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MTB News & racing round-up for January 5, 2006

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

New Aussie National Championship jersey design proposed

Mountain Biking Australia says that it and Cycling Australia have found a compromise in the design of the Australian National Championship jersey that should ease the worries from sponsors that caused some riders to ride soft in the National Championship race to avoid winning the jersey.

From last year's Aussie Downhill National Championship race report:

...some Elite riders purposely (held) back so as not to win the supposedly coveted national jersey. Given the strict UCI regulations which dictate the size of sponsor logos on a national champion's jersey, some of the major companies gave their riders orders not to win. The rules stipulate that a national champion must wear his/her champion's jersey in World Cup qualifying and finals and for this reason, sponsors stepped in to ensure their freedom to advertise on their star riders wasn't compromised.

The section in the UCI Cycling Regulations
Photo ©: Mikkeli Godfree

In between qualifying and finals the pits were abuzz with rule books, phone calls to team headquarters and tough decisions being made by the riders. One rider who was very outspoken on the issue was the rider who clocked the fastest time of the day (in qualifying), Nathan Rennie (Santa Cruz-Utopia-Troy Lee-Red Bull).

"I have orders from a number of my sponsors that look after me quite well who need area on my jersey to promote their product. If I tried to win today then I couldn't have been loyal to them whatsoever - it's a catch-22 which sucks. The UCI are being very stubborn with the rule and something needs to change - there are so many options but they are not willing to negotiate."

"If the rule stays the same as it is now... I am never going to be national champ. I've got a world championship and a world cup overall under my belt... but not this one."

Mick Hannah won the men's Elite Downhill event later that same day. Read the entire 2005 National Championship race report here.

MTBA says a UCI rule that forced the crowned National Champion to wear the current jersey design at all UCI downhill competition sparked the protest. "This rule had always been in place," said MTBA spokesperson Tony Scott in a release to the media, "but had only just begun to be enforced by the UCI in the last two years." In an effort to find a compromise that will allow athletes with concerned sponsors to compete seriously for the national championship jersey, MTBA and CA are proposing a modified jersey design.

"The Cycling Australia Board of Management has resolved that for mountain bike disciplines – cross country, downhill, mountain cross – the Australian Champion will be recognised by one yellow band bordered by two green bands each 4cm wide around both upper sleeves. There will be no other national champions jersey awarded. The green and yellow bands are to be placed on the jersey worn by the athlete in all UCI calendar events."

The design, which Cycling Australia says will remain policy for Australian mountain bike champions until further notice, should not be confused with the thin green and yellow piping worn on collars and cuffs by ‘former’ Australian champions.

UCI points at MTBA National Championships

Mountain Biking Australia (MTBA) recently announced a more streamlined process in the awarding of points for the calculation of World Ranking gained at the Australian National Championships. The Championships event is to be held in Mt. Beauty (XC, January 12 - 15), Thredbo (DH and MTNX, January 19 - 22) and Bike Trials (Port Elliot SA, January 28 - 29).

UCI World ranking points awarded down to 20th place for DH and MTNX and 10th place for XC in Elite (male and female) will be automatically put forward to the UCI so long as the rider has either a valid Cycling Australia or a current MTBA membership (previously, only a valid Cycling Australia license holder could be awarded UCI points).

Tony Scott, Executive Officer for MTBA said, "This will help our riders gain very valuable UCI points which will add to their international ranking by contesting the Aussie national championships. Riders, thinking about possible national team selection, will have the points now allowing them to work towards selection in the knowledge that their effort at the nationals was rewarded."

Scott says that the arrangement developed out of the continuing development of the relationship between MTBA and CA. "As far as international competition is concerned, the status quo still remains, a rider must have an internationally endorsed Cycling Australia license to use the points at any World Cup, NORBA or other race listed by the UCI."

Complete control: impressions of Manitou's 2006 R-Seven

Manitou has developed a much-needed update to its SPV platform valving for 2006. James Huang went for a bounce around on a pre-production Snap Valve-equipped R-Seven Platinum 100mm fork.

The Manitou R-Seven
Photo ©: James Huang

Manitou revolutionized the suspension fork world with the introduction of its Stable Platform Valving back in 2003. SPV promised to virtually eliminate bobbing during sprinting or climbing and also reduce brake dive, all while allegedly retaining fully active suspension movement when needed. In reality, the system was never quite able to perfectly balance on that fine line; a reasonably stable pedaling platform often came at the expense of small bump compliance. A modified version, dubbed SPV Evolve, was introduced a couple of years later but it still left a little to be desired.

The Reverse Arch

A nicely machined and anodized

Forged aluminium crown

Manitou went back to the drawing board with the development of its Snap Valve technology which we covered in detail just a few months ago. At first glance, the Snap Valve looks similar to SPV but it actually incorporates a "dual ratio" compression damper valve that requires significantly more force to open it than to close it. This yields a higher breakaway threshold for better resistance to low-frequency stuff than SPV Evolve provided, but also improved small-bump compliance and a more active feel overall since the valve would be less likely to shut too quickly.

Snap Valve technology came stock on our pre-production 2006 R-Seven Platinum 100mm test fork. The new R-Seven platform is the replacement for the aging Skareb and incorporates larger 30mm stanchions in conjunction with a beefier crown and lower leg assembly. At 3.36 lb (1.53 kg) with an 8.5in (210mm) long aluminium steerer tube, our pre-production disc-specific fork is barely heavier than its predecessor. Production versions are said to be up to 100g lighter as ours did not incorporate all of the planned weight-reducing production goodies.

Out of the basement and into the woods

From a structural standpoint, the old Skareb was never widely considered to be a noodly platform by the cross-country crowd, but the new R-Seven platform is substantially more rigid. Steering precision is markedly improved as is fore-aft flex when hitting square-edged bumps. Although our test unit was a disc-only model, the visible reduction in lateral movement at the front wheel during compression also suggests that the new platform will produce less brake rub for those using rim brakes.

As with SPV and SPV Evolve, tuning is critical. Snap Valve isn't quite as sensitive to damper pressure settings as its forebears, but small changes still had noticeable effects on the ride characteristics. The new damper technology seemed to work as advertised when properly set up and definitely yielded much improved small-bump absorption and an even more positive pedaling platform than before. In many ways, Snap Valve feels similar to a competitor's terrain-sensing auto-lockout system but without the initial notchiness, plus Manitou's setup still incorporates a very useful amount of sag. Overall fork stroke felt buttery smooth with just the right amount of spring rate progression, and the external rebound adjustment actually seemed to do something.

We'll reserve final judgment for when our full-production version shows up, but the folks at Manitou look to have a hit on their hands.

Price: US$599
Weight: 3.36 lb (1.53 kg)
More info: www.answerproducts.com

Wildside MTB "Mountain to Beach" still open for registration

Entries for the 2006 edition of the Wildside MTB challenge, starting from Cradle Mountain in Tasmania on January 28th and finishing in Strahan on January 31st, are still available. Entries have been extended to the 9th January, but if you are thinking of doing this awesome event get in now because the event will not run in 2007 - the Wildside crew are having a well deserved rest. Check out the Wildside web site (http:www.wildsidemtb.com), or email at wildsidemtb@bigpond.com for more information

British MTB promoter releases 2006 race calendar

The West Drayton Mountain Bike Club has announced it's 2006 race promotions calendar. On tap are five cross country and endurance events starting in May and ending in October:

• March 26th, Black Park cross country race
• April 1st, Hillingdon Road
• June 4th, Denham County Park 100k endurance event
• July 30th, The Blue Riband
• Oct 8th, The Ash classic

More details of the events can be found on the www.westdraytonmbc.co.uk website

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