MTB News & Racing Round-up, Wednesday, December 14, 2011

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Date published:

December 14, 2011, 18:00

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.

• Trek World Racing finalizes 2012 roster

  

  Article published:

  December 12, 2011, 18:30

  By:

  Cycling News

  Willow Rockwell to return to racing; Moseley moves on

  Trek World Racing announced its roster for 2012, returning once again with a talented line-up of cross country and downhill racers ready to take on the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, world championships, Olympics and a selected set of major events including Crankworx in Whistler, the Sea Otter Classic and the Sunshine Cup in Cyprus.

  "After the successes of the past three years, the team returns once again with a strong line-up of athletes, and the same talented staff and sponsors we’ve been lucky to have with us in 2011, building on all that we've achieved to date," said Team Owner Martin Whiteley. "New signings Anton Cooper and Myles Rockwell bring both youthful enthusiasm and experience."

  Cross country

  The team will field four cross country riders including new signing and junior cross country phenom Anton Cooper of New Zealand, who will be racing selected events throughout 2012 while continuing with his education.

  "I am very excited to join Trek World Racing for the 2012 season. It is a significant step forward in my goals of becoming a world class rider," said Cooper. "This is aided by the fact that the team's focus is at the World Cup, world championship and Olympic stage where they are able to provide top level support that is required to perform at this level. This is a great way to kick-start my career as a professional mountain biker, and I look forward to what lies ahead."

  American Willow Rockwell (formerly Willow Koerber) will return to full time racing after getting married and having a child in December with husband Myles, with the goal of being selected to race for the USA at the 2012 London Olympics.

  "I look forward to being the fastest mom on the planet," said Koerber. "With the support of my Trek World Racing team and sponsors, I know I have everything I need to be the very best. I intend to do my part, and let the universe supply me with energy, grace and balance as I follow my destiny path." As of this writing, Koerber had not yet had her baby, but it is due any day now.

  Returning for their fourth year with the team are the Flueckiger brothers from Switzerland. 2010 Under 23 World Champion Mathias, and Lukas who finish fifth at last year's Worlds, will be opting to spend more time racing the Trek Superfly 29ers in 2012.

  "I have more confidence than ever before. I will start my 2012 season where my 2011 season ended. The Olympics are my biggest goal for the year," said Luk Flueckiger.

  "2011 was my first year as a full time professional athlete. It was such a big change, and I expected too much from myself after a season like 2010," said Math Flueckiger. "I learnt so much in 2011, and I'll bring all this experience to 2012. I won't look at other riders, results, etc. I will focus solely on me! My moto will be 'step by step’', improving throughout the year."

  Downhill

  Coming off 2011 as the number one doownhill team in the world, Trek World Racing will return with three elite men, namely Americans Aaron Gwin and Neko Mulally and New Zealander Justin Leov. The three downhill men will be aboard their Trek Session 9.9 carbon bikes and racing the full World Cup along with a number of MTB Grand Prix events in the US, the Sea Otter Classic, Crankworx in Whistler, and other selected events.

  "I'm looking forward to the upcoming year," said Gwin. "We had an awesome season in 2011 and I'm excited to get back to the races with my team!"

  Leov said, "2012 is going to be an exciting year; with a new coach on board I feel a new motivation towards my racing. My hopes and goals are to have fun at the events like I did this year and aim for those top steps of the podium, which so many times have just alluded me."

  Mulally is also anticipating the new year and said he will "put together all of the experiences that have brought me to this point. I can see it coming together already. It's going to be awesome spending every weekend with people I love being around, I really can't wait to go racing."

  Also new for the team in 2012 is 2000 Downhill World Champion Myles Rockwell, who will serve as a rider liaison assisting the riders with their training, strategy and racing at the World Cups and Worlds.

  Tracy Moseley, who successfully raced for the Trek World Racing program for last three years, taking 18 World Cup podiums (including six wins), the world championship title in 2010, and the World Cup title in 2011, has decided to take her career in a different direction in 2012. T-MO will soon be making her own announcement.

  The team's major sponsors include Trek, JBL, Shimano and Fox.

• Biennial Wildside MTB race back for 2012

  

  Article published:

  December 12, 2011, 20:45

  By:

  Cycling News

  Four days of racing in Tasmania

  The Pure Tasmania Wildside MTB race will happen again in 2012 over four days from January 28 to 31. Racers will journey over 140km of competition and 60km of cruising from the mountains to the sea in Australia's Tasmania. The event will start beside the Cradle Mountain World Heritage Area and finish in Strahan - two of Tasmania's adventure and tourism icons.

  The Wildside MTB is open to competitive and recreational riders. They can race hard against some of the best riders in Australia or just enjoy riding, but a reasonable level of skill and fitness is required.

  The race was held annually from 2002 to 2006 and thereafter every two years. When last run in 2010, Daniel McConnell and Rowena Fry won the open men's and women's categories.

  The event will be formally launched on January 12, 2012.  For more information, visit wildsidemtb.com.

• Australian Mountain Bike Series secures new title sponsor

  

  Article published:

  December 13, 2011, 04:14

  By:

  Cycling News

  Real Insurance partners with MTBA

  The Australian National Series has picked up a new title sponsor for the remaining races on its calendar. Mountain Bike Australia (MTBA) has partnered with Real Insurance for both the All Mountain Cup and the Gravity Cup events.

  The sponsorship continues Real Insurances' support of cycling. It has also been backing the the Real Insurance XCM Series and Real Insurance Summer and Point Score Series' in 2011.

  "Having an out of sport Sponsor like Real Insurance gives us enormous confidence in the direction we are taking the sport this season, and more importantly shows that they have confidence in what we are doing," said MTBA Executive Officer, Tony Scott.

  "Bringing on Real Insurance as the Naming Rights Partner for the two Cups builds upon the work undertaken in the last two seasons and will enable MTBA and Real Insurance to further build the sport of mountain biking in Australia."

  Real Insurance CEO, Clive Mendes said, "We are very excited about the new partnership with MTBA. After our involvement in a very successful XCM Series in 2011, we look forward to being involved in the sport on a National body level as well."

  The Real Insurance All Mountain Cup is set up in a stage race format where athletes contest three or four varying cross country type formats over the course of Friday afternoon to Sunday afternoon. The cumulative time an athlete takes to complete all stages determines the winner; the least time taken wins. The formats on offer in the 2011-2012 All Mountain Cup are Olympic cross country (XCO), cross country time trial (XCT), cross country endurance (XCP) and super D (SD).

  The Real Insurance Gravity Cup is a traditional downhill race where athletes travel at speed downhill and along the way negotiate technical features on the trail that are inspiring to watch. The quickest time wins.

  In the 2011-2012 Series we have spiced it up a little by having additional ranking points on offer for the timed seeding runs that will be held on Saturday afternoon. The time in these determines the starting position for the Sunday finals. The winner is the athlete that has the fastest time in the finals but for national ranking the points from the seeding races will play a vital part.

  2012 Australian Mountain Bike Series dates (remaining events)
  January 20-22: All Mountain and Gravity Cups, Mt. Buller
  January 28: Four Cross Cup, Kurrajong
  January 29: Four Cross Cup, Ebeneezer
  February 3-5: Gravity and Four Cross Cups, Stromlo
  February 10-12: All Mountain Cup, Stromlo
  March 2-4: All Mountain Cup, New Castle

  See results for the events which have already happened: the Perth All Mountain Cup and the Thredbo Gravity Cup.

• Gould sets sights on 2012 Olympic season

  

  Article published:

  December 13, 2011, 17:06

  By:

  Daniel Benson & Sue George

  Luna racer skips 'cross Worlds to be ready for MTB World Cups

  Georgia Gould called an early end to her cyclo-cross season so she can get ready for the 2012 mountain bike season. The Luna racer has her sights set on the 2012 London Olympic Games.

  "The Olympics is the biggest reason as to why I'm not going to the cyclo-cross national championships," said Gould to Cyclingnews. "The mountain bike World Cup starts so early next year that I need to switch gears now and start to focus on that. Definitely the first four World Cups will be the biggest goals leading up to the Olympics because those events will decide qualifying."

  Gould was recently named to the US Olympic Mountain Bike Long Team, the first step in qualifying for one of what will likely be two female spots. "So far no one has qualified automatically, and standards are pretty high on the women's side."

  "Winning the Olympic gold is my aim," she told Cyclingnews. "I finished second in the test event after a crash and a mechanical, so I know I can ride well on that course. I'm confident that I can be one of the contenders."

  In addition to the World Cups, Gould says she will also do a few US Pro XCT races in 2012.

  The American cross country national champion said that in 2012 and 2013, after the Olympics, she will get back to doing more cyclo-cross racing. "Obviously the 'cross world championships and national championships will be a goal during the next cyclo-cross season. [2013] Worlds are going to be in Kentucky, and that's going to be exciting for the sport."

  While Gould spent much of the North American autumn racing 'cross, she has kept her focus solidly on training and preparation for the 2012 Olympic Games. "I haven't been training a ton during the cyclo-cross season. I'm not taking a huge amount of time off, just switching gears and base training. The first mountain bike World Cup is in March so it's going to be really important to be fast for those races. And also the first World Cup is important because it determines your start position for the next World Cup."

  Gould will race again for Luna in 2012. "My contract is up at the end of next year. We've not talked about after 2012, but based on the past I'm pretty sure they'll want to renew contacts for 2013 and beyond."

  Look for Gould raring to go at the first World Cup in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, on March 17-18, 2012.

• Moseley to compete under T-Mo Racing banner in 2012

  

  Article published:

  December 13, 2011, 19:32

  By:

  Cycling News

  Downhill World Cup champ will expand focus to enduros and eliminators

  One day after Trek World Racing announced that its 2012 team would not include Tracy Moseley, the 2011 downhill World Cup champion and 2010 downhill world champion shared her plans to ride under the new T-Mo Racing banner for the coming season.

  Still sponsored by Trek, Moseley will expand her calendar to include a variety of race formats. She began her elite racing career specializing in downhill racing starting in the 1990s, but has always enjoyed mixing up her mountain biking. Going forward, she will return to her multi-disciplinary roots and will participate in several races in 2012, including World Cup downhill events, cross country eliminator races, and enduros.

  "After 12 years on the World Cup downhill circuit and the achievement of all the goals I set for myself, I felt that the end of 2011 was a perfect opportunity to make a change in direction and pursue some new challenges," said Moseley on her website.

  "I would like to extend my thanks to Trek World Racing and everyone working behind the scenes at Trek for the most successful three years of my career to date. That support has allowed me to attain both a world championship title and a World Cup title. I look forward to continuing my relationship with Trek as both an athlete and ambassador, as I pursue new ventures," she said.

  With support from Trek, her new objective is to elevate her profile as an all-round mountain bike athlete. She has set goals to finish in podium positions across all of her planned races, and to gain points for world championship selection in both cross country eliminator, and downhill.

  She will have a variety of bikes from the Trek quiver to choose from, including a Session 9.9 and Slash, as she pursues her new aims.

  "We are delighted to keep Tracy within the Trek family," said Trek UK's Marketing Manager Andrew Griffin. "Her successful career and outstanding reputation made furthering the relationship an easy decision to make. We look forward to supporting the shift in her racing career."

  Complete details of Moseley's 2012 calendar will be announced during the London Bike Show on January 13.

• Cooper too young for 2012 London Olympics

  

  Article published:

  December 14, 2011, 05:31

  By:

  Cycling News

  New Zealander will have to wait for 2016

  New Zealand's Anton Cooper, who signed for the Trek World Racing team in 2012, will have to wait another four years before he can try to fulfill any Olympic dreams. An application by Mountain Bike New Zealand (MTBNZ) through the New Zealand Olympic Committee to the UCI to waive the minimum age for Olympic cycling competition for Cooper was denied according to www.stuff.co.nz.

  During the 2011 season, Cooper, who is 17, emerged as New Zealand's top cross country mountain bike racer. On his first trip to Europe he won a junior World Cup and he finished with a silver medal at the junior cross country world championship. Despite starting two minutes behind the elite racers at the New Zealand national championships, he caught and passed all of the older competition en route to victory.

  Cooper does not turn 18 until August 2012 and according to the rules, he would have to be 19 by the end of 2012 to compete in the Olympics in London.

  MTBNZ's Chris Mildon made the request because if granted, Cooper would have been among those considered for what will like be one New Zealand Olympic spot.

  "We wanted to see if there was any flexibility around the age cut-off," said Mildon to www.stuff.co.nz. "Anton misses by eight months and they weren't willing to sway on it.

  Cooper will have to defer any Olympic hopes until the 2016 Summer Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brasil.

  "If you don't ask you're never going to get anything. If I was born eight months earlier I would have been all right," said Cooper.

  Some non-cycling Olympic sports such as swimming an gymnastics allow younger competitors.

• East Coast Mountain Bike Triple Crown set for 2012

  

  Article published:

  December 14, 2011, 15:45

  By:

  Sue George, Mountain Bike Editor

  Three promoters bring over 50 years of organizing experience to series

  The US Cup's East Coast Triple Crown will include events in Alabama, North Carolina and Virginia in 2012. Racers can compete in a cross country, short track and super D during each of the weekends and do not have to attend all three events to be eligible for the overall.

  The Triple Crown will kick off with the Bump N Grind at Oak Mountain State Park in Pelham, Alabama, on June 2-3. Next up will be the Massanutten Hoo Ha! near Harrisonburg, Virginia, on June 9-10. The series will wrap up with the Fontana Dam Jam at the Fontana Village Resort in North Carolina on August 4-5.

  The typical weekend format will include a super D and short track on Saturday and a cross country on Sunday.

  Categories for the overall Triple Crown will be kept simple with male and female winners awarded for juniors, amateurs and pros. The individual races, however, will still run all the usual categories. Each weekend of racing will award an overall champion, plus the results will be combined to tally up an overall East Coast Triple Crown champion.

  "What is impressive is how much experience all of us promoters bring to the series," said George Willetts of the Massanutten Resort, which hosts the Massanutten Hoo Ha! "Between us, we have over 50 years of experience putting on mountain bike races. At Massanutten, we've put on races since 1989, and the Bergers have been promoting since 1993. The Bump and Grind is 17 years old."

  Unlike in previous years, points for all three events - short track, super D and cross country - are expected to count equally toward the overall.

  For more information on the Bump and Grind, visit bumpngrindrace.com.

  For more information on the Massanutten Hoo Ha!, visit massresort.com.

  For more information on the Fontana Dam Jam, visit goneriding.com.

  US Cup East Coast Triple Crown info can be found here: uscup.net.

• Irish stage race returns for second edition

  

  Article published:

  December 14, 2011, 17:10

  By:

  Cycling News

  Mountain Bike Challenge Lough Derg set for April 2012

  The picturesque village of Killaloe/Ballina, based on the shores of the river Shannon in the West of Ireland will again play host to the Mountain Bike Challenge Lough Derg, Ireland's mountain bike stage race on April 21-22, 2012. The event will take place over two days and will incorporate four stages, giving a total of over 80km of racing.

  The 2012 Mountain Bike Challenge will be the second year of the event and after a successful first race in 2011, the organisers expect the entries to sell out.

  "We had a great weekend in Killaloe last year with a variety of riders from novices right through to very competitive international entries," said Andrew Deakin from the organizing company Dolmen Sports. "The feedback we got was superb, everyone seemed to really enjoy the format and the atmosphere was just great all weekend. We are really looking forward to this one again in 2012."

  With riders from as far afield as the United States and Denmark, the 2011 race had a very competitive edge at the front end with Nic Smith from the United Kingdom taking the overall win in the male category and Lone Sand from Denmark taking the female category.

  The stage distances ensure fast times for the leading pack, but are also manageable for novices. The event served as a first-ever race for many last year.

  The setting for the race is Lough Derg with scenery taking in the mountains on the East and West sides of the lake.

  For more information, visit www.mountainbikechallenge.ie.