MTB News & Racing Round-up, July 28, 2009

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Date published:

July 28, 2009, 17:34

Edited by Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor

Welcome to our regular roundup of what's happening in mountain biking. Feel free to send feedback, news, & releases to mtb@cyclingnews.com and results, reports & photos to cyclingnews@cyclingnews.com.

• 24-hour worlds move to new location for 2010

  

  Article published:

  July 28, 2009, 15:24

  By:

  Cycling News

  Next year's event to be in Australia

  The 24-Hours of Adrenaline World Championships will move to a new location for 2010. It will leave North America for the first time and for Australia. This will provide racers in the southern hemisphere with the opportunity to compete at world level without the travel.

  Organizers made the announcement at the solo riders' pre-race briefing during this weekend's running of the 2009 edition of the championships.

  The event has previously been held in California in the USA and in Alberta, Canada.  It is popular internationally, especially among racers from Australia, including Jason English who won the 2009 edition of the men's race on Sunday.

  See Cyclingnews' full coverage of the 2009 24 Hours of Adrenalin World Championships.

• Mont Sainte Anne downhill podium showcases the unlucky, the young and the old

  

  Article published:

  July 28, 2009, 12:08

  By:

  Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor

  Hill, Peat & Gwin give fans exciting race

  The elite men's downhill podium at the Mont Sainte Anne round of the World Cup this weekend featured one first-timer, one man who happily ended a winless streak and another who has visited the podium so often that he might just deserve to have his name etched on it.

  Veteran Steve Peat (Santa Cruz Syndicate) of Great Britain made his 50th World Cup podium appearance on Saturday afternoon after racing to second place.

  "I'm pretty happy to come out of Mont Sainte Anne with second place. My bike was working awesome all weekend and the track was its usual tough, hard old self," said Peat.

  In contrast, the relatively unknown American Aaron Gwin (Yeti) was making his first podium appearance, with a third place. Gwin, who was crowned US National Downhill Champion for the second time in mid-July, has been steadily working his way up the ranks. He spent some serious time in the hot seat on Saturday and wasn't displaced until Peat, as the second-to-last starter, finished his run.

  Gwin's competitors jovially welcomed him to the ranks of podium contender by attempting to drown him in the celebratory champagne awarded during the ceremony.

  Sam Hill (Monster Energy / Specialized / Mad Catz) stood on top of the podium, pleased to return there after what was his first World Cup win of the year. As the fastest qualifier and first man down the mountain, Hill had put in what was a blazing final run to take the win. Hill's win also netted him the leader's jersey in the World Cup series competition, in which he now holds a four-point advantage over Peat.

  "This is one of the most high speed, and the longest courses, on the World Cup circuit," Hill said to Cyclingnews' Rob Jones right after the race. "It was a lot slicker this morning. It dried out a lot. I was conservative in the first few corners just to check it out. It was good so I went hard from there."

• US team picked for marathon worlds

  

  Article published:

  July 25, 2009, 15:11

  By:

  Cyclingnews

  Two men and two women headed to Austria

  Four riders - two men and two women - will represent the US National Team at the UCI Marathon World Championships in Stattegg, Austria, on August 23.

  Jeremiah Bishop (MonaVie/Cannondale) and Harlan Price (Independent Fabrication) qualified automatically for the men's team - as did Pua Sawicki (Ellsworth) and Heather Holmes for the women's team.

  Bishop earned his spot after finishing second at the US marathon championships earlier this month, and Price earned his nod as the current number-one ranked man in the USA Cycling National Ultra Endurance Calendar rankings.

  In the women's contest, Sawicki secured her automatic nomination with a second place finish at the US marathon nationals. Holmes earned a berth by riding to fifth place at US marathon nationals.

  The four riders will have to pay their own way to the worlds.

• Injury sidelines Buchanan

  

  Article published:

  July 23, 2009, 15:20

  By:

  Cyclingnews

  Australian four cross out of BMX Worlds

  Canberra's Caroline Buchanan was forced to withdraw due to injury from this week's UCI BMX World Championships being staged at the Adelaide Showgrounds in South Australia.

  "I've never had a big injury and never had to miss out on a race before so it's pretty disappointing," said Buchanan.

  The 18-year-old reigning Australian Champion injured her back during training last month in Austria and, whilst she is recovering well, doctors have advised her to pull out of the Championships and concentrate on her recovery.

  "I was training starts on an old BMX gate and it didn't drop when it should have," said Buchanan. "I kept going though and did a scorpion faceplant over the gate and hyperextended my legs over my head.

  "It wasn't too bad at the time and I didn't feel much pain," said Buchanan who soon after raced and won the four cross event at the Maribor round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup in Slovenia. "Apparently that, and the long flight back to Australia, did more damage to my back so I got an MRI done when I got home, and it showed a tear in a disc in my lumbar region."

  Buchanan had originally hoped to recover in time for this weekend's racing but doctors warned against rushing back into competition.

  "All the doctors said this sort of injury needs to heal so if I had trained too early and pushed it at any time it could tear more or bulge and then it would a really long recovery time," she said. "The doctors said six weeks and this weekend is five weeks, and I've been really 'babying' it along, not lifting anything, not bending, not sitting on the couch, sleeping on my side and doing lots of physio work to get it right.

  "It would have been great to race in front of a home crowd with everyone there to support me but my focus is now on preparing for the Supercross Series with the first round on next month in South Africa," said Buchanan. "It has been pretty difficult getting back into it but everytime I complete a new exercise and there's no pain, I get a little more confidence back.

  "I wish the Australian team all the best for this week," she said. "I have been speaking to them and they all seem really well prepared."

  Rachel Bracken and Lauren Reynolds are competing in Buchanan's absence. Buchanan will have another chance to compete in the World Championships at home - this time the mountain bike worlds in Canberra, Australia, scheduled for early September.

• Mount Snow improves courses

  

  Article published:

  July 23, 2009, 14:24

  By:

  Cyclingnews

  Downhill and cross country courses changed for upcoming ProXCT round

  Vermont's Mount Snow, in conjunction with the US Forest Service and leaders in the mountain biking community, has redesigned both its cross country and downhill courses for the upcoming ProXCT Tour stop there on August 7-9.

  The new cross country course will feature less fireroad riding and more riding over roots and rocks - something for which Mount Snow's races are famous.

  "There's something about how the mayhem that is the trails around West Dover finds a way to flow perfectly with your bike and body that continues to mystify me," said Adam Craig, who is the current short track national champion and who won the 2008 national cross country championships at Mount Snow."It also keeps me coming back and cackling with laughter to myself as I get away with murder on a regular basis." Craig is one of the favorites for the men's race.

  On the women's side, fans will watch for riders like Mary McConneloug, who claimed the 2007 and 2008 national cross country titles when the race was run at Mount Snow.

  The downhill course was moved so as to allow non-racers to continue to ride the other downhill trails on site throughout the weekend while the racing is happening.

  The weekend's racing which will be part of a new Mount Snow Mountain Bike Festival, will include four cross, short track, super D, cross country and downhill events.

  A parking fee of $10 per day will be charged, with 100 percent of the fee going to re-vegetating the race courses immediately after the racing.

  After the races conclude on Sunday, non-pros will have a chance to try out the national-caliber courses.

  For more information, visit www.mountsnow.com.