Bishop earns 2nd national title in Mt Snow, VT

Well our own Jeremiah Bishop has done it again, and won a national championship.  This time, he's taken the Stars and Stripes jersey in the Short Track, just yesterday in Mount Snow, Vermont.  It makes a pretty amazing pair, the marathon title and the short track title.  All in all, it caps a fantastic month of July for the Trek-VW team, and we still have 2 weekends left to go!

Rolling out of the Windham, NY leg of the NMBS series, in which he took 3rd in the XC and 2nd in the STXC, we knew that JB had the form to do something special.  (He pulled down those rides on the same weekend that Ross was taking control of the Downieville weekend, marking the first time in Trek-Vw history that we've had podiums on both sides of the country, on the same weekend!! ).  However, we all thought that he'd be gunning for the top of the step in the XC race.

The XC race turned out to be a bummer in a couple of ways:  JB flatted out of 2nd place, and Susan Haywood crashed and broke her left leg.  She wound up having to be carried off the course, and transported for surgery that included a rod and 6 screws.  It was a really sad way to go out on her retirement weekend.  We had a party planned and everything!!  Here she is, with Lea and Steve, getting ready to call it a career on the XC scene:

 

So Saturday was a bit of a bummer, even though Lea did her best to keep things bright with a 4th place finish in the women's XC!!  Here she is rolling in for the best ride of her career to date.

Sunday was a complete turn around, as Lea roared to the hole shot in the short track, and then rode a smart tactical race to get the 3rd place in the women's race.  Then, JB got the MENS hole shot as well, giving the crowd something to cheer about, as he settled in to the lead group for a few minutes before launching a blistering attack that he maintained to the end.  Check out the stories !!! http://www.velonews.com/article/80504/compton-bishop-take-short-track-titles-at-mount-snow  on VeloNews there, and Cyclingnews here:  http://www.cyclingnews.com/mtb/2008/jul08/usnationals08/?id=results/usnationals0819

And be sure to stay tuned for the next few weeks as we head in to Canada for the World Cups.  At the rate we're going, they could be good ....

 

Doing it right in Downieville

The 13th Annual Downieville Classic Mountain bike race just wrapped up Sunday in Downieville, CA, a tiny mountain hamlet about an hour north-northwest of Truckee.  It's one of the more remote events I've ever attended, but it has drawn a committed crowd every year.  This year was no exception, as locals and regulars alike commented that it was bigger than ever.  They also said specifically that we picked a good year to bring Ross and Sue out for the race.  The competition was better than ever, but Ross and his Remedy 9 took on the course and competition to take the WIN in both the XC, DH, and therefore the All Mountain category.  Sue put in consistent rides to get 2nd aboard a Fuel EX.

The Downieville "All Mountain World Championships" consists of a 29 -mile point to point cross-country on Saturday, and a 17 mile downhill on Sunday.  Of course, there are all kinds of other shenanigans during the weekend, like a street party, bike jump into the river, robot dance competition, etc.  But, the real kicker is that those lucky 200 doing the All Mountain class (field is limited to 200) have to use the same bike all weekend.  The bikes are actually weighed in each morning before the race, and there's no swapping of parts allowed.  So, you have to do both the XC and the DH on a bike that can climb decently, but also can rip the rocky downhill without falling apart.

Ross's Remedy 9 was set up with full Shimano XTR, Bontrager Rythm Elite wheels, Rockshox Lyric fork and Monarch 4.2 rear shock, Bontrager Jones ACX 2.35 tires, and Bontrager RXL components.  The bike weighed 29.75 pounds each day.  We had the position set up just like his XC bikes on the trailer, and climbing he looked super comfortable, just spinning the easy gears.  He won the XC very comfortably, by over 2 minutes (setting a new course record).  The DH was more stressful, because lots of guys take it very seriously and know the course well.  But Ross stayed cool, and ripped it to win by around a minute. 

The whole weekend was one of the coolest MTB events I've ever been to.  They have the formula figured out:  one weekend, packed with fun stuff, been doing it for years, great courses, and the racing benefits the Sierra Trails Stewardship.  Basically one weekend of racing funds an entire year of trail work.  There's free food and beer after the events, the raffle is huge, people hang out for hours.  We chatted to more people this weekend than the previous 3 combined!  It was so fun, and really good for our team to be there.

It should be noted that we didn't go there with the intention of being the big team showing up to bully the locals and the reigning champion Mark Wier.  Mark and Jason, the local top guys, are fantastic riders and have been on top of that race for years, with good reason.  We just think we have great new bikes that suit this kind of race perfectly, and we also have great athletes in Ross and Sue.  We wanted to join the fun, do our best, and throw our riders in the mix.  As it happened, they did great.  But hopefully the net effect is good for everyone, in raising the bar for all the riders, drawing more attention than ever to this new format of racing, and spreading the word about the fantastic trail network in Downieville.

HUGE THANK YOU to Greg and Wayne for getting us in;  Thanks to Mike, Pam, and Brandon Lee from the West Coast Regional team for helping us out all weekend;  Thanks to Scott Marcoe for mechanic help and shuttle runs; Thanks to the town of Downieville for rolling out the welcome mat to your beautiful mountain town; thanks of course to TREK and all our sponsors for a wicked bike! 

When all you can say is, "WOW"

Sometimes there's just nothing you can say, other than, "wow!!!" Or, some similar utterance of disbelief and amazement.  Sometimes, you have to say it again, and again, and again, until you are convinced of what you have just seen or heard.

Such was the case when I learned that Jeremiah Bishop had won the US National Marathon championships last weekend in Breckenridge Colorado.  I was in the race myself, I had heard bits and snippets about his mechanical problems (broken chain, broken spokes, broken rear der).  I had even SEEN him from behind, as he was getting going again and storming back toward the front of the race.  But I sitll couldn't believe when I crossed the line and everyone told me he had won.  You HAVE to read the story for yourself here: http://www.velonews.com/article/79312/jeremiah-bishop-and-sari-anderson-win-national-marathon

Another case of WOW is upon me now, here in Downieville, CA.  This place is like no other that I have seen.  It's miles from anywhere, deep in a Sierra river valley, with no cell reception, minimal internet, one pay phone, and every store and business closes at 6pm.  We almost didn't get dinner our first night here becuase everything was closed!

The other WOW to this event is that the start list reads like a whos- who of the gravity and XC worlds combined.  Eric Carter, Brian Lopes, Myles Rockwell, Greg Herbold, Jurgen Beneke, Mark Wier, Jason Moeshler, Andreas Hestler, Chris Sheppard, and more.  Into this mix, we are entering Susan Haywood and Ross Shnell, aboard a Fuel EX carbon and a Remedy 9, respectively.  I will try and go into more detail later, but to be short, the course is about 60 minutes of downhill, with 900ft of climbing for good measure.  Lots of pedaling, and a few sections to make you test your appetite for pure, no-brakes, let it rip, SPEED.  Like nothing I've ever seen before.

Tomorrow is an XC that takes in a long climb prior to the DH ... Sunday is the DH itself.  We've done a week of testing and pre riding ... more news to come!!

Chris and Jeff take 2nd at BC BIKE RACE

The 2nd edition of the BC bike race ended Saturday in Vancouver, BC.  Sounds like it got harder by the day, but with lots of sweet singletrack.  Our boys Jeff Schalk and Chris Eatough managed to hold onto 2nd place despite multiple mechanicals, some illness, and just plain hard racing.

Here's Jeff's report from Day 6:

Hey Steven/Zack -

The story of Stages 1-3 was about making a big comeback from our initial misfortune in the hayfield.  In contrast, the story of Stages 4-6 has been about damage control.  The toll of the first three days finally caught up with us.  Chris began feeling sick the night after Stage 3, and has been doing his best to plod through each day despite not feeling 100%.  Personally, I felt super-human the first four days, then paid a big price for it on Stage 5, suffering horribly and visiting a very dark place during the course of the day.  I rebounded and felt good today, but Chris fell further into the hole with his head cold. 

Timing and luck are just a few of the big challanges of this format of racing.  Trying to equalize our efforts for the best possible result has been difficult when the timing of how we've felt hasn't quite aligned.  But, teamwork has helped to minimize the damage when I was dragging more on Day 5 and Chris was dragging more on Days 4 & 6.  Bad luck has also continued to play a big role in our performance since we've been plagued by bad luck on almost every day.  I got a flat on Stage 4 and had a defective tube -- the long fix cost us maybe 4min and allowed Kona to pull away and take the yellow jersey.  We took a wrong turn on Stage 5 while Kona was ahead out of sight -- that cost us maybe 3min, and made the chances of chasing back on very difficult.

Many of the other teams have had their share of bad timing and bad luck, but we seem to be doing a good job of minimizing the damage.  Each of the last 3 days, we've lost a little more time to Kona and are somewhere around 15-20min back of first now, but we have at least been able to maintain a firm grip on second.  We'll do our best to finish out strong on Day 7!

Take care,
Jeff

Jeff Schalk's story from BC bike race

This email came in yesterday evening from Jeff Schalk.  Jeff is a regional teams rider from the East Coast, and is the powerhouse in the Jeff/Chris combo.  They've made a great team in Jeff's power, and Chris's skill and experience.

Hey Steven/Zack -

I'm avoiding making calls from Canada (very pricey) and the internet availability has been spotty.  Hopefully you've heard from Chris or Bork or have been able to follow on VeloNews and/or Cyclingnews.

Anyway, Chris and I just rode into the lead on GC today and I'm very proud of what we've accomplished.  We were 35+  min down right from the beginning due to both rear derailleurs ripping off in the hayfields right by the start of Stage 1.  Bork did a fantastic job fixing the bikes (the neutral parade lap with permission from the race director allowed us to get tech assistance).  Chris has been really strong, consistant, and determined (as always), and I've had a really strong motor to use on the fire roads at the critical times.  And now we're in 1st!

We had to really work all day to chase on Stage 1, and miraculously pulled the leaders to within 12min.  Then, a successful attack of four teams late on Stage 2 (after the leaders fell off) lopped the lead down to 2min.  Today, after losing a lead group of three teams about midway (Chris flatted), I pushed the chase group of six teams really hard to close down the leaders (about a 2-3min gap, which took about an hour to close down).  For some reason, none of the other five teams seemed too motivated to help chase even though the GC was up the road, so I dug in and did my best to shoulder a huge amount of the pulling.  We caught the breakaway at the final aid station just before the singletrack.  Chris and I gambled by not stopping for a feed and took the leaders by surprise by blowing through.  Chris and I got into the singletrack first and led it down to the finish.  Kona lost maybe 4min on us in the singletrack and MonaVie lost maybe 10min, so we're now in the yellow jerseys by 2min or so ahead of Kona.

This isn't too detailed of a report or anything, but I wanted to fill you in just in case you haven't heard much yet.  So check out the online coverage for more details.  But, at least that gives you a general idea of what has been going on.  Like I said, I'm really proud of what we've done.  Even if we aren't able to hold on all week for the win, at least we rode from dead last (+35min) into first in just 3 stages with a lot of focus, tenacity, luck, and the right combination of everything else.

I'm exhausted, but we're both excited to continue fighting!  I think the best life lesson to take from racing in general has really been learned here in the last three days.  Never give up and continue to fight -- you never know what'll happen and if you aren't able to succeed, at least go down swinging.  Its been an incredible experience, and we're not even half way. Hopefully we can pull it off.  Even if we can't, I can proudly say that we're doing our absolute best.

Take care,
Jeff

Park City POWER, and BC = Beyond Crazy!!

Two major events kicked off this weekend June 28.  After a 6 week layoff, the NMBS series returned to Park City, UT, while the BC Bike Race kicked off in Canada with a star studded field.  In Park City, we were STOKED that Jeremiah Bishop returned to his old self, nearly winning the cross country and then going on to lead the short track for a few laps on the way to finishing 4th.  At the same time, Jeff Schalk and Chris Eatough teamed up to take on the BC race, suffering a major mechanical 3 minutes into stage one, but charging back into 3rd place!

The only reports that I know from BC are what we read on cyclingnews.com, but I did get a phone call from our mechanic Steve Borkoski.  He relayed the tale to me:  the stage one start loop took riders through a field of mowed grass, which instantly wrapped into the cogs and rear derailleurs of riders.  Within 3 minutes of the start, Chris Eatough, the man who NEVER has mechanicals, had ripped the rear der right off his bike.  Bork set to work with chain replacement, der replacement, and pushed his rider back into the race, only to have Jeff's bike do the exact same same thing!  So, again, der and chain and spoke replacement ... forcing our guys to start the race 18 minutes or so off the back. 

What are a couple of Trek-VW hundred mile racers to do, but put the hammer down, and finish 3rd?  only 12 minutes out of the lead ... we'll see what happens next!

While those shenanigans played out, we had Jeremiah quietly line up near the mid-point of Saturday's XC field, and then blast up the hills to take the lead at the halfway point.  Bummer that cramps took over, but considering it's his best result in months, we're super happy all the way around!!

Then today, Ross got the holeshot in the STXC only to get clobbered in turn 1 by a crash.  He wasn't hurt, but his bike took a shot to the rear derailleur and he was hobbled the rest of the race.  But, again from the back, Jeremiah raced up into the lead to challenge for the win.  A near-flat and crash scare dropped him to 4th, while Ross clawed his way up to 5th.  2 guys on the podium!

   

Stay tuned for more news from BC!

Video: Session Launch at Highland Mountain Bike Park

On May 25-28, 2008, Trek launched the all-new Session 88 at Highland Mountain Bike Park.

A group of 10 journalists accompanied Andrew Shandro, Cam McCaul and the entire Trek development team for 3 days of park riding bliss.

Experience it now.

Lea Davison -- top 20 at UCI World Championships

What is 19th place female at the UCI World Mountain Bike Championships in Val Di Sole, Italy?

It's top twenty, at the biggest race of the year.  It's 2nd American female, out of 6 USA riders that competed.  It's beating seasoned international riders, like Mary McConneloug, Willow Koerber, and Kiara Bisaro.  It's coming into your 4th European race of your LIFE, and quietly overcoming obstacles of start position, inexperience, youth, and unfamiliar surroundings. 

Congratulations Lea, you've clearly earned your position as a top USA female mountain biker, and you can bet that you'll be seeing the start line of world cups and world championships for years to come now.  Thanks for being such a determined and good natured asset to our program!

Lea Davison, 19th at Worlds!  Happy Days!

A study in contrast -- bikes for every purpose

One guy we've not been chatting up enough lately is Ross Schnell.  Normally that guy can let his legs do the talking, and silence all critics.  And if his legs don't speak loudly enough, often the costumes do!  Everyone remember the Rad Ross taking double jumps at the Snowmass 2006 short track?  And of course, last year at the Deer Valley short track, he rocked the retro-Trek old-school full-body skinsuit.  What better way to turn heads and make people smile?

unfortunately, this skinsuit must not have had good mojo, because this was where Ross crashed and tore his MCL, ending his 2006 season.

Since then he's been gradually returning to top form, recently taking 6th at the Teva Mountain games and 2nd at the Mountain States Cup race at Angel Fire, NM.  Those two races were quite different in terms of the course.  Angel Fire features a long, rugged descent, while the Teva course this year featured lots of service road and fast climbing. 

Ross used a Fuel EX 9.9 for the Angel Fire race, fitted with a heavy-duty long travel fork, big Bontrager Rythm wheels, and a single chainring with an MRP guide.  Despite the burly build on this otherwise mild trail bike, it only weighed 25 lbs!!  To me, it's a testament to the versatility of this bike that it can be built for heavy XC racing, or light DH.  (it's also going to be the weapon of choice for Downieville in a few weeks!).

Now, flipping the coin to the other side of the course-style, we have the bike put together for Teva Games.  We expected Teva to take in miles of service road, given that Vail was under snowpack for much of the spring and into summer.  Indeed, the course featured much service road, but also just enough singletrack to warrant the use of a proper Elite 9.9 hardtail.  But for the sake of arguement, check out the Trek X0-2 that Ross built for mountain biking.  This thing would be SICK for hillclimb races, fast short tracks, and the like.  It's built with Bontrager Race XXX lite carbon clincher wheels, a single chainring, XTR v-brakes, and it must have weighed about 15 lbs.  Note that the frame and Bontrager Satellite fork have clearance for the Bontrager Jones XDX 29-er MTB tire (1.8 width).

Generally I'm not a fan of franken-bike projects, but you have to respect the effort.  Having the right tool for the job helps a lot.  And it speaks to the incredible versatility of the Trek bikes that we can adapt them to suit our purposes, whatever the course may demand.

Mr & Mrs Smith light up the Xterra scene once more

There's just no stopping our multi-sport powerhouse duo of Brian and Jenny Smith.  Not heat, nor water, nor 11th hour late-arrival travel visas!

A few months back, Brian Smith got an invite for an all-expenses paid trip to BRAZIL for the new Xterra there this year.  Of course he accepted, although this meant skipping the Richmond, VA round.  However, travel info was spotty going in, and obtaining the required travel visa turned out to be nearly a deal-breaker.  His visa application went to the wrong office, and in classic US red-tape form, he was told to simply wait for it to show up.  So he waited, and waited, and finally had to leave for the Alabama Xterra.  Things were looking grim until a friend posted at the mailbox in Gunnison phoned with good news, the DAY BEFORE HE WAS TO LEAVE.  One FedEx early next day shipment (and $126) later, and Brian was on the plane to Brazil.

How stressful is THAT?  Not stressful enough to keep him off the podium!  There doesn't seem to be anything stopping these two ... because while he's stepping off the plane and onto the podium in Brazil, Jenny is taking down the legends of endurace athletics, in 2nd place at the Richmond event!  Yes, that's none other than Shonny Vanlandingham on the 3rd step of that star-studded podium.

Full stories can be found on Xterraplanet.com and Jenny's Blog.  And, here's Jenny's exuberant email to me!

"Hi Everyone.

I was 2nd yesterday in the East Championship event. I am very excited it was a best case scenario for me. The swim was wild, held in the James river we basically swam over rocks, and rubble as areas where ridiculously shallow. It was crazy and very important to keep a sense of humour rather than allow frustration. I held my own well with the other women and entered the bike with a group including Shonny Vanlandingham. It was great. Shonny and I rode together for a long while reeling in racers in front of us. I put in a gap and exited the bike in 2nd for the run. The run was long 11km and fast, and it suits me. At 5km to go I was caught by Shonny again and stuck with her. It came down to a  push on my part with about a km to go which I held for a 6 second advantage at the line. I was psyched.

Brian was in Brazil for XTERRA Brazil where he was 3rd! I haven't heard from him yet, which means its probably going very well.

Cheers
Jenny Smith"


wheresbrianandjennysmith.blogspot.com