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MTB News & racing round-up for December 7, 2005

Edited by Steve Medcroft

Welcome to our regular round-up of what's happening in the dirt. Feel free to send feedback, news and gossip to mtb@cyclingnews.com

Hatton and Barnes take Brindabella MTB race

By Jeff Jones in Cotter Reserve

With over two and half minutes to second placed Dylan Cooper, and much bigger margins to the top five, 22 year-old Sydneysider Peter Hatton (Clarence St Cyclery) won the 55 km Brindabella Challenge mountain bike race. Hatton crossed the finish line in Cotter Reserve with plenty of time to savour his win as he completed the hilly but fast course in around two hours and twenty minutes.

The heavy rain that had plagued the organisers yesterday held off today, although it was cool and windy out on the course. "Yeah that was a good race," Hatton told Cyclingnews after crossing the line. "It was tough out there. I think because of all the rain, all the trails and surfaces were real boggy. Dylan was the same - he felt like he had a flat tyre all day and I thought my brakes were rubbing - it was just really slow. It got really cold too. I didn't want to slow down and cool down any more."

Riding on his brand new, twice-ridden Trek Top Fuel, Hatton was pleased with his time, saying that dry conditions would have made it even faster but adding, "The good thing was that on the descents the corners were really grippy."

Hatton is off to the USA to ride on the road for the Jittery Joe's team next season, which means mountain biking may take a back seat. "This is my last summer of being on the mountain bike I think," he said. "It will be secondary after this, but I'll always feel like a mountain biker." On his ambitions, he was unsure. "See what happens. Hopefully get over to Europe or something like that would be great. I don't know whether I'll enjoy being a pro yet. We'll see."

Second placed Dylan Cooper had plenty to spare over third place getter Brent Miller, and described the race. "Pete was driving it from the start. We had a lot of dudes hanging on that we knew wouldn't be there at the end, so he was just smashing it and caused a lot of splits in the bunch. So it was Pete and Brent (Miller) for a while, then I was with another dude for just the first bit, then I ended up on my own for the rest of it, so it looked like Pete dropped Brent pretty early as well and was on his own."

See the Brindabella Challenge mountain bike race brief results & report

Kyle Strait takes Red Bull del Condor

The Condor podium Photo ©: Red Bull

Patricio Crooker Photo ©: Red Bull

In the super high altitudes of the streets of Bolivia's capital city, La Paz, 18 year old Kyle Strait Specialized/Oakley/Red Bull/Fox Shox) finished off a fine 2005 season with a win in the inaugural Red Bull Descenso del Condor on December 4. The event was a combination of a downhill street race with some cool obstacles often found in a slope style event, and after a series of qualification rounds, Kyle won the event by nearly 5 seconds over his South American competitors.

This is the first time that the city of La Paz has witnessed a competition as extreme as the Red Bull Descenso del Condor. Held at 4,100m above sea level, 48 athletes took to the streets for more solid prize money and excellent exposure for the sport in South America. Kyle has been doing a number of these events in recent years, most notably in Chile, Mexico and Jamaica, with his profile as a gravity athlete really beginning to take off in the emerging markets of Central and South America.

Speaking after his run yesterday, Kyle said: I'm stoked. I mean, besides winning, I'm just happy to be here for this new Red Bull event in Bolivia. The other riders were super strong and I had to really watch myself in the final, that I didn't overcook it! The fans were really into it and I'm sure the TV images are going to look really spectacular. I really liked the circuit because it had the level of other Red Bull events I've been to around the world. But it was different because of the super big drop, the wall rides and the different style of terrain that this city has, and it's a lot longer than most city races. Definitely the altitude had a very important role. Believe it or not, it gets you tired, not only because its difficult to breath, it also affects your physical resistance.

Results:

1. Kyle Strait (USA) 2m 31.91secs
2. Mauricio Jordan (BOL) 2m 36.48secs
3. Mario Jarrin (ECU) 2m 40.81secs

Aussie National Series #3 this weekend

Chris Jongewaard from Adelaide will use his top National Series ranking for a pole position start in the first Mountain Bike selection race for the Melbourne Commonwealth Games. The Cross country rider will ride in the Elite Men's race as part of the Felt Bicycles MTB Challenge will be run on the Games course in Lysterfield. Jongewaard is favoured to win on this Sunday after placing second and third respectively in the first two National Series in Tasmania and Western Australia.

The National Mountain Bike Champion must win the race to safely secure himself a berth as one of the three for the Australian men's team. Two years ago Jongewaard narrowly missed out on selection for the Athens Olympics and he is now determined to set things straight.

Jongewaard, 26, has the backing of fellow competitor and Olympian, Sid Taberlay from Tasmania. "It just depends on the day," explained Taberlay, "but Chris most deserves to win. He's the rider in form at the moment.” Taberly says that although he has started serious training to prepare himself for the Games in March, he dismisses the need to be in top form this early in the season. "I'm not too worried. It matters in March and not now," he said. According to Australia's cross country mountain bike Coach, Damien Grundy, Taberlay has got the performances in 2005 which would make a strong case for selection as one of the three Australian male riders for Melbourne's Commonwealth Games in March.

Jongewaard prepared himself earlier by riding three major road tours in Australia. He won the Top End Tour in the Northern Territory and rode the Sun Tour as well as the Tour Down Under. Jongewaard has become stronger as the season progresses. When asked if he would taper his training before the Melbourne selection event Jongewaard said, "Not really; I have had some big weeks and I'm happy with the way Perth went so I'll follow on from there."

Fellow South Australian, Shaun Lewis, will line up in the Elite men's race along with Taberlay and National Series defender, Dylan Cooper from Canberra.Olympian Josh Fleming from Sydney will also have his first national race of the season. Great Britain's Olympic representative Nick Craig will compete in the expert men and use the event to assist the British team in their preparation for the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games.

The women's event has seen a keen resurgence of interest with Olympian Lisa Mathison returning to training after a year's break. Melbourne's Dellys Starr has returned from her base in America and Sydney Olympian, Anna Baylis from Germany is expected to enter. Also competing will be National Champion and Series leader, Emma Colson from Melbourne.

Global MTB racing round-up

Brindabella Challenge, Aus (NE), December 3: Brief results & report

Downhilling on rails

By Steve Medcroft

This prototype SRAM X.0 trigger

The man and the machine

Jared Graves had a hell of a season. He capped off his NORBA Nationals campaign in Mount Snow, Vermont (Aug 26-28) by winning the Downhill and Mountain Cross series.' He even performed well enough in the four Dual Slalom events that had there been a DS series winner, he would have taken that as well. We caught the twenty two year old Aussie from Toowoomba rolling his Yeti 303 through the pits between qualifying and finals the week before at Snowshoe and had to get a closer look at his team-issued Yeti 303.

Graves started by telling us about the frame. Custom made in Yeti's Golden, Colorado factory from Reynolds 7005 (front triangle) and 6061 (rear triangle) aluminium tubing, Graves says he's had a lot of input in the 303's geometry. "I wasn't too picky; I just needed a comfortable cockpit length, a forty five-inch wheelbase, a sixty five-degree head angle and a fourteen inch high bottom bracket; give or take a millimeter or two."

What's most unique about Yeti's design is not the geometry though - it's the way they integrate the suspension. Yeti says they studied video of their downhill racers to help create a design using rails instead of traditional pivots; a design that tightly controls the wheel path for maximum efficiency.

See the entire Jared Graves' Yeti 303 pro bike article here.

Small but perfectly formed

By Steve Medcroft

An Easton Carbon Monkey Lite bar

Llanes also doesn't like full lock-on grips

The athlete tent at the Jeep King of the Mountain finale in the Poconos mountain resorts of Central Pennsylvania was a candy store for mountain cross and free-rider bike lovers. Imagine having at your feet the bikes of Michael Prokop, Wade Bootes, Jill Kintner and Melissa Buhl.

But with all that bike candy, one bike stood out in particular. Painted in the theme of the U.S. flag, Tara Llanes' Giant STP1 is a pure example of a mountain-cross machine; stiff geometry, clean lines, and component choices that try to balance the durability needed with shoulder-to shoulder mountains cross and the lightness needed for elite-level sprinting.

The STP1 she rode in the Poconos KOM is one of two mountain-cross bikes Tara Llanes (Giant Pearl Izumi) rides. "Jeff Lonosky (freeride pioneer, Giant's traveling stunt and trials rider and former trials World Champion) helped design this frame last year," she said. "It has phenomenal geometry for what we do. It's made from aluminum, is super stiff and not flexy. The rear end is a little bit shorter than normal to keep it stiff. The bottom bracket is a good height; fairly low."

At 5'4" Llanes runs the smallest frame Giant makes. "I think its extra small. They made a batch for the Asian market and I got one." Meaning, the frame is not custom built for Llanes; it's a Giant off-the-shelf production model. "There's nothing changed about the frame," she says.

See the full Tara Llanes Giant STP pro bike article here.

12 Hours of Darkness on for February

Lab-Gear in association with Southern Highland Cycling Club are proud to announce the new format 2006 Lab-Gear 12 Hours of Darkness. In a rekindling of this very unique and exciting format, the Lab-Gear 12 Hours of Darkness sees riders challenge themselves not only on the legendary SHCC Penrose State Forest singletrack but also tackle riding the race almost entirely in the dark!

Renowned for it's smooth flowing and exceptionally well crafted single track, SHCC's Penrose course is sure to please every rider, from the complete beginner to the most experienced. What's more, the Lab-Gear 12 Hours of Darkness is the ideal eduro race for those who don't want to spend the whole weekend at a race, with a 8pm start and 8am finish, it frees up most of your weekend for those that have to do, errr, more 'important' domestic duties.

The Lab-Gear 12 Hours of Darkness aims to bring the 'grass roots' back to the Enduro format, with a strong, fun theme, kicked back and relaxed race atmosphere and an affordable entry fee of only $52 per rider (the event is being run as a non profit venture). Participants are encouraged to dress up and revel in the 'darkness' and prizes will be awarded to those with the best event costumes as well as cash place prizes.

Open to solo riders, pairs, threes, fours and sixes. Solo places are strictly limited as are overall places due to the capacity of Penrose. Full information and team reservation will be available at www.12darkhours.com from the 8th December.

 

 

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