Lopes only mountain biker back with GT in ’02
It looks like GT isn’t out of the bike racing business after all — at least where Brian Lopes is concerned. The reigning World Cup and world dual champion checked in with VeloNews on Tuesday to say that he’ll be back with GT in 2002. "I will be running my own program once again with GT as the main supporter behind it," Lopes wrote in an email. "GT will provide a rig at the races for me and I will be choosing a mechanic to be my full-time wrench, which will probably be Stikman (a.k.a. former Schwinn mechanic Craig Glaspell)." As for the rest of the GT team, there won’t be one — unless you
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By Jason Sumner, VeloNews Associate Editor
Photo:
It looks like GT isn’t out of the bike racing business after all — at least where Brian Lopes is concerned. The reigning World Cup and world dual champion checked in with VeloNews on Tuesday to say that he’ll be back with GT in 2002.
“I will be running my own program once again with GT as the main supporter behind it,” Lopes wrote in an email. “GT will provide a rig at the races for me and I will be choosing a mechanic to be my full-time wrench, which will probably be Stikman (a.k.a. former Schwinn mechanic Craig Glaspell).”
As for the rest of the GT team, there won’t be one — unless you count BMX’er Christophe Leveque who may show up at a race or two to compete in mountain cross.
“We may try to expand, but we’re tapped out in terms of salary money right now,” said Erick Marcheschi sports marketing manager for Pacific Cycles, GT’s parent company.
Lopes added that he’s close to signing a shoe deal with Oakley and a rim deal with Sun-Ringle, which will likely be producing a Brain Lopes signature rim.
Meanwhile, in other Lopes related news, the gated-racing specialist showed off his skills as a throttle twister as a member of the winning team at the fourth-annual motocross Crossover Challenge on the eve of the opening round of the EA SPORTS Supercross at Edison International Field in Anaheim, California last Friday.
Lopes and teammates Bobby B (musician for the band Kotton Mouth Kings), and Robbie Miranda (BMX rider) captured the championship, outlasting the second-place team of Mark Osborne (NHRA driver), Dano LeGiere (Temptation Island actor), and Aaron Cooke (BMX rider), and the third-place team of Rob Van Winkle (a.k.a. Vanilla Ice), Ross Robinson (music producer), and D-Loc (musician, Kotton Mouth Kings) in the 10-lap shootout.
Lopes also fared well in individual results, finishing third overall. Here’s a look at the final individual results.
1. Victor Sheldon, jet skiing
2. Dan LeGiere, Temptation Island actor
3. Brian Lopes, mountain biking
4. Robbie Van Winkle, musician
5. Adam Booth, editor, BMX Plus
6. Robbie Miranda, BMX rider
7. Aaron Vincent, snow boarding
8. Ross Robinson, music producer
9. Aaron Cooke, BMX rider
10. Josh Blackman, Anaheim Police
11. Bobby B, musician, Kotton Mouth Kings
12. Mark Osborne, NHRA driver
13. Mark Ellis, SWAT Team
14. Larry Waterhouse, Anaheim Fire Department
15. D-Loc, musician, Kotton Mouth Kings
16. Cobe Mikicich, wake boarding
17. Jason Ellis, skateboarding/ESPN
18. Jordan Burns, musician, Strung Out
19. Salman Agah, skate boarding
20. Scott Tinsley, triathlete
21. Cameron Evans, editor Popular Hot Rodding
22. Steve Caballero, skateboarding
23. Tex Davenport, snow boarding
24. Rocky Cagnoni, paint ball