Cape Town downhill organiser has two open spots for riders who wish to join him on a trip to France.

Bike park sabbatical in France, including a trip to the 2011 MTB World Champs in Champery, Switzerland with Chris Nixon.

22 August to 4 September 2011.

There are only 2 positions left and time is limited for people to confirm their bookings.

For more information contact Chris on 084 7777 802 or chris@chrisnixon.co.za

R20 000

UCI Announces that Pietermaritzburg Gets The Double-Whammy for 2012 and 2013, 20 June 2011 – Cycling South Africa is proud to announce that the 2013 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships has been awarded to South Africa…

This was confirmed in a meeting of the UCI (Union Cycliste Internationale) Management Committee, held in Maastricht, the Netherlands on Friday (17 June 2011).

It will be the first time that Africa will be hosting the one-off UCI MTB (Mountain Bike) World Championship, which will determine the MTB World Champion across the three mountain biking disciplines of Olympic cross-country, downhill and four-cross for 2013.

CyclingSA is committed to running world-class events of this stature in keeping aligned with their “2020 Vision” strategy, which sees the organisation becoming a dynamic, successful and highly respected governing body of cycling, at both National and International level.  Being awarded the 2012 UCI MTB World Cup forms part of an ongoing process whereby CyclingSA remain contracting with the UCI in the management of these events, building up towards the 2013 UCI MTB World Championships.

In professional mountain bike racing, there are approximately seven to ten ‘World Cup’ events each year of which a rider has the opportunity to score UCI points per event, leading up to a complete World Cup Series tally and potential World Cup Series title; whereas there is only one World Championship event each year, giving the riders only one chance at one event to be crowned a World Champion in that year.

Following CyclingSA’s successful hosting of the 2011 triple events held at the Cascades track in Pietermaritzburg this April, rave reviews were received from some of the world’s finest mountain biking professional athletes after months of hard work and many new improvements had been made to both the downhill and cross-country courses since the first hosting of the 2009 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup.  The 2012 World Cup and 2013 World Championships will once again be triple events, consisting of Olympic cross-country, downhill, and four-cross racing.

The 2012 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Series will comprise 10 events in nine countries on three continents. There will be seven rounds for each of the traditional mountain bike disciplines: Olympic cross-country, downhill and four-cross. 2012 will also see the introduction of the cross-country eliminator, in which several rounds will go towards a final ranking.

For DH action CLICK HERE.

For 4X action CLICK HERE.

1              Aaron GWIN                                      USA                       3:44.181

2              Gee ATHERTON                                GBR                       3:46.294

3              Greg MINNAAR                                 RSA                        3:49.902

4              Steve SMITH                                      CAN                       3:52.123

5              Samuel HILL                                        AUS                       3:53.406

6              Danny HART                                       GBR                       3:53.434

7              Cédric GRACIA                                  FRA                        3:53.538

8              Justin LEOV                                         NZL                        3:54.165

9              Samuel BLENKINSOP                      NZL                        3:54.344

10           Brook MACDONALD                       NZL                        3:54.796

11           Josh BRYCELAND                              GBR                       3:56.354

12           Steve PEAT                                         GBR                       3:57.626

13           Marc BEAUMONT                            GBR                       3:57.761

14           Luke STROBEL                                    USA                       3:57.901

15           Troy BROSNAN                                 AUS                       3:58.013

16           Markus PEKOLL                                 AUT                       3:58.984

17           Mickael PASCAL                                FRA                        3:59.234

18           Julien CAMELLINI                             FRA                        3:59.345

19           Lorenzo SUDING                              ITA                         3:59.350

20           Romain PAULHAN                           FRA                        3:59.465

21           Pierre Charles GEORGES               FRA                        3:59.555

22           Rémi THIRION                                   FRA                        3:59.770

23           Bernat GUARDIA PASCUAL          ESP                         4:00.333

24           Cameron COLE                                  NZL                        4:00.386

25           Ruaridh CUNNINGHAM                 GBR                       4:00.460

26           Fabien PEDEMANAUD                   FRA                        4:00.493

27           Mitchell DELFS                                   AUS                       4:00.512

28           Fabien BAREL                                     FRA                        4:00.520

29           Matthew SCOLES                             NZL                        4:00.582

30           Nico VINK                                            BEL                         4:00.634

31           Brendan FAIRCLOUGH                   GBR                       4:01.311

32           Neko MULALLY                                 USA                       4:01.789

33           Boris TETZLAFF                                  AUT                       4:02.097

34           Marcus KLAUSMANN                     GER                        4:02.501

35           Filip POLC                                            SVK                        4:02.544

36           Damien SPAGNOLO                        FRA                        4:02.696

37           Ben REID                                              IRL                          4:02.743

38           Fabien COUSINIE                             FRA                        4:02.932

39           Antonio FERREIRO PAJUELO        ESP                         4:03.234

40           Robin WALLNER                                SWE                       4:03.250

41           Marcelo GUTIERREZ VILLEGAS   COL                        4:04.767

42           Benny STRASSER                              GER                        4:04.818

43           Harry HEATH                                      GBR                       4:04.964

44           Dan STANBRIDGE                             GBR                       4:05.095

45           Alex BOND                                          GBR                       4:05.402

46           Mark SCOTT                                       GBR                       4:05.506

47           Loic BRUNI                                          FRA                        4:06.025

48           Patrick THOME                                  FRA                        4:06.081

49           Matthew SIMMONDS                    GBR                       4:06.785

50           Mitch ROPELATO                              USA                       4:06.788

51           Nejc RUTAR                                        SLO                        4:07.248

52           Joseph SMITH                                   GBR                       4:07.807

53           Lewis BUCHANAN                           GBR                       4:08.234

54           Johann POTGIETER                          RSA                        4:08.347

55           George BRANNIGAN                      NZL                        4:08.644

56           Emanuel POMBO                             POR                       4:09.426

57           Curtis KEENE                                      USA                       4:10.143

58           Florent PAYET                                    FRA                        4:11.263

59           Simon CARDON                                FRA                        4:11.342

60           Dan ATHERTON                                 GBR                       4:11.400

61           Wyn MASTERS                                  NZL                        4:11.559

62           Michael HANNAH                            AUS                       4:13.013

63           Dean TENNANT                                CAN                       4:13.885

64           Thomas JEANDIN                             SUI                         4:14.321

65           Duncan RIFFLE                                   USA                       4:14.332

66           Sam DALE                                            GBR                       4:16.106

67           Joshua BUTTON                                AUS                       4:16.918

68           Thomas BRAITHWAITE                   GBR                       4:17.009

69           Robert SMITH                                    GBR                       4:18.425

70           Joe BARNES                                        GBR                       4:18.782

71           Alexander KANGAS                        SWE                       4:22.902

72           Andrew NEETHLING                       RSA                        4:23.514

73           Marco MILIVINTI                              ITA                         4:25.477

74           Charly DI PASQUALE                       FRA                        4:28.289

75           Dominik GSPAN                                SUI                         4:31.597

76           Timothy BENTLEY                           RSA                        4:34.822

77           Remi GAUVIN                                   CAN                       4:42.923

78           Adam VAGNER                                  CZE                         5:40.214

79           Joris BIGONI                                       FRA                        9:38.015

Women’s overall DH results:

1              Floriane PUGIN                                  FRA                        4:29.427

2              Rachel ATHERTON                           GBR                       4:32.010

3              Tracy MOSELEY                               GBR                       4:32.119

4              Myriam NICOLE                                FRA                        4:39.233

5              Sabrina JONNIER                              FRA                        4:40.162

6              Petra BERNHARD                             AUT                       4:43.384

7              Emilie SIEGENTHALER                     SUI                         4:48.904

8              Micayla GATTO                                 CAN                       4:50.707

9              Céline GROS                                       FRA                        4:52.681

10           Morgane CHARRE                            FRA                        4:55.535

11           Mio SUEMASA                                  JPN                        4:56.395

12           Harriet RUCKNAGEL                        GER                        4:56.652

13           Fionn GRIFFITHS                               GBR                       4:58.625

14           Anita AGER-WICK                            NOR                       4:59.888

15           Miriam RUCHTI                                  SUI                         5:00.083

16           Miranda MILLER                               CAN                       5:03.016

17           Maria MICHALOGIANNAKI          GRE                        5:28.790

18           Jill KINTNER                                        USA                       5:36.784

Men’s overall 4X results:

1              Jared GRAVES                   AUS

2              David GRAF                        SUI

3              Tomas SLAVIK                   CZE

4              Michal PROKOP                CZE

5              Roger RINDERKNECHT   SUI

6              Romain SALADINI            FRA

7              Lukas MECHURA              CZE

8              William EVANS                  GBR

9              Kamil TATARKOVIC          CZE

10           Guido TSCHUGG              GER

11           Jakub RIHA                         CZE

12           Michal MAROSI                 CZE

13           Joost WICHMAN              NED

14           Pascal SEYDOUX               SUI

15           Lear MILLER                        USA

16           Premek TEJCHMAN        CZE

17           Johannes FISCHBACH     GER

18           Daniel PRIJKEL                   NED

19           Petr MUHLHANS              CZE

20           Simon WALDBURGER     SUI

21           Benedikt LAST                   GER

22           Jakub HNIDAK                   CZE

23           Piotr PARADOWSKI         POL

24           Ashley GRAY                      AUS

25           Hannes SLAVIK                   AUT

26           Blake CARNEY                    USA

27           Quentin DERBIER             FRA

28           Scott BEAUMONT            GBR

29           Scott ROBERTS                  GBR

30           Reto SCHMID                     SUI

31           Jurg MEIJER                        NED

32           Adam STASEK                    CZE

Women’s overall 4X results:

1              Romana LABOUNKOVA                  CZE

2              Melissa BUHL                                     USA

3              Anneke BEERTEN                             NED

4              Lucia OETJEN                                      SUI

5              Céline GROS                                       FRA

6              Helene Valerie FRUHWIRTH        AUT

7              Fionn GRIFFITHS                               GBR

8              Steffi MARTH                                     GER

9              Angelika HOHENWARTER             AUT

10           Neza KNEZ                                          SLO

11           Morgane CHARRE                            FRA

12           Nichola ANDERSON                         GBR

13           Tereza VOTAVOVA                         CZE

14           Alia MARCELLINI                               ITA

15           Suzanne LACEY                                   GBR

www.trekworldracing.com

From the opening homepage where there is a lot of new information on the team, viewers can select Cross Country or Downhill where the news and information will be discipline specific and includes a lot of new information on the riders, results and equipment. In the Video sections the team has also uploaded two brand new episodes of ‘In Pursuit’. In the XC there’s the new episode entitled ‘Victory In Africa’ featuring the Flueckiger brothers at the Cape Epic, and in the Downhill section, the new video is entitled ‘Pre-season In Iberia’ following the gravity riders in their build up to the new season.

There are many new features of this new website, which are summarized below:

1)Media Login – Here the media can request a password and have access to team images for season 2011. This replaces the Photoshelter site from 2010.

2)New Video Launch to wide screen – Loading from the team’s You Tube channel, select any video from the list and the site takes you automatically to the top of the screen for a wide screen view.

3)Twitter Feeds – Each of the riders’ latest twitter feeds are automatically loaded each time you log in, as well as the team’s twitter feed.

4)Results and Calendar – Latest results shown in a new format with rider headshots and placings. The upcoming events where the team will be participating are also shown.

5)Bikes – The technical information on bikes and the team’s specific components are now included with a link to Trek’s web pages for further info.

6)Team Staff – Introducing the people behind the scenes that keep the riders on track.

7)Sponsors – Logo placement and description with web links to all of our valued sponsors.

8)Images Gallery – Images added regularly for the public gallery.

9)Facebook link and RSS functions are included on the new site.

10)News – All of the latest news from the team, added into the homepage as well as discipline specific.

Stay up to date with Trek World Racing via this new website and send any enquiries about the features and functionality through the contact page.

At the opening round of the 2011 Downhill World Cup, Trek World Racing’s Tracy Moseley (GBR) and Aaron Gwin (USA) have walked away with the leaders’ jerseys of the series after a display of blistering speed, strength, and determination in front of a huge crowd in sunny Pietermaritzburg. For Tracy it was her first World Cup win in the coveted rainbow jersey of the World Champion, and for Aaron, it was his first World Cup win ever, and the first by an American male since 1999.

Aaron qualified 7th 2 days ago, but in the time between that race and today’s final, he worked with the Trek World Racing mechanics to find the ideal set up for what was going to be a much faster and drier race. His Fox suspension was perfectly dialled as was his choice of Maxxis rubber, and together with a supreme show of speed in the first and second sectors the Californian, who only started racing World Cups in 2008, scored his 8th World cup podium, but an all-important first win for his career, and his new team.

For Tracy Moseley, who did the same thing as Aaron here in 2009 when she won her first World Cup for Trek World Racing on her first outing for the team, it was her 13th career win, and her 3rd for the team. After winning qualifying on Friday by nearly 6 seconds, it was a much tighter affair today winning by 0.28secs. The course was running about 15 seconds faster for the women and the effort to get the bike to the line was huge.

Tracy said: “That was so tough today. Towards the end I was running out of steam and had the rear kick up on something in the lower section of the track; then I heard the onsite commentary say it was going to be close, so I dug deep until the end. It means a lot to win my first World Cup at my first attempt since earning the World Champs jersey, it just means so much.”

Aaron said: “I’m pretty speechless actually. It’s a dream. In the first sector I made a little mistake, hitting some trees with my shoulder, but then I just regrouped and put as much power down as I could in the middle sector. By the end, the legs were really feeling it, and then it was a pretty nerve wracking waiting in the hot seat. The bike is amazing, I can’t praise it enough, and the whole time here in South Africa with the team has been so great. Can’t wait for Fort William, I love that track.”

Team Director Martin Whiteley said: “Three years ago Trek, like Aaron, wasn’t racing at the top level of World Cup Downhilling. Here we are today with clearly a winning package and I can’t speak highly enough of the engineers in Madison, and our key sponsors who give our talented athletes such an amazing set up to do their job. I’m so proud of everything this team has done since we arrived in Africa 4 weeks ago, and I’m really looking forward to a thrilling 2011 season”.

There are 6 weeks until Round 2, in Fort William (SCO), but between now and then, the Trek World Racing boys will be racing on the east coast of the USA.

Overall positions are as follows:

Join Trek World Racing At The World Cup

This year, 23 Degrees Sports Management, owners of Trek World Racing, are bringing back their popular “Local Support Crew” program for the upcoming 2011 season. The Local Support Crew program was first created in 2001 as a way for fans of our first team, Global Racing, to join the team as a temporary member, when the team visited a race nearby, giving the lucky fans chosen a chance to see behind the scenes of the team and work with the staff and riders.

In 2011, we are offering 10 lucky people to join Trek World Racing for a maximum 4 days during 10 World Cup races, one race each. Each Local Support Crew member will get to experience some of the behind scenes operation of our team, and have specific duties within the team, allowing you the opportunity to work with the athletes and staff. The team will also rely, to some degree, on the Local Support Crew members from time to time for some of your local knowledge if the team has any issues that require a local person’s knowledge. Here are the races:

World Cup XC/DH #1  – Pietermaritzburg, South Africa (April 21 to 24)

The following criteria will help you to know if you are eligible to send in an application.

Criteria:

1) The team’s operating language is English, so you must have English as one of your spoken languages.

2) You must live close to the race venue above (within an hour or so).

3) You must be old enough to sign a waiver without requiring a third party’s consent for this interactive promotion, according to your relevant national laws. It is also ideal if you have a current and valid driving license.

How To Apply:

All you have to do, if you meet the 3 criteria above, is send us an email with an answer to the following questions below. Email us at info@23degrees-sports.com with the subject “Local Support Crew”. Email us before March 15th, 2011. In the 2 weeks following this deadline, the Team Management of Trek World Racing will determine which lucky fans will join the program. Each of the Local Support Crew will also receive team clothing as a gift from the team, as well as having the chance to experience something very unique. Many of our previous Local Support Crew members have gone on to join teams, and some continue to work with 23 Degrees at various events to this day.

Application Questions:

Name:

Address:

Telephone:

Mobile:

Email:

Date of Birth:

Languages Spoken:

Driving License Number:

Which event would you like to join TWR:

Describe in 100 words or LESS, why you want to join Trek World Racing:

Please send a photo of yourself.

One of the newest and fastest growing gravity teams on the World Cup circuit has just signed 19 year old Harry Heath for season 2011. The Slovenian gravity UCI MTB team has big ambitions signing Harry Heath of Congleton UK, and the best Slovenian rider Nejc Rutar, plus 3 riders from last season returning for DH and 4X duties…Harry was 6th at the 2009 Junior World Championships in Canberra, despite a crash in his final run, and in 2010 was pretty much doing everything himself at World Cup level. Now with this new level of support his ambitions for the upcoming season are much higher: “I want solid top 20 results at all World Cups.” Harry’s goals are very clear and with the support of his new team quite realistic: “Last year I saw Unior Tools Team in the pits and could see they have got a great program with everything accounted for. From full mechanical support to a really professional team area, all of which takes stress off my mind so I can just get down to the racing; this is big advantage for me.”

Team Manager Tine Mahkovec explains how Harry Heath came onto the team: “Idea was developed in past season as part of the business strategy to promote Unior Tools in the UK. Harry is managed by Martin Whiteley’s 23 Degrees, always a good reference for a rider. We saw what Harry can do and realize that he could also have positive influence on other riders.”

This UCI MTB gravity team, full of national champions and talented riders, is supported by Slovenian hand tools manufacturer Unior, as well as Trek Bicycles, SRAM, adidas Eyewear, SixSixOne, Muc-Off, Edelweiss RS and other partners. This will enable the team to support five riders on the UCI MTB World Cup events, some iXS European Cup events and of course other national and UCI Class events. All of the riders are also strong candidates for national teams for both World and European Championships.

Not everything is about racing and results with Unior Tools Team – it’s also about having fun and riding for the pure enjoyment. And since the team riders live very far away from each other it will be very important to spend some time together during the events. Most of the time in Slovenia will be spent in Kranjska Gora, venue of the 2009 European Championships. Harry Heath is excited about that: “I’ve ridden Kranjska Gora before and was blown away by how cool the place was. This is a place I’m looking forward to spending more time riding mid-season. It will be a perfect training ground in between World Cups, so that is when I’ll be there.”

Unior Tools Team roster for season 2011: Men: Harry Heath (United Kingdom, DH), Nejc Rutar (Slovenia, DH), Ziga Pandur (Slovenia, DH) Ladies: Neza Knez (Slovenia, 4X), Maria Michalogiannaki (Greece, DH) Team staff includes Team Manager Tine Mahkovec, Mechanic Rok Jurca and Media Manager Grega Stopar.

Official website www.uniortoolsteam.com is on-line with all the latest news and information about riders. You can also follow the team on Facebook or Twitter.

Photo Credit of Harry – Keith Valentine

Raceface  is undoubtedly one of the top bike parts manufacturers and is locally distributed by Cycles Africa. They have a great deal on the new Respond range. For more info read on…

CRANK OVERVIEW
The RESPOND crank is part of the RESPOND DH/AM group – designed for riders wanting big hit performance at All Mountain weights.

This crank is engineered to offer an optimal combination of strength, stiffness, & weight.

Respond is the perfect performance DH/AM crank set for aggressive riders on a budget.

FEATURES
Arms are engineered using ultra-high strength 7050 aluminium alloy to maximize strength to weight ratio.
6mm of chain line adjustment
Comes with our all new Race DH BB
Bearings are factory filled with Phil Wood waterproof grease — tested & proven to extend bearing life.
Removable granny spider ring.
Features our ‘EXI’ interface external bottom bracket system for easier crank installation and removal with standard tools and fully adjustable chainline.
Utilizes light weight aluminium bash and alloy mid ring

STEM OVERVIEW
The Respond stem is part of the Respond DH/AM group – designed for riders wanting big hit performance at All Mountain weights.

The Respond stem is engineered to offer an optimal combination of strength, stiffness, and weight at an attractive price point.

FEATURES
Forged & blasted 6061 aluminium for high strength & fatigue resistance at a reasonable weight.
Four bolt bar clamp holds bar securely in position.
Interlocking U-Shaped Handlebar Clamp Geometry transferring more load through the stem body and not the bolts.
Faceplate eliminates ’stress risers’ which could cause your bar to bend or break.

BAR OVERVIEW
The Respond bar is part of the Respond DH/AM group – designed for riders wanting big hit performance at All Mountain weights.

The Respond bar is engineered to offer an optimal combination of strength, stiffness, and weight at an attractive price point.

FEATURES
Manufactured from cold drawn, seamless Air Alloy material.
Butted for an optimal strength to weight ratio.
Wider construction & re-designed taper offers more width (28”) & increased stiffness.

Greg starts off 2010 just like he did 2009, on top of the podium…

by UCI press release

Rain and mud proved to be significant factors at the Maribor round of the 2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano. The slippery, wet conditions led to upsets in the 4-cross competition. However, Rachel Atherton (Commencal) proved that a year away from racing had not affected her downhill skills, and Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate) broke a streak of bad luck in Maribor.

Round two of the 4-Cross saw low seed Michal Marosi (RSP 4 Cross) beat World Champion Jared Graves (Yeti Fox Shox) in the men’s race, while Fionn Griffiths (Norco World Team) took the women’s victory.

Women’s 4-cross: Crash in the final

The 2009 World Cup Champion Anneke Beerten (Suspension Centre) and World Champion Caroline Buchanan (Commencal) each won their opening heats and then went 1-2 in the semi-final to make the final four alongside Griffiths and the Australian Sarsha Huntington.  Griffiths and Buchanan bumped, with the World Champion going down, and Beerten crashing into her. This gave Griffiths a clear run to the finish line and victory. Despite failing to make the final, Jana Horakova (CZE) continues to hold onto the World Cup lead

“It could have gone either way so I’m very happy to get this result,” said Griffiths. My gates are not great, as everyone knows, so I hung back a bit to see how things would work out.  She [Buchanan] wobbled on a corner and bumped into me.  I pushed back a bit, she went the other way and went down.  Then I just pedalled as hard as I could.”

Men’s 4-cross: Early elimination for some top riders

The men’s racing was just as difficult, as riders crashed and slid their way down the course.  Among the top riders going out in early rounds were Michal Prokop (Agang Racing), Roger Rinderknecht, Cedric Gracia, Mickael Deldycke and Dan Atherton (Commencal).  However, Graves,  Joost Wichman (RSP 4 Cross), who won the Maribor race last year, and Tomas Slavik (RSP 4 Cross) all made it through to the final, putting Graves up against a trio of team mates.

In the final, Marosi stuck to Graves’ wheel out of the gate, and was ready to pounce when the Australian wobbled a bit in one of the corners.  Once in front, Marosi just held on to take the win.

“That was crazy!,” exclaimed the Czech rider.  “It was a funny race; anyone could have been first.  The course changed every time, so it was like poker, or maybe roulette.  First place is so great, that who cares if [you are] wet and dirty!”

Women’s Downhill: Victorious return to competition for Atherton

The opening round of the downhill saw a slight easing of the rain overnight, rendering the course sticky and slower. Rachel Atherton, returning to competition after sitting out last season due to a shoulder surgery, did not have a good start to the weekend: she crashed in the qualifyiers, and had to ride with a broken finger. However, the 2008 World Champion blazed the course, the fastest at every split, beating second placed Sabrina Jonnier (Rocky Mountain-Maxxis) by 10 seconds and Floriane Pugin (Scott 11) by 13 seconds.

“It hasn’t sunk in yet; I can’t believe it,” exclaimed Atherton after her run.  “I never thought I’d win. I came here hoping for a top five, so maybe being relaxed and having fun is the way to have a good run.”

Men’s Downhill: Cautious start pays for Minnaar

In the men’s competition, Gee Atherton (Commencal) was the first of the top seeds  to take the lead on a course that was fast becoming rutted and sticky. However, Greg Minnaar, more cautious in the upper technical portion, but powering through the lower third, took Atherton’s time down by a quarter of a second to become the first World Cup leader of the season.

“I have always liked Maribor, but I’ve always performed badly on the track. So that has changed now,” commented Minnaar.  “I knew it was going to be a tough race, but decided to take it a bit safe and easy at the top, and ride a bit smoother; but it is so hard out there.  I made a few mistakes myself, but I guess a lot less than the other guys.”