A lot of big names were missing from the 2008 pro men cross-country race, due to the World Cup in Houffalize, Belgium. The race started under sunny skies with Kona’s Ryan Trebon taking an early lead. Late in the first lap, a pack of seven racers, including number one plate Sam Schultz, Ryan Trebon, Chris Sheppard, Carl Decker, Ken Onodera, and Miguel Martinez, swapped spots on the long rolling fire road climb back to the Laguna Seca race track. At the beginning of the second lap, Miguel Martinez broke away and stretched out a huge lead, eventually winning the race by almost three and a half minutes. Sam Schultz ended up taking second, followed fourteen seconds later by Sid Taberlay. Fourth place finisher, Mitchel Peterson, crossed the line a minute and a half later and Federico Ramirez Mendez took fifth a little over 6 minutes after Miguel Martinez crossed the finish line.

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Theo whips up another great video for the final day of Sea Otter 2008. Sunday was warm in the morning with some wind in the expo area later in the day, but 150% better day than Saturday.

Sunday was beautiful in Monterey, with clear sunny skies. It looked like a great day for cross-country racing. However, some of Saturday’s wind stuck around and left pro racers fighting strong winds and spectators suffering from some serious wind chill. Most people were just happy it wasn’t raining, though. Rain is sort of a Sea Otter tradition – regardless of the weather forecast.

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Mark Reynolds, 48, died in a bicycle accident at The Sea Otter Classic Downhill race on Saturday, April 19. Mark was the founder of Wicked Racin, a high end bike drivetrain company specializing in chain guides for down hill bikes. Mark was an icon in the Norcal biking scene and was a friend to many, many cycling enthusiasts.

On a fast section at the end of his downhill race run, Mark failed to negotiate a narrow bridge and crashed into a dirt embankment, suffering severe injuries. Some suspect that Mark might have experienced a medical problem since the section where he crashed is very simple for a rider of Mark’s abilities. An autopsy will be conducted to determine the exact cause of death.

Please join us and express your condolences and share your experiences about Mark’s remarkable life.

A video of Mark at Interbike talking about his product is available here:

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid1480107757/bclid1493222173/bctid1502855367

Information about Memorial Service for Mark

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Sunday, April 27th
Service 10:00am-11:00am
Reception 11:00am-1:00pm [Breakfast and beer]
Hakone Gardens
21000 Big Basin Way
Saratoga CA 95070

http://www.hakone.com/visit/information.html

Hutchinson Unleashes TORO 29′er at Sea Otter All-Mountain Tire Expands Range of Big Wheel Options

Monterey, CA - April 18, 2008 - - Hutchinson, a world leader in bicycle tire technology, has unleashed its new TORO 29 inch tire to the masses at the Sea Otter Classic, one of the largest cycling events on the globe.

The TORO features All-Mountain capabilities as well as marathon-friendly features to satisfy the needs of the ever-growing 29 inch mountain bike market.

“TORO is the natural extension of our success with the Python 29 inch tire,” states Eric VanHaverbeke, International Director of Marketing, and GM of Hutchinson USA. “While the Python provides lightweight, fast rolling performance in dry conditions, the TORO brings bigger knobbies, a wider profile, and longer wear for year-long weather and trail variations.”

TUBELESS READY

The TORO also features reinforced sidewalls with tubeless beads for use with the Hutchinson FAST AIR latex sealant, to create the ultimate sealing and puncture resistant system on the market.

HARDSKIN TECHNOLOGY

Sidewall durability has been greatly increased with the inclusion of the new HARDSKIN protective textile grid. Integrated into the casing, this reinforcement provides resistance to perforations and cuts without reducing comfort and overall performance.

The TORO is available in sizes ranging from 1.85 to 2.35, and in 127 and 66 threads per inch (tpi) reinforced construction, and in weights from 510 grams to 970 grams for the burliest Enduro version.

SEE TORO AT THE SEA OTTER

Come by Booth #826 at the Sea Otter, and read about the TORO and other exciting introductions from Hutchinson on Cyclingnews.com, VeloNews.com, mtbr.com and more. Look for the new TORO tire to be in top dealers and on your local trails and race courses in May. Enjoy the Hutchinson All Mountain Revolution.

About Hutchinson Hiram Hutchinson, an American expatriate, founded Hutchinson in France in 1853 and began producing bicycle tires in 1890. Starting with Louison Bobet’s three Tour de France victories in 1951, legends from Jacques Anquetil to Anne-Caroline Chausson, Nicolas Vouilloz, and current Olympic and World Champion Julien Absalon have proven the superiority of Hutchinson tire technology.

Hutchinson Pneus http://www.hutchinson-pneus.com/en/

About CFE PR+

Industry leaders including Shimano, RockShox, Giant, Ergon, adidas eyewear, Red Bull, Nike Cycling, GU, Brave Soldier and more have utilized Steve Boehmke’s proven Public Relations, Marketing, Copywriting, Business and Product Development skills to take their businesses to new levels of success.

Contact CFE PR+ at 714.633.9955 to Elevate Your Brand.

Make it a great day.

Website: http://www.cfeprplus.com

Hutchinson Tubeless Technology. Taking over the two- wheeled world. Let’s Ride.

source: Steve Boehmke

Finally, the full team have got together!

All the boys from Team ChainReactionCycles/Intense have been out in Temecula, the home of Intense, for the last week riding and preparing all their bikes for the start of the season.

This is the first time the team has all been together - although mechanic Cord is stuck back in England working on the finishing touches to the race van, nice one kid! With all the different charactors on the team, it is great to see how well everyone gets on - and we are really glad as it seems the jigsaw is finally piecing together!!

Chris is riding amazing this year and was really going off the other day. His DH riding scaring the crap out the guys but I believe that Ruaridh and Matt will learn a lot from him this year. Julien is fast and very focused - his all round professionalism will teach the younger guys a few things about becoming a top World Cup rider.

Check out http://www.crcintense.com for more pix and information

source: Tony - CRC/Intense Team

April 20, 2008
Monterey, California

Santa Cruz Syndicate (SRAM) racer Greg Minnaar headlines the downhill and dual slalom winning both gravity events at the Sea Otter Classic this weekend. Sharing the love with Greg on the downhill podium were teammates Steve Peat and Nathan Rennie placing 4th and 5th respectively, with Chris Kovarik 2nd and Justin Leov 3rd. Minnaar was on the top blocks in the dual slalom with Steve Peat 2nd, Andrew Neethling 3rd and Kirt Voreis 4th. Minnaar’s double wins this weekend show that he has made a seamless transition to the Syndicate squad and seems to be getting on quite well on his new Santa Cruz bikes.

DUAL SLALOM:

Minnaar surprised himself with his double victories. In the dual slalom he and Peat worked their way through the rounds to meet up in the final guaranteeing 1st and 2nd for the Syndicate. Voreis also was absolutely flying and on form and made it to the small final. It is with good reason that he teaches dual slalom clinics for Bikeskills, and the Syndicate boys lent him a hand with his clinic on Thursday. It would seem that he might have shown Minnaar and Peat a thing or two as they aced the race. Kirt says, “It’s good to be out of the Allride van and on the race course. It felt awesome to be on the podium especially next to my teammates! Racing lives alive and well in my heart always and forever.”

Minnaar said, “It was great to be in the final with Steve. I was very relaxed having a friend next to me. From that aspect it was pretty cool. I wasn’t concerned with crashing or anything knowing the Syndicate had the top two positions regardless of which of us won. I was very happy to win the event. I haven’t raced here since 2002, so I’m stoked to be back.” Peat said, “I was happy to make it to the finals. It was a great day for the Syndicate to have two in the final. My Blur 4X was hooking up good. I had tough rounds with EC, Houseman, Voreis, Lopes and then Greg. I had to dig in deep on every round. By finals time my legs were absolutely spent, I had nothing, Greg got lucky!”

DOWNHILL:

The Syndicate racers impressed even themselves on Sunday in the downhill. With Greg picking up another win he had this to say, “At first I never expected to double up. You always race to win, but I didn’t expect it, especially in the downhill. I manage to nail all my lines in the final, which I was pretty happy about. Thanks to all the staff and mechanics, and it being the first race of the season it was hectic with new bikes being built and all, and the mechanics did a great job.”

Rennie says of his 5th place run, “My run was pretty good but with such a short course any mistakes can put you back a bit. I had a solid run, but just a few small mistakes put me into 5th. I’m happy on the first race to have the Syndicate take three out of five of the podium spots.” Peat says, “I had a decent run, but I had a little slide out on a corner up top before a pedaling section, so I lost some time there. The track here is fun for about 100 yards, and then it’s not fun anymore. I choose to ride my V-10 and it definitely was the right choice. I’m stoked to make two podiums this weekend. It was a hellava great weekend for the Syndicate and great job to the boy’s!”

Jamie Goldman placed 3rd in the Dual Stunt competition, which pitted racers head to head racing over manmade obstacles. Kyle Strait took the win. Goldman was also busy this week being a guide to blind racer Bobby McMullen helping him to a 30th place downhill result, beating 14 people in his class. Goldman says, “We pinned it in the race run going faster than anything we had done in practice. Bobby nearly crashed in a section but was able to get back on course. He had a great race.”

Prior to arriving at Sea Otter the squad was attending Syndicate training camp doing photo shoots, bike testing and training rides. Between photos shoots, the riders got to ride at the local skatepark, the Aptos Post Office jumps and hit up Alex Reveles backyard jumps and mulch pit. Minnaar got into his backflips, Jamie Goldman and Kirt Voreis were going off and Josh Bryceland was stoked to join in the fun.

Next up for the Syndicate the downhill crew goes to Europe for the World Championship test event, first World Cup and Lisbon Downtown. Goldman goes to the Qashqai events, while Voreis takes his Allride tour on the road.

DOWNHILL TOP TEN:

GREG MINNAAR: 2:11.2
CHRIS KOVARIK: 2:12.0
JUSTIN LEOV: 2:12.0
STEVE PEAT: 2:13.0
NATHAN RENNIE: 2:13.4
JARED RANDO: 2:13.7
DAN ATHERTON: 2:13.9
JURGEN BENEKE: 2:14.1
ANDREW NEETHLING: 2:14.3
AARON GWIN: 2:14.4
Thanks to the Syndicate Sponsors:

Santa Cruz Bicycles
SRAM
RockShox
Truvativ
Avid
Maxxis
DT Swiss
WTB
Crankbrothers
Lizard Skins
Clif Bar
Troy Lee Designs
Chris King
Five Ten

source: Kathy Sessler

Unlike Saturday, which was cold with strong gusty winds, Sunday dawned sunny and cool - perfect conditions for the 2008 Sea Otter pro XC race. Here are a few photos from the semi-pros in the morning.

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The CrankBrothers booth at Sea Otter Classic was buzzing about their new Cobalt cross-country wheelset. Except for the colorblind, people will instantly recognize the anodized cobalt blue rim on the trail. In April the Cobalt goes into limited production and then ramps up to full production in May and June. If you are not an XC hamster, CrankBrothers is releasing an all-mountain version with the same hub, but with a beefier rim and orange in color to match their other all mountain products. Look for the all-mountain version to start shipping during the summer.

But the good stuff is what you can’t see. CrankBrothers is especially proud of the rear hub . Where most hubs are 17mm in width, the Cobalt rear hub is built around a hollow 24mm axle. The oversized hub contains 2 pairs of sealed cartridge bearings and pawls that engage with only 6 degrees of rotation. That is really fast engagement when turning the pedals and getting over the technical portions of a trail. Plus, these hubs are built to be reliable and long lasting. The link will take you to CrankBrothers’ product page for the Cobalt wheelset. Suggested retail for the Cobalt XC wheelset is $1,000.

For those who don’t need the big bling of the Cobalt, you can purchase the snappy skewers separately. The “split qr” quick release skewer is designed to have the clamping force of a gorilla without requiring the strength of a WWF wrestler to close and open the skewer. The split design makes it way easier to open and close the skewer.

Hopping into the adjustable height seatpost market is CrankBrothers’ Joplin. Two versions are available. One with a cable and remote switch for mounting on the handlebar and a second version with a lever underneath the saddle that eliminates the cable.

Dana Carson from Hutchinson shows us some brand new products being released here at the Sea Otter Classic.

First up is the "Toro" tubeless ready 29er tire.

Next is the high mileage, clincher training tire the "Intensive". Then, we see the "Fusion 2" road tubeless tire.