2008 CCCX XC #4

Results from this weekend's CCCX Mountain Bike Series Race 4 has been posted:

• 9am Race - Beginner
• 11am Race - Sport
• 1pm Race - Expert/Pro

I haven't seen any race reports or photos yet.

2008 Fontana NMBS #1 Pro DH Results

The folks from NMBS just sent over the rest of the official results from the Fontana National presented by MAXXIS (Round 1 of the 2008 National Mountain Bike Series):

Pro Men

1. KOVARIK, CHRIS (CARRERA / CHAIN REACTION INTENSE) 02:19.62
2. RENNIE, NATHAN (MERRIMAC, AUS / SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE) 0:02.65 back
   
3. LEOV, JUSTIN (CHRISTCHURCH, NZ / YETI/FOX SHOX FACTORY TEAM) 0:05.00
4. BLENKISOP, SAM (GOLDEN, CO / YETI/FOX SHOX FACTORY TEAM) 0:05.56
5. COLE, CAMERON (CHRISTCHURCH, NZ / MAXXIS) 0:05.76

Pro Women

1. BUHL, MELISSA (CHANDLER, AZ / KHS BICYCLES) 02:41.99
2. MYKLAK, LISA (BOULDER, CO / SPYDER/FOX/INDUSTRY) 0:08.27 back
   
3. PETTERSON, JOANNA (FOLSOM, CA / MAXXIS) 0:09.08
4. BUCHAR, CLAIRE (MURRIETA, CA / INTENS SRAM MAXXIS) 0:09.84
5. GRIFFITHS, FIONN (SHREWSBURY / NORCO WORLD TEAM) 0:12.64

Other notable NorCal finishers included Tenille Smith (#8 Pro Women, Menlo Park), Sondra Williamson (#13 Pro Women, Morgan Hill), Mariska Chuse (#14 Pro Women, Nevada City), Ryan Condrashoff (#11 Pro Men, Pleasant Hill), Mike Harderer (#15 Pro Men, Concord), Evan Turpen (#19 Pro Men, Aptos), Curtis Keene (#26 Pro Men, Fremont), Rick Goldrup (#27 Pro Men, Orangevale), John Hauer (#38 Pro Men, Campbell), Ryan Stayskal (#42 Pro Men, Los Gatos), Miles Payton (#45 Pro Men, Santa Cruz) and Andrew Mince (#50 Pro Men, Scott's Valley).

2008 Fontana NMBS #1 Pro XC Results

The folks from NMBS just sent over the official results from the Fontana National presented by MAXXIS (Round 1 of the 2008 National Mountain Bike Series):

Pro Men

1. KABUSH, GEOFF (VICTORIA,BC / TEAM MAXXIS)
2. CRAIG, ADAM (BEND,OR / GIANT MTB TEAM) 00:29.02 back
3. PLAXTON, MAX (VICTORIA,BC / ROCKY MOUNTAIN-HAYWOOD) 01:08.16 back
4. JUREKOVIC, SAM (COLORADO SPRING,CO / U23 NATIONAL TEAM) 01:58.19 back
5. WICKS, BARRY (SANTA CRUZ, CA / KONA) 02:28.10 back
6. SNEDDON, KRIS (VICTORIA, BC / KONA LES GETS) 02:57.75 back
7. FEDERAU, RICKY (CHILLIWACK, BC) 03:27.26 back
8. HORGAN-KOBELSKI, JEREMY (BOULDER,CO / SUBARU-GARY FISHER) 04:00.48 back
9. KILLEEN, LIAM (MALVERN / SPECIALIZED FACTORY TEAM) 04:52.20 back

Pro Women

1. GOULD, GEORGIA (KETCHUM, ID / LUNA WOMENS MTB TEAM)
2. NASH, KATERINA (TRUCKEE, CA / LUNA WOMENS MTB TEAM) 02:51.69 back
3. SIMMS, WENDY (NANAIMO, BC / KONA) 04:21.43
4. PENDREL, CATHERINE (KAMLOOPS, BC / LUNA WOMENS MTB) 04:26.70
5. BATTY, EMILY (BROOKLIN, ON / TREK BICYCLE STORE TORONTO) 05:32.21
6. EMMETT, KELLI (COLORADO SPRING, CO / GIANT MTB TEAM) 05:33.91
7. IRMIGER, HEATHER (BOULDER, CO / SUBARU-GARY FISHER) 06:44.86
8. DAVISON, LEA (JERICHO, VT / TREK/VW) 06:55.77
9. DYCK, MICAL (CALGARY, AB / TREK/TERRASCAPE RACING) 07:04.97
10. SAWICKI, MONIQUE (MILILANI, HI / ELLSWORTH) 09:55.47

Other notable NorCal finishers were: Maureen Kunz (#33 Pro Women, Oakland), Tim Olson (#30 Pro Men, Chico) and Aren Timmel (#34 Pro Men, Chico).

Pre-registration Last Day for Big Sandy

Tomorrow is the last day to pre-register for next weekend's Big Sandy race. If you a lazy-ass like me and think there's no reason to click over, you'd be wrong. Pre-regs get a free t-shirt (depicted on the right):

Nothing better than a free T shirt. it has so many uses. Like a seat cover for a pre-68 vw beetle, an emergency dress shirt for the trunk in case of job interview or cut the sleeves for a free all-day Gun Show. And don't forget what wearing a Big Sandy Race shirt says about you.
"Yeah, I race mountain bikes, even though I spend more time at Home Depot."
"I don't buy my clothes at the mall, I shop at bike shops."
"I eat right all week and go to bed at 9:00 pm before race day and still come in DFL."
"My wife has no say in what I wear."
"I won a medal too, but I feel like a tool when I wear it to Starbucks."
"I registered early and race promoters love me."

The Big Sandy race is a 15 mile point to point XC race that will be held April 6th, 2008 near Auberry, CA.

Fontana NMBS 2008 Coverage

Pinned Magazine has some good coverage of this weekend's 2008 Fontana NMBS event, mostly focused on the gravity events. There are also a few photos posted, but no final results yet.

UPDATE: Pinned has Buhl and Milan winning the 4X / Mountaincross finals.
UPDATE: Velonews has Gould and Kabush winning the XC Pro finals.
UPDATE: See the front page of this blog for official Pro XC results.
UPDATE: Southridge's website has XC and 4X/MTX pics and results.

MTB Racing this weekend: March 29 - 30, 2008

The big news this weekend is the start of the National MTB series down in SoCal, there is some racing here in NorCal this weekend:

• The Pre-Otter was cancelled
• Tomorrow is the CCCX XC race at Fort Ord.

If you are going down for the Fontana NMBS (the XC race started about 20 minutes ago, I think):

• Cycling News preview
• NMBS/NORBA turns 25 in Fontana | VeloNews

2008 US 4X Nationals Set for Angel Fire

This is a break from the entire US Nationals being held at Mount Snow, New Hampshire:

"Gate bashers looking to earn the stars and stripes in four-cross racing, listen up: USA Cycling will hold the 2008 (4X/MTX) national championships in the discipline at New Mexico’s Chile Challenge, held May 26 at Angel Fire resort ... The move comes a year after four-cross — a UCI-recognized event in mountain biking — was absent from USA Cycling’s regular one-day national mountain-bike championships, held at Mount Snow, Vermont ... Angel Fire resort still owns a sizable four-cross course leftover from 2005, when the resort hosted a stop on the UCI world Cup. The national championships race will be open to American riders only. Four-cross national titles will be awarded to elite men's and women's fields only."

Via VeloNews | Four-cross nationals scheduled for Angel Fire.

Sea Otter Classic Discount Code

For all of you who haven't registered for next month's Sea Otter Classic, MTBR is sending you a little love:

"Compliments of MTBR and RoadBikeReview.com

Receive a 15% discount on any event registration when you register online during the period March 31-April 6, 2008.

Ride and race some of California's most gorgeous trails and roads. And shop for the best bargains of the year at world's largest outdoor Cycling Expo!

Go to www.seaotterclassic.com to register. Be sure to enter the following promotional code to receive your discount on any event registration.

Coupon Code: SOC182408
This offer is valid from March 31-April 6, 2008."

Via Mtbr Alist Special Offer - Sea Otter Classic!

2008 Mammoth Mountain Opening Date

dhRENO has the scoop that Mammoth Mountain Bike Park will be opening on June 21st. Mammoth boasts:

• 90 miles of dirt single-track
• Descend 3,000 feet from Mammoth's summit with expansive views
• Follow lower trails through pine tree corridors
• 3 new freeride trails opened in Aug. 2007!

Trail maps are available here. Mammoth is about 5 hours from the Sacramento Area (MAP).

2008 Northstar at Tahoe Mountain Bike Park

Northstar® Resort plans to open for the 2008 season Memorial Day Weekend!

One day lift ticket prices appear to be about the same as last year at $39 for adults. Season passes are $229.

While the bike park information is up, there is no word about the midweek XC race series, DH racing nor any special events.

Pre-Otter Cancelled

This weekend's Pre-Otter up in Arcata, CA has been CANCELLED. It appears that there were some land-use issues for the course.

2008 Sea Otter Course Maps

The 2008 Sea Otter Classic course maps have been posted.

Seeing as the GPS route for the XC, DH and SuperD map are from 2006 or 2007, I think we can safely say that the courses haven't changed much from previous years.

Course fly-thru videos are also available over at YouTube.

2008 NorCal Series

The 2008 NorCal Series schedule has been announced. Series champions will be crowned in every category at the finals in Weaverville on October 17th, 2008. Champions will be awarded with a 1st place medal, special Nor-Cal Series from Sock Guy, and will be eligible to purchase a championship jersey.

CROSS COUNTRY (Best 3 finishes + finals at Weaverville)
April 13: Napa Valley Dirt Classic (Angwin, CA)
April 26: Shasta Lemurian (Whiskeytown Lake)
June 1: CCCX (Toro Park near Monterey)
June 29: CCCX (Toro Park near Monterey)
August 10: Howell Mountain Challenge (Angwin, CA)
September 27: Whiskeytown Classic (Whiskeytown Lake)
October 18: Lagrange Fall Classic (Weaverville, CA)

DOWNHILL (Best 2 finishes + finals at Weaverville)
May 3: CCCX (Toro Park near Monterey)
May 25: Gravity Day (Weaverville, CA)
June 22: CCCX (Toro Park near Monterey)
October 19: Lagrange Fall Classic (Weaverville, CA)

SUPER-D (Best 2 finishes + finals at Weavervile)
May 10: CCCX (Toro Park near Monterey)
May 25: Gravity Day (Weaverville, CA)
June 8: CCCX (Toro Park near Monterey)
October 17: Lagrange Fall Classic (Weaverville, CA)

Points tallies will be kept current at the Team Bigfoot website.

2008 Nevada Cup Races

The Reno Wheelmen have announced the 2008 Nevada Cup schedule:

NORBA Northern Nevada State Championship Series

• May 4: Jetway Chevrolet Rainbow Ridge Challenge (Fallon, NV)
• May 24: Pine Nut Cracker (Gardnerville, NV)
• May 31: Peavine Challenge (Reno, NV)
• August 17: Sky Tavern Classic (Reno, NV)

This is a change of dates for the Rainbow Ridge Challenge.

Most of these races are XC-only races. However, I believe Sky Tavern and Peavine Challenge have also had DH races in the past.

You can see results and more information from last year's Nevada Cup races in the archives.

Thanks to Peter for the tip on this.

2008 Lake Sonoma #1 Results

Lake Sonoma Series #1 results have been posted.

It looks like the course had approximately 5 mile laps with a 1000' climbing per lap.

Congrats to winners Max Plaxton (Men Pro), Katarina Nash (Women Pro) and Glenn Fant (Singlespeed).

If you want photos, email Trey from SCAR Sports with your race number.

CCCX DH #2 Results

The results from yesterday's CCCX DH #2 have been posted:

• CCCX DH #2 Results
• CCCX Downhill Series Points after Race 2

Rick R has posted his photos from the race over at his SmugMug site. This photos at right are courtesy of Rick R.

Congrats to Ian Massey (Marin Bikes/WTB), Fionn Griffiths (NORCO World Team Racing) and Keith DeFiebre (Calabazas/CVC/Oakley) who won the Pro Mens, Pro Womens and Hardtail categories respectively.

2008 MTB Challenge Series Winners

TBF Racing has announced the series winners for their MTB Challenge series:

• Junior Male Wyatt Morin
• Novice Male 19-under Jeroen Keukenkamp
• Novice Male 20-29 Justine Cone
• Novice Male 30-39 David Jacobson
• Novice Male 40-49 Tom Strause
• Novice Male 60+ David Yount
• Novice Female 19-under Shayna Powless
• Novice Female 20-29 Lya Daggett
• Novice Female 40-49 Kristi Morin
• Novice Female 50-59 Lynn Yelland
• Single Speed Female Open Dawn Infurna-Bean
• Single Speed Female Masters Yvette Crockell
• Single Speed Male Open Trent Johnson
• Single Speed Male Masters Michael Mann
• Sport Male 20-29 Chris Thibodeau
• Sport Male 30-39 Leif Rohrbach
• Sport Male 40-49 John Hansen
• Sport Male 50-59 Paul Falvey
• Sport Female 19-under Kat Pollard
• Sport Female 30-39 Jenna Leahy
• Sport Female 40-49 Dee Larsen
• Expert Male 20-29 Ben Dodge
• Expert Male 30-39 Chris Schulze
• Expert Male 40-49 Keith DeFiebre
• Expert Male 50-59 Rick Timossi
• Expert Male 60-69 Bob Blatner
• Expert Female 30-39 Asa Salas

Congrats to everyone.

B.A.R.R. Gold Sprints

This is slightly off topic but ... Kick-off bike racing season on Saturday, March 29th with the Bay Area Roller Racing Team Showdown, when 96 racers representing local racing teams will duel to the finish doing Gold Sprints, indoor stationary bike racing. Those not affiliated with a team can qualify 3-5pm.

For those of you not down with "gold sprint-ing" (like me), Wikipedia enlightens us:
"A goldsprint is a bicycle rollers racing and social event. Riders on stationary bikes compete against each other in front of a crowd of cheering friends.

While roller racing in general can use any type of bicycle and there are variations on the set-up depending on the type of rollers used and whether the front wheel is engaged or fixed, goldsprints generally use one form of setup. As with roller racing in general, the rollers are in turn attached to a device that measures distance and can display the progress of the riders. Goldsprints also feature modern 2D and 3D visualizations."

This video shows it better.

Thanks to Murphy for the heads up.

Big Sandy Registration Open

Registration is open for the Big Sandy Race, which will be held on April 6th, 2008 near Fresno (actually 5 miles northwest of Auberry, CA). Pre-registration closes on April 1st, but if you register today you can save $5.

There are also some course pictures up over at the CCORC website.

You can find more information about the race in the archives.

NorCal MTB Racing this weekend: March 22 - 23

This weekend brings us a bit more diversity for your racing. Although both races are on Saturday, you have a choice between downhill and cross country:

• CCCX Spring DH 2: I posted the course details on this yesterday. The race is held in Toro Park, which is between Monterey and Salinas off Hwy 68. The race costs $35 ($25 for juniors).
• Lake Sonoma #1: this is the first Lake Sonoma series race of the year. Held in the North Bay near Geyersville at Lake Sonoma Recreational Area. The XC race costs $20.

If you are looking at travel further afield, mtbcalendar.com tells us that racing is starting up in New York or British Columbia:

03/23/08: Spring Series #3 (NY)
03/23/08: DH Nanaimo (BC)

It should be beautiful this weekend, so make sure to get out and ride.

CCCX DH #2 Preview

This Saturday brings the next CCCX Downhill race in Toro Park near Monterey, CA. Here's a preview of the course:

DH #2 Course Profile
Downhill racing action returns to Toro Park with a course that will feature fast fire roads, some railing berms, a few tricky off camber steep sections, and lots of fast flowing single track trails. This day before Easter race will take place on a trail that is 1.8 miles long and drops 1000 feet in elevation. As usual, the course will test a riders strength as well as DH speed and DH skills. The route has seen lots of trail work over the past few weeks and will be a great opportunity to practice your DH racing tactics.

Check back tomorrow, I'll try and post my video from one of the last races.

The Reno Wheelmen Announce 2008 Twilight Schedule

The Reno Wheelmen have announced their Twilight Mountain Schedule of races for 2008:

• 4/24: Hidden Valley 6:30 PM
• 5/8: Keystone Canyon 6:30 PM
• 5/15: Peavine Hill Climb 6:30 PM
• 6/5: River Banks 6:30 PM
• 6/12: Keystone Canyon 6:30 PM
• 6/19: River Banks 6:30 PM
• 6/26: Keystone Canyon 6:30 PM Final

These weeknight races cost $5 and are FREE for Women and Juniors. You can find more information about last year's races in the archives.

VeloNews has New Owners

Velonews is sold to a new owner:

"Inside Communications, Inc (ICI), the parent company of VeloNews, Inside Triathlon, VeloPress, VeloGear, VeloSwap and their eponymous Web sites, celebrated its 21st anniversary last Monday. There won’t be a 22nd.

That’s because, as of today, the ICI name is no more. It is now part of Competitor Group, Inc. (CGI) that, among other things, publishes Competitor and Triathlete magazines. All of ICI’s brands will continue operations at our Boulder, Colorado headquarters, but they are now owned by Falconhead Capital, a New York private equity firm that formed CGI with three endurance-sport acquisitions two months ago."

Via VeloNews has new owners as Inside Communications rides into the sunset.

MTB Challenge #3 Results

The last MTB Challenge for 2008 is in the books:

• Photos (James Pratt Photography)
• Overall Results
• Divisional Results

Congrats to Brian Rouse (Top Expert Male), Katerina Nash (Top Expert Female), Cody Kaizer (Singlespeed Male Open), Kim Passafiume (Singlespeed Female Open).

A special shout out to five year old (yes, FIVE) Logan Sawyer, who completed in 2:31:13.

Thanks again to the good folks at TBF Racing for putting on the early season events.

2008 Friends of Tamarancho

As part of the Fairfax Fat Tire Festival, the Friends of Tamarancho MTB race will be held on May 25, 2008. It looks like a similar course to last year: "Race course will use camp roads and trails, including Broken Dam trail and Serpentine trail counter-clockwise, as well as some race day only routes. Multiple lap race. 6 Mile lap. Beginners 1 Lap, Sport 2 Laps, Elite 3 Laps." Find more information from last year's race in the archives.

Thanks to Alex for the heads up.

2008 Cool MTB Race Results

The 16th Annual Cool Mountain Bike Race is in the books. Race results can be found here (PDF).

2008 Cool MTB Photos

No race results yet, but here are some photos:

• John Mackey Photos
• Brian Yoder photos
• Auburn events

Why is it always nice for Cool when I am out of town ?

2008 CCCX DH #1 Results

Results for the first 2008 CCCX DH race have been posted.

Congrats to the following racers:
Top 3 Overall Fastest Men's Times
1st: Jimmy Amaral - Point 1 Racing - 3'31''.15 (Pro)
2nd: Keith DeFiebre - Calabazas/CVC - 3'32''.72
3rd: Jordan Lopez - CDS-N/C/ Dh Reno - 3'33''.90

Top 3 Overall Fastest Women's Times
1st: Sarah Land - LaFayette - 4'05''.90
2nd: Sondra Williamson - Specialized/Sram - 4'08''.70
3rd: Rachael Lambert - Monterey - 4'26''.12

Fastest Junior
Keith Morelan - Ride SFO/Cerk Racing - 3'36''.46




Photos have been been posted by Rick R over at Smugmug.

Iron Angels Cancelled !

Sorry, didn't see this until today:

"Unfortunately, this race (Iron Angels) has been cancelled for 2008. We are currently looking for a new location for the Glory Hole Race April 27 as well. We've currently lost our ability to put race on in the wet season at New Melones." (Via 16th Iron Angels)

New Demo Area For 2008 Sea Otter

This is good:

"While the Sea Otter Classic has long been known as a 'see-and-be-seen' event for athletes, the same could be said for manufacturers and their new products. Multiple companies like SRAM, Thule, Specialized, Clif, and Kenda will be releasing new, never-before-seen products to the public and media inside the Sea Otter Expo. Sea Otter has also taken a few extra steps this year to allow more Expo goers to test products. The Product demo area, located inside the Expo, will include several jumps, a pump track, as well as other bike handling skills attractions inside the BikeSkills Ride Zone. The demo area will be located proximate to both the acclaimed Fort Ord mountain bike trails and surrounding paved roads for those looking for an alternative to riding in the Ride Zone." (Via Sea Otter Classic News)

Lake Sonoma "Sea Otter Alternative" Moved

Looks like we don't have an alternative to the Sea Otter race this year:

Due to a schedule conflict the April 16th Lake Sonoma race has been MOVED to July 19th... Originally there would be no Lake Sonoma race in July because of the heat. To remedy this we've moved the start time to 5:30pm on the evening of July 19th, and plan to camp out, BBQ, have some beer and be merry after the race.

Head over to BikeMonkey to view the details about the new July race. And for the record, evening races kick *ss.

MTB Only Resort

Interesting news from back East:

"While many east coast ski areas are adding mountain bike trails to attract summer guests, Highland Mountain Bike Park in New Hampshire is a ski mountain that is strictly for mountain bikes. No one has skied at Highland for 12 years so this mostly abandoned resort was recently made over into a mountain bike destination complete with lift serviced terrain.

In 2007 Highland sold more than 4,000 lift passes and this year projections are to double that. An article in the Union Leader describes the trails as ‘2 to 3 feet wide (and) made out of clay’ so I imagine the trails are fast and grippy. The old ski lifts have been modified so that every other chair on the lift has been replaced with a bike rack to shuttle bikes up the hill. It sounds like most of the trails are rated for intermediate to advanced riders but new beginner trails are in the works pending approval from adjacent landowners." (Via Mountain Bike Only “ski resort” in New Hampshire)

Coolest 24 Update

Just a quick update: The folks at Global BioRhythm have revised the Coolest 24 website (moving the old one) and added a course map to their site.

CCCX XC #3 Results

Results and photos have been posted for yesterday's CCCX CX race. There is are also some race reports. Congrats to Jason Moeshler (WTB), Mark Howland (Black Market Racing) and Ryan Hostelter (Velo Bella), who won the Men's, Singlespeed and Womens Pro/SemiPro events.

2008 Fresno Cycling Festival

The 2008 Fresno Cycling Festival has announced they will be holding a MTB XC race as part of their day long festivities in Woodward Park. Held this year on May 10th, the race will feature one to six laps of the 3.5 mile course, depending on categories. The race will cost $15 to $30 (again depending on category). A map of the park [PDF] is available.

Thanks to Gary for the heads up on this.