July, 2008

By Rebecca:

Hello Everyone!
So last weekend, 24 Hour Solo World Championships was a complete success.  The training and pre-race logistics were perfect.  My crew and equipment were dialed, and the race unfolded better than I could have imagined.  I had been gearing up for this race as my main goal for the 2008 season and everything came together like clockwork.  I’m not saying it was easy in any way, but all the pieces did fall in place on the right day in the right fashion.  We all worked really hard and were rewarded with my 2nd 24 hour solo world championship win!

Saturday July 26th (All photos courtesy Gary Perkin)

Men’s Downhill:

Kyle Strait was on the line for Specialized and unfortunately for Kyle a crash in the finals resulted in a 51st placing – as we all know Kyle is capable of much more.

Kyle Strait

Meanwhile at the front, there was one hell of a race. Over the final five finishers the hot seat changed four times: Steve Peat, Gee Atherton, Sam Hill and finally Greg Minnaar, who was unstoppable. Minnaar took a very well deserved victory at a venue that he has failed to win at before.

The XC, DH and 4X Team have arrived in Canada ahead of world cup racing this weekend in Monte Saint Anne and in Bromont on August 2nd and 3rd.

Liam and Susi on computer duty

A relaxed Lene before training

Mr Killeen

Susi keeps an eye on the Tour and his computer - and who said lads can't do two things at once!

Birthday soigneur Claire heads out for a spin

Subsequent to our UCI appeal following the world marathon championships in Villabassa, Italy we have been informed that in accordance with the UCI rules for mountain biking our appeal is not admissible and cannot be taken into account. Christoph’s finish constituted an irregular sprint and the ruling on the day stands.

Naturally, we are disappointed and Christoph especially so, since never throughout any of the proceedings was he told of exactly what he did wrong. However, rather than focussing on a negative result we are looking both positively ahead and behind! Christoph is the UCI World XC Champion, has the Olympics just around the corner and is currently leading the overall World Cup standings. Christoph plans to defend his jersey and of course win in Beijing.

Thanks for your wave of support.

The XTerra European Series did not go to plan for Big C (Aka "The Caveman" / Tarzan ... shall I go on!!!!!!!!), but he did finish it in style. Fresh off a second place finish at the French XTerra Race, the king of the jungle proposed to his girlfriend Amber high up in the Alps.

For more on the story visit Conrad's webpage www.conradstoltz.com

Congratulations ............ There will be a few Savanna's in the Bosch!

As Reba prepares for the defence of her World 24 hour title this weekend, here is a recap of her recent races. 

By Reba:

This summer has been jam packed with some great racing for me.  All of these races have been part of the master plan leading up to 24 Hour World Championships on July 26th.  My coach, Matthew and I, made a few changes to this season’s race schedule to include a lot more cycling specific training that began in February and quite a few shorter races to work on my speed.  The season is now in full swing and the benefits of the many hours of training are paying off.  Below is a quick re-cap of the most recent races on the road to 24 Hour Worlds.

National Ultra Endurance Series, Mohican 100,  May 31, Ohio:

Reba on start line beside Floyd Landis

Thank you Sports Publishing for posting the sprint finish on www.youtube.com. What did Susi do wrong? Click here for the finish.

Although, the video is off youtube, it features below in the Swiss TV Coverage. Swiss TV spent the entire day with the team, following the racing as it unfolded.

Link 1: Swiss tv, sunday night sport show
Link 2: swiss tv part1 with final sprint in slow motion after 2min
Link 3: Swiss tv part2
LInk 3: Swiss tv part3

Christoph, Specialized, Swiss Cycling and the team (Specialized Factory Racing) realise that many people are asking questions, so without giving a personal side to the crash; here are the facts as we see them and how we proceed from here.

Christoph was always “in the thick of the action” from the start and as the racing progressed the lead group got smaller until three riders were left in Leonardo Paez, Roel Paulisson and Christoph. Between feed points four (80km) and five (110km) Paez was dropped leaving Roel and Susi at the front.

All photos courtesy Gary Perkin 

Pre warm-up ride

Liam and Benno making final checks to the New Epic

The drive to the drop off point for today's training spin

Liam takes his new Epic

Claire and I (Bobby) double checking the course map

More to follow on the race at the front, but to see what happened for yourself you can find it all on youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_DnXB_B6H8 - what did Susi do wrong that had him relegated to second?? Note: The youtube post has been removed.

The good news is that Susi is ok with more reports to follow.

All photos courtesy Gary Perkin

Susi and Roel hit the ground 

The "Caveman" Stoltz and of course the rest of the South African crew have heard me talk of Kelly and Roche's exploits on numerous occasions!!! I suppose that's an understatement!!! Anyway, on the "Caveman's" trip to his next Xterra in France guess who he bumped into ..........

The current World XTerra Champ, Conrad Stoltz, meets the 1987 Tour De France Champion, Irishman Stephen Roche ...... respect!

A tough job to get Liam and Susi to smile. The game faces are on!

Local trad mountain music at dinner ..... whoooo hooooo!

So what and who can be a threat. I suppose Susi is to be considered the favourite, but anything can happen. People will also be looking to Liam, especially after his savage ride at worlds.

So what's the road ahead like? Right now we are in Villabassa, Italy. Liam and I avoided the lightning on our morning spin, so both Liam and Susi are good to go this coming weekend and the World Marathon Championships.

Christoph's (Susi's) Schedule:

July 5: World Marathon Championships, Villabassa, Italy

July 26, 27: Mt St Anne World Cup, Canada

August 7 - 12: Tour L'Hexagonal, France

August 23: Olympic Games, Beijing

August 30,31: Canberra World Cup, Australia

September 7: Swisspower Cup, Switzerland

September 13 & 14: Schladming World Cup Final, Austria

Liam's Schedule: 

July 5: World Marathon Championships, Villabassa, Italy

July 26, 27: Mt St Anne World Cup, Canada

August 2 & 3: Bromont World Cup, Canada

August 23: Olympic Games, Beijing

Lads if we win a world title I am shaving off the beard (thank god!!!!!!!!!!) .....

Before - if you have seen "Jaws" you can see why I christened Ryan "Quint"

The respectable Ryan

In 2003 on a visit to Susi's house there was another bet. Susi and I agreed that if he won a world title, we'd go test driving Ferrari's .... with all the commotion right after the race we both totally forgot, but that night Susi said "Bobby have you forgot something!?" The smile on my face said it all. Now Benno has joined the party .... he's going to bring one of Audi's new R8's along ..... I don't trust Benno behind the wheel of a van, let alone an R8 ..... we are going to wait until after the Olympics!

Christoph's report: 

I am back at home again where everything is starting to settle down. On Sunday I had the ride of my life! It was the perfect day, with the very best leading up to it. There was that “you can do it” cloud of spirit over our team.