by kathryn purcell • photos by tom wages
BEAN TEAM
This bright colored, FAST-MOVING phenomenon is the ATHENS-BASED PROFESSIONAL cycling team.
The Jittery Joe's PRO CYCLING TEAM illustrates the growing POPULARITY of the SPORT.
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They can only be spotted from a distance. Up close, they become a blur: An indefinable streak of orange and white. It’s difficult to determine where one ends and the next begins, where body meets bike, or where wheel hits the pavement. A swift breeze indicates they’ve passed. This bright-colored, fast-moving phenomenon is the Athens-based professional cycling team, the “Bean Team.” Speeding over 100 miles of ground in a few hours, this is just another day of training for the eleven-member gang. Conceived in 2002, the team gained sponsorship from the coffee shop franchise, Jittery Joe’s. Since then, the pro cyclists have gained a loyal fan base of area coffee connoisseurs. In addition to committing primary sponsorship funding to the team, Jittery Joes roasts a signature coffee blend called Morning Ride. “We actually sell that coffee to fund the team,” says team director Jesse Lawler, who has been with the Bean Team since its inception. Most corporate sponsorships aren’t quite as creative, and Lawler believes the grassroots marketing strategy lends a certain aura to the team. “I think it brings with it a little underdog status,” he says. The underdogs have come a long way in seven years, keeping pace with the growing popularity of pro cycling in the United States. The team now recruits members internationally and competes in races across the country. “The team has had to really ante up to be able to compete and bring in more sponsors,” Lawler says. “We do more events; we do bigger events.”
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