Mountain

Two years ago, Liam Killeen was just a small step away from joining the top ranks of cross-country mountain biking. After years of slow but steady improvement, Killeen had a breakthrough 2006, winning the Commonwealth Games and the Sea Otter Classic, and regularly duking it out with Julien Absalon, Jose Hermida and the other big dogs of the World Cup. The 25-year-old Brit, known for his shy, quiet demeanor, was riding a wave of newfound confidence.

It was standing room only in Germany’s Black Forest, as a crowd of some 17,000 crowded the 5.1km Offenburg mountain-bike course to catch a glimpse of the second World Cup of 2008. Reigning world and World Cup champs Julien Absaslon (Orbea) and Irina Kalentieva (Ergon-Topeak) did not disappoint the fans, as each rode consistent efforts to repeat their respective victories from 2007.

With the opening day jitters gone from their legs, the worlds’ top cross-country mountain bikers head to Offenburg, Germany for the second round of the 2008 UCI World Cup. The event falls one week after riders took their first taste of World Cup racing at the opening round in Houffalize, Belgium, just a three-hour drive away. The women take to the course at 10:30 a.m. and the men’s race begins at 2:30 p.m. Central European Time. For those looking to watch the action, the Web site www.universalbikeracing.com is broadcasting live coverage of all the World Cups.

Only five months remain until the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, and both the United States and Canada are in the process of choosing their respective four-person (two men, two women) teams. Both countries base their Olympic selection on results from the 2008 European World Cups and the 2008 UCI world championships in Val di Sole, Italy. That means the fight for Beijing has begun for North America’s Olympic hopefuls, and Sunday’s World Cup opener in Houffalize, Belgium was round one. So who were the winners? Marie-Hélén Prémont

Trek-Volkswagen rider Jeff Schalk and Monique “Pua” Sawicki (Mata-Ellsworth) rode to victory at Tennessee’s Cohutta 100 on Sunday, the first race of the 2008 National Ultra Endurance mountain-bike series. Schalk outlasted Dan Vallencourt to win by 2:24, and Sawicki dominated the women’s field, crossing the line with a 56-minute advantage on Cheryl Sorenson. Her winning time of 7:44:00 set a new course record for women by nearly 50 minutes. Approximately 200 riders tackled the full 100-mile distance, which spun around Copperhill, Tennessee.

Miguel Martinez (Look) and Kelli Emmett (Giant) sliced through the wind on Sunday to win their respective cross-country races at the Sea Otter Classic. France's Martinez, the 2000 Olympic gold medalist, escaped a strong eight-rider group on the second lap at Laguna Seca Raceway in California. Short-track victor Sam Schultz (Subaru-Gary Fisher) took silver with Sid Taberlay (TIS) third. “In France, the Sea Otter Classic is a very prestigious race. To win here makes me very happy,” Martinez said.

The climax of South Africa’s 2008 Absa Cape Epic mountain-bike race came in the final kilometers of stage 5, a hot, dusty 146km slog from Swellendam to Bredasorp on April 2. Belgian Roel Paulissen rode the rim of a Mavic Crossmax SLR rear wheel for nearly 18 kilometers on gravel and pavement to preserve his Cannondale-Vredestein team’s lead. The sketchy move paid off: Paulissen and his teammate Jakob Fuglsang lost only three minutes on the day, and went on to take the race’s overall win four days later.

You may have thought that Julien Absalon had won every important cross-country mountain bike race on the planet. The Frenchman owns four elite world titles, three World Cup titles, a swarm of World Cup wins and Olympic gold. And to top that off, he won our VeloNewsInternational Cyclist of the Year prize last year as well. But Absalon, now 27, has never won mountain biking’s storied Houffalize round of the UCI World Cup. He has been second once and fourth three times. This Sunday, he’ll get another shot. Is he up to the challenge?

The world’s top cross-country mountain-bike racers begin their final toward the Beijing Olympics, as the UCI World Cup kicks off this Sunday, April 20, in Houffalize, Belgium. The women take to the 6.7km course at 10:30 a.m., and the men at 2 p.m. sharp.

Fox doesn’t have a fancy name for its somewhat sheltered race product program. It’s simply called the Fox Race Development Program, and it does just that. It takes Fox’s current products and pushes them to limits that can only be achieved by the best riders in the world, all over the world. Then modifies them to work better. Come spring Fox unveils what the program fixed, reworked and improved for the coming model year.

The United States Cycling Team captured two Pan American Mountain Bike titles at the annual Continental Championships in Venezuela. Mary McConneloug won the elite women’s race, while Sam Jurekovic claimed the win in the men’s U23 contest. In the elite men’s division, Todd Wells was the top American rider with a fifth-place finish, while compatriot Michael Broderick finished sixth. Jurekovic recorded a 1:49:37 to beat runner-up Dario Gasco of Argentina by 54 seconds, while third-place finisher Kindree Neal of Canada was 4:57 back.

Georgia Gould (Luna) and Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) dominated the cross-country finale to claim the stage-race titles in round two of the National Mountain Bike Series, run on a fast, technical, desert course at McDowell Mountain Regional Park near Fountain Hills, Arizona. Kabush and Gould, both of whom also won Friday's Super D time trial, now lead the NMBS standings with two of six rounds completed.

Katerina Nash (Luna) and Geoff Kabush (Maxxis) won the short track on Saturday during round two of the National Mountain Bike Series in Arizona. One short, loose climb added significantly to the technical challenge of racing in the desert terrain of McDowell Mountain Regional Park outside Fountain Hills. The women dismounted, but some of the men were able to ride it. Kona teammates Ryan Trebon and Barry Wicks opened a small gap early in the pro men's race, but Kabush, the 2007 short-track national series champion, soon bridged up to form a trio.

After my posting about Cristina’s accident, I was flooded with emails from friends encouraging me to keep riding. It was really great to get all the support from home and to know that you were all still tuning in, despite my unofficial ranking. You will all be happy to know I’m still competing in my own personal race here at the Cape Epic. Today was stage 6 and the last of the really long stages. The last two will both be less than 100km.

World BMX champion, Kyle Bennett (Free Agent), and Jill Kintner (GT) claimed elite national BMX titles at USA Cycling’s 2008 BMX National Championships in DeSoto, Texas, on Saturday. With both Bennett and Kintner seeking to clinch automatic nominations to the Olympic team, their victories added eight points each to their existing leads in the national points rankings. Bennett began his national title pursuit by winning his first moto despite a tough start from the outside lane.

South Africa's Absa Cape Epic kicked off Friday, March 28, with a prologue around the port city of Knysna on the country's Western Cape. Saturday saw the riders tackle a 123km journey to the inland town of George. Lucky for us, South Africa's trails and forests provide a spectacular backdrop to a remarkable race.

On a foggy December day in 1983 the newly formed National Off Road Bicycle Association held its first event in the Los Padres National Forest outside of Solvang, California. A bushy haired Kansas kid named Steve Tilford escaped with the win that day, riding in his first ever mountain-bike race on a rig slapped together just a day earlier.

A deeper pro field, a longer course and a heftier prize purse highlight the 2008 Absa Cape Epic, the world’s premier mountain bike stage race, which begins this Friday, March 28. In its fifth year, South Africa’s self-coined “Magical and Untamed African MTB race” will again send teams of two spinning from the port city of Knysna through the country’s mountainous and arid Western Cape before finishing at the Lourensford Wine Estate outside of Cape Town.

The five members of Trek-Volkswagen’s factory team, as well as members of the squad’s regional team, gathered in Moab, Utah, this month for a warm weather training camp. The group spun big miles on Moab’s famous trail systems, hitting Amasa Back, the Sovereign trail and areas of the old Tour of the Canyonlands course.

Gate bashers looking to earn the stars and stripes in four-cross racing, listen up: USA Cycling will hold the 2008 national championships in the discipline at New Mexico’s Chile Challenge, held May 26 at Angel Fire resort.

Competitors in this summer's four-day endurance mountain bike race in Brian Head, Utah, will tackle 170 miles of racing and 14,000 feet of climbing. Riders at the American Mountain Challenge, August 21-24, will compete as individuals, much like Costa Rica's La Ruta de los Conquistadores race. The race is being organized by Tom Spiegel and Jeff Frost, who promoted the National Mountain Bike Series (NMBS).

Lopes and Ibis

A pair of the country’s best known mountain bike race organizers are planning the first epic mountain bike stage race in the U.S., to be held this summer in the ski and bike resort of Brian Head, Utah. Inspired by the growth of events like South Africa’s Absa Cape Epic and Costa Rica’s La Ruta de los Conquistadores, the Brian Head Epic will be held August 21-24.

Following its trend of attracting the world’s top cross-country racers, this year’s Absa Cape Epic stage race in South Africa will boast a deepened roster of elite male and female riders, including four teams from North America.

World four-cross champion Brian Lopes won the Men’s Open category at the January 20 Championship race of the 2007-08 Fresno Cyclocross Series at Woodward Park sponsored by Sportsmobile. It was the first time the 36-year-old Lopes had entered a cyclocross race.

Plans afoot for TransWales

Reigning Olympic champion Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesjå, the most dominant woman on a mountain-bike from 2002-2006, has started on the long road back to her sport’s pinnacle after missing much of 2007 to a serious stomach infection. The Norwegian and her husband/trainer Kenneth spent much of January in Boulder, Colorado, visiting friends, meeting with doctors at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine attempting the first serious training sessions since June 2007.

The Kona professional mountain-bike team will send its six factory riders to a diverse group of races in 2008, from World Cup-level downhill and cross-country events to multi-day stage races and local events.

Few current professional mountain-bike racers can say they raced in the first-ever UCI world mountain-bike championships, held in Durango back in 1990. Carl Decker can. The now-32-year-old Oregonian lined up in the junior ranks that year. Unfortunately, the brake cable on his Bridgestone bike snapped a few minutes before the gun, and Decker had to race on his dad’s bike. In 2007, 17 years later, Decker again hit the world’s, this time as an elite. The cables on his Giant didn’t snap, and Decker finished 69th.

Offering a richer prize pot next season, USA Cycling announced the 2008 Mountain Bike National Calendars on December 19, 2007. Between the three racing calendars — Cross-country, Gravity and Ultra Endurance — more than $150,000 is available. The National Calendar concept was introduced in 2007 to provide mountain-bike athletes across the country with consistent national-level racing in their chosen discipline.

It’s been a roller coaster year for Greg Minnaar.

South Africa’s Absa Cape Epic stage race has evolved into the unofficial season opener for Europe’s top male World Cup-level cross-country racers. Christoph Sauser and Bart Brentjens, among others, use the eight-day, 800km slog across the Western Cape to boost their fitness just weeks before the first World Cup. But in the race’s four-year history, North American cross-country pros have stayed away.

La Ruta finally cracked me with about five miles to go. Riding along yet another ass-rattling section of railroad track during the fourth and final stage, my rear wheel smacked the square corner of a concrete tie. Pfssssss! This marked the third flat tire of the day — the second in 50 meters. I had kept my good humor for four long days and 220 painful miles, over 40,000 feet of knee-busting climbs and across uncountable sections of mud. But standing there dripping wet on the edge of railroad tracks in the middle of the Costa Rican jungle, my calm waters boiled over. Birds scattered in

Minnaar to ride alongside Peat, RennieFormer world downhill champion and two-time World Cup champ Greg Minnaar of South Africa has signed a two-year deal with the Santa Cruz Syndicate team. After four years with Team G-Cross/Honda, Minnaar has decided to race on the Santa Cruz V10 bike next year, alongside fellow World Cup racers Steve Peat and Nathan Rennie. Honda announced the end of its G-Cross program in October. "Racing for Team G-Cross/Honda for the past 4 years was an amazing experience,” Minnaar said. “ It's clear that the Syndicate is driven by people who love to race. We are

Costa Rica’s Federico “Lico” Ramirez (BCR-Pizza Hut) and American Susan Haywood (Trek-Volkswagen) took overall wins at the 15th annual La Ruta de los Conquistadores mountain-bike stage race in Costa Rica. It was Haywood’s first visit to La Ruta, while Ramirez, also an accomplished road racer, became the only person to claim four La Ruta titles. Both riders took three stage wins en route to overall victory. After the race Ramirez said he would be back to try for number five. Central America’s largest bike race concluded on Saturday with the 125km fourth stage from the mountain hamlet of

Fat-tire racers in Southern California probably recognize the name Manuel “Manny” Prado — the 26-year-old wrenches at the Rock N’ Road Cyclery in Mission Viejo and is a staple on the California state mountain-bike series. Each year when the California series and the National Mountain-Bike Series draw to a close, Prado — a native of Costa Rica — finishes each season out by racing his homeland’s largest cycling event, the La Ruta de los Conquistadores. Prado immigrated to the United States in 2001 to pursue his passion for freestyle BMX competition. He earned an appearance on ESPN’s X-Games

With three stages of the 2007 La Ruta de los Conquistadores in the books, Federico “Lico” Ramirez has proven beyond a doubt he owns the strongest legs of anyone in the race. So far the Costa Rican is three-for-three in stage wins, having handily dropped his countrymen and foreigners alike on the course’s steepest climbs. While Ramirez speaks no English, the Tico strongman is a spokesperson for La Ruta to North America and Europe. In 2005, Ramirez rode to a third-place finish at Germany’s eight-day Trans Alp race. Just three months ago, Ramirez and his BCR-Pizza Hut teammate Ivan Amador

Andy Rollin says he still has nightmares about his muddy introduction to Costa Rica’s La Ruta de los Conquistadores. In 2005, the 45-year-old from Golden, Colorado, found himself bogged down on the opening stage from Jaco to El Rodeo. Thick mud clung to his rig. He snapped his chain four times and suffered a flat tire. The disasters set the tone for the remainder of the race, and while he finished, the mid-pack result was below his standards. “It was a flat nine miles of muddy jungle that just ruined the bike,” said Rollin. “Nothing worked right for the rest of [the race].”

Costa Rica’s most prestigious international sporting event, La Ruta de los Conquistadores, celebrates its 15th birthday on Wednesday. To mark the milestone, organizers have added a fourth stage to the famously grueling mountain-bike race, which again traces a winding route from the Pacific to Caribbean coasts. The extra day has added significant clout to the race’s already-mind-numbing stats: 2006 Distance: 176.4 miles Climbing: 28,858 feet Maximum finishing time: 35 hours2007 Distance: 225 miles Climbing: More than 40,000 feet Maximum finishing time: 45.5 hours “I’m pretty nervous —

Rick Crawford and his Fort Lewis College mountain-bike team rolled into the 2007 USA Cycling mountain-bike national championships toting a secret weapon — German mountain biker Ben Sonntag. When they left the race, held October 26-28 at Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, North Carolina, the Skyhawks had their second-consecutive Division I team title, and Sonntag had the individual championship. Sonntag is a former Nordic skiing ace and two-time world champion in the sport of winter triathlon. After racing mountain bikes professionally during the summer of 2007, he decided to return to school

The United States appears to have qualified only two male cross-country mountain-bike racers to compete at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. This news comes after the UCI released its latest nations’ rankings on October 18 — the U.S. men sit in seventh place with 2019 UCI points, two points behind Sweden. The combined nation ranking for ’06 and ’07 determines the number of berths each country receives for the games. The U.S. men finished 2006 ranked fourth with 2205 points. Should the current 2007 rankings hold through December 31, the U.S.’s combined ranking for both years will be sixth, 129

You can’t talk about South Africa’s Absa Cape Epic (www.cape-epic.com) mountain-bike stage race without mentioning Kevin Vermaak. The Cape Town native dreamt up the idea for the race after participating in Costa Rica’s La Ruta de los Conquistadores in 2002, then quit his job at the Royal Bank of Scotland to get the Cape Epic off and running by 2003. Since then, the event has blossomed into the premier off-road stage race for professional cross-country riders. In 2007, six of the top eight male UCI-ranked cross-country started their respective seasons off with the Absa Cape Epic. And nearly

The Blue Ridge Mountains were a fitting backdrop to the opening of the 2007 USA Cycling Collegiate Mountain Bike Championships, as nearly 200 collegians hit a mud-riddled cross-country course on Friday. Traditional cycling powerhouses Fort Lewis College, Colorado College and Warren Wilson College took home first prize in the men's Division I, men's Division II and women's Division II cross country races, while a star from the University of Arizona held on to the title in the women's Division I contest. A week of steady rain left the technical cross-country course at

Chris Eatough (Trek-Volkswagen) and Jari Kirkland (Boulder Performance Network) took convincing victories in the solo categories at the 2007 EAS 24-Hours of Moab. Over 1300 riders competed in the country’s largest 24-hour cross-country mountain-bike race, which celebrated its 13th anniversary. For Eatough, the six-time world 24-hour Solo champion, 2007 marked his first time racing at Moab. The Maryland native had previously bypassed the Moab race in favor of the 24-Hours of Adrenaline world championships. But with that race held this year at California’s Laguna Seca speedway, Eatough opted

Some might call Ariel Lindsley a throwback from mountain-bike racing’sgolden age, when riders split their time equally between the downhill andcross-country bikes. Others might call him the most versatile mountain-bikeracer in the country. Either way, Lindsley races as a pro in gravity andcross-country events, and the chops to duke it out with the nation’s bestriders in each. Lindsley spent a good amount of 2007 racing on Colorado’sMountain States Cup, and also hit the brand new RockyMountain G3. The latter series brought the stage-race format todownhill racing: riders completed two downhill

Peter Van Den Abeele’s has the title of Mountain Bike Sports Coordinator within the UCI, which is a fancy way of saying he runs the show. A former pro off-road racer himself, the Belgian now patrols the start/finish line of World Cup races, doing everything from handing Gatorade to finishes, adjusting metal barriers and schmoozing potential sponsors. With a cash sponsor in Nissan on board, the UCI World Cup and world championships rose to new heights in 2007. And with the 2008 Olympics in Beijing on the horizon, Van Den Abeele owns an extensive to-do list. Van Den Abeele sat down with

When I think of China, one word comes to mind — underpants. Hear me out on this one, folks. Per usual, this mountain-bike column opens with a brief anecdote. The time: September 2006. The place: Rotorua, New Zealand. Yours truly clumsily tiptoed through ankle-deep mud on the world championship cross-country course in my flip-flops. I searched for a perch to crack open a Steinlager and observe the remainder of the U23 women’s championship when I spotted a small herd of galosh-wearing Kiwis. These were good people, and they offered me respite from the muck on a small tarp — and more beer.

American Jill Kintner took her third-consecutive four-cross world title at the 2007 UCI world mountain-bike championships in Fort William, Scotland. Despite crashing during a warm-up run and suffering a hyper extended arm, Kintner dominated the finals, winning every round she entered by a sizable margin. The success came on the heels of Kintner’s return to BMX racing. A former BMX world champion, Kintner swore off the little bike after successfully transitioning to gated mountain-bike racing. Even in 2006, when the first-ever Olympic BMX race was just two years away, Kintner said she

London Heathrow’s terminal No. 3 is not the place to look for four-staraccommodations.Take my word for it — terminal three is a dank, wretched maze of constructionbarriers filled with the skull-thumping bang of hammers and whirr of buzzsaws. The unforgiving stone floors sport blotchy stains, many of them inhuman-like outlines. It is a cold, desolate place — no one would want tofind here, hopelessly stranded at 3 a.m. on a Friday night.Why, you might ask, am I beginning this mountain-bike column ventingmy hate for Heathrow’s lucky Number three? Ho-ho good question!I’m there, man.A herd of

The 2007 mountain bike World Cup season ended Sunday in Maribor, Slovenia, with the downhill. Sam Hill (Iron Horse-Monster) continued his dream season by collecting his third victory, while teammate Sabrina Jonnier battled illness just to start, scoring a sixth place that good was enough for the overall title. Rachel Atherton (Animal Commencal) got some revenge for her loss to Jonnier at the world championships last weekend by winning the final round. The threatened rain never materialized, and the large and enthusiastic crowd of spectators were treated to perfect blue skies and temperatures

There were no surprises at the concluding round of the cross-country WorldCup Finals on Saturday, with world champions Irina Kalentyeva (Topeak-Ergon)and Julien Absalon (Orbea) wrapping up the titles. Neither riderwon their respective race, but they didn't need to: Absalon had alreadywon outright after winning four of the previous five rounds, and Kalentyevaneeded to finish only 13th or higher to take the women's award. Held in Maribor, Slovenia, for the first time, it was fitting that twofirst time winners took the top step of the podium. Lui Ying becamethe second Chinese woman to

Australian Sam Hill and Frenchwoman Sabrina Jonnier successfully defended their world downhill titles on Sunday, each posting the fastest run down Fort William’s famously rocky, technical track. Hill squeaked by 2004-05 world champ Fabien Barel of France by a mere 0.84 second, while Jonnier enjoyed a wide 4.01-second advantage over Rachel Atherton of Great Britain. The famously damp Scottish Highlands served up plenty of rain and mist for the final day of the September 3-9 UCI world mountain-bike championships. The worst weather of the weeklong event pounded the Nevis range throughout the

His image projected three stories high on a massive television screen, American Brian Lopes stood atop the podium Friday evening, arms raised in triumph, having just won the men’s four-cross world championship in Fort William, Scotland. Techno music deafened the 10,000-strong crowd gathered at the base of Fort William’s fast, winding track to watch the nighttime event take place under bright lights. A display of fireworks exploded overhead, and a smoke machine churned out thick clouds of white. The scene was a stark contrast to anything Lopes has seen in North America, where mountain-cross

Frenchman Julien Absalon grabbed the 2007 world cross-country championship, and in doing so became the first man in the history of the discipline to win four elite world titles. The Swiss duo of Ralph Naf and Florian Vogel finished second and third, respectively. Absalon attacked a 10-man lead group containing rivals Jose Hermida (Spain) and Christoph Sauser (Switzerland) on the third long descent of the six-lap race and held his advantage to the end. “I had 15 seconds and decided I would try to go it alone and try to keep this jersey,” Absalon said. “That was the main goal of the season,

It’s no secret why Steve Peat’s smiling mug is prominently featured in the official logo for the 2007 UCI world mountain-bike championships in Fort William, Scotland. As his country’s undisputed mountain-bike hero, “Peaty” draws huge crowds whenever he straps on a race number in the U.K. And for Great Britain’s first crack at hosting mountain-bike racing’s biggest annual event, organizers are banking that tens of thousands will journey into the Scottish Highlands to watch Peaty and the rest of the gravity gang do their thing. Early ticket sales have organizers predicting 30,000 spectators

Spaniard Margarita Fullana and Austrian Michael Weiss have been declared "unfit to compete" in the 2007 UCI World mountain-bike championships in Fort William, Scotland, after failing pre-race medical blood screenings. Both cross-country racers are slated to leave the event after their national teams learned of the results. Weiss, a 26-year-old on the Team Bikin’ Cyprus professional mountain-bike team, recorded a high red blood cell count during a test carried on Thursday, September 6. The UCI tested teams from Austria, Belgium, South Africa, Denmark and Sweden, and Weiss was the only rider

Hours after Jakob Fuglsang crossed the finish line to win the men’s U23 cross-country world championship, the 22-year-old from Denmark still sported an ear-to-ear grin. The expression showed Fuglsang’s joy at taking his first-ever world title, and his surprise of finally toppling Switzerland’s Nino Schurter. “I cannot describe how happy I am right now,” Fuglsang said at a post-race press conference. “We have battled a lot the last few years, but I told myself that it was not impossible to beat him.” Toppling Schurter was a stiff task, given the young Swiss’ track record. Schurter

In 2006 the Swiss trio of Mathias Flückiger, Martin Fanger and Pascal Meyer swept the junior podium at the world championships in Rotorua, New Zealand. All three graduated to the U23 ranks for 2007, however Switzerland retained its gold medal, thanks to the powerful riding of Thomas Litscher The 19-year-old climbed away from Poland’s Piotr Brzozka on the second of four laps to take the title. Crossing the line third was Great Britain’s David Fletcher, who gave the host country its first medal of the games. With the win, Litscher added the junior world title to his Junior European

In 2006 the Chinese duo of Ren Chengyuan and Ying Liu shocked the women’s cross-country crowd by dominating the U23 women’s field in their first-ever world championship race, held in Rotorua, New Zealand. In 2007 the duo came into the U23 championship race in Fort William, Scotland as marked women, however the result was nearly the same. While Chengyuan crossed the line first in 2006, it was Liu who took top honors and the rainbow stripes this year. Chengyuan held the advantage over Liu at the midway point, but Liu took the lead for good on the third of four laps. Chengyuan suffered a

Mountain-bike racing’s collective attention will turn to the wooded hillsides around Fort William, Scotland on Saturday, September 8, as history could be in the making. Should Frenchman Julien Absalon emerge from those woods having vanquished the world’s best, he will become the first man ever to earn four world cross-country titles. With wins in 2004, ’05 and ’06, Absalon currently stands tied with Henrik Djernis of Denmark, who took his three world titles from 1992-94. After taking his third straight world title on a climber’s track in Rotorua, New Zealand, in 2006, Absalon earned the

Using powerhouses Florian Vogel and Nino Schurter as bookends for Petra Henzi and Thomas Litscher, Switzerland won the team relay on Tuesday as the 2007 UCI world mountain-bike championships kicked off in Fort William, Scotland. The American team of Georgia Gould, Ethan Gilmour, Sam Schultz and Adam Craig fought from dead last to third, scoring the country’s first medal in the nine-year history of the event. The championships opened under a misty Scottish fog that rolled into the Highlands from the east, soaking everything in its wake, including the 7.5km Witch’s Trail cross-country course.

American four-cross and BMX rider Tara Llanes (Giant) broke her back during the third round of the Jeep King of the Mountains series, on Saturday in Beaver Creek, Colorado. Llanes crashed during the semi finals, where she dueled with longtime rival Jill Kintner. Llanes was airlifted to Denver Health Medical Center where she underwent seven hours of surgery to address the massive trauma suffered on her lower back. Doctors also diagnosed a C-7 fracture which was deemed stable prior going into surgery. Accoding to her family, Llanes is currently breathing without assistance, but reports no

MTB News and Notes: Kintner, Prokop take third Jeep KOM, Beerten, Prokop win overall; Llanes hospitalized after crash; Craig, Emmett take single speed world titles; Hermida bests everyone at final Swisspower; Floyd third at Shenandoah Mountain 100 By Fred DreierVeloNews Associate Editor Two-time defending Jeep King of the Mountain world champions Jill Kintner (GT) and Michal Prokop (Author) won the third round of the 2007 series on Saturday in Beaver Creek, Colorado. Finishing second in the women’s race was Dutchwoman Anneke Beerten (Bikepark.ch), who, along with Prokop, took the three-race

For the past three years, Christoph Sauser has been the almost man at the UCI world mountain-bike championships. The 31-year-old Specialized rider lost close duels with Frenchman Julien Absalon in 2005 and 2006 — in ’05 a poorly timed flat tire derailed Sauser, while in ’06 Absalon simply climbed away from him on the last lap. The bad luck followed the Swiss rider to the 2006 marathon world championships, where a mechanical knocked him out while he was riding in the lead with eventual winner Ralph Naf. Sauser finally grabbed his first rainbow stripes as an elite at the 2007 UCI marathon

It was during the 72nd kilometer of stage 5 of the TransRockies Challenge that my go juice ran out. The once-rolling trail had turned abruptly skyward, clawing its way vertically over loose sand and boulders. My bike was no longer a means of transportation; it became an awkward, heavy anchor that I pushed and all-too-often banged into. The sun emerged from behind the clouds, and the haze from a nearby forest fire lifted. It was hot. I hiked. And hiked. I imagined my brains boiling in my head and puffs of steam blowing out of my ears, like Yosemite Sam might do after swallowing a stick of

American Brian Lopes (GT) and Dutchwoman Anneke Beerten (Bikepark.ch) took the second round of the 2007 Jeep King of the Mountains competition, held August 18 in San Luis Obispo, California. Each now hold their respective series leads with one race remaining in the three-race series. Lopes and Beerten both took easy wins with winners of the opening Jeep KOM races — American Jill Kintner and Czech Michal Prokop — missed the competition. Both Kintner (GT) and Prokop (Author) are hoping to make their country’s respective BMX Olympic teams, and participated in an Olympic tune-up event in Beijing

Fans lining Second Street in downtown Fernie, British Columbia, greeted Roddi Lega and Tim Heemskerk with makeshift signs and cheers as the two rolled across the line to take their sixth win of the seven-stage 2007 TransRockies Challenge. With the victory, the duo, racing under the sponsorship of United Cycles, solidified their GC win over Costa Ricans Federico Ramirez and Ivan Amador of the La Ruta de los Conquistadores team, and Rocky Mountain Bicycle’s third-place team of Matt Hadley and Matt Green. “I think the biggest advantage we had was our recovery — we got a massage and rest and

Ben Ollett and Simon Koster did not come to British Columbia’s TransRockies Challenge harboring hopes or dreams of winning the seven-day, 600km stage race. Heading into the 93km third stage slog around Nipika mountain resort, the duo sat in 32nd place, nearly three hours off of the leading United Cycles team of Canadians Tim Heemskerk and Roddi Lega. The two Americans, roommates and collegiate racers together at Rutgers, came hoping only for a physical challenge. “We needed another goal to train for this year,” said Koster, 26. “I was coming home from collegiate road nationals and

A TransRockies Gallery - Day 4

With a kilometer to go in the sixth stage of the 2007 TransRockies Challenge, a brutal 116km journey from Elkford to Sparwood, Frederico Ramirez and Ivan Amador looked to have the stage win in their hands. The Costa Ricans, sponsored by their homeland’s La Ruta de los Conquistadores, held a 30-second advantage over GC leaders Tim Heemskerk and Roddi Lega (United Cycle) all day. The Ticos, who sat second in GC, 21 minutes down on Heemskerk and Lega, dropped the Canadians early, hoping to win the longest and hardest stage of British Columbia’s seven-day, 600km mountain-bike stage race. It

On Sunday, August 12, the TransRockies Challenge sent riders off on a seven-day off-road journey for the sixth consecutive year. This year, some 300 teams of two left the Panorama Mountain Resort in the Purcell mountain range and embarked on the trip, which traces a 600km route through eastern British Columbia’s craggy Kootenay Rockies. By Wednesday the race’s demanding route had begun to take a toll. For the midway stage, 30 fewer teams took the line to ride the 113km route from Nipika Resort, just west of Banff National Park, to Whiteswan Lake. The attrition rate serves as testimony to

Swiss cyclists Christoph Sauser (Specialized) and Petra Henzi (Fischer-BMC) took the 2007 UCI marathon cross-country world championshipson Sunday in Verveirs, Belgium. The rolling 105km course sent riders on a fire-road and single-track tour of Belgium’s Ardennes forest. Sauser, a three-time World Cup cross-country champ, rode at the front with defending marathon champ Ralph Naf of Switzerland for the opening 80km. With 25km remaining, Naf suffered a chain malfunction and let Sauser slip away. While he eventually remounted his rig and gave chase, an untimely puncture knocked Naf out of the

Katerina Nash and Geoff Kabush used last-lap surges to claim the men’s and women’s short-track races at the 2007 National Mountain Bike Series finals on Sunday in Snowmass, Colorado. In doing so, both athletes narrowly wrapped up the short-track series overall. Nash, a former Olympic Nordic skier and current Czech national cross-country champion, came into the NMBS finals nursing a slight lead on Luna teammate Georgia Gould. The two traded short-track wins throughout the 2007 season, with Gould taking the first and third rounds and Nash grabbing the second, fourth and fifth. With riders

Five-time Leadville Trail 100 mountain-bike race winner Dave Wiens was first across the line again on Saturday, but Floyd Landis — despite a bloody crash early on — finished right behind him in second. Wiens completed the out-and-back course in 6:58:46, bettering last year's finish of 7 hours and 13 minutes, with Landis crossing less than two minutes behind him. Mike Kloser was third, some 10 minutes off the pace. Landis, riding on a surgically repaired hip, told The Associated Press that he crashed about an hour into the race. At the finish he sported scrapes on elbows and forearms,

Capping a season that saw her spring to the top of American women’s cross-country racing, Georgia Gould won the sixth and final round of the 2007 National Mountain Bike Series on Sunday in Snowmass, Colorado. In doing so, the Coloradan became only the second woman in series history to sweep the series. Mountain biking great Juli Furtado, owner of 26 NORBA cross-country wins, swept the old NORBA series in 1993. Gould already had the overall locked up heading into the Snowmass finals. Still, the 27-year-old admitted the buzz surrounding her potentially flawless season brought some extra

The 2007 National Mountain Bike Series concludes this weekend at Snowmass Resort near Aspen, Colorado. The high-altitude mountain recreation area, which tops out at just over 12,000 feet, will treat cross-country and gravity racers alike to their thinnest air of the season. The weekend will include the full schedule of NMBS events, with cross-country and mountain-cross being held on Saturday, August 11, and short track, downhill and Super D rounding out the weekend on August 12. Many eyes will undoubtedly be focused on Coloradan Georgia Gould of the Luna women’s mountain-bike team this

For the past year and a half, mountain-bike icon Tom Ritchey has aimed his time and energy at Project Rwanda. Alongside a growing number of volunteers, Ritchey has undertaken an ambitious plan to help revitalize the central African nation’s economy and public image through the use of the bicycle. Ritchey's involvement with the project centers on designing affordable bicycles to help Rwandan coffee growers distribute their crop. Boyer's job is to establish and develop a team of elite Rwandan cyclists. With a group of reporters, tourists and cyclists in tow, both men will travel to

Chris Eatough collected his fifth national 24-hour solo mountain-biking championships on July 29 at Wisconsin’s 24 Hours of Nine Mile. The six-time world 24-Solo champion went blow for blow with Nat Ross (Subaru-Gary Fisher) before finally pulling away from the Coloradan during the night. While 24-Solo racing is still considered a fringe sport for the physically tough/mentally insane, the 2007 U.S. championships featured an impressive 45 entrants. Still, Eatough has taken a step back from his bread-and-butter this season, and has spent 2007 diversifying his racing. The Maryland native won

Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski (Subaru-Gary Fisher) and Katerina Nash (Luna) took the fifth round of the National Mountain Bike short-track series, held July 29 at Sugar Mountain resort in Banner Elk, North Carolina. Horgan-Kobelski and Todd Wells (GT) surged to the front of the men’s race, which sent riders spinning around a hilly, half-mile circuit for twenty minutes. The two quickly opened up a gap on the chasing Adam Craig (Giant), Jeremiah Bishop (Trek-Volkswagen) and Geoff Kabush (Maxxis). Noticeably absent, however, was newly crowned U.S. short-track champion Ryan Trebon (Kona-Les Gets). The