Cycling Illustrated

WILLIAMS, GUERRERO SCORCH SYCAMORE CANYON US CUP

April 29, 2013 by Sprint Finish Leave a Comment

WILLIAMS, GUERRERO SCORCH SYCAMORE CANYON US CUPWords and Photos by Phil Beckman/PB Creative

WILLIAMS, GUERRERO SCORCH SYCAMORE CANYON US CUP

Words and Photos by Phil Beckman/PB Creative

APRIL 28, 2013, Riverside, CA.— Sponsors may have looked on in bewilderment at

fifth round of the 2013 Kenda Cup West Series, held on a sultry Sunday at Sycamore Canyon Park. Jersey zippers were falling faster than congressional approval ratings, displaying not corporate or team logos but pasty white skin, heart rate monitor straps, chest hair and sports bras.

Mother Nature decided that it was time for summer in Southern California and turned the thermostat up past 90 degrees with very little wind to provide relief. A zipped-up jersey was not going to be a priority for anyone grinding up the sauna-like canyons, especially as the blazing sun reached its zenith.

Casey Williams (Whole Athlete/Specialized) handled the toasty conditions like it was just another day at his mountain home in nearby Big Bear. This 19-year-old up-and-comer has been on fire this season, posting several impressive rides against the best in the country in his quest to be part of the U.S. team competing at this year’s World Championships in South Africa at the end of August. Williams has trained and raced there before.

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Filed Under: MTB, News Tagged With: YCAMORE CANYON US CUP

Macky Franklin Fontana Race Report

April 4, 2013 by Sprint Finish Leave a Comment

Macky Franklin Fontana Race Report

Saturday’s cross country race started off hard and fast. By the time we hit the paved climb, I had made my way from the third row to somewhere in the top 10 and tried to settle in to maintain that position for the rest of the race. I quickly realized that one weekend off from racing had not been enough to recover from racing the previous five consecutive weekends.

For the next couple of laps, I did my best to lose as little time as possible, but I slowly moved backwards until I was riding in the low ‘teens. I was gaining time on the riders in front of me during the descents, but struggling on the climbs and I kept losing more than I gained every time the course started climbing. On the third lap, I started feeling a bit better and caught TJ Woodruff at the highest point of the course. But after letting me lead the descent he passed me on the next climb and I couldn’t keep up.

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Filed Under: MTB, News Tagged With: FONTANA CITY NATIONAL

Epic MTB Ride with Lopes and The Kids

April 2, 2013 by Sprint Finish Leave a Comment

Cole Seely, Jessy Nelson, Brian Lopes, and Christain Craig at Cocktail Rock 3/26/13

Epic MTB Ride with Lopes and The Kids by Sten Kramer

Brian Lopes, the most decorated male mountain bike racer in the history of the sport, is well known for his amazing versatility in bicycle racing. Whether you’re talking about flawless technique and flow on the downhill, super-efficient cornering and speed pumping in XC and cyclocross racing, or twelve cylinder turbo power sprint speed on the road bike, Lopes is legendary in his dominance. Lopes is also well recognized for his unparalleled fitness, so when longtime friend Troy Lee asked him to help out of couple of his young motocross racers with their training, Brian took on the challenge.

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Filed Under: Brian Lopes, MTB, News Tagged With: Brian Lopes, SJT to Pinos

AGONY AND ECSTACY AT FONTANA CITY NATIONAL

March 30, 2013 by Sprint Finish Leave a Comment

Todd Wells (Specialized) showed plenty of intensity on his way to a surprise win.

AGONY AND ECSTACY AT FONTANA CITY NATIONAL

MARCH 30, 2013, FONTANA, CA. By Phil Beckman/PB Creative — One of the undeniable truths in bicycle racing is that anything can happen. After the Fontana City National, the third round of the 2013 Pro XCT season, Jeremiah Bishop (Sho-Air/Cannondale) may have those words engraved on his tombstone. Looking comfortable with less than a lap to go in this four-lap event, his chain snapped.

Todd Wells (Specialized), who had been part of a three-man breakaway with Bishop and a surprising Cameron Jette (Scott-3 Rox Racing) for much of the race, pounced on the opportunity and snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.

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Filed Under: MTB, MTB Photos, News Tagged With: 2013 US CUP, FONTANA CITY NATIONAL

Bonelli Park MTB Report

March 16, 2013 by Sprint Finish Leave a Comment

Bishop was unstoppable in Pro Me

Bonelli Park MTB Report

by:Phil Beckman

Link: pbcreative.smugmug.com

Bishop, Paterson Rule Bonelli Park
Report & Photos By Phil Beckman/PB Creative
Round 2 of the 2013 Kenda Cup West Series — also the kickoff for this season’s Cannondale Triple Crown presented by Muscle Milk — made tracks yet again at Bonelli Park in San Dimas, California, on a typical spring day in the sprawl of L.A. It was cool, overcast and foggy early, then cleared and warmed to almost summerlike temperatures just in time for brunch.
This was not your father’s Bonelli Park, however. The Kenda/Cannondale U.S. Cup crew worked overtime to cut in a significant amount of new singletrack that presented Pro and Category 1 riders with numerous teeth-rattling descents and tricky, rocky, off-camber turns. This course was also punctuated with an abundance of man-made “features” to help make it similar to contemporary World Cup layouts. It was punchy, technical terrain.
The man of the hour was the versatile veteran Jeremiah Bishop (Sho-Air/Cannondale), who made the sponsors proud by flying away from the early leader, Canadian Raphael Gagne (Rocky Mountain), and former National Champion and Olympian Todd Wells (Specialized). These three had built a substantial gap on a field of more than 75 Pro Men by mid-race, and by that time is was just a matter of which podium steps they’d be occupying at the end. Bishop’s attack was stunning, and at the line he had pulled ahead of Gagne by over a minute. Bishop’s winning time was 1:25:28. Wells rolled in more than a minute after the impressive Gagne. [Read more...]

Filed Under: MTB, News Tagged With: 2013 Kenda Cup West Series, Bonelli Park

REVISED VAIL LAKE PRO WOMEN RESULTS

March 5, 2013 by Sprint Finish Leave a Comment

By Phil Beckman/PB Creative — The Pro Women’s class results from the 2013 Kenda Cup West Series presented by Cannondale and Rock N’ Road Cyclery have been updated. The three-lap, 24-mile event at Vail Lake Resort near Temecula, California, was in fact won by Larissa Fitchett (Team Lost Coast Brewing). Deyanira Guerrero (Veloz/Ellsworth) placed second and Vanessa Humic (Stan’s NoTubes/Kenda) rounded out the revised podium results.

Filed Under: Cycling Women, MTB, News Tagged With: 2013 Kenda Cup West Series, VAIL LAKE

JUAREZ, JENKINS DOMINATE VAIL LAKE

March 4, 2013 by Sprint Finish Leave a Comment

JUAREZ, JENKINS DOMINATE VAIL LAKE

By Phil Beckman/PB Creative — Vail Lake Resort was host to the opening round of the 2013 Kenda Cup West Series presented by Cannondale and Rock N’ Road Cyclery. Ideal racing conditions and a fast, rolling, typically high-desert, eight-mile course provided a good turnout of ambitious regional athletes a promising start to the season. This event also served as the opening race of the U.S. Cup Endurance Series, sending riders out for a 50-mile, multi-lap slog around this venue’s rolling, high desert terrain. [Read more...]

Filed Under: mountain bike, mountian bike, MTB, News Tagged With: Sho-Air/Cannondale, U.S. Cup, VAIL LAKE

Video-Mutant Bikes: Jonas Berndt

November 25, 2012 by Sprint Finish Leave a Comment

Worth the watch!

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/48006751[/vimeo]

Filed Under: MTB

Video-Through the eyes of Thomas Genon

November 25, 2012 by Sprint Finish Leave a Comment

A 9 day trip to Austria with Thomas Genon and Peter Henke. This is a video worth watching.

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/53789249[/vimeo]

Filed Under: MTB, News

Promo Video-”Riding On the Edge “

November 25, 2012 by Sprint Finish Leave a Comment

In early 2013, Allriders Pro, consisting of Pau Reixachs and Xavi Cabau will release a series of episodes documenting their new way of approaching all mountain riding. The series consists of four internet episodes split into two parts, each about four minutes long, plus two television episodes, each 20 minutes long. The episodes focus on trying to explore the potential of all mountain riding.

[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/53332857[/vimeo]

Filed Under: MTB, News