The ten-time national champion Brevard College Cycling team and Cognative MTB, a premier Mountain Bike apparel manufacturer located in Hendersonville, North Carolina, have entered into a new sponsorship partnership beginning this Spring. The partnership kicked off with a photoshoot and team ride at the college’s dual slalom and short track course at Savannah Hill on the BC campus.
“We are very excited to partner with Cognative MTB moving forward,” said Brevard College Head Cycling Coach Brad Perley. “They are a local brand offering fantastic products with a focus on growing our local cycling community. Our students are proud to represent the people behind the Cognative MTB brand.”
Cognative MTB has outfitted the Tornados with custom, high-performance racing gloves adorning the Brevard College logo that will benefit the racers from a competitive and branding perspective. The partnership includes signage and logo placement for Cognative MTB within the Wahoo Training Center on the campus of Brevard College and on bctornados.com, the official website of Brevard College Athletics. The BC Cycling student-athletes will in turn benefit with access to the company’s apparel as a resource in improving performance. Moreover, those Brevard College students interested in a career in the cycling business will have the opportunity to learn about entrepreneurship and the cycling clothing industry from an elite industry leader.
“At Cognative, we know that high performing athletes need gear that can hold up under the relentless demands on the bike,” said Austin Bankert, Founder of Cognitive MTB. “We are beyond proud and excited to have such an accomplished group of student-athletes as the Brevard College Cycling team wearing our gloves this year, and look forward to seeing them on the podium.”
The Tornados are coming off a highly successful season with a combined six individual national championships and third-place team finishes at the USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike, and Cyclocross National Championships.
At the 2021 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike National Championships held last October in Durango, Colorado, the Tornados captured a total of five individual national championships, more than any other participating school. Brevard College senior Tyler Orschel won a total of three national championships with titles in the Men’s Varsity Individual Omnium, given to the top overall rider, Cross Country and Short Track Cross Country. Senior Tyler Clark, the 2019 Individual Omnium national champion, won the Men’s Varsity Downhill championship. On the women’s side, senior Erica Leonard won the Women’s Varsity Downhill national championship to give the Tornados a sensational five national titles between the three riders. Brevard placed third as a team at the event, making BC the highest finishing collegiate program in the eastern half of the United States.
Brevard followed with a third-place collegiate varsity finish at the 2021 USA Cycling Cyclocross National Championships held this past December in Wheaton, Illinois. Orschel won the Men’s Varsity Collegiate Cyclocross title to give BC a sixth national championship this season.
Cognative MTB offers high-performance mountain bike apparel for all experience levels. The company’s mission and vision is to create the best performing and most durable products possible. At the core of Cognative MTB is the 2% For the Trails Campaign. For every product sold, the company gives a portion of the sales to the volunteer organizations that protect, build and maintain mountain bike trails throughout the U.S. To learn more about Cognative MTB, go to www.cognativemtb.com and follow @congativemtb on Instagram and Facebook.
The ten-time national champion Brevard College Cycling program features varsity programs in the disciplines of Mountain Bike, Cyclocross, and Gravel Racing. For the latest news and updates surrounding Brevard College Cycling, follow @brevardcycling on Instagram and ‘Brevard College Cycling’ on Facebook.