heavyp
You heard it here first
This is sad what next for Sam, giving up flat pedals ?
From TLD:
"Not sure what the politically correct thing to say here is, but, we are a pretty open and honest brand, so here goes. Having Sam Hill in another brand of gear...sucks. Sam has been with us for over a decade, and when we lost him in gear (2014) it was not fun. We were able to keep Sam in helmets for the last 2 years, but for 2016 a newcomer came into his team's sponsorship negotiations and we dug deep to keep Sam - but also outfit the rest of his rad teammates. Sam's team did not want him doing his own deals, which is totally understandable, so we jumped in with an offer to sponsor the whole program - including Sam. Ultimately, the stakes became too high, this competitor was willing to pay significantly more and we had to step away. The team has a different sponsor for half shell/enduro riding, so the fact our guys wouldn't be able to wear our A1, along with our D3's, made it a little complicated. The stakes in that game became so high for our small brand, it would have diverted funds from future development of our products. It was also a bummer to not come to a deal with Sam's team because we have a good relationship with Nigel Page and his company, always fun working with those fellas, but, business is business. So, that's that. Sam will ALWAYS be a part of the TLD family, the door is ALWAYS open, and we would gladly have him back next year, in 2 years, in 10, whatever it takes. We love Sam Hill and we hope we are together again."
From TLD:
"Not sure what the politically correct thing to say here is, but, we are a pretty open and honest brand, so here goes. Having Sam Hill in another brand of gear...sucks. Sam has been with us for over a decade, and when we lost him in gear (2014) it was not fun. We were able to keep Sam in helmets for the last 2 years, but for 2016 a newcomer came into his team's sponsorship negotiations and we dug deep to keep Sam - but also outfit the rest of his rad teammates. Sam's team did not want him doing his own deals, which is totally understandable, so we jumped in with an offer to sponsor the whole program - including Sam. Ultimately, the stakes became too high, this competitor was willing to pay significantly more and we had to step away. The team has a different sponsor for half shell/enduro riding, so the fact our guys wouldn't be able to wear our A1, along with our D3's, made it a little complicated. The stakes in that game became so high for our small brand, it would have diverted funds from future development of our products. It was also a bummer to not come to a deal with Sam's team because we have a good relationship with Nigel Page and his company, always fun working with those fellas, but, business is business. So, that's that. Sam will ALWAYS be a part of the TLD family, the door is ALWAYS open, and we would gladly have him back next year, in 2 years, in 10, whatever it takes. We love Sam Hill and we hope we are together again."
