Velo Select begins Indiegogo campaign to raise vital funds for the 2016 season

Velo Select Cycling Team, based in Quebec, has turned to a new source of potential funding as the elite Canadian squad prepares for 2016: the cycling community itself.

Earlier this month, the team launched a crowdfunding campaign through Indiegogo.

To compete out of province in 2016, team representatives say, the squad—going into its ninth year in 2016—needs to raise $50,000 in addition funding. In preparation for national-level contention next season, Velo Select has turned to crowdsourcing, putting the word out to the prestigious Canadian team’s enthusiastic, supportive community of fans, well-wishers and followers in the national elite scene.

“We’re turning to people who love cycling to help get our young incredible racers the opportunities they deserve,” said Lyall Beattie, Club Cycliste Velo Select’s manager. “There’s a natural link between the growing numbers of everyday cyclists and the young racing athletes advancing competitive [cycling] as a support in North America. Our thought was to create a different environment for supporters and fans of the sport to be able to contribute.”

For the team, the spirit of the Indiegogo campaign appears to be making the squad’s fans vital partners themselves.

“It’s a way for ordinary people to be a part of the team,” Beattie said. “Of course we’re hoping that the buzz around the campaign will also attract corporate sponsors in Canada—sponsors who are just waking up to the grassroots popularity of cycling.”

More information about the campaign, as well as the means of getting involved, is available online at Velo Select Cycling Team’s Indiegogo page.