Posted: June 25, 2004

Triathlon: Quelle AG signs Granger for Challenge Roth

Quelle’s McCormack-Granger duo to challenge Deutsche Post’s Leders

NÜRNBERG/ROTH, Germany (June 24, 2004) – Quelle AG, Europe’s largest mail order retailer and title sponsor of the world’s largest ultra-distance triathlon Quelle Challenge Roth (3.8 km S/180 km B/42.2 km R), this week signed Australian superstar Belinda Granger for a single-race relationship with an option for future extension. Among a deep field of world-class women, Granger, new to the race, is the most likely to dethrone Roth champion and favorite Nicole Leder (GER).

“We had gotten only the finest reports about Belinda from TEAMChallenge, which signed her many months ago to race at Roth. When she arrived in town this week, we knew it was a match meant to be,” Gerhard Zahn, director sponsorship and events, Quelle AG, said of the multi-Ironman winner and spectators’ darling. Zahn quickly brought his recommendation to CEO Arwed Fischer, who responded immediately, ordering the go-ahead to sign her.

“I was really impressed by how much Hr. Zahn knew about triathlon and that he makes such an effort to be part of the sport itself and the event in Roth. You can just tell that Quelle and TEAMChallenge management see much farther beyond just the money,” said Granger. “It’s really refreshing to see a race organizer and a major sponsor so interested in the people and the success and longevity of the event in the end of the day.”

In an unprecedented move, Fischer and several other members of Quelle’s board of directors will be there to cheer on the athletes at the all-day race, July 4th, in Roth, Germany, just 30 km from Nürnberg.

In 2003, Quelle signed Ironman Australia champion and former short-course world champion Chris McCormack, also an Aussie crowd pleaser, to a similar deal that could not have worked out better. McCormack, new to Roth, provided drama unseen in years, racing neck and neck for more than eight hours with Roth champion Lothar Leder (GER), only to finish three seconds behind the repeat winner who races under the yellow and black of Quelle’s shipping partner, Deutsche Post WorldNet.

“Our partnership makes the friendly race rivalry all the more fun. Can you imagine greater action and excitement than Chris and Belinda, Quelle’s male and female Australian heroes, going against Deutsche Post’s famous German superstars, Lothar and Nicole,” said Zahn. “Still, in the end it is all about the great relationship we have together and about extending our business relationship into supporting one of the world’s greatest spectator sports.”

Similarly, Leder and McCormack are friends and have a long history of fierce, but gentlemanly, battle. In fact, during the 2003 Quelle Challenge Roth, Macca’s first outing on Leder’s home course, while the two ran shoulder-to-shoulder for most of the marathon, they each made sure the other had access to aid stations and Leder even shared cold-water sponges with his friend from Down Under. Still, Leder made his move with a few hundred meters to go in the final sprint.

Granger, a strong cyclist, knows that Nicole Leder is one of the fastest runners in the sport and hopes to set herself a large enough advantage off the 180-km cycle so as not to get chased down during the marathon. She’s also familiar with Leder’s home course advantage, but the Aussie thrives on crowd support. With 100,000 fans expected on race day, Granger is sure to have her fix en route to what could be the triathlon season’s greatest race.

Triathlon arrived in Roth, Germany, in 1984 and it became the first Ironman in Europe in 1988. It has been Quelle Challenge Roth since 2001. The race has been known as the "Wimbledon of triathlon" and compared to a Tour de France stage. Inside Triathlon (USA) called Roth’s 2002 edition the "Best Old Race" and in 2003 called it the "Most Exciting Race." In 2003, 11 million television viewers watched Quelle Challenge Roth coverage.

For years, athletes, media and spectators have called the race “Quelle,” even when its title was Quelle Ironman Europe and now Quelle Challenge Roth. Since the beginning of this 13-year relationship, neither Quelle nor race management imagined the name would stick so well or that the bond would grow so strong.

Quelle Challenge Roth’s sponsors include: Quelle AG, Deutsche Post AG, N-ERGIE, DB Regio, Opel AG, Newline, Nürnberger Nachrichten (Nürnberg Newspapers), Bayrische Versicherungskammer, Maxim, Phillips, Erdinger Alkoholfrei, Sparkasse Mittelfranken-Süd, ADAC, Arndt, Recaro, PowerBar, County of Roth, City of Roth, City of Hilpolstein, Coca-Cola, Frankenbrunnen, Zeus Copy, Paladin, Hofmann, Jura Kaelte, Lorenz & Partner, INKO Energy, Flor & Sohn, Spedition Heinloth, and BIESTMILCH.

For more information on the July 4, 2004 Quelle Challenge Roth and Triathlon Festival, Deutsche Triathlon Union (DTU) ultra-distance International German Championship and Long Distance Triathlon World Championship for Firefighters, the on-line forum and the event’s newsletter, visit www.challenge-roth.com and www.challengelive.com.