Successful acquisition of sponsors forms the basis of event planning

The organising committee started intensive event preparations in January 2018. Initially, Chairman of the Committee Christoph Müller primarily focused on finding sponsors in cooperation with marketing partner sportsemotion. “We anticipate a budget of approximately CHF 3 million for the World Championships – more than twice that of previous World Cup events,” Christoph Müller emphasises. Around a quarter of the budget have to be covered through sponsorship. This is no easy undertaking, as the event expert knows from experience: “During the previous World Cup events, we had to manage without a main sponsor; luckily we were able to fund this through good, long-standing smaller sponsoring partnerships.” For the World Championships in September 2018, however, with Cornèrcard we now have a main sponsor on hand that is well-known in the world of biking. 

Cornèrcard – a partner with passion
Ticino-based payment card company Cornèrcard is delighted to support this event. Not least because two of its brand ambassadors, Jolanda Neff and Nino Schurter, are defending their World Championship titles in the Cross Country event. Cornèrcard has sponsored these two top-level athletes for years and also supports young sporting talent on their way to join the world elite. “With our commitment, we want to set an example and contribute so that a wide range of ambitious and promising talents will make a breakthrough,” Alessandro Seralvo, Director of Cornèrcard, explains.

In addition to the official UCI sponsors – Mercedes-Benz, Shimano, GoPro and Tissot – the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships 2018 in Lenzerheide can rely on Ochsner Sport, Mitas, Motorex and Graubünden Bike as further sponsors. The organiser in Lenzerheide has fostered a long-standing partnership with them. “After three years of the World Cup, we are pleased to organise the Bike Festival, focusing on the World Championship, with our long-standing sponsoring partners,” Andreas Wirth, Marketing Officer of the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships in Lenzerheide, emphasises.