Helping to make the biggest and most prestigious cycling event ever to be staged on the African Continent possible, is Intaka Tech, primary sponsor of the event.
This event takes the form of the renowned UCI B World Championships, to be hosted in Cape Town from June 26 to July 1 this year, and it is the first time that this prominent, international cycling event, the qualifier for the Beijing Olympics, will be held in Africa.
The decision for the Championships to be hosted in Cape Town is hailed as a major coup for the city and as FW de Klerk, Honorary President of the Supervising Committee, comments Cape Town is privileged to be the host. More than 70 countries have registered for the event, and the top-notch competitors will soon be winging their way from all corners of the world to the Mother City.
The Championships include a track competition at the Bellville Velodrome, individual time trials in Wellington and a road race through Cape Town, which incorporates the Cape Argus Pick ‘n Pay Cycle Tour route.
The beneficiary charity of this demanding cycling event is the Mandela Rhodes Foundation.
In addition to sponsoring the UCI B World Championships, Intaka Tech is also funding the South African Development team, which will be competing in the event.
When looking at the values and company ethos of Intaka Tech, it comes as no surprise that it has chosen to sponsor the UCI B World Championships and the South African development team. The primary objective of Intaka Tech, manufacturer and marketer of valuable equipment, such as water purification plants, on-site oxygen and medical air generation equipment, is to improve the lifestyle and wellbeing of its target market.
Dr Gastón Savoi, Chairman of Intaka Tech said, “In sponsoring the Championships, we at Intaka Tech are supporting and endorsing a sports event that promotes exercise, training and fitness, and in so doing also facilitates and encourages a healthy lifestyle”.
Of course, both water and oxygen are essential for cyclists, and as Intaka Tech’s operations centre around the manufacture and marketing of water purification and oxygen generation equipment, the synergy between the event and the sponsor is perfect!
With a sound social responsibility programme in place, Intaka Tech prides itself in making a meaningful difference to the lives of the communities in which it operates. It makes sense to extend this philosophy and make a difference too to the lives of the members of the South African development cycling team.
While the primary aim of the UCI B World Championships is to create an opportunity for those nations where cycling is not necessarily considered to be a major sport to qualify riders and teams for the Olympic Games, it is also seen as a development event where young, up-and-coming riders can gain experience.
To this end, South Africa has been given special dispensation as the host country to enter a development team, and it is this team that Intaka Tech is sponsoring. The members will have an opportunity to ride in national colours and work towards a qualification in either the 2008 or 2012 Olympics as elite riders.
Dr Savoi said, “We at Intaka Tech are delighted to be sponsoring the SA Development team to compete in an event of the magnitude of the UCI B World Championships, and to be able to make a difference in the lives of the team members… The event gives the members the opportunity to hone their skills and compete at international level. Hopefully they will be our champions of the future!”
Sponsorship of the UCI B World Championships enables Intaka Tech to assist the people of South Africa in promoting the country as an attractive tourist destination, worthy of hosting a sports event of this calibre.
Dr Savoi explains, “The Championships will generate powerful international media exposure for Cape Town and the Western Cape as a tourism destination, not to mention a reputation as a city that is able to organise events of international standards… The event will provide the opportunity for Intaka Tech, a ‘Proudly South African’ company, to join together with all those involved in the sports occasion and show the world out there what it means to be ‘Proudly South African’.
Summing it up and putting it in a nutshell is the final comment made by Intaka Tech, “We feel honoured to be so central to this event, and we hope that it will bring all the qualities we stand for to all those involved: participants, supporters and enthusiasts”.