MTB News & Racing Round-up, July 31, 2009

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Date published:

July 31, 2009, 22:18

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.

• Countdown to TransWales

  

  Article published:

  July 31, 2009, 19:25

  By:

  Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor

  Britain's toughest mountain bike event returns in mid-August

  The seven day point-to-point TransWales will kick off on August 15 and run through August 22. The race combines marathon linking stages with fast and furious rally-style special stages around the wilds of Wales.

  Born as a way to create an epic mountain bike bike point-to-point event in Wales - where, as in England, archaic right of way laws prohibit bike racing on public bridlepaths - the TransWales takes its cues from the TransAlps and TransRockies point-to-point races that cross the Alps and the Canadian Rockies.

  There are, however, several significant differences: rather than being a race from the gun for seven days flat, the TransWales mixes seven daily non-competitive marathon linking stages together with a selection of special stages on the cream of Wales' purpose-built trails for singletrack speed shakes: Cwmrhaedr, Brechfa Forest, the Cli-Machx trail, and Nant y Arian.

  Special Stages

  In the special stages, racer tackle rally-style time trials in pairs and in relay during the day or at night, but unlike previous TransWales events, 2009 will see these special stages blended into the marathon linking stages themselves.

  This means that riders will begin their day on the linking stage, which will be routed through one of the key trail centre venues where they will tackle the time trial before continuing on the linking stage to the day's end. All the linking stages are non-competitive marathon rides that do not affect the overall classification. It's in the special stages themselves that all the hard and fast competitive action goes on, being as they are held on forestry commission or private land and are not subject to bridleway restrictions.

  In 2006, the inaugural TransUK event was run as the TransWales. After up-rooting to Scotland for the 2007 TransScotland, the event returned home to Wales in 2008 for what was reportedly the wettest week on record - which made the already tough proposition even harder.

  That didn't deter racer and mountain bike innovator Keith Bontrager from saying, "There was more good singletrack in this than in any other Trans race by far - maybe a factor of 10 or more. If you are fond of singletrack, as I am, that is a big deal."

  Or put another way, racer Les Taylor of Team Bugpowderdust summed up his previous experience, "It was the hardest, sh**tiest, wettest, longest, most scenic, best damn sodding riding I've done in my life."

  The race, starting and finishing in Builth Wells, will cover 500km (312 miles) and clibm 14,500m (47,560 feet). Racers may compete in pairs or solo.

  Day 1: Builth Wells - Llanidloes

  Distance: 65km
  Ascent: 1666m
  Descent: 1634m

  Day 2: Llanidloes - Machynlleth

  Distance: 79km
  Ascent: 2523m
  Descent: 2668m

  Day 3: Machynlleth - Cwmystwyth

  Distance: 78km
  Ascent: 2268m
  Descent: 2025m

  Day 4: Cwmystwyth - Cilycwm

  Distance: 69km
  Ascent: 2012m
  Descent: 2156m

  Day 5: Cilycwm - Llansawel

  Distance: 68km
  Ascent: 2183m
  Descent: 2153m

  Day 6: Llansawel - Llanwrtyd Wells

  Distance: 63km
  Ascent: 1734m
  Descent: 1679m

  Day 7: Llanwrtyd Wells - Builth Wells

  Distance: 68km
  Ascent: 1976m
  Descent: 2044m

  All distances, ascents and descents are approximate.
   

• Bromont ready for the World Cup, rain or shine

  

  Article published:

  July 31, 2009, 16:15

  By:

  Rob Jones

  Racers prepare for second consecutive weekend in Quebec, Canada

  One week after a successful start to the second half of the season in Mont Sainte Anne, Quebec, Canada, the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup moves a few hours down the road to the classic Bromont venue for round six of the cross country and round seven of the downhill and four cross. Bromont was the site of the 1992 World Championships and held numerous World Cup events in the early days of the series, before making a strong return last year with a triple event. Last year, heavy rain had an impact on the courses and the racing; however, the forecast is for near perfect conditions all weekend, plus organizers have spent countless hours rebuilding the circuits to withstand wet conditions.

  The four cross has 51 men and 16 women registered from 13 countries - a new record for a North American four cross.

  Four cross

  Last year, Bromont was the most talked about four cross track of the series, and was voted the top event of the series by riders, teams and the media. The run has been upgraded and tweaked, but still includes the unique, corkscrew 360-degree turn halfway down. Jared Graves (Yeti Fox) has already mathematically won the men's series with two races remaining, but there are lots of other riders hoping to score an individual victory - particularly second ranked Roger Rinderknecht, who crashed out of the final last weekend. The women's series is still wide open, with Anneke Beerten (Suspension Center) opening a small points gap on her perennial rival, American Jill Kintner after Kintner crashed in the women's final, but this series is by no means settled, with Beerten saying, "This one is going to go right down to the last race, I think."

  Downhill

  The downhill course has undergone some modifications, with the big drop-off at the top of the course replaced by a smaller one, but it is still a course that requires an all around rider to win. Fionn Griffith (Norco) said, "I's more flowy now, and it has held up really well in the wet."

  Last week's men's winner Sam Hill (Specialized Factory Racing) took over the men's series lead after Mont Sainte Anne, and he will be hoping to repeat his 2008 win at Bromont. However, the Santa Cruz duo of Greg Minnaar and Steve Peat have won four events so far this season, and will try to take back the leader's jersey; especially Minnaar after his crash and mechanical-plagued runs last weekend. On the women's side, it is all Sabrina Jonnier (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain), with five consecutive victories this season. Can she extend it to six?

  Cross country

  The cross country course is the one which has undergone the most extensive revision. The entire five kilometre course has been rebuilt, with a new climb in the first half, and hundreds of hours of work in the second, wooded section, to make a track that riders can race come rain or shine.

  Organizers went into muddy wooded section with a bulldozer to scrap out the dark, soft topsoil - which turns into a bog when it rains - and laid down gravel, rocks and more clay soil. It has definitely worked; after a huge thunderstorm Wednesday night, the circuit was still 99% rideable the next day, according to both Roel Paulissen (Cannondale) and Derek Zandstra (3 Rox Racing).

  Most of the circuit is unrecognizable from last year, with the straight up the mountain climb that started the lap replaced with a winding switchback course. Once at the top, the riders traverse the hill above the four cross run in a series of linked singletrack sections that allow no time for recovery after the climb. From here the course drops into the woods for more singletrack, followed by a long, fast gravel road descent. Along the bottom, the riders head back into singletrack and three rock gardens before finally finishing the lap. The expectation is that the women will do five laps and the men seven. There is no start loop.

  The women's race will see local fans hoping for a battle between top Canadian prospects Catharine Pendrel (Luna), the defending champion and last week's winner in Mont Sainte Anne, and the Quebec favourite Marie-Helene Premont (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain). Premont suffered mechanical problems on her home course in Mont Sainte Anne, so she will certainly be looking for a better performance here. World champion and World Cup leader Marga Fullana (Massi) will be looking to regain some of the ground she lost in Mont Sainte Anne, and this course has a climb that favours her abilities, with much less technical riding. Second-ranked Irina Kalentieva (Topeak-Ergon), who was second last weekend, will also be looking for a good ride, since she has the opportunity to overtake Fullana in the World Cup rankings.

  Julien Absalon (Orbea) is aiming to repeat his 2008 winning ways here in Bromont, and take his fifth consecutive win of the season in the men's race. A win would make him unbeatable for the overall title. However, both Jose Hermida (Multivan Merida) and Canadian favourite Geoff Kabush (Maxxis-Rocky Mountain) finished just behind the Olympic champion a week ago and will race to improve upon their placings. Hermida's teammate Ralph Näf is always a stronger starter, and Bromont could be the course where he manages to hold that lead to the finish. One other contender, who is still looking for his first World Cup win, is Germany's Wolfram Kurschat (Topeak Ergon). Kurschat dropped from second to fourth in the overall standings after a poor showing in Mont Sainte Anne. However, the Bromont circuit plays to his strengths.

  The action begins on Friday with downhill and four cross qualifying, followed by the finals for both those events on Saturday, and ends with the junior and elite cross country races on Sunday.
   

• National Ultra Endurance Series stops next at the Wildernesss 101

  

  Article published:

  July 30, 2009, 21:41

  By:

  Barry Kunkle

  Deep women's field set for Saturday

  The National Ultra Endurance (NUE) series will visit the Wilderness 101 in Coburn, Pennsylvania, on Saturday for its fifth stop of the 2009 season. The oldest 100-mile mountain bike race in the country will be celebrating this year by returning to its traditional course of 2005-2007 with over 10,000ft of climbing through the Rothrock and Bald Eagle State Forests. Situated outside State College Pennsylvania, Coburn epitomizes the small mountain villages that dot the landscape of central Pennsylvania and the Allegheny Mountains of the East Coast.

  Race headquarters will be based out of Coburn's city park, where entrants register, camp, start and finish the race. Riders will be traveling a course that splits the 100 miles into roughly 30 miles of singletrack interspersed amongst unused logging roads, gravel state forest roads and a tiny bit of pavement. Riders will face a big day of climbing and descending on trails that have a reputation for being narrower and more technical than any of the other races on the NUE series schedule.

  Jeff Schalk (Trek Racing Co-Op) is returning to defend his 2008 win after a recent trip to Colorado to race in the Breckenridge 100 where he placed second to Josh Tostado (Bach Builders / Santa Cruz). Tostado is hoping to repeat that performance, but might find the course a bit short to his liking, with a traditional sub-seven hour finishing time for the 101. Schalk's BC Bike Race partner Chris Eatough (Trek Racing Co-Op) will be there - not as a teammate but as a fierce competitor - in a race that he has previously won.

  The strength of the women's field is shaping up to challenge the normal depth of the men's class. East Coasters Cheryl Sorenson (Trek Racing Co-Op), Betsy Shogren (Cannondale Factory Racing), retired pro Sue Haywood, Carolyn Popovic and Karen Potter are just a sampling of the talent that will be lining up against the West Coast protagonists of Pua Sawicki (Team Mata) and Erika Tieszen (Bach Builders).

  Stay tuned to tuned to Cyclingnews for full coverage of the race.

• Rusch overcomes pressure for 24-hour threepeat

  

  Article published:

  July 30, 2009, 14:29

  By:

  Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor

  Defending champ wins 24-hour solo world championship

  Despite the pressure leading up to the 24 hours of Adrenaline World Solo Championships, Rebecca Rusch (Specialized Factory Racing) had just what it took to win her third title in Canmore, Canada, last weekend. The former adventure racer from Idaho covered 180 miles over 18 laps with 30,000 feet of climbing in 23 hours.

  "I... achieved a goal that I had not dreamed possible: three consecutive 24 hour solo World Championship titles!" said a happy Rusch on her blog after the race. "The pain and damage my body took from the thrashing is going to take weeks of recovery. The glow of winning worlds three years in a row is going to take years to wear off."

  Rusch modified her training so as to focus it on her goal of winning the worlds. "The pressure of coming back multiple years in a row with a target on my back and the expectation of winning was a heavy weight. The unspoken pressure was thick and anything less than a three-peat would have been a disappointment for me."

  The course offered little opportunity for rest. Rusch's partner Greg Martin described it as "similar to operating a jackhammer for 24 hours".

  Rusch battled US 24-hour national champion Jari Kirkland among others. On lap one she quickly built a seven-minute advantage which she opened up at a rate of about five minutes per lap until night.

  "Before dark I lapped Jessica Douglas from Australia and shortly after that Jari Kirland," said Rusch, who had a 90-minute lead at the 12-hour mark.

  "I settled into the darkness and my favorite part of these ultra long races. The night riding offers a whole different dimension to the riding experience and a calm settles over the race," said Rusch.

  It wasn't an easy win, however, as Rusch suffered stomach problems in the morning and had to convert to a liquid diet. Severe asthma attacks didn't help either.

  "I had a scare when Jari came blowing by me on an uphill around 8:00 am. I was still a lap ahead of her, but she had unexpectedly gained time on me while I was stopped in my pit trying to get some food down."

  Nonetheless, Rusch plugged on and finished the race at about 11:15 am, when she was greeted by her supporters with hugs and congratulations.

  "I have no idea what is in store for me next. For the moment, I am going to take a well-earned break and let my body and mind relax for a bit."

  Rusch will have plenty of time to celebrate with her partner Greg Martin, who won his second consecutive 24-hour singlespeed title during the same event.

  Read Rusch's complete account of her race on her blog.

• Liquigas backs mountain bike event

  

  Article published:

  July 30, 2009, 14:15

  By:

  Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor

  Franzoi and Corioni to start in the "Pedalonga"

  Liquigas, an Italian gas manufacturer known in the cycling world for sponsoring a pro road team, is also putting its support behind a team mountain bike race known as the "Pedalonga".

  The event will be run on August 2 in the area of Sega Dion in Comelico Superiore in Italy. More than 300 teams are signed up to cover the 42km that passes near the summit of the Quaternà, an extinct volcano.

  Besides lending its support, Liquigas pros Enrico Franzio and Claudio Corioni will take the start. Franzoi is experienced in both cyclo-cross and mountain bike racing and plans to guide his partner Corioni through the race.

• New head for Swiss mountain biking

  

  Article published:

  July 30, 2009, 11:45

  By:

  Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor

  Peter takes over for Stutz

  Thomas Peter will take over the role of managing mountain biking for the Swiss Cycling Federation effective in September. The federation called Thomas an "expert" regarding mountain biking and noted that he has worked with several teams so far in his career. He graduated from the sports school Macolin.

  Peter will take over the position of Sonja Stutz, who is returning to school in Lausanne to pursue a masters degree.

  The Swiss consistently produce internationally successful mountain bikers including riders like current world champion Christoph Sauser, Ralf Naef, Florian Vogel, Martin Gujan, Lukas Flückiger, Nino Schurer, Nathalie Schneitter, Petra Henzi, Katrin Leumann and Esther Süss, just to name a few.