeland, Miss., (June 15, 2016) – C Spire has signed a one-year endorsement agreement with Scott Kuppersmith, a 40-year-old professional endurance mountain bike racer who has designs on competing at the highest levels of the sport in the U.S. and internationally.
Kuppersmith, who competes as part of a team of cyclists from The Bike Crossing in Ridgeland, has won 33 of the 41 races he has competed in over the last four years in Mississippi and Alabama, including four of seven during 2016. He won the 2016 Mississippi Off-Road Cycling Series state games 24-mile race last Sunday at Butts Park.
The Jackson native started racing in 2004 and went from beginner mountain bike racer to professional in two years. Kuppersmith ranks in the top 10 percent nationally of the 4,400 licensed riders who are members of USA Cycling, the national governing body for bike racing in the U.S.
Kuppersmith has competed in over 400 national and world championship mountain bike and road races and traveled across the U.S. and around the world, including races in Belize, Guatemala and Costa Rica, during his career. He plans to compete in two big races in California next month – the Cross Country Nationals in Mammoth and the Tahoe Trail 100k in Tahoe City
“I love all aspects and types of cycling, but mountain biking is definitely my favorite type of riding,” Kuppersmith said. “There’ something extremely freeing to go full tilt in the woods and forget about work, cars and everything. It’s just me and the forest.”
Kuppersmith, who works at The Bike Crossing, said he enjoys promoting the sport and hosts a free ride each month for beginners. “My mission through cycling is to positively influence everyone I meet during group rides, races and other events,” he said. “I enjoy mentoring individuals who are new to cycling and want to develop their abilities.”
The endorsement deal includes motivational speeches, special guest appearances at C Spire retail locations, fitness rides for C Spire employees as part of a company wellness program, a training chronicle blog and use of a helmet-mounted Go-Pro video camera to film training events and races.
C Spire officials said the partnership with Kuppersmith makes a lot of sense. “We have a long history of involvement and support for all types and levels of amateur and professional sports, including football, golf, baseball, basketball and tennis, said David Hayes, vice president of Marketing. “Our customers inspire us with their passion for sports and competition and endurance mountain biking incorporates all of those attributes and qualities,” he said.
About C Spire
C Spire is a diversified telecommunications and technology services company that provides world-class, customer-inspired wireless communications, 1 Gigabit consumer Internet access as well as a full suite of dedicated Internet, wireless, IP Voice, data and cloud services for businesses. This news release and other announcements are available at www.cspire.com/news. For more information about C Spire, visit www.cspire.com or follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/cspire or Twitter at www.twitter.com/cspire.