MTB & 'cross news & racing round-up for September
23, 2006
Edited by Steve Medcroft
Heather Irmiger breaks-out; again
With husband JHK on the podium at Brian Head
Photo ©: Susan Candee
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What makes a successful mountain biker? Is it an all-star training partner,
support of a world-class team, the inspiration of a mother's love for
the sport? Cyclingnews MTB Editor Steve Medcroft has chatted with
Subaru/Gary Fisher rider Heather Irmiger several times through the 2006
season and thinks it may be all of the above:
Heather Irmiger had a prolific 2006 mountain-bike season; she won the
NORBA National Series cross country race in Brian Head, Utah and the Teva
Mountain Games in her home state of Colorado, managed second in NORBA
cross-country an impressive three times in seven overall NORBA podium
appearances. She traveled to all six World Cup cross country races for
the first time in her career to help her country gain UCI points in its
quest to boost the number of riders it gets to send to Beijing for the
2008 summer Olympics, competed at the world championships in Roturoa,
New Zealand in September and even finished second in the U.S. cross-country
national championship race in Sonoma, California in July.
By looking at the season, you might say that the charismatic former scientist
(Subaru/Gary Fisher) had a breakout year. You might be surprised to know
that you're wrong.; you can't call a rider that made it onto one of the
world's elite mountain-bike teams just now breaking out. You can't say
that an athlete who has won at the elite-level (first NORBA win came at
Brian Head, Utah in 2005), or is a former collegiate champion, or who
has stood on a national championship podium before (2004) just breaking
out.
Instead, you could say that Heather Irmiger has finally started to evolve
to her potential. And you can chalk this 2006 season up to a number of
elements, not the least of which are a handful of key relationships in
Irmiger's life.
Read the rest of Part
1 and all of Part
2 of the Heather Irmiger profile here.
Vervecken wins Aalterse Jaarmarkttrofee; Nys has a run in with spectator
World cyclo-cross champion Erwin Vervecken has won the Aalterse Jaarmarkttrofee
in a three man sprint, beating Sven Vanthourenhout and Niels Albert at
the end of an eventful race. The winner of the last two editions, Sven
Nys (Rabobank) had a run-in with a spectator, who moved a barricade into
his path, causing him to crash. Nys punched the spectator, then reported
him to the police.
"I did that because I really had the impression that the man wanted
to take me down," explained Nys. "In that, he succeeded. After the incident,
Peter van den Abeele came to me with the guy. He told me that he did not
want to hit me and was even a supporter of me. But when he gave a false
address, I went to the police. My season could have ended here."
For full results from Aalterse
Jaarmarkttrofee, click here.
US Gran Prix of Cyclocross schedule for 2006
2005 series winner Barry Wicks
(Kona)
Photo ©: Steve Medcroft
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Building on the success of the last two years, organizers and racers
are gearing up for the 2006 Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross.
The six race series looks once again to attract the best racers from across
North America to compete for the series overall championship and an automatic
USA Cycling world championship berth.
Thanks to Crank Brothers and all of our sponsors, we are able to
continue to expand on the success of the U.S. Gran Prix in this our third
year, said Bruce Fina, marketing director of the U.S. Gran Prix.
In addition to the world-class racing, we have additional sponsors,
four new venues and innovative community programs that reflect the growth
and popularity of the sport in the United States. I anticipate this will
be our best series ever.
In addition to new sponsors, the 2006 U.S. Gran Prix will visit five
cross venues in different areas of the country - four of which are
new this year. The series kicks off with two days of racing in Gloucester,
Mass. on October 7th 8th. Then its onto the first of the
four new venues as the series travels next to Colorado with stops in Longmont
on November 4th and Boulder on November 5th. The series will culminate
in the Pacific Northwest with stops in Lakewood, Washington and in Portland,
Oregon on November 18th and 19th respectively.
The organizers of the U.S. Gran Prix have also implemented two new initiatives
focused on the people and communities that continue to drive the popularity
of this sport. In addition to the Clif Bar venue sustainability program,
organizers will also raise funds and awareness for the Fast Freddie Foundation
(FFF) and local junior cycling teams. Founded by Fred Rodriguez, the mission
of the FFF is to support young cyclists in achieving their goals
in cycling and beyond. Additionally, every rider and spectator will
have the opportunity to purchase a Cool Tag which will enable
them to offset the environmental impact of traveling to the race with
the ultimate goal of making the series Climate Neutral.
Full schedule:
Race 1, October 7: Gloucester, Massachusetts
Race 2, October 8: Gloucester, Massachusetts
Race 3, November 4th: Longmont, Colorado
Race 4, November 5th: Boulder, Colorado
Race 5, November 18th: Lakewood, Washington
Race 6, November 19th: Portland, Oregon
Boulder Cup Cyclo-cross announced
Organizers of the "Boulder Cup" Cyclocross race, announced
that the 2006 edition of the event will be held Sunday November 5 at Boulder's
Harlow Platts Park located behind Fairview High School in South Boulder.
The Boulder Cup will be the 4th stop on the schedule of the 2006 Crank
Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross, the premier cyclocross series in
the United States incorporating races from across the country. The six
race fall classic will attract the best racers from across North America
who compete for the series overall championship and an automatic USA Cycling
world championship berth.
Boulder Cup promoter Chris Gealish says that "Boulder and Colorado
are a hot bed of Cyclocross racing in the US and we made the commitment
to organize a high quality race in a venue that represents the best of
Boulder." Boulder elite level racers will be well represented among
both the men and women's fields.
Besides the racing action, other activities for race day include an Expo
Area featuring product demonstrations, food and beverage vendors and the
Boulder Beer Garden featuring samples of their Cyclocross Ale specially
brewed for the racing season. Expect to see the most ardent fans ringing
cowbells and blowing horns while decked out in crazy costumes; it's all
part of the "Euro-cross" tradition that has been adopted by
fans in the US.
Charm City Cross in Baltimore this weekend
The BikeReg.com MABRAcross Series kicks off its 2006 campaign this
Sunday, September 24 in Baltimore, Maryland with the Charm City Cyclocross
in the citys Druid Hill Park as a benefit for the Special Olympics.
This years Charm City Cyclocross will benefit the Special Olympics
and will also feature an unusual Special Olympics race following the regular
program. Thanks to a diverse collection of sponsors, including Joes
Bike Shop, the Baltimore Tattoo Museum and Athlete Development Group --
Special Olympians will have the opportunity to be paired with Elite Riders
from the BikeReg.com MABRAcross series for a race on the same racecourse
the regular riders used previously in the day.
Coonamessett Eco Cross offers prize payout all the way down to beginner
The 4th Annual Corner Cycle Coonamessett Eco Cross is scheduled for October
1st. This years version of the race boasts a purse of over $1200
with cash for nearly every category, including some of the highest payouts
for Masters and Beginners of any cross race! The races sponsorship
growth and unique setting, including the Buzzards Bay Brewing Pavilion,
has helped it grow from its grassroots origin to become a popular preparatory
race for many top New England riders. Highlighting this years event
will be former Junior Worlds member, Toby Marzot (Falmouth, MA), 2005
Verge NE series Masters Champion Jonny Bold (Marston Mill, MA) and 2005
Master National Cyclocross Champion Paul Curley.
Held on the 12 acre Coonamessett Farm in East Falmouth, MA, the fast
and technical course offers little opportunity for riders to ride a rhythm,
favoring technically skilled riders who can capitalize on the numerous
twists and tight turns, as well as the three running sections. The limited
space, however, is ideal for spectators and includes the Buzzards Bay
Barrier section through the farms covered pavilion, providing comfortable
viewing in all but the worst weather, as well as great farm fun for the
whole family.
The Farm Café, registration and the course all open at 9 am, while
the Buzzards Bay Brewing area will begin serving after 11 am. Also on
hand will be members of Clean Power Now, Massachusetts Grassroots Organization
with the latest information Americas first proposed off-shore wind
farm. For more information, go to tradewindsports.net, or register online
at Bikereg.com. A recap of last years event will air on FCTV the
week prior to the race.
We would like to thank our great sponsors George Sykes and Corner Cycle
of Cape Cod, the Coonamessett Farm and their enormous support, Buzzards
Bay Brewing and Clean Power Now, for their manpower support.
Maxxis elite cyclo-cross team for 2006/07
Geoff Kabush, Mathieu Toulouse, Melissa Thomas and Adam McGrath (U23)
of Team Maxxis/VanDessel Bikes will be the flaming orange streaks you
see burning up 'cross courses all over North America this cyclo-cross
season.
Kabush earns distinction as the most noted rider on the team thanks to
his many top five results in mountain bike racing. Toulouse, a 'cross
veteran, has been patiently waiting for his turn to strike it big. Thomas
is new to the Maxxis family but given her results from the previous season:
4th at U.S. Cyclocross Nationals and 5th overall in the U.S. Gran Prix
of Cyclocross, she will be a force to be reckoned with. McGrath takes
a break from being the team mechanic to race U23s and will hopefully earn
another spot on the U.S. National Cyclocross team.
Team Maxxis will be waging a complete North American campaign this season
with all four riders competing in the Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of
Cyclocross. Kabush and Toulouse will compete for the Maple Leaf jersey
at the Canadian Nationals in Nanaimo, BC in November, while Thomas and
McGrath will go for the Stars-and-Stripes at the U.S. Nationals in Providence,
RI in December.
Bessette and Jaques-Maynes head Cyclocrossworld.com team
Lynn Bessette at last year's Liberty
Cup
Photo ©: Trish Albert
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After two seasons of incredible results, Team Cyclocrossworld.com announced
this week that it has added West Coast rider Ben Jacques-Maynes for '06.
Jacques-Maynes will join Lyne Bessette, Canadian National Champion and
North America's top Elite female 'cross racer, to form a potent bi-coastal
duo.
"I'm very excited to race 'cross again," says Bessette, who
retired from her successful road racing career over the summer. "It's
going to be a little different because I didn't race all summer but I
will be giving my best."
Jacques-Maynes concluded his best-ever road racing season with a seventh
place in September's USPRO Championships for the domestic KodakGallery.com-Sierra
Nevada squad. With strong performances throughout the road season, Jacques-Maynes,
27, established himself as one of the most consistent and respected riders
in North America. After missing most of the 2005 'cross season due to
the birth of his son, the San Jose, Cal resident is looking to make a
big splash in his cyclo-cross return.
"After such a long road season, I am looking forward to refocusing
on cyclocross this winter," says Jacques-Maynes. "I find 'cross
refreshing, and I think I can do a great season this year. I feel strong
in the legs, and I have worked hard on my running to bring up my competitive
level."
Stu Thorne, Team Director and Cyclocrossworld.com owner, will introduce
his eponymous Thorne Cyclocross Frames for the 2006 season, with Jacques-Maynes
and Bessette riding prototypes in early races and production models by
U.S. Nationals. Thorne team bikes will also fly SRAM's Force component
group.
Tech news: Ellsworth introduces full-suspension two-niner
Over in the Tech News section, news come from Ellsworth that it has announced
a 29-inch wheeled travel full-suspension mountain bike. Based on the 4"
travel Evolve, the new bike will share the same ICT linage as the Truth,
Moment and the award-winning Epiphany.
"We started from the ground up with this bike," says Tony Ellsworth.
"My challenge as a designer - looking at the physics and engineering
ramifications of not just the bigger wheels, but the unique rider position
and demands of ICT suspension technology - is to admit that everything
about this bike had to be different or everything would be a compromise.
So the Evolve has its own DNA."
As with all Ellsworth frames made in the new Vancouver, Washington facility,
the Evolve will be handcrafted from drawn tubing rather than extruded
tubing and will be true to Ellsworth's performance design mantra with
shaped, swaged and tapered tubes to achieve increased strength, reduced
weight and to avoid gusseting.
The Evolve will be unveiled in Las Vegas at the Interbike trade show
and Ellsworth will be available for dealer delivery in January of 2007.
Read all of the latest tech
news here.
Jamie Goldman wins Battle at the Fort
Jamie Goldman (Santa Cruz Syndicate) won the recent Red Bull sponsored
freeride showcase at the ancient Kalemegdan fortress on the outskirts
of the Serbian capital of Belgrade at the first international mountain
bike slopestyle contest in this part of the world. Goldman had a perfect
run and battled Lance McDermott for the win. Goldman dropped a huge backflip
for the win, beating a perfect front flip by McDermott in judging.
Mexican MTBer injured in training ride
Pan-American U23 mountain-bike champion Emmanuel Valencia, was critically
injured by an automobile during a training in Bravo in August, his condition
serious enough that after several days in a coma, Valencia had to be transferred
by helicopter to Mexico City. The Mexican Cycling federation that the
athlete was likely saved by the fact that he was wearing a helmet.
In spite of the support from several source, the Valencia family is in
urgent need of Support. For more information, visit http://www.fmc.org.mx.
CamelBak bottle sale raises 10k Euros for Wheels 4 Life
At this years Eurobike show a total of 1000 CamelBak bottles were
sold, generating proceeds of 10.000 Euro in total. The amount was handed
over to Hans
Rey, mountain bike legend and founder of Wheels 4 Life.
"This was the biggest promotion for our charity so far," says
Rey. "It was a great way to raise awareness and funds. With this
donation we can buy at least 150 bicycles. I hope we can do similar promotions
in the future."
BikeNZ creates three-day 'Odyssey'
The Whakatane, Rotorua and Taupo District Councils and New Zealands
national cycling organisation BikeNZ have teamed up to create the Odyssey,
a new three day recreational mountain bike tour.
The Odyssey will start in Whakatane, and include the Rotorua Lakes and
hills and finish in Taupo between February 16-18 2007. The new three-day
mountain bike event that will take riders from Whakatane to Taupo along
some spectacular unseen tracks that will, like an odyssey, challenge participants
to explore untouched territory.
The Whakatane-Taupo Odyssey will be both a race and fun ride.
The 300 plus kilometers of mountain biking will be tackled over three
days, with riders and crews planned to bed-down in two carefully selected
water-side camp sites. The February 2007 ride will take in Matahina, the
hills behind Kaweraua, and the Rotorua Lakes, before heading south to
the Great Lake. The Odyssey will welcome both individuals and teams and
there will be event mechanical support.
Theres a massive area of awesome mountain biking and stunning
scenery between Whakatane and Taupo, said Nicola Burgess of the
Whakatane District Council. A lot of that riding is usually pretty
inaccessible - the Odyssey will be the ideal way to discover it.
Riding around many of the Rotorua lakes, and dozens of kilometers of
bush trails will make the Odyssey an incredible outdoors experience, she
said. Of course, if you want to ignore the view and race full-on,
youve got 300 kilometres to give it heaps!
Show Low Bluff White Mountains Tour in two weeks
Although the elite seasons may be over for 2006, there are still plenty
of mountain-bike events to test yourself on. In Arizona, for example,
the 11th Annual Show Low Bluff Tour of the White Mountains is yest to
happen (October 7).
This years pre-registration numbers have already surpassed the previous
10 years attendance numbers and promises to be the biggest ever in the
history of the 11 year old event. With an anticipated 400+ participant
list, the roster of riders will include Mountain Bike Hall of Fame inductee
Keith Bontrager. Having Keith at the event," says Todd Sadow,
President of Epic Rides, Inc. is a testament to the quality of ride
the communities of Pinetop-Lakeside, AZ have supported and grown over
the years".
To challenge the riders, the event has five different distances to choose
from. Sadow says, From the 10 miles breezers and geezers category
all the way to the 66-mile single track challenge. No matter what, everyone
should walk away feeling great about their achievement at days end."
For more information and up-to-date reports, photos and video footage
check out http://www.epicrides.com.
Registration open for Australia's VAUDE Highland Fling MTB Marathon
With two months until the start, well over 700 riders are entered so
far in the VAUDE Highland Fling MTB Marathon. Being run in the beautiful
Southern Highlands of NSW on Sunday 12 November. The Fling Starts and
Finishes in the village of Bundanoon, 1.5hrs from Sydney and 1.5hrs from
Canberra.
Competitors have the option of racing the Full Fling (104km), Half a
Fling (58km) and Flinging Threesomes Relay taking on the VAUDE Stage (29km),
Forests NSW Stage (46km) and Specialized Stage (29km). For the real masochists
there is also the 100mile Fling (160km) but riders in this must finish
within 8hours - a tough ask.
The promoter reports that the route for 2006 is now finalised. Whilst
80% of it is as riders enjoyed in 2005, organizers Wild Horizons have
taken out a couple of early bottlenecks and added some great new sections
including Boags Draft on the VAUDE Stage, some new singletrack and some
different tracks in the Forests NSW Stage and some new tracks in the Specialized
Stage. The track breakdown is 16km Singletrack/No Track (eg open paddock),
67km Rough/4wd/Forest Track, 18km Dirt Road and 2km Sealed Road.
Entries for the VAUDE Highland Fling, which offers over $7000 in prize
money and triple that in prizes, will be capped at 1100 riders.
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(All rights reserved/Copyright Knapp Communications Pty Limited 2006)
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