America......FUCK YEAH!!
He has a good sense of humor. I think this is fucking hilarious....
Bode Miller's Team America sets ambitious slate
Friday, 26 October 2007
SÖLDEN,
Austria — Bode Miller announced Thursday that his independent race
team, comprised of himself, his coaching staff, technicians and support
staff, will be called Team America.
After an 11-year tenure
with the U.S. Ski Team, Miller made the decision in May to ski
independently. “We co-existed and had a lot of success for the past 10
years and I value the relationships I made with my teammates and the
staff,” said Miller, “but I felt that this was an opportunity for me to
concentrate on training and do it on my own terms. The U.S. Ski Team’s
program is set up to assist 30 to 40 alpine racers each season. With
Team America, I will be able to solely focus on maximizing my training
and race-day performance, which has me super-excited to get on the
hill.”
Miller, with 25 World Cup wins, begins the 2007-08 race
season just two wins shy of Phil Mahre’s American World Cup record of
27, which has stood since 1984. At 30 years old, Miller is the
10th-winningest World Cup racer in the history of the sport. He won the
super G World Cup title in 2007, his fourth Cup title, to go with four
World Championships and two Olympic medals, and enters 2007-08 as the
fourth-ranked overall ski racer in the world.
Team America
consists of head coach John McBride, assistant coaches Forest Carey and
Mike Kenney (all three former U.S. Ski Team coaches), team manager
Jennifer Holden, technicians Robi Kristan and Heinz Hammerle, agents
Lowell Taub of CAA Sports and Ken Sowles and driver/chef Jake Serino.
McBride, on joining Team America, said, “I am excited to continue my
working relationship with Bode. We have a great staff and a phenomenal
race horse. Bode is motivated and training with focus and intensity. I
believe with a little good luck he will have an epic season.”
Miller and Team America will partner with Kjus clothing, based in
Switzerland, which will provide all of Team America’s outerwear,
including ski jackets, ski pants, ski suits and ski accessories for the
next three seasons. A limited-edition Team America line of ski clothing
is planned for a winter 2008-09 retail release. Kjus CEO Didi Serena
said, “I am delighted with the opportunity to enter into this
partnership with Bode. He is an impressive personality, an absolute
individualist and a guy who loves to win. He will bring Kjus Skiwear
further with his crucial input in product development. The Kjus brand
will also benefit from Bode Miller’s international charisma.”
Miller has added several new sponsors to Team America, including Go
Fast energy drink, in which Miller has an equity position, and the
World Championship Sports Network, to whom Miller will supply unique
online and televised content. Additionally, incumbent headgear sponsor
Superfund, a global managed futures investment provider, has increased
its support of Miller and Team America while Nike, under terms of its
existing relationship, will provide Team America with training gear and
footwear in preparation for the 2007-08 season. SportSkool, an
on-demand instructional sports network, will be releasing a new round
of Miller programming on sports conditioning in the fall of 2007.
Concorde Reisemobile will provide Miller with a motorhome to live in
for the fifth consecutive season. Miller’s equipment partners continue
to be Head, which extended its Miller partnership an additional three
years, Briko and Booster straps.
On extending its partnership
with Miller, Head Wintersports Marketing Director Mike Bisner said,
“HEAD could not be happier that Bode has set his goals and has stripped
all the obstacles from his path to become America’s number one all-time
World Cup skier. He is genuine in his approach to everything he does
and a true iconoclast in skiing. Head will provide all the resources
available to support his World Cup campaign as well as his goals with
the Turtle Ridge Foundation.”
Miller, his family and Taub
founded The Turtle Ridge Foundation in spring 2006. It has a mission of
supporting sustainable living, community and health causes in New
Hampshire and beyond. Over the short life of TRF, Miller has raised and
donated tens of thousands of dollars to the Bretton Woods adaptive ski
program, the Lance Armstrong Foundation, the Boys & Girls Club and
other worthwhile causes. 2007 was TRF’s most successful year, with
three separate events each raising more than $15,000 apiece for
charitable causes. Miller’s sponsors Head, Go Fast, Kjus and WCSN.com
will donate a combined $5,000 to TRF for each World Cup race Miller
wins over each of the next three seasons, and Miller will match the
total of his sponsor’s donations for a $10,000 per win donation.
On TRF, Miller said, “I’m a ski racer and that’s my job right now. I
understand I have an opportunity to help other people and that’s the
basic goal of Turtle Ridge. I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished so far
and look forward to continued success.”