UPDATEJAN 26 RACING
UPDATEJAN 26 RACING
Compiled by Eddie Arnet
FILIP RIDE FOR TWO TEAMS
World Mountain Bike Champion Filip Meirhaeghe has joined the Vlaanderen 2016 Division 3 road team. Roel Paulissen, a bronze medalist, has also signed up. Meirhaeghe, who will be the team leader, will have the freedom this year to select his own program. Filip will race off-road for Specialized, and will be focusing on the Olympics.
Filip is not new to road racing. Last year, Filip rode for Domina Vacanze’s road team. Mario Cipollini, an ex-Road World Champion, runs the Italian Domina Vacanze Team. Paulissen is also Belgian.
MARTINEZ GETS HIRED
It’s official: Olympic Champion Miguel Martinez (Fra), will cross-country ride for Team Oxbow -Commencal. This is the same team Anne Caroline Chausson, France’s 11-time DH World Champion, rides for twice a season.
GREG MINNAAR & LIAM KILLEEN ARE ON THE SAME TEAM
Greg Minnaar (RSA), World Downhill Champion, and Liam Killeen (GBR), have both confirmed their participation in The Cape Epic. The Cape Epic is an 8-stage African race that starts in Knysna on February 28th and ends at the Spier Wine Estate, just outside Cape Town. This covers 466 miles in the Western Cape, which includes some of the most difficult mountain passes in South Africa. Greg will be riding for Team G-Cross Honda and Liam for Subaru-Gary Fisher. They’ll also be riding together as Team 23 Degrees for The Cape Epic. Honda will build a cross country bike for Minnaar in order to compete in this race.
Greg Minnaar may not have any XC experience. Greg averages 3000 XC and road miles each year. He is the World Champ.
LIAMKILLEENS BUSY SCHED
Liam Killeen began 2004 by winning the British Cyclocross U23 Championships. Liam was the first candidate to represent Great Britain in the Cyclocross World Championships next weekend in Pont-Chateau (France). This will be Liam’s last year in the U23 class.
PAOLA ZOS ON FULL SUPPORTION
The 35-year-old Italian star announced today that she is leaving Gary Fisher Bicycles in her quest to become the first female mountain bike Olympic gold winner. Specialized will supply Pezzo with a bike as well as riding gear to support her title sponsor, Gatorade. Pezzo has so far won the two Olympic MTB events.
CHAMP WORLD WITHOUT A RIDE
Germany’s Sabine Spitz won the MTBing’s biggest prize. She has now left Merida, her long-time sponsor. Thomas Klotzbucher, Merida’s team manager, suggested that there was internal friction between Spitz (and her teammate Gunn-Rita Dahle, the World Cup Champion), and Dahle (the Norwegian teammate). There was some disagreement about who would be the number one rider at Merida. It was not Spitz.
FRISCHKNECHT CANT STOP
Thomas Frischknecht, a Swiss MTB star of 33 years old, continues to rack up the cyclocross wins. The World Marathon Champion, Thomas Frischknecht, was just beaten by Ben Berden, Belgium World Cup CXer, at the Internationaler Radcross Landerkampf, Magstadt, Germany. Frishi (Swiss Power), who finished third in the Internationale Radquer Uster B-level event, was held in his home country. He finished behind Simon Zahner and Christian Heule.
CADEL RIDE FOR JAN ULRICH
Cadel Evans, a two-time World XC Champion, didn’t have a great year on the road. Not once, but three times he broke his collarbone. The 26-year-old Australian was still considered to be Team Telekom’s star despite his injuries. They hired Jan Ulrich, a second-place Tour de France rider. Jans is the larger star, which means Cadel will ride for the Germans and help them win the 2004 Tour. This year, T-Mobile will be the name of the Telekom team.
Evans’ best road finish since jumping ship two years ago was a gold medal in the time trial at 2002 Commonwealth Games.
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENTS
Yeti Cycles: Last month’s team included Jill Kintner (NCS MTX Champion) and Trent Lowe (Aus), 2002 Junior XC World Champion Trent Lowe, and a hint of another DH rider. Jared Graves, a potential downhill and mountaincross champion from Australia, will be that rider. The focus of the teams is on NCS and World Cup races as well as freeride competitions.
Gears Racing Institute: World Cup TeamTop ten NCS competition Kiara Bisaro and Ricky Federau were the 3rd and 3rd places respectively. Trish Sinclair was 7th overall NCS XCer Trish, Mathieu Toulouse was 4th. National Senior Elite TeamDanelle Kazush, Matt Patterson; 3rd Trans Rockies rider Greg Reain; Sue Trimble; and Andrew Watson. National Espoir TeamFrederic bussieres, Adam Coates Martin Lazarski Sophie-Anne Blanchette, and Catherine Vipond. Provincial TeamPaul Brown, 3rd Place 2002 Trans Rockies Rider Michael Dennis, Craig Hawkes and Sean Ito, Chris Jackson. Heather King, Cameron Mackenzie. Tim Oliver, Paul Skafel. Gears Racing is sponsored Shimano Canada and Specialized Bicycles.
CatEye France Enduro Team: Based out of North America, the teams will focus on ultra-distance races around the globe and 24-hour races. La Ruta and Trans Rockies champion Louise Kobin is leading a team which also includes Jeff Kerkove, Eric Warkentin, and Sloane Anderson, endurance racers. Eric was the American’s top finisher at the La Ruta. The team will be using CatEye computers as well as Giant carbon composite NRS Air frames.
Alpine Tracks-SRAM-RockShox: This UK team is comprised of 2nd place British National Champion DH rider Anja Rees Jones and 2001 Masters World DH Champion Petra Wiltshire. Alpine Tracks is a French ski resort located in Morzine.
Cove Bikes: Glyn Obrien (Ire), third place Red Bull rider, will compete on the freeride circuit.
MORE NATIONAL TITLES UP for GRABS
If you don’t have a chance of winning the Stars and Stripes, keep fighting. The U.S. MTB National Championships at Mammoth Mountain will award titles in marathon, single speed, dual slalom and Super D.
Mammoth automatically qualifies national champions. Rest of us must race NORBA National, NORBA State, NORBA Regional, AMBC and Alison Dunlap Junior Olympic events.
TRACY MOSELEY HEADS DEEP UNDER
As we prepare for winter, New Zealand launched their Subaru National Mountain Bike Series with seven races. The women’s division was won by Tracy Moseley (Kona-Clarks), third-placed World CUP DHer Tracy Moseley from Great Britain. Claudio Caluori, a Swiss rider, won the men’s DH event. He was 15th fastest in Worlds.
TOP QOUTES
It is not possible to translate every word in the UCI rulebook. France Cycling MTB Development Director Matt Cramer. This is because France Cycling didn’t know about the UCI special provision which cost us a spot at the Olympics for women. France Cycling might have informed our top female XC riders to chase points in B-level winter and fall events around the world if they knew. (See 1/
I’m a bad influence, because we must stop at every Krispy Kreme that we see. Pop singer Sheryl Crow eats five-time Tour de France Champion Lance Armstrong’s 2004 preparation phase diet. Armstrong and Crow made their relationship public when they walked down the red carpet with Crow at the premiere of Along Came Polly in Los Angeles. The comedy stars Jennifer Aniston as well as Ben Stiller. A Krispy Kreme Coconut Creme Pie contains 450 calories or 12% of the calories Lances are allowed to consume for training.
We made the right decisions for the racers. We didn’t have the financial support GaleForce or Sea Otter promoter Rick Sutton. This is why they cancelled the Redwood Sea Otter road race opening. This reasoning sounds familiar. Galeforce and France Cyclings Help were the ones that lost all financial support for NORBA Nationals in last year.
HORSE BIKES RACE MOUNTAIN JOCKEYS
The Jayco Bay Classic Criterium Series was held in Victoria, Australia. It featured five days of mountain biking. The relay event saw Baden Cooke, an Austrailian FDJeux Champion and Jayco Champion, team up with Jockey Noel Callow (and another unnamed participant) to win. Callow holds the highest strike rate in Melbourne. The relay team, led by Phil Anderson, an Australian cycling star, finished second.
IMBA GOES FREERIDING
Kona Bicycle Company announced a grant program that will fund projects in freeriding and downhilling. This program aims to increase freeriding opportunities on public lands. It includes securing land manager approval, addressing liability concerns and trail and stunt construction. Trailhead kiosks and signage are also required. Five cash grants are available. For more information see www.imba.com/resources/grants/.
DUNLAP READY TO GO FOR THE NEXT WEEKS CX CHAMPS
The American CX team raced in Zonnebeke (Belgium) the Cat 3 Kasteelcross on their way to Pont Chateau, France for the Jan 31 Worlds kickoff. Luna Chixs Alison Dunlap was eighth in the combined elite women/junior man race. Jonathan Page, Cyclocross National Champion and Selle Italia-Guerciotti’s U23 champion, placed tenth.
LAST UCI CYCLOCROSS OF THE YEAR
Half Moon Bay, San Mateo, California was the final UCI cyclocross event of 2003/2004 season. Celo Pacific-Felts Brent Prenzlow was fourth in the elite division. The women’s division was won by Rachel Lloyd (Redline-Ritchey), a 2002 Northstar at Tahoe DH Winner. The 35+ race was won by Olympian and MTB Exp/Semipro Mark Noble, Camarillo Ravens.
SOCAL CYCLOCROSS WEAR
The 14-race CX Cup was concluded at Santa Barbara and San Diego. Brent Prenzlow (Celo Pacific Felt), a MTB pro, won the elite division. He is also a seven-time So Cal State CX Champion. The elite women’s category was won by Dorothy Wong (Kelly Bike), a mountain biker. Austin Carroll, Paramount Racing Junior 16 Cal State XC Champion, won the overall junior title.
