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MTB news & racing round-up for July 28, 2007Welcome 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. Edited by Sue George Bulls add to stage race win collectionBy Paul Verkuylen
On the final stage of the Transalp eight-day stage race, from Folgaria to Riva del Garda, Team Bulls underlined their outstanding form. Karl Platt and Stefan Sahm won their sixth stage of the tour, in doing so, claiming the overall title, in a time of 2:59:49. Their combined time for all eight stages totaling 628.36 kilometers, which included a total of 20,836 meters of altitude gain, was 27:32:30. They finished almost half an hour in front of the second placed team of Andreas Strobel and Silvio Wieltschnig (Fiat Rotwild). "We had planned to push it today and therefore attacked right at the start to have a more relaxing rest of the day," said Stefan Sahm after the race. "It's fantastic that we made the triple. I'm not sure if someone can repeat winning all three big mountain stage races in one year," said the 31 year-old rider, all smiles, after winning the TransAlp, the Trans Germany, and the Cape Epic stage races for 2007. Team-mate Karl Platt, who secured his fifth overall title, added, "We have worked very hard for this. It might seem that we have an easy job out there, but you have to motivate yourself every day facing the heat and the mountains. We had to go to our limit to win and therefore we are very proud that we made it." Sandra and Peggy Klose (Zwillingscraft) have successfully defended their 2006 title. "It's a wonderful feeling, to defend the title especially with the strong competitors this year," said Sandra Klose in the finish area. "We had a week packed with a lot of incidents and technical difficulties. In addition, I had to crucify myself into the finish yesterday and today. I also have to pay a compliment to my sister for her performance, because last year I pulled her a few times." Alison Sydor and Carsten Bresser (Rocky Mountain/Haywood) showed the competition who ruled, taking eight of eight possible stage wins in the event and also the overall. The two recently won the TransGermany. Team Shannifer, the team who won the contest for sponsorship by Race Face, finished seventh overall in the mixed category. Both seasoned American cross country pros, they admitted afterward that the Trans Alp was the hardest race they'd ever ridden. For complete coverage of the TransAlp, click here. NMBS #6 heads to Sugar Mountain for showdown
Stop six of seven of the National Mountain Bike Series (NMBS) will take top pro racers to the mountains of North Carolina July 26-29 for the Showdown at Sugar, an event in its 14th year. "We love the technical terrain here at Sugar Mountain. It is classic East Coast riding, with roots, rocks, drops, the whole lot," said series director Jeff Frost, of Blue Wolf Events. Racers should be all warmed up and ready after last weekend's technical national championship course in Mount Snow. One favorite for the weekend is newly crowned US national cross country and short track champion Mary McConneloug (Seven Cycles). "After winning the (short track), I decided since the good legs are here, and I should put them to good use! Mike Broderick and I both look forward to racing in the National Series race this weekend. We hear the riding at Sugar Mountain is phenomenal," the McConneloug said. McConneloug will face the likes of Georgia Gould (Luna), who will be looking to maintain her perfect score of 728 points from four cross country races. Gould's experienced team-mate, Shonny Van Landingham, lies second in the series with 654 points, while ex-pat Czech Katerina Nash completes the Luna Women's team domination of the top three spots with 582 points.
Cross country racers will tackle a 6.5 mile course, with relentless climbs, fast descents, and intricate singletrack through the eastern hardwoods. Geoff Kabush (Team Maxxis) leads the series over Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Gary Fisher) by 719 points to 681. Carl Decker (Giant), sits in third with 528 points. Look out also for Virginia rider Jeremiah Bishop (Trek/VW), who took third at Deer Valley and second at last weekend's national championships and showed he's back on form after a respiratory illness compromised his June form. Look for newly crowned national short track Ryan Trebon (Kona) to mix it up with these men, too. He dropped to third in the short track standings after Deer Valley, but is now riding strong. Local rider Willow Koerber (Subaru-Gary Fisher), who grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, lays fourth overall in the short track series and is expected to put on a strong showing. Showing her prowess on the international scene, Koerber has twice visited the World Cup cross country podium so far this season.
In the downhill, Australians Jared Rando (Giant/Michelin) and Amiel Cavalier (Giant), with 525 and 483 points respectively, will aim to continue what is becoming a tradition of Aussie dominance on American soil. However, Cody Warren (Foes/No Fear) has shown he has the talent to beat both Aussies, and a strong result here would put him right back in contention for the series lead. Melissa Buhl (KHS) will be looking to keep her downhill series lead over Joanna Petterson (Brodie) and Lisa Myklak (Leelikesbikes.com). Buhl also leads Petterson and Jackie Harmony (Brodie/Bike and Bean) in the 4X / Dual Slalom. 37 year-old national and world champion Eric Carter hopes to continue to outsmart his younger rivals and maintain his comfortable series lead. At Deer Valley, Jared Rando moved up into second place overall, with his compatriot, Cavalier, close behind. Kona collects national titles in three countries in one weekend
Kona Les Get Riders successfully defended national championships titles in Canada, France, and the United States all in the same weekend. The effort brought the team's total to four national titles for the 2007 season. At the French National Downhill Championships, Fabien Barrel showed that he had regained his confidence after having a crash in training that worsened his foot injury. He pushed hard for the top section and was already two seconds up at the split. Shortly after the split, he overshot a turn, lost traction and went down, but in true Barrel style, stayed firmly attacked to the bars and managed a quick recovery. After covering the last few turns like he was on rails, he crossed the line 0.7 second ahead and took the win. "This is the first time since I injured my foot last season that I felt comfortable to attach 100% and also have the correct race mind set," said Barrel. "This a big step for me getting back to the top. I'm really pleased to retain the French title." Meanwhile, at the US Nationals, Ryan Trebon, Barry Wicks, and Erik Tonkin set out of a weekend of tough racing in Vermont. Trebon didn't fare so well in the cross country. He lost his line in the first mile of the race and flatted his front tire after colliding with a rock. He rode the flat to pit area, got a new wheel and was able bridge back up to sixth place before he flatted again, bent his rear derailleur and crashed. The crash cracked his handlebar which eventually broke and led to his withdrawal from the race.
Trebon made up for his poor day later in the weekend in the short track. "I promised MP [Kona Team manager] I wouldn't come home without something. Since I pooched the cross country, I came out swinging for the short track," said Trebon. Trebon shot out the front as usual with only Wicks and Craig able to hang with the pace. But shortly after doing so, he dropped his chain and fell back a number of places. Wicks was the consummate teammate and marked Craig until Trebon caught back up. "Ryan caught us on the start/finish straight and I knew he was going to come by. It seemed like he was going twice as fast. The effort to mark Craig was too much for my tired legs from the day before and when Ryan blasted by, I cracked bad[ly]," said Wicks who finished 9th while Trebon won. In Canada, Neal Kindree successfully defended his U23 National title at Mt. Washington, British Columbia, in some nasty muddy conditions. "It was a hard race today. It was ridiculous how muddy it was today and I'm not really that good in that kind of stuff. I'd make up time on the climbs and just try to limit my time losses on the descent and not crash," said Kindree. Kindree dueled with Raphael Gagne for much of the first three laps trading places throughout the course. He kicked it hard on a big climb on the final lap and broke free from Gagne to win by two minutes. Dahle Flesjå on her way back to racing
Last week, world champion Gunn-Rita Dahle Flesjå (Multivan - Merida) got doctor's approval to restart her training schedule and begin her return to racing. The Norwegian was sidelined due to a gastrointestinal virus. Following a current two-week training camp in Italy, Dahle Flesjå will announce the exact date of her return to racing. Dahle Flesjå is looking forward to returning to the pro athlete's rhythm of life, and she is confident that she will be able to rebuild her form. "The exact time and place of Gunn-Rita's return to racing is not a priority right now," said Team manager Andreas Rottler. "Instead, her health is by far more important to us, so she must not expose herself to racing-induced stress too early. During the most recent seasons, Gunn-Rita has achieved marvelous and numerous victories which we should not forget in such a situation – hence we grant her the necessary time for recovery." Mosely wins treacherous Crankworx
Tracy Moseley (Kona / Les Gets) won the Garbanzo enduro downhill race on the opening weekend of Crankworx. Riders battled appalling conditions and were slammed with a downhill marathon featuring wet, slimy roots, and rocks and a river of water running down the trail in many places. Riders also faced several 'north shore' style bridges that were incredibly slippery along with near vertical rock slabs in the top portion of this madness. Racers crashed everywhere throughout the 3,000 vertical foot monster of a course. In some sections riders were seen to be tumbling and sliding down the trail losing all semblances of traction and their own bikes. Kona team representatives reported, "It resembled a Monty Python skit at times with riders cursing, crashing and tumbling straight down the mountain and sometimes into each other." The rain held off for most of the day but the week of bad weather prior to the race did the damage. Moseley reported that she used seven goggle 'tear-offs' on the race course...a personal record. So much for her intentions to come to Whistler early to escape the wet weather that the United Kingdom is having lately. Mosely finished ahead of Fionn Griffiths (Shrewsbury Norco / Griffiths Racing) and Joanna Petterson (HI Kapaa Brodie bikes). On the men's side, Australian Sam Hill (Monster Energy Ironhorse) won ahead of Justin Leov (Yeti / Fox Racing Factory Team) and Andrew Neethling (Draper Mongoose Bicycles). Steve Peat was not in attendance after dislocating his foot the previous week. Sea Otter scraps new datesThe Sea Otter Classic scrapped plans to move to a later date and instead committed to the next edition on April 17-20, 2008. Organizers said the originally announced dates were not available due to "an unexpected scheduling conflict." Roll to raise funds for NorCal LeagueThe NorCal high school mountain bike league announced two upcoming fundraisers. On Saturday, November 10, Tour de France commentator, former Tour de France racer, and fellow mountain biker Bob Roll will be hosting the fourth annual CycleFest in San Rafael. Tickets for the dinner and auction are now on sale. The League will also host the Chileno Valley Cycling Classic – a 40 or 60 mile road ride with breathtaking scenery, gorgeous roads and challenging but not overwhelming climbs that exemplify cycling in coastal Marin. The September 23, 2007, ride is limited to 100 entrants. For more information on both events, visit www.norcalmtb.org. (All rights reserved/Copyright Knapp Communications Pty Limited 2007) | |||||||||
