Tough Day At World Champs, But An Amazing Season For Trek World Racing Downhillers

9.9.2011     

Last Sunday the World Championships showed just how difficult they can be for even the best riders in the world. It's a one shot deal and the weather and mountain can have a huge effect on a rider's performance no matter how hard they've work for it. In the end it was a ride of pure brilliance by Danny Hart (GBR) in the Men's, and a clean and aggressive run by Emmeline Ragot (FRA) in the Women’s, that took the titles.

Unfortunately for all 4 of Trek World Racing's downhill riders, crashes marred their runs on the drenched mountainside in Champery, Switzerland. The rain that was promising to show up on Sunday, arrived in abundance and made for a race of survival in the junior categories; and for very difficult riding for all others. Neko Mulally had qualified an easy 8th in Junior Men and was looking to step it up, but a crash early in his run that left him concussed put all hope of a medal aside. Neko didn't suffer any serious injury in the final, but was still nursing a broken hand from earlier in the week.

Justin Leov was on a top 10 run when he crashed due to a vision problem with his goggles. It was very wet, the rain was pouring down, and vision was being compromised. Tracy Moseley crashed 3 times, the last one in spectacular fashion as she ran off course and into the crowd. Fortunately Tracy was not hurt, nor any spectators, and still managed a 9th place. Only 2 women got down the hill without a crash!

Fastest qualifier by 5 seconds and a strong chance for the win, Aaron Gwin was the last man to come down. At the first interval he was only 0.9secs behind Danny (who won by more than 11 seconds) but a small error ran Aaron off the track and hooked his Session 9.9 in the catch fencing costing valuable time. Aaron finished in 12th, clearly devastated by the run.

Despite Sunday September 4 not going the way of the team, all of the team members went to dinner that night and reflected on an amazing season, one that set many records. Aaron's historic 5 World Cup wins, first team to win the Overall in Women's and Men's Downhill and be the number 1 team, and Tracy's best ever season in her career.

Already the team management is planning 2012, but for now 23 Degrees Sports Management would like to sincerely thank all of the sponsors that made this season so great. Especially Trek for their incredible bikes and technology and on-site support, to Shimano for the componentry and the amazing proto-type equipment we've been offered to use, and Fox Racing Shox for simply being the best suspension out there. To JBL/Harman for the on-going support, as well as our other integral sponsors such as Kabuto Helmets, Royal Racing, FUNN, Gamut USA, SDG Components, Maxxis, Motorex, Isostar and Alpinestars. All of them have been key to our success. Roll on 2012!

Results for World Championships are here:

http://www.uci.ch/templates/BUILTIN-NOFRAMES/Template1/layout.asp?MenuId=MTYyMDg&LangId=1

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

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

New In Pursuit Video released 30th, Aug., 2011

30.8.2011

On the eve of the World Championships this weekend, the latest instalment of the In Pursuit series from Trek World Racing has been released today. Entitled "Victorious In Val Di Sole" it follows the downhill riders in Italy for the final round of the UCI Downhill Mountain Bike World Cup. Watch as Tracy Moseley has an anxious day for the finals, ultimately winning the overall World Cup, and as Aaron Gwin takes his 5th win of the season, a new record! Winning the men's and women's DH Overall, and ending up the number 1 ranked team, it's a season to remember for Trek World Rcaing.

The video can be viewed here:

http://dh.trekworldracing.com/videos/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FjI9SIlw8aM

Watch the Downhill World Championships on Freecaster this Sunday, September 4 starting with the women at 14h00 and Men at 15h00 on www.mtbworldcup.com. It's pay per view so visit the website and purchase your code now.

Tracy Moseley Wins World Cup Title, Aaron Gwin Makes History

22.8.2011     

In an incredible end to an amazing season for Trek World Racing, here in Val Di Sole Italy, Tracy Moseley clinched the World Cup title and Aaron Gwin became the only man in history to win 5 Downhill World Cups in one season. It's also the first time in the history of the World Cup that a team has won both the Men's and Women's World Cup overalls in Downhill. To top off the great season, Trek World Racing ended up the number 1 ranked team.

The conditions for the World Cup finals were extremely difficult. The heat had dried out the super steep course and holes were filling with super fine powder. The lack of let up in the track made for a very difficult final quarter of racing as riders became very fatigued with arm pump, and the race was fully of spectacular crashes and saves. Neko Mulally was one of the riders that fell victim to the track conditions, crashing just after the first split, but ended up his season as 3rd junior overall.

Justin Leov, who missed the entire first day of training due to a visit to the hospital to check on a neck injury, managed to find most of his speed by the finals, and moved up from 25th in qualifying to 12th on race day, finishing 9th overall for the year, his 3rd top 10 career overall.

For the women's event, Tracy had the unenviable task of riding fast enough to get enough points, but not pushing too hard on this difficult track and throwing away the World Cup title. With a lead of 125 points going into the final over Frenchwoman Floriane Pugin, Tracy needed to finish 7th or better to win. Tracy was not aware of this as she preferred to race without knowing the mathematical situation. In the end a solid, yet slightly nerve wracking run, was good enough for 5th, a perfect record of podiums for 2011 and the title safely in her hands.

Tracy said: "That is such an amazing relief. I'm so glad I didn't know what position I had to come, that would have played on my mind. As it was, it was super hard to race this course. I wanted to let it go many times and just go for it, but in my mind I knew I couldn't risk it all. Not the most enjoyable race, but so cool to win the overall in front of my boyfriend James and my parents. It's been an incredible honor to wear the World Champs jersey all year, and to have had my best season ever while wearing it. A huge thanks to my mechanic Sander, he has been a massive part of my success". For Aaron Gwin, the title may have been wrapped up but that wasn't going to stop the 23 year old American from going for another win. Aaron has treated every race as an individual race to win, and the finals were no different. After qualifying first he was the last man to come down. For the team staff it was a nervous time after seeing so many riders crash, get loose and seemingly be on the edge the whole way down. Aaron however seemed to tame the course, almost looking slow by comparison, but the time gap kept building until eventually he crossed the line for the win. Not only the first to win 5 in a season, but now, after only 1 season, he is the 5th most winning man of all time in World Cup Downhills, behind Steve peat, Nicolas Vouilloz, Greg Minnaar and Sam Hill; quite a season.

Aaron said: "That was one of the toughest tracks I've ever raced on. So many holes you couldn't see and lines blown out, it was a mission to keep your hands on the bars. I had a solid run and felt like I learned a ton this weekend. I feel incredibly blessed to have had the season I've had. I want to thank my team, Trek for the incredible carbon Session 9.9, Fox and Shimano for giving me the greatest product and support, and my mechanic Monkdawg who is always on it. God has been great to me this year, and I'm extremely proud for all the American fans who have been so supportive trackside and on-line."

Team Owner Martin Whiteley said: "This year in Downhill we've had a dream season. It's hard finding the words to be honest. Firstly I am extremely indebted to Tracy and Aaron for all they have done for the program and for our sponsors; they are amazing athletes, but even better team-mates. To be the number 1 team is especially rewarding because it's something that all the hard working staff, mechanics, soigneurs, videographers, can take immense pride in. To all the Trek staff in Waterloo who have helped us become what we are today in just under 3 years, from the graphic designers to the engineers to the marketers, a huge thanks. And of course all of our sponsors that we include in the logos at the top of this page, we hope you have enjoyed the ride in World Cup 2011, and rest assured we plan to deliver again for World Cup 2012." Results for World Cup DH #7 are here:

http://www.uci.ch/templates/BUILTIN-NOFRAMES/Template1/layout.asp?MenuId=MTYxMjU&LangId=1

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

http://www.trekworldracing.com

New In Pursuit Video Released Today

14.8.2011     

The latest instalment of the In Pursuit series from Trek World Racing has been released today. Entitled "Lockdown In La Bresse" it follows the downhill riders in La Bresse, France, for Round 6 of the UCI Downhill Mountain Bike World Cup. Watch as Aaron Gwin wraps up the overall World Cup with one race to go, Tracy scores another win for her best season of her career, and the venue gets jammed with fans. Truly a race to remember for Trek World Racing.

 

The video can be viewed here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kx8-lBbkVRo
http://xc.trekworldracing.com/videos/
Watch the Men's XC World Cup round 6 in less than 1hr 30mins from now on www.mtbworldcup.com.
The next round of the DH World Cup will be in Val di Sole, Italy, August 21.

Aaron Gwin Wins Overall World Cup Title, Tracy Moseley Extends Lead

 7.8.2011     

Today in France Aaron Gwin made history, yet again, by becoming the first ever American man ever to win the World Cup Downhill title, a fact that will become even clearer to the 23 year old when he stands on the podium in Italy in 2 weeks' time to receive the prized crystal trophy. His team mate, World Champion Tracy Moseley, won her 4th World Cup race of the season today and has extended her lead to 150 points going into the final round in Italy. Rounding out a perfect weekend, the team once again finished up number 1 for the week.


For the women's event, Tracy had good cause to be anxious going into the finals as a second place to her main rival of season 2011, Floriane Pugin (FRA), would have reduced her points lead to just 70, and with 250 on offer at the finals in Italy, it would have made for a more difficult weekend. Rain had fallen overnight here in La Bresse making for a different track to that qualified on, and a large amount of water early on in the race nearly ended Tracy hopes.
"A huge puddle of water had accumulated on the approach to the top pedaling section and it caught me by surprise. I had to go for my tear-offs and then I struggled a little to get that off, and then I was really worried that I'd messed my run up with that. Floriane is a hard rider to beat on any course, but here in France, I really had my work cut out for me. The win is very sweet, and I'm happy to take the points for sure," said Tracy.
2011 is without doubt Tracy's greatest season of her career, with 4 wins and an appearance on every World Cup podium, as well as plenty of other diverse riding, including the Cape Epic and the Dalby XC World Cup.
In the Men's event junior rider Neko Mulally had a run he wasn't happy with. The rain started to fall in the middle of the men's pack and Neko by his own admission he made too many errors in the slick conditions, and after qualifying 24th, finished 50th today. Justin Leov continued his run of top 10 placings, crossing the line to take the hotseat and eventually finishing with a 9th, scoring enough points to jump him from 10th in the overall rankings to equal 7th for the season.
In the lead up to the top 10 men, the rain had stopped and the course was starting to recover. It wasn't anywhere near as fast as yesterday for qualifying, but it had improved over the previous hour. Greg Minnaar rode a very solid race and set the time to beat, the first man under 2mins 10secs, and Gee Atherton had slotted into 2nd. For Aaron Gwin this race was as important as any other and he wanted to win, but a top 8 placing would be enough the take the overall World Cup Title with one race remaining, something that hasn't been done since 2000. Aaron made an error in the top 3rd of the course and then had some other hook ups further done the course resulting in a growing loss of time, eventually putting him into 3rd place; a run he was personally disappointed about, but the overall title was his, and that is in itself an amazing achievement.
Aaron said: "It's obviously and sincerely a huge honor to win the overall World Cup title, amazing honestly, but any racer out there will know that it always feel better when you take something like that with a run you're proud of. I made some mistakes today that cost me the win, and that's frustrating. Any one of my practice runs would have been better than that, but hats off to Greg, he rode super strong today and deserves to take the win. The overall is a huge honor and I look forward to lifting that trophy high for all the fans in 2 weeks!" Results for World Cup DH #6 are here: http://www.uci.ch/templates/BUILTIN-NOFRAMES/Template1/layout.asp?MenuId=MTYxMjU&LangId=1
Media seeking hi-res images can visit our website for their login.
http://www.trekworldracing.com
The male downhill riders go to Innsbruck next week for the Nordkette Pro Invitational and the next Downhill World Cup will be the finals, Round 7 in Val Di Sole (ITA) on August 14.

Trek World Racing news

26.7.2011     

On Sunday Tracy Moseley won her 8th National Title in Llangollen, Wales, ahead of Jess Stone (Trek Gravity Girls) and Katy Curd. Head Mechanic Sander Gijs was on hand for the event and took the podium picture below.

Here's Tracy in her own words about the event. "It was great to be racing in the UK and getting the chance to wear the Rainbow Jersey in front of the biggest crowd of spectators I've seen at a UK National for many years. The beautiful English summer weather really did us proud this weekend not only enabling us to sit out in the sun but also helped dry the steepest track I have ever ridden in the UK! It was the UK's answer to Champery for the first 1/3 of the track! I felt some pressure this weekend as I was definitely the rider to beat and with such a tough track making any mistake costly. However I managed to put together a safe run at the top and then really attacked the course the further down I got. A big thanks to my mechanic Sander for making the trip over and keeping my Session in perfect working order. It felt great to receive National Champ Jersey No.8 of my career."

Next week sees the Downhill riders all coming back together for World Cup No.6 in La Bresse, France. Both Tracy and Aaron lead the series and both Justin and Neko are climbing the rankings. As always, the finals will be broadcast live on Freecaster on Sunday August 7, from 1.15pm CET here www.mtbworldcup.com

Trek World Racing news

19.7.2011     

The latest instalment of the In Pursuit series from Trek World Racing has been released today. Entitled "Winning In Windham" it follows the downhill riders at the New York state venue of Windham, for Round 5 of the UCI Downhill Mountain Bike World Cup. Watch as Justin Leov gets his season best result, Neko Mulally improves his ranking, Tracy takes a podium and holds her World Cup lead, and Aaron Gwin wins an historic 4th race in season 2011 in front of an ecstatic crowd.


The video can be viewed here:
http://xc.trekworldracing.com/videos/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MSmUK9NW3c
The next round of the DH World Cup will be in La Bresse, France, August 7.

This coming weekend sees Tracy competing in the British National DH Championships in Llangollen. News as we get it.