Scott Sports SA (formerly Scott USA) is a Swiss producer of

bicycles A bicycle, also called a pedal cycle, bike or cycle, is a human-powered or motor-powered assisted, pedal-driven, single-track vehicle, having two wheels attached to a frame, one behind the other. A is called a cyclist, or bicyclist. Bi ...

, winter equipment, motorsports gear and sportswear. The company's main office is in Givisiez, Switzerland, with branches in Europe and in the United States, South Africa and India.

History

In 1958, engineer and skier Ed Scott from Sun Valley, Idaho, invented a

ski pole Ski poles, also referred to as poles (in North America), sticks (UK), or stocks (Australia), are used by skiers for balance and propulsion. Modern ski poles are most commonly made from aluminum and carbon fiber, though materials such as bamboo are ...

made of

aluminium Aluminium (aluminum in American and Canadian English) is a chemical element with the symbol Al and atomic number 13. Aluminium has a density lower than those of other common metals, at approximately one third that of steel. I ...

instead of

bamboo Bamboos are a diverse group of evergreen perennial flowering plants making up the subfamily Bambusoideae of the grass family Poaceae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family. The origin of the word "bamboo" is uncertain, ...

or steel that proved popular. The company produced

sporting goods Sports equipment, sporting equipment, also called sporting goods, are the tools, materials, apparel, and gear used to compete in a sport and varies depending on the sport. The equipment ranges from balls, nets, and protective gear like helmets. ...

in many fields. In 1970, Scott sold their first protection goggles for

motocross Motocross is a form of off-road motorcycle racing held on enclosed off-road circuits. The sport evolved from motorcycle trials competitions held in the United Kingdom. History Motocross first evolved in Britain from motorcycle trials competi ...

riders. Scott expanded to Europe in 1978, settling their headquarters in

Fribourg , neighboring_municipalities= Düdingen, Givisiez, Granges-Paccot, Marly, Pierrafortscha, Sankt Ursen, Tafers, Villars-sur-Glâne , twintowns = Rueil-Malmaison (France) , website = www.ville-fribourg.ch , Location of , Location of () () ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

. In 1989, Scott introduced the clip-on, aerodynamic

bicycle handlebar A bicycle handlebar is the steering control for bicycles. It is the equivalent of a tiller for vehicles and vessels, as it is most often directly mechanically linked to a pivoting front wheel via a stem which in turn attaches it to the fork. Bes ...

. The handlebar was used by American

Greg LeMond Gregory James LeMond (born June 26, 1961) is an American former professional road racing cyclist, entrepreneur, and anti-doping advocate. A two-time winner of the Road Race World Championship (1983 and 1989) and a three-time winner of the Tou ...

in his 1989 Tour de France win, when he beat Frenchman

Laurent Fignon Laurent Patrick Fignon (; 12 August 1960 – 31 August 2010) was a French professional road bicycle racer who won the Tour de France in 1983 and 1984 and the Giro d'Italia in 1989. He is former FICP World No. 1 in 1989. He nearly captured ...

by nearly a minute in the 24.5 km final time trial. Previous to this event it was widely used in

triathlon A triathlon is an endurance multisport race consisting of swimming, cycling, and running over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall completion time, racing each segment sequentially with the time transitioning between the ...

and

Race Across America The Race Across America, or RAAM, is an ultra-distance road cycling race held across the United States that started in 1982 as the Great American Bike Race. RAAM is one of the longest annual endurance events in the world. All entrants must prove ...

. In 1991, Scott produced their first suspension fork named "Unishock" and a year later, their first full-suspension mountain bicycle was shown to the public. Its 2001 Team Issue road bike frame was the lightest frame available at the time at 895 grams. In 2005 the name 'Scott USA' was changed to 'Scott Sports', representing a shift in emphasis to the European market. In 2011, Scott launched its E-Bike line E-Sub and E-Sportster, replaced in 2012 with E-Venture line models. In 2015, the Korean Youngone Corporation took a 50.1% stake in the company, with the previous Swiss owner Beat Zaugg retaining 49.9%.

Sponsorship

In 2002, stage 10 of the Tour de France was won by

Patrice Halgand Patrice Halgand (born 2 March 1974, in St-Nazaire) is a French former professional road racing cyclist. He was one of only three Festina team riders who were named as clean during the Festina doping scandal during the 1998 Tour de France. Halgand ...

riding for the

Jean Delatour R.A.G.T. Semences was a French professional cycling team which existed from 2000 to 2005. It was created in 2000 as Jean Delatour, and started four times in the Tour de France(2001 to 2004), with two stage wins. The team was dissolved by the end ...

team, which was at that time was supported by Scott. Scott supplied the teams Mitchelton-Scott (male) and Mitchelton Scott (female) with equipment through 2020, after which the teams were renamed Team BikeExchange and began riding

Bianchi Bianchi may refer to: Places *Bianchi, Calabria, a ''comune'' in the Province of Cosenza, Italy Manufacturing *Bianchi Bicycles (F.I.V. Edoardo Bianchi S.p.A.), an Italian manufacturer of bicycles, and former manufacturer of motorcycles and a ...

bicycles. In 2014, Scott Sports partnered with the US Military Endurance Sports organization to be a sponsor and provide Scott equipment to the US Domestic Elite Road Team and Elite Triathlon Team. In 2017, Scott Sports was sponsoring teams and individuals in various sports. Its bike division was sponsoring 12 racing and mountain biking teams. Its wintersport division sponsored 35 people, its running division 10 and motorsports division 40 athletes.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Cycle manufacturers of Switzerland Scott Mountain bike manufacturers Manufacturing companies established in 1958 Swiss brands 1958 establishments in Switzerland