What Susi and Liam thought of the world champs....
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.
The new Specialized Epic was extra pressure for the whole team, especially for my mechanic Benno. I was always 100% sure that this bike will make me faster! I only rode a prototype version for two days in February in the USA and 3 times with the race version before Sunday’s race on the course. So you can imagine that Benno was on “needles” the whole race long and especially when you take into consideration that the global press launch is held next weekend at the Specialized office with 50 journalists attending! However, we did our own press launch, and I think we did a great job!!!!!
During the whole week our tire specialist Frank Stacy with his beautiful wife accompanied us with tire testing. He brought us tires with a brand new compound that performs super fast. Before and after every ride I did wattage testing on rollers with a power meter. I had a big smile on my face when I realised how fast the new rubber is rolling! The tire testing to me and the role Frank plays is on the same level as my new bike. The team have been working with Frank and the other tire engineers for three seasons now and the benefits are huge!!
It was great to share that win with the whole team! Lots of tears were crawling down the faces and then you realise this is the best team and the team is you too.
It was also great to see Liam my team mate finishing 4th. Now he knows that he has it again and I am sure there will be more to come!
“How’s the new Epic”? One of the most frequent asked question at the moment. So, read the next lines well! It is completely different to ride than the old one. On the up hills my pedal power transfers straight into movement like on a hard tail, and in descents it feels more like a downhill bike. I love my brain suspension which is now also in the fork. In every situation I have the right adjustment and in a tenth of a second the fork makes use of it’s whole travel or completely locks out again! Coupled with this I have a clean cockpit. I hate any lockout shifters on my handle bar with extra cables.
In “picture” describing the bike feels like; it descends like a jumbo jet in the air before landing, on bumpy flat sections like a speed boat flying over waves, and in up-hills like a fighter jet taking off!
I don’t feel like I accomplished my season’s objectives with my cross country world championship title. I could not comfort myself with this world champ title after a bad result. For me the present time counts, and what is behind is past. That’s probably why I am pretty down to earth and now my head is spinning a lot about the marathon world champs in ten days time and the defence of my title!
Liam's report:
June 23rd : There was certainly a warm glow in Italy last week for the GB team and for Specialized. The Val di Sole lived up to its name at the weekend and the sun blazed down on the gravity specialists and sparkled on the GB riders. On Sunday it was roasting time for the XC Elites. The men’s race was fast and technical and Susi took the World Championship title in style on the new Epic bike. The whole Specialized team had felt confident before the race and there was a mega feeling of elation afterwards – a real celebration of all the elements that contribute to victory: rider skills, superb bike technology, expert mechanic, soigneur and management support.
I’d been feeling increasingly strong over the previous couple of weeks and posting the quickest lap in the relay on Tuesday made me feel less daunted than I might have been otherwise by starting way back on the grid in 78th. The weather was better than it was for the relay too. In the end, having worked my way up to finish fourth, I felt it was one of my personal best efforts. A big thank you to everyone who has emailed me directly or through the website, very much appreciated.
Now I am looking forward to the Marathon World Championships. I expect to be riding the new Epic bike and am really excited about that! The downside of the weekend will be missing the wedding of my really good friends Dan and Jess - I’ll be thinking of them on their big day.