MTB News & Racing Round-up, Thursday, February 23, 2012

• Previous Edition
• Next Edition

Date published:

February 23, 01:00

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.

• Platt tops favorites lists for MTN Sabie Marathon

  

  Article published:

  February 21, 16:54

  By:

  Cycling News

  First 2012 UCI marathon world series set for Saturday

  The MTN Sabie marathon, which is scheduled to take place this coming Saturday, February 25, may turn out to be a dress rehearsal for the Absa Cape Epic.

  Germany's Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm (both Team Bulls), who have perfected the art of winning the Epic, have indicated that they will compete in the MTN Sabie race. Kevin Evans and David George (Nedbank360Life), as well as Jacques Rossouw and Brandon Stewart (Team Fedgroup-Itec Connect), will also compete.

  The MTN Sabie will be the first event of the UCI Marathon World Series in 2012, and it is likely that more of the world's best riders will be participating.

  Last year Platt made played the "waiting game" to achieve victory in Sabie. Despite valiant efforts by the South African and Namibian riders to put him under pressure, the German rider refused to be intimidated. He simply continued to ride at his own pace, biding his time for the right moment to dish out his own punishment.

  The Jantjiesbos climb which was a new addition to the race in 2011, definitely has the necessary qualities to become one of the legendary climbs in South African mountain biking. When Platt eventually attacked on the Jantjiesbos climb, it was game over for his opponents within minutes. Not one of the local riders was able to stay with him and his lead of a few seconds quickly turned into minutes.

  The route that the riders had to take to get to the top of the Jantjiesbos climb was a technical challenge with lines to be picked over rough terrain. Afterwards Platt, a four-time winner of the Epic, was full of praise for the way the MTN Sabie marathon was organized.

  According to him, the route compared favourably with that of any international marathon. Apparently the decision makers of the UCI agreed with Platt. That is why it has been incorporated it into its worldwide series.

  "It was a tough and challenging race, but still enjoyable," was Platt's summary of his race experience.

  After winning the inaugural Cape Epic in 2004 with Mannie Heymans as his partner, Platt went on to win the Epic in 2007, 2009 and 2010 with Stefan Sahm as his teammate. They finished second in 2008.

  Platt got his breakthrough in marathon racing in 2001 with a surprise victory at the Lake Garda Marathon. In the same year, he finished third in the TransAlp Challenge. Since then there has hardly been a marathon that Platt has not either won or at least finished on the podium.

  A definite highlight was winning the Triple Crown - TransAlp, Cape Epic and Trans Rockies in 2002 with three different partners. In 2007 Platt, with Sahm as his partner, again won the Triple Crown.

• Kleinhans determined to win mixed category at Cape Epic

  

  Article published:

  February 21, 19:08

  By:

  Cycling News

  Team Contego ready to take on 2012 edition of race

  Erik and Ariane Kleinhans, a married couple from Stellenbosch, are aiming to win the mixed category at this year's Absa Cape Epic. The pair will race as Team Contego from March 25 to April 1. This year will be their second Cape Epic together.

  "The Absa Cape Epic is the best known mountain bike stage race in the world and very special in South Africa. If you tell people that you're a mountain biker, they always ask whether you've done the Cape Epic," said Ariane, 28.

  It will be Erik's fifth edition of the race. "We just love to be part of it," he said. "We feel positive about winning the mixed category after we finished second in 2011. But the competition is always tough, and we'll have to work hard for it."

  "We have a bit more experience in stage racing than last year, and I'm also in my second year as a pro rider, with a lot more training and racing in my legs. We really feel we have an excellent chance of winning," said Ariane.

  The pair makes a good team, according to Erik, because they live together, train together and sleep together. "I'm sure our best attribute is the fact that we really care about each other and know each other very well," he said.

  "With Erik's experience of six stage races in the last year, he knows exactly how to motivate and support me, to get the best out of me," said Ariane. "It's actually very easy to be in a team with him, as he is so selfless and helpful all the time. I couldn't have wished for a better partner."

  The two began training to prepare for the Cape Epic this year in December. They started with longer rides and last month added in some intervals.

  "Training together motivates me, especially the interval training," said Ariane. "When I see how hard he's racing, I automatically push myself to the limit. When we do long rides, I usually stay in his slipstream or I ride the road bike, while he's on the slower mountain bike."

  They've learned from experience to prepare for the inevitable flat tires and to acclimate in advance by training in the heat. Bringing earplugs so its quiet when sleeping in the tents is also key.

  Both feel that the early stages of the race are the most difficult. "The first stages are more stressful - you don't know who your competition is yet, so it takes a day or two to get into the swing of things," said Erik, 29.

  Ariane believes that the prologue is the most difficult. "The prologue is the deciding factor for the first stage, therefore the tension and pressure is quite high and this makes it difficult on the technically demanding course of the first day."

  The two got married the weekend after the 2011 Cape Epic. When asked about married life, Erik said, "Our lives didn't change much since we got married. But we still enjoy each other's company very much and the best thing about it is that we have parallel goals and we can live this amazing life together."

  "It's great to share the same passion with somebody," said Ariane. "So yes, I'm enjoying being married very much. Like any other relationship, we also have challenges we have to get through. But that makes us an even better team and I believe this will be our big advantage in the race."

  "I still get very emotional when I think back to last year," said Ariane. "It's because of these kinds of emotions that we're so passionate about the sport. Last year was very overwhelming for me. We managed to beat the leading team and current world champion, Ester Süss, in the last stage. I gave everything that day and never suffered so much on a bike before. When we reached Lourensford, there was this amazing crowd and my mother, who came all the way from Switzerland, was waiting for me. I'll never forget that moment in my life."

  Erik said he is most looking forward to the atmosphere of the race. "It's so great with everybody fighting to finish and hearing all the war stories. It's definitely the experience I look most forward to." Ariane is also looking forward to seeing her friends from Switzerland at the race this year.

  Among their other goals for 2012, Ariane would like to finish in the top five at the marathon world championships, win the MTN Marathon Series, the Swiss Marathons and the JoBerg2C and Sani 2c. Erik is hoping for a podium finish at the South African national marathon championships.

  The Cape Epic will cover eight days of racing over 781km from Meerendal Wine Estate in Durbanville to the Lourensford Wine Estate in Somerset West.

• Adelaide to host Australia's best this weekend

  

  Article published:

  February 21, 23:11

  By:

  Cycling News

  Mountain bike national champions to be crowned

  Adelaide will once again be the cycling capital of Australia when it hosts the 2012 Australian Mountain Bike Championships from February 22 to 26. This weekend, all eyes will be on the Eagle Mountain Bike Park for five days of cross dountry, downhill, four cross and observed trials action, with a host of Australia's mountain bike elite set to contest the championships.

  Cross country

  With the London 2012 Olympic Games now less than 200 days away, the Olympic format cross country races will attract much of the attention with many mouth watering contests in both the men's and women's fields.

  All Mountain Cup standings leader Andrew Blair has been the most consistent throughout the season to date, taking the win in the opening round in Perth and finishing third in Mt Buller. Blair will face tough opposition from former national champion and 2008 Olympian Dan McConnell, who claimed the honours at both Mt Buller and Stromlo last weekend.

  Four-time national cross country champion Chris Jongewaard will be eager to defend his title as he aims for London, with 2011 under 23 champion Paul Van Der Ploeg showing recent strong form in the elite fields. Sid Taberlay is also be expected to perform strongly.

  In the women's cross country, series leader Jenni King has been in scintillating form taking the win in all three rounds, however a fierce battle looms with defending champion Katherine O'Shea and rising young star Rebecca Henderson, the 2011 Cycling Australia Elite Female Mountain Biker of the year and under 23 national champion. Both are showing solid form of late. The trio will be pushed to the limit however from Tasmania's Rowena Fry who will take a leave of absence from her GreenEdge-AIS team to contest the championships.

  Downhill

  In the downhill competition, Troy Brosnan and Tracey Hannah, currently undefeated in the Gravity Cup, are unbackable favourites in their respective competitions.

  A first-year elite competitor, the two-time reigning junior world champion Brosnan has been simply superb throughout the entire Gravity Cup Series, with three-time downhill world champion Sam Hill showing his class his comeback season following injury.

  In the women's field, former junior world champion Hannah will be up against a 2004 Olympian in the cross country event in Lisa Mathison, who despite only having been riding downhill for a matter of weeks after a four-year lay off, has been turning heads around the country in her new discipline.

  The event boats an international flavour with four-time four cross world champion and multiple World Cup winner Jill Kintner of the United States to also line up.

  Schedule

  The action will get under way on Thursday with the team relay. Cross country racing will happen Friday and Saturday with the elites racing on Saturday. Short track and downhill racing will occur on Sunday.

  Stay tuned to Cyclingnews for full coverage.

• Pietermaritzburg cross country course revamp nearly done

  

  Article published:

  February 22, 10:18

  By:

  Cycling News

  Shorter Cascades course should better suit climbers

  The cross country course for the 2012 UCI MTB World Cup in Pietermaritzburg in South Africa is undergoing a major facelift ahead of the international season-opener from March 15-18, slashing the circuit in half to make life easier for the teams, and offering double the opportunity for the spectators.

  Course designer Nick Floros' layout proved popular at the 2011 event, but left the team support crews struggling to shuttle between the two feed zones that were some distance apart. "The main reason for the change is, with South Africa being quite some way away from where a lot of the teams are based in either Europe or America, they usually aren't able to bring as big a support team with them as usual and hence we needed to rework the practicality of the feed zones," said Floros.

  "Because of this, instead of the previous 5.6-kilometre single loop, we're now going to have a two-loop course with each loop being 2.3 kilometres and the two feed zones on the course now much closer together, which obviously helps the riders' support teams a lot."

  With the changes to the popular Pietermaritzburg track nearing completion, the refreshed appearance of the course is starting to take shape and riders are chomping at the bit to get a glimpse of what they might be in for in less than three weeks' time.

  "The guys will find racing a little bit harder with this new layout, and the track probably suits the climbers in the field a little more than before. They used to have to climb quite a bit in the first half and then could recover on the downhill in the second half," continued Floros.

  "Now they will have to do a bit of a climb initially, then descend a bit, then there's a big climb before the last descent to the finish."

  Spectators heading to Cascades to view the live action will also benefit from the track amendments, as they will now be able to witness far more action first hand. "The changes also mean that there will be a lot more action taking place right in front of the majority of the crowd, which is obviously great from a spectator's point of view," said Floros.

  "The resurfacing of the track with granite overburden will also be a huge improvement because it was just a nightmare in the wet for both the riders and the spectators. We've also added two more rock gardens, which should challenge the guys a bit more and we will throw something new in there," he said.

  Despite the course taking on a dramatically altered look in 2012 and the climbers possibly having the slight edge, Floros believes every rider will have an equal opportunity of claiming the title at this year's event and is cautious not to change too much given the remarkable response last year's course received.

  "I don't think anyone in the top 15 will be advantaged or disadvantaged more than anyone else. These guys are all phenomenal riders and it will be much of a muchness at the top end of the field. I do think the guys will find it even more enjoyable than they did last time though," said Floros.

  "The feedback we got last year was incredible so we are clearly doing something right and hence we don't want to go and change too much. The course was loads of fun for the riders - it's quite a spectator orientated track where guys can access quite a lot of the course relatively easily, it was incredibly scenic for the spectators who watched it at home and it was very camera friendly as well," he said.

  The revamp brings with it a breath of fresh air into the Cascades MTB Park and has numerous local mountain bike enthusiasts eager to give it a go for the first time, something Floros himself is keen to do and which he encourages as many of the local cycling fraternity to do as well.

  The most exciting part for Floros is to exercise the "designer's privilege" and be the first to ride the new course. Having said this, there is a Category 2 UCI cross country race to be held at the track the week before the World Cup, and this presents a wonderful opportunity for competitors as well as the general public, to test the track and get a first-hand feel for what lies ahead for the Pros.

  "We need as many wheels going over it as possible before the event, plus I'd love to hear what the guys think about the changes we've made. Feedback is hugely important to us," he said.

  The UCI MTB World Cup Pietermaritzburg will take place at the Cascades MTB Park from 16 to 18 March 2012.

  For more information on the UCI World Cup round in Pietermaritzburg, visit www.mtbworldcupsa.co.za.

• Kulhavy uses Sunshine Cup to test form and equipment

  

  Article published:

  February 22, 16:27

  By:

  Cycling News

  Czech rider sees series as perfect preparation in Olympic year

  Cross country mountain bike world champion Jaroslav Kulhavy (Specialized) spoke at a press conference in Nicosia, Cyprus, on Tuesday, just two days after winning the opening round of the Sunshine Cup in Voroklini.

  The Czech racer has become a regular at the early season three-race series, and since the preparation has worked so well for him in the past, he's back again to kick off his season in the same way during this Olympic year.

  "It's the sixth time in a row that I have come to Cyprus to ride the races of the Sunshine Cup," said Kulhavy. "It's a perfect preparation for the season. I like it very much. I can test my form, and I can test my new bike."

  Kulhavy, who is also the defending World Cup champion and one of the favorites for an Olympic gold medal in London in August, finds the technically demanding trails of Cyprus to his liking.

  The Sunshine Cup is organized by the Bikin' Cyprus agency and the Cyprus Cycling Federation. A representative, Alekos Orountiotis, was happy to hear words of praise from Kulhavy. "It's very important to have the world champion here. We are happy he is here. It shows the results of our efforts all these years."

  The Sunshine Cup is one tool of the Cyprus Tourism Organization (CTO) for increasing visitors to the island between November and March, but the series is taking nothing for granted. The recent financial crisis in the region has affected the event - financial support for the race has decreased.

  "Hopefully, this is only for one year and we can support the Cyprus Sunshine Cup in the same way as the years before," said Orountiotis.

  The press conference with Kulhavy was held in the building of the Cyprus National Olympic Committee. He departed the event, passing under the five huge Olympic rings mounted above the doorway, as he headed out to get ready for round two, the Afxentia stage race, which begins Friday and runs through Sunday.

• Epic Pro Cycling team opens season with win

  

  Article published:

  February 22, 18:56

  By:

  Cycling News

  Old Pueblo success in the Arizona desert

  The Gear Movement / Epic Pro cycling team won the 13th annual 24 hours in the Old Pueblo this past weekend in Arizona. The team overcame world-class competition from the Kona factory racing team to set a record breaking 23 laps in the four-man open category.

  Bryan Alders, Jordan Williford, Sam Morrison and Chris Baddick comprised the winning Gear Movement / Epic Pro Cycling team while Barry Wicks, Kris Sneddon, Spencer Paxson and Sean Babcok made up the runner-up Kona Factory squad.

  Alders took the first lap of the 16.1-mile cactus lined course, putting the team in contention behind Kona, before Baddick moved the team into a commanding position at the front of the race. As the evening progressed, the lead stretched to almost an hour. The team managed to avoid flats caused by the Cholla cacti that lined the course.

  Williford, an experienced night rider and veteran of the Old Pueblo race, battled through mechanicals in the early hours of the morning and put Morrison on track to lap the Kona team by sunrise. Morrison said the sunrise gave him extra motivation. "As soon as the sun came up, I knew we would be able to lap second place. The daylight and warmth made the morning laps really enjoyable."

  The women's four-person category was won by the Stan's NoTubes Elite Women's team including Sarah Kaufman, Sue Haywood, Jennifer Smith and Susan DeMattei. This year's race was dedicated to DeMattei.

  See Cyclingnews' coverage of the 24 hours of Old Pueblo.

• Afxentia stage race features as Cyprus Sunshine Cup round two

  

  Article published:

  February 22, 21:30

  By:

  Cycling News

  Who can beat Kulhavy and Langvad?

  The second round of the 2012 Cyprus Sunshine Cup will kick off on Friday with the first stage of the Afxentia stage race. 120 men and 50 women are registered for the three-day SHC-categorized event.

  Going into it, Jaroslav Kulhavy (Specialized) and Annika Langvad (Fujibikes Rocket) are the favorites to beat, but a lot can happen in three days.

  Kulhavy will have to watch out for the brothers Lukas and Mathias Flückiger (Trek World Racing), who should be better prepared than in Voroklini. Last weekend's challengers Liam Killeen (Giant) and Wolfram Kurschat (Topeak-Ergon) are likely to be podium contenders again while Frenchman Maxime Marotte (BH Suntour-Peisey Vallandry) has just arrived on the island and will jump into the series this weekend.  Marotte finished 2011 ranked fifth in the World Cup.

  "Wolfram was pretty strong on the uphill. I had to suffer a lot, especially in the first two laps," said Kulhavy of Kurschat's efforts in Voroklini. Kulhavy added that he considers these Sunshine Cup races are part of his training, but thinks that is probably the case for most of  the favorites.

  Under 23 world champion Thomas Litscher (Felt Oetztal X-Bionic) and Fabian Giger (Rabobank-Giant) are two others to watch.

  Greek champion Periklis Ilias also will appear at Mantra tou Kampiou near the village of Kapedes, where the stage race takes place. He will be trying to get as many points as possible to secure a Greek spot for the Olympic Games in London in August.

  With 160 points awarded to the winner of the Afxentia stage race, doing well is important for both world ranking and Olympic qualification.

  The points are particularly important for Annika Langvad, who is fighting for an Olympic spot for Denmark and herself. If she can take the Afxentia overall, Denmark probably will overtake New Zealand and Ukraine in the rankings before the start of the World Cup.

  In Voroklini, Langvad showed up well, earning a victory. On her website, she wrote afterward, "To realize that my legs are just great is like opening a great bag of candy. Well, I ate the whole bag and enjoyed every piece of it."

  Who among the 50 women will be most dangerous to Langvad? Sabine Spitz and Tereza Hurikova (both Sabine Spitz- Haibike) were close to her at Voroklini, but the mix of three stages is different than a one-day race. Last year, Blaza Klemencic (Felt Ötztal X-Bionic) was second in the overall. She should be a serious contender as well.

  Katrin Leumann (Ghost Factory Racing) should also be able to get with the front group and Tanja Zakelj (Salcano Factory Team) may be closer to the podium than in Voroklini.

  Two-time world champion Irina Kalentieva (Topeak-Ergon) is skipping the Afxentia stage race. The Russian will come back to compete in the final race at Amathous.

  Afxentia: Small changes and a new participation record

  The Afxentia stage race starts on Friday with a one-lap time trial on the 5.5-kilometer cross country course in the Macheras mountains.

  The second stage will be a point-to-point cross country race with start in the village of Kapedes and a finish at the picnic area of Mantra tou Kampiou. It's about 44.7km for the men, and 39.8km for the women. With 4.5km to go, racers will be on new singletrack.

  The final stage is a regular, multi-lap cross country race on the course at Mantra tou Kampiou. It also has some new singletrack.

  The Afxentia stage race is named after Grigoris Afxentiou, a Cypriot freedom fighter who was killed by the British in the Macheras Mountains.

  A record 170 riders are pre-registered from 26 different nations.

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

• SRAM Singletrack Mind Enduro Series returns for 2012

  

  Article published:

  February 23, 00:54

  By:

  Cycling News

  Three new venues added to growing series

  The Chocolate Foot race organizational team announced the SRAM Singletrack Mind Series in Australia for 2012. After a 50 percent increase in participation in 2011, three new venues have been added for this season.

  The Singletrack Mind Series will kick off in the city of Orange where the trail fairies have been busy. In addition, the Series will visit the Southern Highlands Cycle Club's newly extended Welby track, and a venue that has a big buzz presently - Kowen Forest in the ACT.

  Entries will open in March for the entire Series and will host a wide range of categories to suit the avid racer right through to fun team categories for the weekend warrior, juniors or novice enduro competitor. Due to popular demand, a new category has been added - the three-person team category will now include a masters option.

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

  2012 SRAM Singletrack Mind Series Venues
  April 29: Kinross State Forest - Orange
  June 24: Kowen Forest - Canberra
  August 19: Coondoo Road - Nowra
  September 18: Welby - Southern Highlands of NSW
  October 28: Lidsdale State Forest - Rydal
  November 25: Awaba Mountain Bike Park - Lower Hunter Valley