Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), one of the two global leaders in GPS navigation (The other being European company TomTom), earlier today announced that it has extended for an additional three years its title sponsorship of Team Garmin-Slipstream, the ProTour cycling team dedicated to ethical sporting and developing the next generation of cycling champions. The extension for the U.S.-based team comprised of elite talent from around the world is an addition to the company's current sponsorship through 2010, marking one of the most significant multi-national sponsorship deals in the history of professional cycling.

"The success of the team spans the globe and surpassed our expectations for the first year and a half of our title sponsorship, bringing Garmin's reputation for quality, commitment, performance and productivity into countless households in Europe, North America, Asia and Australia," said Jon Cassat, Garmin's vice president of communications. "Our objectives were - and continue to be - to integrate our products on sports' biggest stages and to build global brand awareness. Whether capturing victories around the world, winning national championships or working to develop future generations of talent, Team Garmin has helped us achieve those objectives and has made an impression on billions of potential customers."

The partnership, which will run through the end of 2013, will provide the team with the opportunity to continue its founding mission: building the next generation of cycling champions. It will also allow Garmin, Slipstream and their partners to develop new technology that will give the team advantages on the road. Most important, the long-term sponsorship provides the team with a platform and foundation for retaining and recruiting the best riders in the sport.

"Since signing with Slipstream prior to the 2008 Tour de France, Garmin has seen an outpouring of support from cyclists and sports fans across the globe, along the roads of major tours and in the stores of our retail partners," said Dan Bartel, Garmin's vice president of worldwide sales. "While providing feedback on product development, the team has shown fans everywhere that the best-in-class Edge® 705 cycling GPS can stand up to the sport's steepest challenges while suiting the needs of cyclists of any caliber."

Garmin, which has spent 20 years developing technologies and innovation to enhance users' lives, has already used the team's unique perspective and invaluable feedback in developing the new GPS-enabled Edge 500 (expected availability 4th Quarter 2009), which tracks speed, distance, time, GPS position, elevation, calories burned, climb and descent. After the ride, data downloaded to Garmin Connect allows cyclists and staff to study the statistics, looking for any room for improvement for the next day. This data also provides fans and the media access to the riders' data. The team also benefits from Garmin's GPS technology in the support vehicles as the iconic Garmin nüvi® helps the team bus and support vehicles travel with speed and ease across two continents. The route-planning capabilities and preloaded maps and points of interest help the team caravan, especially in grand tours when every day brings different destinations and challenges.

"When Garmin first decided to partner with us, we said we believed that a new era of cycling was upon us. Today, with this significant extension, we can now say - the era is here," said Jonathan Vaughters, CEO of Slipstream Sports, LLC, the sports management company that runs the team. "Garmin's commitment to innovation and integrity mirrors our own, and knowing that we have their partnership for the next four years means that we can continue to develop the next generation of cycling champions. We can continue to make technological innovations that will give our riders a competitive advantage on the road. And off the road, we can continue to help better the sport."

Garmin and Slipstream Sports share similar success stories rooted in hard work and innovation. Just as Garmin is a global leader with facilities in North America, Europe, Australia and Asia, the Garmin-Slipstream team assembles elite athletes from around the world. Team Garmin features Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuelta stage winners and national champions from several countries. Garmin's employees and customers, like the cyclists, staff and fans of Team Garmin, are in the air, behind the wheel and on the move. And they are always thinking of ways to adapt and improve.

"Garmin's business goals are to extend the reach and success they have achieved in the US and Europe and to create a global marketing platform for their brand," said Matt Johnson, President of Slipstream. "The extension of this sponsorship is a testament to the team meeting those business goals."