Published January 4, 2010 07:27PM
Despite rumors to the contrary, the Windham World Cup stop in August is a go as scheduled.
Facing a $100,000 shortfall and without a title sponsor, the final round of the 2010 World Cup season in Upstate New York was in jeopardy until recently.
But Nick Bove, owner of Windham Mountain Outfitters and member of a new non-profit committee formed to take the reins of the Windham race organization, said Monday the race is “100 percent on.”
Instead of organizing the event, Windham Mountain Resort will now host and donate its facilities. The nonprofit setup, Bove said, allowed the race, set for Aug. 28 and 29, to happen without a sponsor. Instead, the funding came together through government entities, non-profits and businesses.
“We knew going into it we couldn’t raise $100,000 in sponsorship,” Bove said, adding the amount was raised “100 percent locally.”
Meanwhile, there are reports out of Belgium that the World Cup stop in Houffalize on May 1 and 2 may not happen because of an approximately $125,000 shortfall. The Belgian Cycling Federation has said it will try to locate another venue, as Houffalize was slated to be the only World Cup stop in the country. A Facebook page has been started to “Save Houffalize.”
The Windham race, meanwhile, which is a week before the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Mont Ste Anne outside of Quebec, is expected to attract at least 10,000 spectators and generate some $2 million in local revenue during a traditionally slow period.
“There was some speculation Windham wasn’t going to happen,” Bove said. “The bottom line is we’re 100 percent on. The funding has been overwhelming.”