Regional Cycling News for October 27, 2005Edited by Anthony Tan, John Stevenson & Les Clarke Red Bull Road Rage: Beat you to the bottom of the hillRed Bull is known worldwide for their sporting events that go 'beyond the boundaries' to create something that is tailored to suit the 'extreme' audience. On November 5 their latest event, the Red Bull Road Rage, will pit riders against each other on a wickedly steep and technical piece of road in Tuna Canyon, California, to see who can make it down the hill fastest. It's a basic premise for a race, but one that organisers believe will be a hit. Cyclingnews' Les Clarke finds out about this latest offering for thrillseeking riders.
The brainchild of the event, Jon Mesko, had the idea for the event about four years ago. "I moved from Michigan, which is really flat, to California, and while racing I soon found out you could put like three minutes into a guy just by descending better than him. That got me thinking about having a race to see who could go down the hill fastest." But an event involving high speeds and the potential for some nasty accidents is never going to be easy to organise, hence the period of time involved between the formulation of Mesko's idea and it actually coming to fruition. "I always wanted to have a downhill event," said Mesko, "But I wanted to do it right, so I waited for the right time." Mesko had the drive to make it happen, but needed the means to make it happen - enter stage right, Red Bull. "My first move was to contact Red Bull," said Mesko. "They've got the marketing pull and the vision to make an event like that happen. Something like this is too risky for most companies, but Red Bull is innovative with their events, so I pitched it to them." The company was interested, but at the time their commitments were elsewhere, and resources couldn't be directed towards Mesko's particular event. The company organises events such as the Red Bull Rampage, Divide and Conquer and Giants of Rio. Some of these are multisport events, others dedicated to one particular sport. They have a history supporting skateboarding, mountain biking and BMX, and communications manager Paul Malina supports Mesko's belief that the company looks to be innovative and daring, saying, "we look to support particular sports as soon as they enter the market. We support mountain biking, skateboarding and BMX, and are looking to develop new events every few years." In light of this strategy, the Road Rage event tied in perfectly with company plans. Click here to read the rest of the story. Kersten flies behind dernyBy Les Clarke
Sydney rider Ben Kersten says he's feeling pretty good after reaching 80.36km/h and breaking the speed record for the Dunc Gray Velodrome in Sydney's southwest yesterday. "I thought 80 [km/h] would be achievable," said Kersten. "We actually got up to 84km/h, but I really needed a motorbike to go faster - the derny can only go so fast." Before the record atttempt, Kersten had been recovering from a back injury sustained in the gym last week, so to tear up the boards that fast was an even meaner feat. "I had to take a few days off the bike; I couldn't really ride," said Kersten. "I've pretty much wound up all the road stuff I was doing and it feels good." Asked whether he'd like to take another shot at his own record, Kersten replied, "I wouldn't mind - it depends. Another person's probably going to have a go at it, then I might go out and have another shot." For now, Kersten's focus is on the upcoming track season, which begins next weekend with the Moscow round of the Track World Cup. Kersten won't be riding there, but aims to ride the Manchester and Los Angeles world cup rounds, plus the Sydney Thousand, Oceania Games, Commonwealth Games and world championships. If yesterday's effort is any indication of his speed for the season, he'll definitely be hard to catch. PhotographyFor a thumbnail gallery of these images, click here Images by Events du Monde
Getting behind the kidsBy Les Clarke VMG Racing isn't the biggest name in US cycling, but its role in supporting emerging athletes may be one of the most important, with cyclists and triathletes receiving sponsorship from the company. Established in 2004 by Mark Holowesko, VMG and Aerospace Engineering sponsored a team that participated in NRC races this season - but Holowesko's company has started something new behind the scenes to develop some of the best talent from America and the Bahamas. Based in the Bahamas, VMG provides athletes with a headstart in their careers through training and financial support; until recently there were athletes from a variety of backgrounds receiving VMG's support - but maintaining a high level of control over operations was proving difficult. Scott Hirshorn, one of the team at VMG and an equities trader at ABN AMRO says that "We had all these athletes in different areas, but there wasn't enough control, so we decided to simplify things a bit." VMG had co-operated with Aerospace Engineering during 2005, but when that particular relationship ended VMG looked to the Under 23 ranks and saw a need for development in the area. "There are plenty of riders with the ability, but not the resources," said Hirshorn. And so the company decided they wanted to help develop these riders through the establishment of an U23 team, much in the image of TIAA-CREF, former pro rider Jonathon Vaughters' squad, which has enjoyed excellent results in 2005 throughout the US and Europe. "We spoke to Jon Vaughters and Tiger Williams, along with Steve McCauley and Justin Rogers from USA Cycling, and they've helped us a lot with their ideas and experiences," said Hirshorn. VMG decided they'd have three sections to their team, led by the 'flagship' U23 development programme, which has recently applied for a UCI Continental team licence, consisting of riders aged between 18-23 years old, with a couple of 'mentor' riders in the 23-26 age group. The top two riders from the Bahamas will ride with the team to help develop the sport in that region. "Lee Farmer and Jonathon Massie will be the riders from Bahamas, and we have a lot of riders picked already," Hirshorn said. VMG have also handpicked their DS, with Dan Larson filling that role; Larson comes from a strong cycling background, having worked on the cycling programme at the University of Florida as well as being an accomplished rider and partner of Rebecca Larson, who rides for the Colavita-Cooking Light squad. Click here to read the rest of the story. Jittery Joe's extends junior supportThe Jittery Joe's Roasting Company, sponsor of the US pro team of the same name, has announced the junior teams that it will continue to support, with one addition for 2006. Like the pro teams, the junior squads re-sell Jittery Joe's special blend dark roast coffee to raise money for their teams. Renewing with the program for 2006 are Siemens Home Appliance / Land Rover Gwinnett Cycling Team (Georgia), Sunrise Sports Cycling Team (Michigan), Major Motion Development (California), National Capital Velo Club (Washington DC), and XXX Racing/AthletiCo Junior Development Team (Illinois). The Fly/Factory Team 2 BMX Team from California joins the Jittery Joe's program for the first time, and the company says it is still looking for more junior clubs to take part in the program. Two slots are available, one in the central mountain area and one in the Northwest area of the United States. Teams can request more information by sending an email to mail@thebeanteam.com. "We hope that this will be a way for some of these young riders to raise a few more thousand dollars for their teams," says Charlie Mustard of Jittery Joe's. "Jittery Joe's has made a major commitment to American cycling and we are excited to be able to help out the young riders that may make it to our pro team in a couple of years." Rum River CX movesThe Rum River Cyclocross, Minnesota, November 6 has been moved and will now be held at Milaca Rec. Park Milaca, Minnesota . According to organiser Tim Dalton, "Our namesake, the Rum River, has flooded our original course in Princeton. The good news is that many of you are familiar with the Milaca venue from MTB Races, epics & single speed state championship events in the past. The better news is that we have been able to design a very nice cyclo-cross course that will utilize short, selected portions of the outstanding Milaca MTB course." For more information see www.rumrivercx.com Highland Fling fullThe latest addition to the Australian endurance mountain biking calendar, the Vaude Highland Fling in the Southern Highlands of NSW, November 13, is full. Organiser Huw Kingston announced yesterday that the 100km marathon event had reached its self-imposed limit of 720 riders. Marconi CC begins summer seriesMarconi Cycling Club will be conducting Tuesday night racing starting next Tuesday, November 1, and continuing to the end of daylight savings. The only days racing will not take place are December 27 and January 3. The Anthony Rappo Memorial is on November 6, with entries being taken on the day. This time the club is using their home course of Western Sydney International Dragway, which has allowed them to start a little later than previous years. Start time is 10.30am for C, D & E Grades, with the first ever junior race on the same day, which be a group handicap for U/15 and U/17 riders. Prizemoney for the race has increased by $500 this year. $2500 is on offer over A-E Grades and the junior event. First place in A Grade is $400, with $950 in total for A Grade alone. Entry fee for the Anthony Rappo Memorial is $25, with 20 percent going straight to Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute. Spectators are more than welcome with raffles, a BBQ. and stadium seating on the main straights.
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