Kokes Properties Sponsorship Helps CCB Cycling Education Foundation Start Women’s Squad

BRIELLE, NJ – A heralded New England cycling team has been pedaling through the pandemic—while also prioritizing academics—with a sponsorship from Kokes Properties, a purpose-driven real estate firm located in New Jersey with developments throughout the Northeast.

Not only has the CCB Cycling Education Foundation kept college-aged riders active and motivated during a hamstrung 2020 season, but it has also expanded the club to include a women’s team. Kokes Properties’ sponsorship provided Cannondale Topstone gravel bikes as well as women’s apparel. 

The inaugural women’s squad sped out to a fast start. Lizzy Gunsalus won the elite level as a junior at the Domnarski Farm Mountain Bike Race in Massachusetts, while Kira Payer set the fastest-known time (FKT) for the popular White Rim Mountain Bike Trail in Utah.

In order to participate as part of the U23 (under-23) Foundation CCB, riders must be pursuing a postsecondary education, a unique requirement that caught the attention of Michael J. Kokes, President of Kokes Properties and an avid cyclist himself.

“Alongside my personal passion for cycling, sponsoring CCB is consistent with the values that we hold at Kokes Properties, which amount to empowering people to be the best they can be,” Kokes said. “The Kokes family has always had a community and philanthropic focus.”

Kokes first connected with Foundation CCB Founder and Director Tim Mitchell in 2018 and has been actively involved in the organization’s mission ever since. In addition to providing capital for the newly launched women’s team to gear up, Kokes Properties’ 2020 sponsorship also covered a portion of CCB’s March travel and entry costs for the Tour of the Southern Highlands Stage Race in Georgia, which took place prior to the onset of the pandemic in the U.S.

Mitchell tabs Foundation CCB as the only program in the world competing at its level, both as a non-profit and with a post-secondary education requirement. As part of Boston-based Team CCB International, his group also has the honor of representing the longest-running elite-level team in the U.S. Team CCB International has been competing continuously since 1976 and helped develop many up-and-coming cyclists en route to careers as pros. 

“[Kokes] is truly passionate about the sport, our club, and our riders,” Mitchell said. “It’s great when you have someone like him who is excited about what we’re doing and interested in new opportunities to make the sponsorship growth-minded. When I shared with him our interest in starting a women’s squad, he was immediately onboard. Kokes Properties’ sponsorship, specifically, has been instrumental for us to be able to take that next step heading into 2021.”