Scott Sports had bolted the U.S. bike market in 1997 after a buyout. (The firm got its start in Sun Valley, Idaho in 1958, selling the first aluminum ski pole.) Montgomery persuaded Zaugg to reintroduce the firm's road and mountain bikes in the U.S.--with him as a vice president of Scott USA. Zaugg, admiring Montgomery's confidence and connections in the bike biz, figured Montgomery was the ideal front man.