MTB News & Racing Round-up, October 8, 2009

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Date published:

October 9, 2009, 03:08

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.

• Danielson heads to Roc d'Azur

  

  Article published:

  October 8, 2009, 20:50

  By:

  Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor

  Garmin-Slipstream road pro will enjoy some time on the dirt

  Garmin-Slipstream's Tom Danielson will be spending a little time getting dirty this weekend. The American professional road racer is travelling to the Roc d'Azur in France, where he will participate in some of the non-competitive, organized mountain bike rides.

  Danielson is not planning to race. Instead, the weekend will be all about riding for fun.

  "I'd like to race it, but I'm going to do the Giro di Lombardia next, and I'm just coming off some broken ribs at the Vuelta a Espana, so racing probably isn't the best idea," said Danielson to Cyclingnews from the airport as he prepared to travel to Europe.

  Danielson lives in Durango, Colorado, a well-known destination among mountain bikers. Last month, Durango hosted the Singlespeed World Championships. The Garmin rider had heard about the Roc d'Azur from another Durango legend, former mountain bike pro Ned Overend. "I'm excited to check it out," said Danielson.

  "Racing the Roc d'Azur is on my list for the future," said Danielson. "Mountain biking is one of my favorite off-season activities. I grew up mountain bike racing, and it's a passion of mine. I'd love to do some races again... maybe if my season ever ends sooner..."

  It will be Danielson's first time at Roc d'Azur, a multi-day festival of racing and non-competitive events and expos. Elite racers will compete in a marathon on Friday, October 9, and in cross country races over the weekend, October 10-11. Amateur races and rides are scheduled from Wednesday through Sunday.

  Racing mountain bikes for what little is left of the 2009 season is out of the question for Danielson, though.

  "With my racing calendar, I've been racing (on the road) since the beginning of February," said Danielson. "The Giro di Lombardia isn't until the end of October, and then I will have to let my body recover given that it's such a long season."

  Danielson will be riding a new mountain bike from his road bike sponsor Felt while he's at the Roc d'Azur.

  Follow Cyclingnews on Twitter for the very latest coverage of events taking place in the cycling world - twitter.com/cyclingnewsfeed.

• Granny Award nominees selected

  

  Article published:

  October 8, 2009, 20:34

  By:

  Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor

  Best Dutch and Belgium mountain bikers of the year nominated

  Nominees for the Granny Awards, which go to the best mountain bikers of the year in Belgium and the Netherlands, have been announced. Final winners for each category will be revealed on November 7.

  On Thursday, award organizers released a list of nominees in two categories: one is a Belgian national-level award based on performances at Benelux national-level series races and another is for both Dutch and Belgian racers racing well internationally. For 2009, more Dutch than Belgian riders were nominated for the international award.

  International - Level Award Nominees
  
  Elite men
  Sven Nys (Bel)
  Rudi Van Houts (Ned)
  Bas Peeters (Ned)
  Roel Paulissen (Bel)
  Jelmer Pietersma (Ned)
  
  Under 23 men
  Sebastien Carabin (Bel)
  Henk Jaap Moorlag (Ned)
  Tom Meeuwsen (Bel)
  Irjan Luttenberg (Ned)
  Niels Wubben (Ned)
  
  Elite women
  Laura Turpijn (Ned)
  Monique Zeldenrust (Ned)
  Githa Michiels (Bel)
  Arielle Van Meurs (Ned)
  Kristien Nelen (Ned)

  (Belgian) National-level Award Nominees
  
  Elite men
  Patrick Gaudy
  Jimmy Tielens
  Hans Urkens
  Nicolas Vermeulen
  Kevin Van Hoovels
  
  Elite women
  Nancy Bober
  Sanne Cant
  Joyce Vanderbeken
  Kristien Nelen
  Petra Mermans
  
  Beginners
  Jens Scheurmans
  Laurens Sweeck
  Jens Vandekinderen
  
  Under 23 men
  Olivie Labie
  Tim Wijnants
  Sebastien Carabin
  Nick Daems
  Tom Meeusen
  
  Junior men
  Bart De Vocht
  Jeff Luyten
  Ruben Scheire
  
  Master 1 men
  Gerrit Delfosse
  Telly Parys
  Peter Verstraete
  
  Master 2 men
  Patrick Wellens
  Erik Evers
  Ronny Geerts
  
  Young women
  Claudia Claesen
  Elise Marchal
  Steffi Derveaux

  Follow Cyclingnews on Twitter for the very latest coverage of events taking place in the cycling world - twitter.com/cyclingnewsfeed.

• Crowne Plaza Canberra team challenging at Scott 24-hour race

  

  Article published:

  October 8, 2009, 20:06

  By:

  Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor

  Henderson, Haas, Braunsteins, McConnell want elite title

  Local favourite Ben Henderson has teamed up with Nathan Haas, Daniel Braunsteins and Daniel McConnell to ride for Crowne Plaza Canberra as a men's four-man elite team in this weekend's Scott 24-Hour mountain bike race in Canberra, Australia.

  Henderson, Haas and Olympian McConnell are in fine form after riding in the recent UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, also held at Stromlo Park, Canberra, in September.

  The hotly contested four-man team category was dominated last year by Team GU SRAM Niteriders, who will this year be without the controversial rider Chris Jongewaard.

  Jongewaard was last year's winner of the GU Prologue, and his absence will open the floor for a new king of speed. Sid Taberley placed second to Jongewaard in last year's prologue and will be flying back from the US to claim his place as the fastest man on the mountain.

  Paul Shaw, the Director of Sales and Marketing at Crowne Plaza Canberra, is confident in the ability of the new team. This is the first year that Crowne Plaza Canberra has entered an elite team in the Scott 24-hour race, and it could be the first year a non-bike industry team takes the title.

  "The Scott 24-Hour is a stalwart of the Canberra cycling scene, and Crowne Plaza Canberra is excited to be putting forward such a strong team. If I was a betting man, my dollars would be on the Crowne Plaza team to dominate!" said Shaw.

  The Scott 24-Hour will kick off with a prologue on Saturday morning, October 10, followed by the main endurance race. There are over 400 solo riders and over 2,000 team riders competing.

  Over the weekend riders and spectators alike will enjoy a range of exciting entertainment including demonstrations, kids races as well as a trade show showcasing the latest mountain biking accessories, gadgets, and bikes.

  For more information, visit www.scott24hr.com.au

  Follow Cyclingnews on Twitter for the very latest coverage of events taking place in the cycling world - twitter.com/cyclingnewsfeed.

• "Best Stage Ever" to open Croc Trophy

  

  Article published:

  October 7, 2009, 21:40

  By:

  John Flynn

  Plenty of climbing on tap for the race's highest stage yet

  Crocodile Trophy Supremo Gerhard Schoenbacher gave a spirited seal of approval to the opening stage for the 2009 edition of Australia's iconic international mountain bike race, which is set to take the event to new heights as it tests protagonists from October 20-29.

  Conducting his traditional pre-race reconnaissance, Schoenbacher joined rangers from the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service for a personal tour of the stage one parcours, which will take in a hand-picked selection world heritage-listed wet tropics rainforest.

  The 90-kilometre journey from the tropical oasis city of Cairns to Lake Tinaroo on Australia's Tropical Tableland will include close to 2,400 metres of climbing, making it the highest mountain stage in the history of the race and one that can only be described in its purest form as cross country mountain biking.

  "Over the 15 years of the race, I think this is our best stage ever," Schoenbacher said as he surveyed the backdrop for the stage one campsite at Downfall Creek on Lake Tinaroo.

  "This stage has everything and I mean everything for the riders."

  When the international peloton, headed by former World and Olympic Champion Bart Brentjens, rolls out of Cairns on October 20, riders will be confronted with what is arguably the toughest climbing assignment ever served up in an Australian mountain bike stage race.

  The ascending will begin with a comparatively easy 15 kilometres on the famed "Copperlode" climb to Lake Morris, in the heavily rainforested mountains behind Cairns. From there, the gradient will double as riders are confronted with pitches of close to 20 percent gradient when they negotiate the Bridle Creek track en-route to Davies Creek National Park.

  There will be some brief respite as the race rolls across the farmland of the Tropical Tableland, but the best will be saved for last on the climb of Mount Edith, the highest unsealed road in Queensland, with the summit at 1,200 metres.

  "The good news for the bikers is that the final 10 kilometres to LakeTinaroo will be mostly downhill," Schoenbacher said.
  "And the riders will be able to cool off with a swim in the lake ... they will need that!"

  The Crocodile Trophy peloton for 2009 will include riders from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Italy, The Czech Republic, Germany, The Netherlands, Slovenia, Switzerland, Spain, and South Africa.

  The race begins in Cairns on October 20 and will venture deep into the Australian Outback before finishing on a tropical beach at Cape Tribulation on October 29.

  Follow Cyclingnews on Twitter for the very latest coverage of events taking place in the cycling world - twitter.com/cyclingnewsfeed.

• Mulally and Bourque lead Gravity East Series

  

  Article published:

  October 7, 2009, 17:20

  By:

  Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor

  Plattekill hosting final round this weekend, October 9-11

  As racers prepare to battle the trails at New York's Plattekill Mountain for double points and season championships at this weekend's Gravity East Finals on October 9-11, it's useful to not only look at the who's on top of the chart, but also how they got there.

  When the chairlift was turned on at Massanutten, Virginia, back in the beginning of May, few realized the impact the sophomore year of Gravity East would have. Since then, 94 men and women have scored points in the pro downhill classes alone. A total of 1,620 entries (up 32 percent from last year, with one race still remaining) have pulled to the start of at least one Gravity East race this year in both pro and amateur categories. The best of the best, however, have been Dawn Bourque, Karen Eagan and, of course, Neko Mulally.
  
  After her win at last week's race at Mount Snow, Eagan has a commanding lead in the women's dual slalom standings. With only a 10th place finish needed for Eagan to clinch, the season title could be decided in qualifying.
  
  On the downhill side of the women's standings, Bourque missed the first three races of the season before going on a five-race win streak, eventually finishing with six wins and a second place out of seven races. Bourque needs only a fifth place finish to clinch the Gravity East trophy, but first she needs to show up and survive a run on the treacherous trails of the mountain nicknamed "Splattekill". Eagan is waiting in the wings. The likely dual slalom champ has shown she's capable of winning the championships in both disciplines when she beat Bourque, and everybody else, in the downhill at Blue Mountain, Pennsylvania, two weeks ago.
  
  The star of this Gravity East season, though, is unquestionably Neko Mulally. With 300 points in the dual slalom championship, compared to just 133 for second-place Kyle Sanger, the only way Mulally can lose the championship is if his competitors can keep him off the property, since Gravity East rules require attendance at the finals in order to be declared season champion.

  Sanger may have some help from the downhillers in setting-up a blockade to keep Mulally out. Though currently sitting in third place in the downhill standings behind Jason Memmelaar and Alejandro Ortiz, Mulally has the virtual lead in the standings because of dropped races and only needs a 23rd place or better to clinch both Gravity East Divisions.

  When taking into account dropped races, Ben Hulse and Zach Faulkner move up from sixth and seventh, respectively, in the official standings to third and fourth respectively. Hulse, however, hasn't shown up for the last three races. Will he attend Plattekill and try to take home a share of the US$5,000 season's point money being awarded?
  
  Of course, Gravity East is more than just pros. A total of 23 amateur class championships in both downhill and dual slalom will also be awarded. And, like the pros, attendance at the finals is a requirement to win the championship.

  Plattekill first opened for riding in 1995, when Missy Giove was still World Champion and Neko Mulally was wearing diapers. Since then, Plattekill has been host to tens of thousands of visitors and countless races.

  Plattekill's Marketing Advisor George Ulmer described the downhill course as "loose and steep," and said racers can expect "a lot of shale and drops with good flow on natural terrain".

  For more information on this weekend's Gravity East Finals at Plattekill, see www.GravityEastSeries.com and www.Plattekill.com.

  Complete standings are below.

  Results

  Downhill - Elite men's standings after 10 of 11 rounds

  #	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
  1	Jason Memmelaar	6175	pts
  2	Alejandro Ortiz	6155
  3	Neko Mulally	5815
  4	Jeff Cayley	5765
  5	Erik Gosselin	5598
  6	Ben Hulse	5197
  7	Zach Faulkner	5103
  8	Ben Moody	4820
  9	Chris Higgerson	3799
  10	Gavin Vaughan	3793
  11	Bj Treglia	3556
  12	Conor Rowan	3550
  13	Tim Howland	3008
  14	Luke Snyder	3000
  15	Jason Beckley	2914
  16	Justin Gregory	2889
  17	Marvin Scanland	2810
  18	David Haas	2792
  19	Geritt Beytagh	2352
  20	David Flynn	2208
  21	Geoffrey Ulmer	2193
  22	Kyle Sanger	2174
  23	Tyler Wilson	2154
  24	Patrick Noonan	2148
  25	Brian Yannuzzi	2107
  26	Dan Whitehead	2101
  27	Andrew Bressem	2033
  28	Jergen Beneke	1650
  29	Chris Heath	1605
  30	Sean Mcclendon	1600
  31	Adam Morse	1560
  32	Trevyn Newpher	1515
  33	Dan Sim	1501
  34	Jonthan Gaber	1500
  35	Ethan Quehl	1495
  36	Lars Tribus	1483
  37	Dan Ferreira	1471
  38	Tim Price	1455
  39	Michael Thomas	1441
  40	Christopher Talotta	1432
  41	Kevin Green	1416
  42	Bert Boyce	1408
  43	Josh Misevcis	1398
  44	Avery Busch	1392
  45	Tom Bubier	1385
  46	Willem Cooper	1381
  47	Matty Komar	1377
  48	Justin Beers	1361
  49	Tim White	1359
  50	Paul Adams	1358
  51	Beniot Mioux	815
  52	Shaums March	795
  53	Szymon Kowalski	780
  54	George Ryan	780
  55	Heikki Hall	765
  56	Trevor Hallenbeck	750
  57	Yann Gauvin	730
  58	James Rennie	726
  59	Logan Binggeli	726
  60	John-Ryan Quick	722
  61	Pete Fougere	722
  62	Steve Avery	722
  63	Naish Ulmer	722
  64	John Leslie	714
  65	James Pattertson	714
  66	Jenny Jade	710
  67	Billy Melone	710
  68	Sam Mellen	710
  69	Chris Scannell	702
  70	Vincent Paliseno	698
  71	Daniel Hultgen	698
  72	Jon Gabon	694
  73	Paul Mcneil	694
  74	Vincent Tremblay	694
  75	James Jeannet	687
  76	Dave Trumpure	681
  77	Ken Walter	678
  78	Bryan Willis	678
  79	Brian Piper	675
  80	Sam Adams	673
  81	Taylor Rowlands	669
  82	Tom Kakamousias	665

  Downhill - Elite women's standings after 10 of 11 rounds

  #	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
  1	Dawn Bourque	5945	pts
  2	Karen Eagan	5745
  3	Stephanie Gubernat	5620
  4	Hillary Elgert	3225
  5	Alexis Wruble	2370
  6	Gandolf Rae	2038
  7	Allegra Burch	1635
  8	Lauren Petersen	1590
  9	Alexandra Lacroix	795
  9	Jennifer Wolf	780
  9	Ellen Adams	765
  10	Alicia Jakomait	750

  Dual Slalom - Elite men's standings with one round remaining

  #	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
  1	Neko Mullaly	300	pts
  2	Allejandro Ortiz	155
  3	Kyle Sangers	133
  4	Brian Piper	113
  5	Kyle Ebbett	105
  6	Jason Beckley	100
  7	James Patterson	95
  8	Lars Tribus	90
  9	Zack Faulkner	70
  10	Tim While	55
  11	Jason Memmelaar	50
  12	Avery Buch	50
  13	Geritt Beytagh	50
  14	Steve Avery	45
  15	Benjamin Hulse	45
  17	Trevyn Newpher	40
  18	John Gabor	35
  19	Tyler Wilson	35
  20	Harold Woolnough	35
  21	Bj Treglia	30
  22	David Flynn	30
  23	Matty Komar	30
  24	Erik Gosselin	28
  25	Tom Oakes	26
  26	Heikki Hall	26
  27	Jay Dejesus	24

  Dual Slalom - Elite women's standings with one round remaining

  #	Rider Name (Country) Team	Result
  1	Karen Eagan	280	pts
  2	Kate Parhiala	210
  3	Lauren Daney	120
  4	Dawn Bourque	120
  5	Hillary Elgert	55
  6	Hannah Trimble	45

  Follow Cyclingnews on Twitter for the very latest coverage of events taking place in the cycling world - twitter.com/cyclingnewsfeed.

• Record numbers attend Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day

  

  Article published:

  October 7, 2009, 15:30

  By:

  Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor

  Participation doubles for events held in 12 countries

  Thousands of kids participated in events around the world as part of the International Mountain Bike Association's Take a Kid Mountain Biking Day (TAKMBD). On Sunday, October 3, local clubs organized 167 community events to get more kids on mountain bikes on their local trails.

  Events were held across the United States as well as in Australia, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, Spain and New Zealand.

  At least 7,100 kids participated according to IMBA's Communications Director, Mark Webber. That's how many kids were signed up as of September 15, the deadline for official registration. "We had events in 12 countries and in just about every state in the Lower 48 of the US," said Webber to Cyclingnews. It was the largest turnout in the TAKMBD's six-year history.

  "The program has been so successful that we can barely keep up," said Webber of the administrative and event planning support provided by IMBA. "We'll have to look at what we'll do next year. We want to bring in additional sponsor dollars to support the program." From 2008 to 2009, participation in terms of riders doubled and the number of events grew 39 percent.

  Each event is slightly different - details of the organization are left up to local promoters. For example, at a TAKMBD in Harrisonburg, Virginia, 40 kids of all ages participated in a bicycle safety exercise sponsored by city police before joining local Shenandoah Valley Bicycle Coalition volunteers for a mountain bike ride on singletrack and some time on the pump track. Some kids were loaned helmets and bicycles so they could participate while others rode their personal bikes. Kids could participate in rides of varying lengths and difficulties.

  TAKMBD celebrates the life of Jack Doub, an avid teenage mountain biker from North Carolina who had a true passion for the sport from an early age to the time when he passed away in 2002.

  Follow Cyclingnews on Twitter for the very latest coverage of events taking place in the cycling world - twitter.com/cyclingnewsfeed.

• 24-hour junkies flocking to Fort William

  

  Article published:

  October 7, 2009, 15:15

  By:

  Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor

  Relentless 24 coming up this weekend, October 10-11

  Hundreds of mountain bikers will flock to the Outdoor Capital of the UK this weekend, October 10-11, for the Relentless 24, a 24-hour race in the Nevis Range and Leanachan Forest, near Fort William, Scotland.

  Just making it around the testing course in one piece will not be enough for racers; instead they will aim to complete as many laps as possible throughout the day and on into the night and next morning.

  "With the huge diversity of routes available to us we have conjured up another cracker this year," said Frazer Coupland of No Fuss Events. "It includes sections of the World Cup Witch's Trail and even some sections from the first Relentless back in 2006."

  "The technical climbs are hard but fair and there are brilliant singletrack descents as a reward. I am so chuffed with this year's course I have entered a team myself. Why should I miss out on all the fun?"

  Organizers have planned a course that should hold up in wet or dry conditions.

  Solo racer and teams of two, three or four may compete. The action will kick off at noon on Saturday with a Le Mans start including up to 300 riders.

  For more information, visit www.nofussevents.co.uk.

  Follow Cyclingnews on Twitter for the very latest coverage of events taking place in the cycling world - twitter.com/cyclingnewsfeed.