- Acquisition brings eight new cycling events to Ironman Group’s mass participation portfolio
- Haute Route Group CEO Julie Royer joins Ironman as senior director of road cycling
- Deal comes after Ironman partnered with UTMB for new world series of trail running events
The Ironman Group has continued its recent expansion with the acquisition of multi-day amateur cycling events organiser Haute Route and the Gravel Epic, a soon-to-launch gravel race series.
The deal brings eight new cycling events to Ironman’s portfolio of mass participation events, which span triathlon, road running, mountain biking, trail running, road cycling and gravel cycling.
As part of the acquisition, Haute Route Group chief executive Julie Royer will join Ironman as senior director of road cycling. Royer and her team will continue to oversee both the Haute Route series and the Gravel Epic.
Haute Route, which holds races lasting three, five and seven days, has established itself as one of the leading multi-stage event series for amateur cyclists. This weekend will mark the tenth anniversary of its flagship Haute Route Alps race, while events this year are also scheduled for the Dolomites, the Pyrenees, Ventoux, Crans-Montana and Brazil.
The new Gravel Epic, which was acquired by Haute Route this year, has events scheduled for Switzerland and Morocco, with plans to expand in the future.
Andrew Messick, president and chief executive of the Ironman Group, said: “These two premium cycling brands further enhance our events ecosystem, reaching new athletes in new geographies as we look to serve cycling enthusiasts with racing experiences that are challenging and fun with a full support network so they can focus on having their best race possible.
“We look forward to the continued leadership Julie will bring to ensure exceptional road cycling and gravel racing experiences in iconic locations where amateur cyclists feel like professionals.”
The news comes after Ironman, which is owned by US-based media and entertainment group Advance, partnered with the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc Group (UTMB) earlier this year to launch a new global, multilevel circuit of trail running events.
