WTC and TBB Partner on Retail Activities in Asia-Pacific

WTC and TBB TO PARTNER ON RETAIL ACTIVITIES AT IRONMAN EVENTS IN ASIA-PACIFIC

World Triathlon Corporation (WTC) and The Bike Boutique Holding (TBB) today announce a five-year partnership where TBB will operate retail and event expo activities at Ironman and Ironman 70.3 races in the Asia-Pacific Region.

These expos, called the “Tri Trade Show” (TTS), will provide athletes and spectators an up-scale retail experience, and provide manufacturers and distributors with a consistent expo infrastructure to facilitate their participation on a regional basis. WTC and TBB also expect that the TTS will create an event social center by offering a meeting point during race week and race day for family, supporters and fans to spend time together in a pleasant environment.

“Our main priority is to upgrade the entire Ironman experience at Asia-Pacific events,” said Murphy Reinschreiber, WTC’s Managing Director Asia-Pacific. “Providing a quality retail atmosphere and event social center is an important component to this experience. This is a big job and to get it done as envisioned, we turned to the region’s most successful high-end retailer – The Bike Boutique.TBB knows our market and understands our goals. The partnership with TBB puts this event aspect in very capable hands and allows us to concentrate on other aspects of Ironman racing.”

Ironman racing in Asia Pacific is booming as evidenced by record sell-outs of Ironman events in Australia, New Zealand, Japan and The Philippines with several races selling out in less than 12 hours. The WTC-TBB retail partnership will kick-off with Ironman Western Australia/ Busselton (December 5) and the Ironman 70.3 Asia-Pacific Championship at Laguna Phuket, Thailand (December 5). Tri Trade Shows are expected to be produced at all 2011 regional events except Ironman New Zealand and Ironman 70.3 Singapore.

TBB Holding Managing Director, Alex Bok, commented: “WTC has built the No. 1 triathlon and endurance brand in the world and we are excited to be part of the push into the Asia Pacific market. Like WTC, we have a passion for triathlon. As a retailer with experience throughout the region we clearly see the potential for the sport and trade show format. We are proud to partner with WTC with the mission of enhancing the Ironman experience across the Asia-Pacific.”

TBB will manage the Tri Trade Shows from its offices in Singapore and Melbourne.

For further information about the Tri Trade Shows, please visit this webpage: www.thebikeboutique.com/tts

About World Triathlon Corporation
World Triathlon Corporation, owner and organizer of Ironman, Ironman 70.3, Iron Girl and IronKids, is a Florida-based company recognized for athletic excellence, performance and quality products. With the addition of the Ironman 70.3 Series, Ironman now has nearly 70 qualifying events worldwide and the series draws more than 120,000 athletes who are vying for one of the coveted slots to either of the World Championship events held in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii and Clearwater, Fla. Supported by partners that include Ford Motor Company, PowerBar, Avon and Timex, Ironman is the No.1 user-based sports brand in the world. Throughout its history, Ironman has transformed from an event into a lifestyle and sports brand that includes licensed products and television production. The athletes and global reach of the events continues to inspire millions each year to establish goals and take on new personal challenges, demonstrating the Ironman mantra, “ANYTHING IS POSSIBLE™”. The Ironman brand has been featured in a range of media outlets to include CNN Headline News, Forbes, The Wall Street Journal, People, The TODAY Show, Sports Illustrated, The New York Times and USA Today. For more information on Ironman or 70.3, visit www.ironman.com.

About The Bike Boutique
The Bike Boutique is reinventing the bike retail industry around world with its unique bike lifestyle stores and the bikeLodging™ services that make bike commuting so convenient, it’s irresistible. TBB stores are currently available in Singapore, Australia, the USA, Malaysia, Philippines and many more store openings are expected soon in Japan, Italy and Thailand. The Bike Boutique operates a distribution business in Asia where it represents a number of world-class brands and fronts the world’s leading triathlon team called teamTBB.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
World Triathlon Corporation
Blair LaHaye
Email: Blair@ironman.com
Jessica Weidensall
Email: Jessica@ironman.com
Phone: 813.868.5940

The Bike Boutique Holding
Alex Bok
Email: ironmanretail-ap@thebikeboutique.com
Phone: +65 9752 8080