Competitive Cyclist Merging With Utah Competitor

North Little Rock-based Competitive Cyclist is joining a bigger biking team.

Park City, Utah-based Backcountry.com has acquired privately owned CompetitiveCyclist.com for an undisclosed sum.

"With this acquisition, Backcountry.com solidifies its commitment to the bike industry and to creating an unparalleled customer experience for cyclists," the companies said in a joint press release.

Brendan Quirk, founder and CEO of Competitive Cyclist, will become the general manager of Backcountry.com’s Bike Division. A press release from the two groups also indicated that numerous "key" Competitive Cyclist employees will also be making the move to Backcountry.com. Competitive Cyclist produces and sells high-end competitive bicycles for racing and recreation.

"Brendan’s operating experience, strategic insights, and bike industry expertise will be invaluable to Backcountry.com. We’re excited to welcome him to our executive team," said Jill Layfield, CEO of Backcountry.com. "And the employees that are joining us will be integral as well. They’ve invested personally and professionally in the success of Competitive Cyclist, and their industry relationships and passion about all things bike are going to fuel our bike business."

Backcountry.com said it will continue to operate all existing stores, which include CompetitiveCyclist.com, RealCyclist.com and HuckNroll.com, as well Backcountry.com’s two sites, Bonktown.com and Chainlove.com.

"Each company brings something important to this relationship. We complement each other well," said Quirk. "Backcountry.com recognizes Competitive Cyclist’s core understanding of the bike industry and we recognize Backcountry.com’s proven e-commerce capabilities. We’re going to work together to accentuate and build upon our strengths, with the wants and needs of our customers always in mind."