Riders' News - 29th, May, 2011

Aaron Gwin Wins US Open, Mathias Flueckiger Fights Back In Offenburg

29.5.2011     

Today saw Trek World Racing once again competing on two continents, and this time in 3 different countries. The Flueckiger brothers were racing World Cup XC #3 in Offenburg (GER), the three Downhill men racing the prestigious US Open in Vernon, NJ (USA), and Tracy Moseley at a National Downhill in Scotland (which was cancelled today due to poor weather). The Downhill men scored another strong result with Aaron Gwin (USA) winning the US Open ahead of a world class field, with team mate Justin Leov taking an impressive 3rd place, as he did in 2010. Unfortunately Neko Mulally punctured in the qualifier and didn't pass to the final.

With the added competition from world class riders like Gee Atherton (GBR), Mick Hannah (AUS) and Stevie Smith (CAN), qualifying was a very tight affair. There is also the added note of caution for the top riders because unlike the World Cups, there are no protected riders at the US Open, so any mechanical or large crash will put you out of the final, as Neko learned. Fastest qualifier was Andrew Neethling, with Aaron in 2nd and Justin 4th behind Gee Atherton. On finals day the times dropped by a dramatic 6 seconds, and it was Aaron Gwin who not only won the event for the first time, but becomes the first American to win the US Open in its 9 year history. Stevie Smith was less than a second behind in 2nd, and Justin beat Gee Atherton into 4th, and took home the prize money for 3rd place, yet again.

Meanwhile, in the warm conditions in Offenburg, Germany, Lukas Flueckiger had another race where he hovered around 20th place, eventually finishing 21st. While younger brother Math overcame the obstacles from last week and despite dropping to around 40th early in the race, fought back to meet up with his brother and take 22nd, thus moving his World Cup ranking up 4 places for the next race.

Mathias Flueckiger said: "I feel like I'm coming out of a hole, so today was a big step in the right direction. I'm going to take some time to get some altitude training in before the next World Cup race and find my base again. I know I can go a lot faster, and I'm happy with this result after such a tough experience in Dalby Forest."

Results for World Cup XC #3 are here: http://www.uci.ch/templates/BUILTIN-NOFRAMES/Template1/layout.asp?MenuId=MTYxMjU&LangId=1

Full results from the US Open are here: http://www.vitalmtb.com/news/news/2011-US-Open-DH-Final-Results,294

Next week sees World Cup DH #2 in Fort William, Scotland for all 4 Downhill riders.

Media seeking hi-res images can visit our website for their login.

Team website: http://www.trekworldracing.com

Thanks to Matt DeLorme for the Aaron Gwin photo. 

Riders' News - 27th, May, 2011

Internal Newsletter For Sponsors and Family of Trek World Racing

27.5.2011     

This week sees Trek World Racing with riders, staff and support vehicles in 3 separate locations around the world. This is the first time the team has achieved this. In Offenburg (GER), the XC Men will be racing MTB World Cup #3, supported by 5 staff, the new VW Transporter and the Black Betty van. In the USA the DH Men are racing the prestigious US Open in Vernon, New Jersey, supported by 2 mechanics and the Peterbuilt US rig. Meanwhile in Glencoe, Scotland, Tracy Moseley will be racing a UK national downhill round, supported by Head Mechanic Sander Gijs and the Scania 'Viking' Truck. With the volcano in Iceland becoming active in the past 5 days, the team thought it best to keep Sander with the Viking in the UK, to ensure it made the journey safely to it's next scheduled World Cup, in Fort William.

All is ready for World Cup #3 here in Germany. The weather looks fairly good for the weekend, and Offenburg is an absolute classic on the circuit attracting huge crowds. Be sure to watch all the action on Freecaster, live and free.

Last week the Trek World Racing duo of Aaron Gwin and Justin Leov went 1-2 at the Pro GRT #3 in Plattekill, New York. Check out a video from the event here:

http://www.vitalmtb.com/videos/member/Untitled,7360/alloutprodux,506

Aaron's bike is to be featured in a Pro-Bike double page spread in Germany's Mountainbike Rider magazine, and Aaron will be sitting down for an in depth interview with UK's Dirt Magazine next week. 

Riders' News - 27th, May, 2011

New In Pursuit Video Released Today

27.5.2011     

The latest instalment of the In Pursuit series from Trek World Racing has been released today. Entitled "Downhiller In Dalby" the video shows the performance of the Men's XC riders at the 2nd round of the UCI World Cup in Dalby Forest (GBR) while also following Tracy Moseley's participation in the Women's XC World Cup. This is the first time since Juliana Furtado in 1993, that a reigning Women's Downhill World Champion has raced and scored points in a Women's XC World Cup.

The video can be viewed here:

http://xc.trekworldracing.com/videos/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jer8H9RsGbo

Follow us on Twitter: @trekworldracing

This weekend sees World Cup XC #3 in Offenburg, Germany. Watch Mathias and Lukas Flueckiger racing live on Freecaster at 2pm Central European Time. http://freecaster.tv/mountainbike

Riders' News - 23rd, May, 2011

Lukas Flueckiger Improves 3 Places In World Cup Overall, Aaron Gwin Wins Pro GRT

23.5.2011     

Yesterday saw Trek World Racing competing on two continents. The Flueckiger brothers were racing World Cup XC #2 in Dalby Forest (GBR) and the three Downhill men were racing the Pro Gravity Tour DH #3 in Plattekill, NY (USA). The Downhill men scored another strong result after qualifying 1-2-3, it was Aaron Gwin (USA) who took the win with Justin Leov (NZL) in 2nd. A simple crash for Neko Mulally (USA) where a front wheel washed out cost him 9 seconds and he ended up 14th.

Scattered showers all weekend didn't dampen the mood in the team camp, and if anything the course held up extremely well to the conditions. In qualifying the team managed to hold down the top spots once again with last week’s winner Neko taking 3rd, Aaron holding down 2nd and Justin back on pace to take the top spot. Race day saw perfect timing with the weather; a near perfectly dry course, a good crowd and some very fast times. Aaron Gwin said: "I'm stoked on the weekend. It's been a lot of fun hanging out with my teammates and mechanics in such a relaxed atmosphere. Also cool to be racing in my home country, so I can't wait for next weekend’s race at the US Open!"

Justin Leov said: "It was a full-on track and to get down with little mistakes was great. Big lines were happening and it just goes to show how the sport keeps developing, and what we end up being able to do on these Session 88's. I've been coming up with my riding/racing these last few weeks so I'm excited to get on with the US Open next week and then back into the World Cups. I’m extremely happy with how my run went."

Meanwhile, in the cold and blustery conditions in North Yorkshire, the XC men had a difficult weekend with Mathias Flueckiger withdrawing after the 2nd time across the start/finish line, having dropped down from 15th to 83rd, suffering from a lack of power in the legs. Lukas rode steadily and made his way into the top 20 in the closing stages of the 1hr 45min race, scoring 19th and lifting his overall ranking in the World Cup series by 3 places to 19.

Lukas Flueckiger said: "I gave it my all today. This was a little frustrating because my speed in the 2nd half of the race was better, but I didn't seem to have the pace in the opening laps. I will be working on this in the coming week."

Worthy of special mention was the performance of World DH Champion Tracy Moseley (GBR) in the Women's XC World Cup. TMO finished an impressive 69th out of 83 elite XC women, and would have gone higher had she not suffered a puncture and got pulled with one lap to go. A great effort none the less!

Results for World Cup XC #2 are here: http://www.uci.ch/templates/BUILTIN-NOFRAMES/Template1/layout.asp?MenuId=MTYxMjU&LangId=1

Full results from the Pro Gravity DH #3 are here: http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/us-pro-grt-3-plattekill-gravity-open-3/results

Next week sees World Cup XC #3 in Offenburg, Germany, for the Flueckiger brothers and the US Open for the DH Men in Vernon, New Jersey.

Media seeking hi-res images can visit our website for their login. Team website: http://www.trekworldracing.com

Thanks to Matt DeLorme for the Aaron Gwin photo.

Riders' News__Trek World Racing

    
Trek World Racing Stack The Podium At Pro GRT 2
16.5.2011    
It was a 1-2-3 for Trek World Racing's Downhill Men at the 2nd round of the Pro Gravity Tour in the US. The race took place at Highland Park in New Hampshire, and despite the dire wet conditions on the final day, all 3 riders raced their Session 88's to the top of the podium. The big surprise for some was that the winner was 'junior' rider, Neko Mulally (USA) who had a convincing gap of 2.5secs over team mate Aaron Gwin (USA) and another second back to Justin Leov (NZL), who is back on pace.

The stacked podium was a great end to the weekend, which started off in sunny conditions, but then just as the final came around, the heavens opened up. Neko felt confident on the wet roots and rocks and rode a time that was strong, but he was pretty sure he would get beaten.
Neko said: "I was having a good time all weekend. It felt good to be back racing a local race again. I didn't feel any pressure and was just having a good time with friends and especially Aaron and Justin. It was supposed to rain all weekend and a lot of people were stressing over it but I wasn't worried because I knew I could ride mud as good as anyone else. While we were warming up for the race it was raining super hard, so I knew the track wouldn't be as slick and the rocks would have been cleaned off. I rode with confidence and had a clean run with no mistakes. I knew it was good when I crossed the finish but I really thought Aaron and Justin would have beat me if they had good runs. With a good race this weekend, I'm really looking forward to next weekend."
The team is off to Plattekill, NY, for the next round of the Pro Gravity Tour this weekend.
Big thanks to Matt DeLorme for the images.
Results: http://www.vitalmtb.com/news/news/2011-Highland-Pro-GRT-DH-Finals-Results,287
Follow us on Twitter @trekworldracing Official Team Website: http://www.trekworldracing.com/

Gaspi in Morocco

Food and Freeride
Words by Adam Marsal. Photos by Adam Marsal.

Date: 2011-05-10

Want to experience real freeride? Forget bike parks, forget all those tips for well-trodden trails. Join us for a ride in Morocco where you can whizz down to the valley from the high summits as freely as you would on ski or snowboard in British Columbia. Just before the start of the season, we headed for Morocco to meet Richard “Gaspi” Gasperotti, a three-time participant of the Red Bull Rampage and an organizer of bike camps in Morocco.




The High Atlas are really high. Jebel Toubkal, the tallest peak in Morocco, rises more than 4000m above  sea level, and there are over four hundred 3000+ m peaks. The landscape is incredibly varied. Rocks revel in colors, from brown and red, to ochre and yellow, to grey.




While you have to follow a single trail in a bike park, in Morocco the guide will take to 3000m, from where you can ride down as freely as when heli-skiing in Pemberton.  You get to decide whether you will keep your ride on the ground or jump from a rock or two. Depending on the location and the length of the descent, you can manage up to five rides a day.




Another adventure in Morocco is a 20km trail that falls 2000m. At Gaspi’s camp you will ride a different track every day, so don’t worry about being bored.




What does a day according to Gaspi look like? At 8 a.m. Gaspi and Pierre Alain will pick you up at your hotel and will take you to the mountains, to a different spot every day, about one or two hours’ drive from Marrakesh.




Pierre has a big offroad Pajero that can negotiate any mountain road and easily accommodates four bikes on its roof. Driver Rashid will take you to the start of the trail and then drive the car back to the valley, while the guys will guide you along a 15km or even 20km downhill. No problem to enjoy breathtakingly long downhills in the High Atlas.




As the main dish in Morocco, you will be served delicious couscous (with vegetables or lamb). However, the top delicacy is “tajine”. To have a taste, Pierre Alain navigated us to a Berber village high up in the mountains. Tajine is a mixture of meat, vegetables and potatoes, which is slowly stewed in an oven in typical ceramic pots with high cone lids.




Tea is enjoyed on any occasion in Morocco. The people in the Berber villages will show you the traditional method of brewing tea in wrought iron kettles. The restaurant manager will prepare one kettle with green tea and another full of mint tea. He mixes the content of both in another vessel and adds an amount of sugar that would last an average Canadian family for more than two months. For four people, about a kilogram of sugar was used! The tea is mega-sweet, but delicious.




It costs a dollar or two to hire a guide in Morocco, but without a guide, you will blunder in the mountains, get lost and you may not enjoy the ride that much. The mountains are incredibly vast, without any trail markings. Without a genuine offroad car, such as Nissan Patrol, Toyota Land Cruiser or Mitsubishi Pajero, you don’t have a chance on the eroded mountainous roads. And you can only hire such a car in Morocco with a driver, who will ask for another bakshish (tip).

A week’s trip to Morocco costs EUR 1,620. The price includes 7 nights in 4-star hotels, meals, all travel costs within Morocco (flight tickets to and from Morocco not included) and guides. Gaspi and Pierre are also preparing more economy packages and shorter trips. For more information, go to bikingmorocco.com.



richard gasperotti profile morocco from Gaspi on Vimeo.

Rider's News__Gaspi

Hey guys!

Little bit pirate after race.........
                                  

Dont worry,im strong and will ride for few days, hahaha.
Stay cool!
_________________Gaspi

Trek World Racing In Pursuit: P1'S in PMB

Riders' News - 5th, May, 2011

Internal Newsletter For Sponsors and Family of Trek World Racing

5.5.2011     

Tomorrow we'll be sending out a press release announcing the two new 'In Pursuit' videos that will be posted on our website. The Downhill one is called "P1's in PMB", and the Cross Country one is called "XC1 in RSA". A huge thanks to everyone for their congratulations after the South African trip. It was a mega logistical exercise being in Africa for 1 month, helped immensely by Ray Waxham of the Trek Race Department. To be leading two World Cup series is a great honor for the team. Congratulations Tracy and Aaron!

News from the Flueckiger brothers is that Luk did in fact damage his finger (not broken) in the training crash the day before the World Cup race, and has since had it in a splint, resting it, but it will be 100% very soon. Training has been very positive this week. Math, in the meantime, raced in Houffalize last weekend. Here's his report:

"The Race was for me in two parts. I had a very good start and went well with the leaders. For the first 3 laps I was in the lead group with Absalon, Schurter, Fumic, and Fontana. Kulhavy was further back. Then I went to the lead in a downhill and I felt very strong at that point, and only Schurter followed me and we diced together. Then suddenly in the next long steep climb my legs did a big change. They were so stiff, and with all the climbing, it was over for me. I never had this in a race before, and in the finish my back hurt again like the W/Cup. Maybe this was the reason. But I'm happy with the first 3-4 laps, it was a quality World Cup field."

In other news, in a deal fixed this week with Decline Magazine in the USA, there wil be a monthly "Trek World Racing Column" where the 4 downhill riders will rotate and write an article each issue, together with photos etc. This is the first time that a team has had its own column and we're very thankful to Mark Jordan at H3 Publications for making it happen.

Until tomorrow.....

www.trekworldracing.com