MTB news & racing round-up for June 27, 2008
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Edited by Sue George
Switzerland and France win worlds bragging rights
And they're off!
Photo ©: Sue George
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The UCI Mountain Bike World Championships
in Val di Sole, Italy last week and weekend saw record numbers of participants
engaging in cross country, 4X and downhill competitions. When the dust
settled and the medals were counted, Switzerland and France emerged at
the top of the medal count list with nine medals each.
The Swiss counted two golds, four silvers and three bronzes while showing
their dominance in the cross country. The French carried home two golds,
three silvers and four bronzes.
Thanks to gold medals in the elite men's, women's and junior's downhill
races, the British collected the most golds and five medals in total when
also including its two silvers.
Nine medals
Switzerland (2 Gold, 4 Silver, 3 Bronze)
France (2 Gold, 3 Silver, 4 Bronze)
Five medals
Great Britain (3 Gold, 2 Silver)
Two medals
Spain (2 Gold)
Czech Republic (1 Silver, 1 Bronze)
Germany (1 Silver, 1 Bronze)
One medal
Colombia (1 Gold)
Slovenia (1 Gold)
Slovakia (1 Gold)
United States (1 Gold)
Hungary (1 Silver)
South Africa (1 Silver)
Australia (1 Bronze)
Italy (1 Bronze)
Poland (1 Bronze)
Russian Federation (1 Bronze)
2008 World Champions
Cross Country
Christoph Sauser (Switzerland) (men)
Margarita Fullana (Spain) (women)
Nino Schurter (Switzerland) (U23 men)
Tanja Zakelj (Slovenia) (U23 women)
Peter Sagan (Slovakia) (junior men)
Laura Abril (Colombia) (junior women)
Downhill
Gee Atherton (Great Britain) (men)
Rachel Atherton (Great Britain (women)
Josh Bryceland (Great Britain) (junior men)
Anais Pajot (France) (junior women)
4X
Rafael Alvarez de Lara (Spain) (men)
Melissa Buhl (United States) (women)
See Cyclingnews' full coverage of the UCI
Mountain Bike World Championships.
Eyes toward Australia
As the sun set on the final day of racing at the UCI Mountain Bike World
Championships in Val di Sole, Italy, thoughts turned toward next year's
World Championships to be held in Canberra, Australia. Representatives
from Australia were on hand in Italy to talk about next year's race.
At the same time, at the recent IMBA World Summit in Park City, Utah,
Australian Glen Jacobs, owner of the World Trail design and construction
firm, shared his expertise and experience working on the Stromlo Forest
Park in Canberra. Jacobs discussed how sustainable trail design converted
a nearly ruined landscape into a top-notch recreation destination.
In 2003, Stromlo's pine forest was decimated by a wildfire. Afterward,
the government decided to convert the land's use from forestry to recreation.
Faced with the challenge of a scarred land, Jacobs said according to www.imba.com,
"It was a trailbuilder's nightmare."
What started as a seven-mile beginner cross country loop turned into
the development of expert downhill trails, a four-cross course, and an
additional 25 miles of cross-country trails.
Stromlo kicked off its new role as a world-class mountain bike venue
by hosting the Australian National Championships, even after a 100-year
storm ravaged area just one week before. "The area was nearly underwater,
but because we incorporated IMBA guidelines in the trail design, the damage
was minimal," Jacobs said according to www.imba.com. "From
then on, the land managers were sold on the durability of properly built
mountain biking trails."
The park has attracted an estimated 200,000 visitors since opening in
2007, with 95 percent of them mountain bikers. It will next host the UCI
World Cup on August 30-31 and the World Championships September 1-6, 2009.
Time for a break for some
By Dave McElwaine
Lea Davison
Photo ©: Rob Jones
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After a long, gruelling spring season including many World Cups and culminating
in the World Championships, several top cross country racers are opting
to take a break from competition to rest up. Some will be re-charging
before the second half of the season including the World Marathon Championships,
various national championships, more World Cups and assorted national
series events, while others will be resting before a final run-up in form
for the Olympic Games in August in Beijing, China.
For example, three Americans who are virtually assured spots on the 2008
US Olympic Team, US National Champion Mary McConneloug (Kenda/Seven),
Todd Wells (GT/Pacific Bikes), and Adam Craig (Giant), will sit out the
Deer Valley fourth round of the US National Mountain Bike Series (NMBS)
this weekend from June 27-29 in Utah.
As for racing this weekend, Craig left the door open slightly, saying,
"I won't be there (Deer Valley) unless (team-mate) Carl (Decker)
guilts me into getting onto another airplane." Also grabbing some
deserved downtime will be Trek/VW team-mates Lea Davison and Sue Haywood.
Having a break-out season, Davison put in a career best performance at
the World Championship by cracking the top 20 and finishing 19th.
On the other hand, with the popularity of endurance racing on the rise,
other mountain biking stars will be returning to racing action by heading
to the BC Bike Race in British Columbia, Canada, from June 28 to July
4. These include three Kona team-mates, Barry Wicks, Kris Sneddon, and
Wendy Simms; Kelli Emmett (Giant), Sue Butler (Mona Vie) who currently
leads the NMBS Super D competition, Max Plaxton (Rocky Mountain), and
defending BC Bike Race champions Jeff Schalk and Chris Eatough.
NMBS round four: A weekend for opportunists
By Dave McElwaine in Park City, Utah
Deer Valley is gorgeous in the
summer.
Photo ©: Dave McElwaine
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Mountain biking action in America's National Mountain Biking Series (NMBS)
resumes this weekend in scenic Deer Valley, Utah. With the World
Championships just completed in Val di Sole, Italy and the BC Bike
Race about to kick off, this may be a weekend for some up-and-coming talent
to find their way onto an NMBS podium.
That is exactly what happened earlier this season at the Sea Otter Classic
while all the top racers were at a World Cup in Houffalize, Belgium. Most
of the NMBS series leaders will be in attendance at Deer Valley, but podium
spots will be up for grabs.
Racing at Deer Valley is normally quite taxing, as racers face altitudes
from 7,500 - 9,000 feet. With the weather forecast in the 85 to 90 degree
(Fahrenheit) range, this weekend's event could shape up to be a suffer-fest.
At the last stop on the NMBS circuit in Santa
Ynez, California, racers faced temperatures in excess of 100 degrees
for three straight days. Women's cross-country series leader Georgia Gould
(Luna Women's MTB Team) succumbed to heat stroke and was taken to a hospital
to recover.
Cross Country
Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) leads both
the
Photo ©: Dave McElwaine
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Men's series leader Geoff Kabush (Team Maxxis) has a commanding 70 point
margin over Barry Wicks (Kona). With Wicks absent this weekend, the likely
challenger will be Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru/Gary Fisher), who won
last year's event here. With big doses of climbing, the course plays right
to JHK's main strength.
Both Kabush and JHK will have just flown back from the World Championships
so they should be on an equal footing.
"It'll be nice to regroup [in Deer Valley] and then head out east," said
Kabush, after racing in the World Championships with a bad cold.
Last year Jeremiah Bishop (Trek / VW) provided the primary competition
for Horgan-Kobelski at Deer Valley. Bishop often seems to get faster around
this time of year and uses his considerable descending skills to his advantage
at ski area venues like Deer Valley.
Former US National Champion Ryan Trebon (Kona) will be making an appearance
at Deer Valley. Trebon's main focus this year has been a mix of mountain
and road events to prepare for cyclo-cross season. "I feel good and am
looking for a good result at Deer Valley," said Trebon.
Ryan Trebon (Kona) returns to NMBS
Photo ©: Dave McElwaine
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Trebon certainly has the horsepower to ride with anybody. The question
will be how the Ventura, California resident handles the altitude and
the huge climbs.
Sam Schultz (Subaru/Gary Fisher), Carl Decker (Giant) and Ross Schnell
(Trek/VW) will all be looking for strong rides this weekend.
The women's event will be an exciting Luna shootout. Luna has been the
top women's team at every World Cup this year, and at the World Championships
Catherine Pendrel, Georgia Gould, and Czech National Champion Katerina
Nash finished an amazing sixth, ninth, and 12th respectively.
Both the US's Gould and Canada's Pendrel will be representing their countries
at the Olympics in Beijing. Nash narrowly missed out securing a spot for
the Czech Republic, due to an untimely knee injury sustained at the NMBS
race in Fountain Hills, Arizona.
Georgia Gould (Luna Womens MTB)
rode alone to win
Photo ©: Dave McElwaine
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Last year at Deer Valley, Gould immediately went off the front and rode
one of her typical time trial to victory. Team-mate Shonny Vanlandingham,
who finished second last year, has turned her attention exclusively to
X-Terra and will not be racing at Deer Valley.
While Pendrel has beaten Gould on more than one occasion this season,
Gould's confidence at home, plus her experience on the Deer Valley course,
will make it a difficult task. While team-mate Katerina Nash currently
leads the cross country series, the NMBS series rule that allows racers
to drop one race result will still give Gould a shot at repeating as series
champion.
Never to be counted out are the Subaru/Gary Fisher duo of Heather Irmiger
and Willow Koerber. They finished 29th and 40th respectively at Worlds
and are likely Deer Valley podium candidates. Irmiger, a good climber,
finished fourth there last year.
Finally, keep an eye on two other Canadian women. Nineteen year-old Emily
Batty (Trek Bicycle Store) finished sixth in the Under-23 category at
the World Championships, which follow two victories in the Canada Cup
Series and an NMBS podium this season. Mical Dyck (Trek/VW) has also won
on the Canadian Cup circuit, and has gained valuable experience racing
at the World Cups this season.
Read the complete
preview, including more information on the short track and gravity
events.
French Olympic mountain bike team named
The French Cycling Federation announced its Olympic Mountain Bike Team
just two days after the UCI Mountain Bike World Championships. According
to Technical Director Patrick Cluzaud, the men's team will include 2004
Olympic champion Julien Absalon, Jean-Christophe Péraud, and Cédric Ravanel
while Laurence Leboucher will serve as the sole female French representative.
Minnaar joins UCI MTB Commission
Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz)
Photo ©: Dave McElwaine
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South African downhiller Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate) has been
formally appointed to the UCI Mountain Bike Commission, effectively as
the gravity riders' representative.
The current MTB Commission has been without a gravity athlete essentially
since Bas de Bever (Netherlands) left the position some years ago. As
a member of the Commission, Minnaar will have a definitive role in recommending
rule changes and policy for the disciplines of downhill and 4X in particular,
after consulting with the riders he represents. As a former downhill World
Champion, two-time World Cup Downhill Champion and winner of both Downhill
and 4X World Cup races, Minnaar said he is looking forward to the challenges
that come along with his new role.
"This is a big honour for me and for Africa. Mountain biking has
always been a very international sport, and I'm glad the UCI appointed
someone from outside Europe. I look forward to working with the Commission,
and of course the other riders who I'll be representing. I'm going to
have a Riders' Meeting in Mont-Sainte-Anne, Canada, next month so we can
start looking at any changes we need for 2009."
Most recently Minnaar won the third round of the World Cup series in
Fort William, Scotland, just prior to the World Championships.
Mountain bike legend honoured
By Sue George in Val di Sole, Italy
UCI President Pat McQuaid recognizes
Thomas Frischknecht's
Photo ©: Rob Jones
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UCI President Pat McQuaid honoured Thomas Frischknecht at the UCI Mountain
Bike World Championships in Val di Sole, Italy. The 38 year-old Swiss
racer was at the very first Mountain Bike World Championship in Durango,
Colorado in 1990, where he took second place and the first of his 15 world
championship medals. He won 18 World Cup victories en route to three overall
titles (1992, 1993, 1995). Last weekend, he completed his final elite
cross country world championship race - finishing 27th on a hot day when
many younger competitors dropped out or were lapped.
In a special ceremony, Frischknecht said: "It seems like just yesterday
that I started. But if you look back to 1990 when it all started, some
things were different, some things are the same. The atmosphere has stayed
the same.
"We are still fighting for glory and it's great that we can keep
it that way. Passion is what has kept me in this sport for so long,"
he said, accepting his award.
After his race, Frischknecht commented on the pace, "It's definitely
faster. It's too fast for me! If it wasn't my last one, I probably wouldn't
have finished because I was going backward after the half way point and
having a really hard time." Frischknecht said he was proud of the all-Swiss
podium. "Three on the podium exceeds expectations although any one of
them being up there is not a surprise." No doubt he is leaving his sport's
mountain bike future in very capable hands.
Frischknecht has been marathon world champion (2003, 2005), cross country
world champion (1996), cyclo-cross world champion, European champion and
Swiss national champion (11 times). At mountain biking's Olympic debut
in Atlanta in 1996, he won silver while also racing on his nation's road
team.
Frischknecht now serves as a spokesperson for the Alta Rezia tourist
area. He cultivates his vineyards in Tuscany, Italy, and oversees the
distribution of his Chianti wine.
Schalk and Sornson on top in rain-soaked Michigan
By Harlan Price in Michigan
Cheryl Sornson
Photo ©: Jack Kunnan
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Not to be outdone by the first two rain soaked races in the National
Ultra Endurance (NUE) series, stop number three at the Lumberjack 100
in Michigan saw 11 inches of rain and 80 mph winds the night before the
race in the worst storm the area had seen in 30 years. The winds and rain
forced a marathon clean-up of debris and trees from the trails, but by
the time Saturday morning broke all that was left were a few welcome log
hops and three muddy sections that grew as the 250 racers passed through
them. Fortunately due to the nature of the mostly sandy course, the majority
of the trail was well drained and the amount of standing water was limited
to only those three short, but treacherous sections.
Undeterred by the conditions, Jeff Schalk (Trek/VW) maintained his control
over the series lead with another close win by only a minute over Oregonian,
Evan Plews (Scott/ Capitol Subaru). So far each of Schalk's three wins
in the series have been by two minutes or less after 100 miles of racing.
A group of eight racers made the early separation through most of the
first 25 mile lap, but an attack from Harlan Price (IFRacing.org/ Industry
Nine) on the first eight mile section of the second lap whittled the group
down to five racers; Schalk, Plews, Chris Eatough (Trek/VW), Christian
Tanguy (American Cycle and Fitness) and Price.
Price repeated the same attack on lap three and thinned the group down
to himself, Schalk and Plews, but his early efforts took their toll towards
the end of the lap and Plews and Schalk moved up the road without the
Independent Fabrication rider.
Men's podium
Photo ©: Jack Kunnan
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Schalk led most of the fourth lap and found all of his attacks answered
by a tenacious Plews, who was still contending despite a flat early in
lap two. It wasn't until about five miles to go that Schalk was able to
get a gap and hold it to the finish despite some cramping. Filling the
last two positions in the top five were Eatough in fourth and Tanguy in
fifth.
In the women's field Cheryl Sornson (Trek/VW) took home her first win
of the NUE series with a full day riding in front of the rest of her competitors.
Sornson was off the front from the beginning using her improved 2008 form
to stay away on course that favored a rider capable of staying on the
gas and riding smart lines through the narrow and curvaceous singletrack.
Her win put her in the overall lead for the series. Seventeen minutes
back from the Trek/VW rider was Karen Potter (MTB-Mind.com) from Massachusetts
and rolling across the line in third was last year's winner and local
Daniel Musto of the Kenda-Titus-Hayes team.
The singlespeed division saw a new face on the top of the podium. Ronald
Sanborn (McLain Cycle and Fitness) found himself in the fortunate position
of first by only a minute over second place John (Fuzzy) Myline (Sho-Air,
rock and Road/ Niner) with a time of 7:57:19. Third position was occupied
by Nate Versluis (Founders Ale / Alger Racing) and not far behind was
the series singlespeed leader Dejay Birtch (Niner Bikes).
See Cyclingnews' full coverage of the Lumberjack
100.
Sauser wins world title on new 2009 Specialized Epic bike
By James Huang
Specialized claims the new Epic
shaves almost 700g
Photo ©: Rob Jones
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Christophe Sauser (Switzerland) won his second world title this past
weekend aboard an all-new version of Specialized's S-Works Epic. As we
predicted a while back, the new model is fitted with a number of features
introduced on the company's Stumpjumper trail bike last year and shaves
a substantial amount of weight in the process. Thanks to some excellent
photo work from Cyclingnews editor Sue George, contributor
Rob Jones and our friends at Czech web site www.mtbs.cz,
we now finally have some quality images of the new steed to show you,
too.
What we know
Specialized claims the new frameset lops a substantial 700g (1.54lb)
from the '08 model and, not surprisingly, much of the credit falls on
the more widespread use of carbon fiber. Unlike previous carbon Epic frames
which reserves the material only for the front triangle and upper link,
both the chain stay and seat stay assemblies on the '09 model are now
made of carbon fiber, too.
Carbon is also used in the one-piece crown and steerer of the all-new
Specialized Futureshock E100 100mm-travel single-crown fork. As expected,
Specialized has used a tapered-and-oversized 1 1/8"-to-1 1/2" steerer
tube to reduce the weight while simultaneously adding rigidity to the
system. Naturally, a terrain-sensing Brain inertia valve is included here
as well, meaning that Sauser no longer has to rely on the handlebar-mounted
remote manual lockout of his familiar DT Swiss front end.
Sauser's frame retains the familiar four-bar suspension layout but the
pivot locations have been modified and now more closely resemble those
of a MacPherson strut design. The rear shock has moved to a more conventional
location below the top tube and the inertia valve-containing Brain unit
is mounted at the rear axle and connected to the shock via a short length
of hydraulic hose. A short link (we're not sure of the material but the
surface finish suggests it isn't carbon) mounted on the seat tube adds
some torsional and lateral stability out back.
Read the complete
feature or read another
feature with more on Sauser's new Epic.
Mike & Mary diary: Two more World Cups
An incredible road
Photo ©: Mike Broderick & Mary McConneloug
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Mary and I had the challenging yet awesome opportunity to spend three
weeks in the RV mobile and without the stress of World Cup obligations
in southern Europe. After the prior three weeks spent contesting the opening
rounds of the World Cup races, with professional trucker type mileage
in between, we were tempted to head to some remote beach to relax, maybe
catch a few waves and just take it easy... . Instead we pointed the RV
in the direction of the highest point we could find to begin some elevation
training in order to arrive at our best form for the next World Cup in
Andorra.
Although 6,000 feet is really not that high, we knew that racing in
the Alpine conditions and elements was going to be an extra challenge,
and we were ready to pull all the stops to prepare since this was an important
race for which to be on form. We decided to leave Spain and make our first-ever
trip to Portugal, eventually spending the better part of a week in the
Serra da Estrela mountain range training on some radically small and unpopulated
roads and driving up to the still snow-covered peak at night. We burned
quite a bit of propane and some extra adrenaline with our late evening
drives as the wet spring weather had us dealing with more snow and hail
storms than star gazing at the top of these exposed gnarly peaks. There
were some moments that made us question our tactics but were rewarded
with some incredible mornings at the top of several mountains as well
as what we felt was at least some benefit in the form of extra red blood
cells thanks to our thin air sleeping efforts.
Mike and Mary spent another night
Photo ©: Mike Broderick & Mary McConneloug
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We can't say whether it is all together legal, frowned upon or what, but
we managed to just " pull over" for the night at the highest places
we could find without any more problem than just driving up some dark twisty
road in a hail storm in a big boxy RV. We definitely don't recommend trying
to elevation train in your vehicle as it initially made us pretty grumpy
and cost us a lot of sleep. But we got pretty into it and eventually slept
our way from central Portugal back across Spain while competing in two national
level races along the way, and we didn't spend a night below 1600 meters.
We would come down during the day to charge our computer, service the RV,
stock up on supplies or find a place to pirate a wireless internet signal,
and often return to our night-time roost. We'd also get in our training
on the bike during the day.
The next weeks were dedication to high elevation sleeping, some arctic
level leg soaks, parking lot yoga routines and living on the road as best
as we could in an effort to arrive at what we hoped would be our best
form on the bikes. We made our way back across Spain sticking to the high
mountains and radical training opportunities north of Madrid, focusing
on bigger road miles and trying to ignore the sweet dirt off chutes in
an effort to better focus on pushing the pedals. We still managed to do
a bit of fun mountain biking and sample some local wine and a few select
wheels of exotic cheeses without straying too far off our dedicated race
program.
The week before the world cup in Andorra we attended a race in the small
Catalonian town of Sant Lorenc de Morunys an outpost of civilization in
the middle of the Vall di Lord, (quite possibly the most beautiful region
of Spain we have yet to encounter)! Unfortunately race day turned out
to be an absolute washout rain had stalked us for our entire trip
offering us more than our share of wet rides and drives but the weather
here on race day was bordering on biblical. It was the type of race where
you ride your hardest, but keep on getting colder and eventually loose
contact with your senses as you go. Ouch!
Read the complete diary
entry.
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