- HOT TOPICS:
- Cav wins stage 2 •
- Cancellara wins opener •
- Sastre can't start in yellow •
- Boonen gets green light
Early season news from the offroad world
Lopes and Ibis
Brian Lopes has a new ride for 2008 with Ibis Cycles. The 36-year-old, a four-time four-cross world champion, had been looking for a new bike sponsor since fall, when GT Bicycles let him go. Lopes will race Ibis’ Mojo carbon and SL carbon-fiber bikes, and the new Tranny hardtail.
“I feel like for a long time I was riding on a Ford or a Chevy, and now I’m going to be cruising around on a Ferrari,” the reigning four-cross world and World Cup champion said. “I’m was looking for something long-term, something where I can grow into being part of a company.”
Lopes’ change brings a new focus. The Californian will still tackle select stops on the UCI World Cup and the 2008 world championships in Val de Solay, Italy, he also will focus on festival-oriented events in the United States and Europe.
“I think Brian will bring a whole new set of awareness to the brand — for us it’s way more than just a racing sponsorship,” said Ibis’ Scot Nicol. “We’re not looking at Brian to sell four-cross bikes because he is much more than just a gravity racer. He has a really diversified skill set on a bicycle.”
Rocky Mountain’s team mostly intact for 2008
Rocky Mountain Bicycles’ elite team returns with its roster virtually intact. Leading the charge for Canada’s most-decorated cross-country program is Quebecer Marie-Héléne Prémont, silver medalist at the Athens Olympics. Prémont will again represent Canada at the Beijing Olympics.
North America’s top finisher at the 2007 UCI world mountain-bike championships in Fort William, Scotland — she finished 4th — Prémont has hinted this season could be her last.
Also returning is three-time world champion Alison Sydor, also an Olympic silver medalist. The Canadian, who won the mixed category at the 2007 Trans Germany race alongside teammate Carsten Bresser, will focus on ultra-endurance events, select cross-country races and stage racing. Sydor and teammate Pia Sundstedt of Finland will tackle South Africa’s Absa Cape Epic next month, and look to be the strongest team in the women’s category.
Olympic hopeful Max Plaxton leads Rocky Mountain’s men’s squad, and will tackle World Cup events in hopes of grabbing one of Canada’s two men’s spots for Beijing. Plaxton and teammate Raphael Gagne are two of Canada’s top young cross-country riders.
Team rider/media man Andreas Hestler again sports the team’s colors, and will focus on stage races including the BC Bike Race and the TransRockies Challenge.
Rounding out the squad are talented cross-country rider Jean Anne McKirdy, long-distance specialist Carsten Bresser and new team manager Peter Vallance.
Racing: Cypurs’ Sunshine Cup opens with wins for Kessiakoff, Irmiger
American Heather Irmiger (Subaru-Gary Fisher) and Sweden’s Fredrik Kessiakoff (Full Dynamix) took the opening round of Cypurs’ Sunshine Cup, held February 23. The event sent riders on a 45km point-to-point trek from Tochni to Kalavassos.
Irmiger, an Olympic hopeful from Boulder, Colorado, was part of a four-person front group containing Belgians Maaike Polspoel and Githa Michiels and Ukranian Natalia Krompets. The American separated herself on the day’s major climb and rode to a 1:24 advantage over Polspoel.
“It was a long race for us women,” said Irmiger, who was competing in her first race of the season. “I didn’t really attack, I was just going at my rhythm the whole time.”
Kessiakoff, who took the final World Cup win of the 2007 season in Maribor, Slovenia, out sprinted his former Cannondale-Vredestein teammate Roel Paulissen to take his first victory of 2008. The two separated themselves early in the race after dropping Bulls rider Karl Platt. American Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Gary Fisher) finished 10th.
The Sunshine Cup’s second round is February 29 in Mantra.
Racing: Sager, Smith win USA Cycling Endurance opener
Jason Sager (Monavie-Cannondale) and Christina Smith (Lone Star Works) took the opening event of the 2008 USA Cycling National Ultra Endurance Mountain Bike Racing Calendar, the Mas O Menos 100K in Terlingua, Texas.
The February 26th event saw Sager, the defending champion, finish in 4:05:03, ahead of Evan Plews (Capitol Subaru) and Bryan Fawley (TX Tough-San Jose). Smith, also a repeat winner, took the victory in 4:51:08, 3:13 ahead of Jennifer Wilson (Titus).
Racing: 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo showcases team talent
The ninth annual Kona 24-Hours in the Old Pueblo sent riders spinning on a dusty 16-mile loop just outside of Tucson, Arizona, on February 16-17. Kimo Seymour and Heidi Clayton emerged victorious in the solo open categories, completing 16 and 13 laps, respectively.
The four-man Kona team of Barry Wicks, Kris Sneddon, Matthew Slaven and Luke Brechwald completed 21 laps, setting the high mark of the race. The Team Ergon squad of Monique Sawicki, Dave Weins, Jeff Kerkove, Dejay Birch and Ron Sawicki also completed 21 laps, winning the five-person coed division. The Kenda-Titus-Hays squad of Heather Holmes, Amanda Riley, Krista Park and Zephanie Blasi took the woman’s category with 19 laps completed. For a list of all results, please check out the race’s website at www.epicrides.com.
Hans and Tinker will race in Baja event
Reigning 24-hour solo world champion Tinker Juarez will race the Baja Epic, a four-day mountain bike stage race that begins and ends in Rosarito Beach, Mexico. The race runs November 5-8, and registration is set at 500 riders. You can register for the Baja Epic at www.toomuchfun.com.mx.
Mountain bike icon Hans Rey has also announced his plans to participate in the race, which spans 300 miles and includes close to 30,000 feet of climbing.
Signing on as the bicycle sponsor of the race is Golden, Colorado-based Yeti Bicycles.
USA Cycling announces Gravity East dates
The Gravity East Series is returning after a successful debut in 2007. This year's series will consist of eight races with all events acting as qualifiers for the 2008 USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships, held July 16-20 in Mount Snow, Vermont. The downhill mountain bike series will kick off May 9 at Massanutten Resort in Virginia and will wrap up with the Gravity East Series Finals at Plattekill Mountain Resort, October 11-12. For more information visit www.gravityeastseries.com
Gravity East Series 2008 Schedule
May 9-10: Massanutten Resort, McGaheysville, VA. www.massresort.com
May 31-June 1: Mount Snow Resort, West Dover, VT. www.mountsnow.com
June 21-22: Wisp Resort - McHenry, Maryland. www.skiwisp.com
July 5-6: Plattekill Mountain, Roxbury, New York. www.plattekill.com
Aug 16-17: Bolton Valley, Bolton Valley, Vermont. www.boltonvalley.com
Aug 30-31: Whiteface Resort, Wilmington, New York. www.downhillmike.com
Sept 6-7: Attitash Resort, Bartlett, New Hampshire. www.attitash.com
Oct 11-12: GES Finals, Plattekill Mountain, Roxbury, New York. www.plattekill.com
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