4X World Cup Mt Sainte Anne, Canada:
Roger Rinderknecht on 4th place behind Tomas Slavic, Rafael Alvarez and the winner Jared Graves

Mt Sainte Anne, Canada July 29th – Roger Rinderknecht won all his runs before the big finals of the Nissan UCI World Cup tour stop in Mt Sainte Anne, Canada. World Cup leader Jared Graves (AUS) dominated the completely rebuilt 4X track from the beginning of the finals on, Alvarez (ESP) hit Rinderknecht in the first turn and kept on second place in front of Slavic (CZE), as well as Swiss GT team rider Rinderknecht who got fourth after his crash with Alvarez right after the start.

The new 4X track in Mt Sainte Anne featured everything the international mountain bike pro riders could only dream of: a pro-section, rhythm section, two rock-gardens, as well as plain and steep berms. Roger loved the diversity of the track, but got only on seventh place in the seeding runs. But he proved his skill and race experience winning all of his runs including the semi finals against Tomas Slavic (CZE,2nd), Filip Polc (SVK,3rd) and Bernard Kerr (GBR,4th). Get an impression on the moving pictures at: http://freecaster.tv/mtb/1008694/nissan-uci-mountain-bike-world-cup-mt-sainte-anne-4x-men-semi-2

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As an avid mountain biker and a volunteer with the East Bay Regional Parks Bike Patrol, I can easily put a product through its paces. Recently, I was given the chance through MTBR.com to evaluate the Deuter Compact EXP 8 and the Deuter Hydro Lite 3.0 hydration packs. The Compact EXP 8 is a new extended hiking/biking hydration pack that carries 3L of water and was made for those who hike or bike for greater than two hours as recommended by Deuter. The Hydro Lite 3.0 is marketed to those who will be on the trails for two hours or more. This hydration pack carries 3L of water, about 1L more than the competition.

Compact EXP 8

Features:
Like all hydration packs, this one comes with your standard, shoulder and chest straps that are fully adjustable but also include a waist strap where each side also has a zippered pouch to store small items as well. If you are looking for a hydration pack that can literally carry everything, your search is over. This one has a small zippered pocket and a large zippered pocket with key ring on the outside of the pack, plus an area to hold your helmet or jacket via adjustable straps and bike pump sleeve. Hold on, there’s more! Inside the pack where the water is stored, there is another zippered pocket and another fairly large storage pocket that is behind the water reservoir, this one unzipped. Even the area where the water reservoir is located has some additional room to store things, if needed. And if you still don’t have enough room, there is a zipper that almost encircles the whole pack to almost double the volume of storage.

Included is a mouth piece cover that is connected via a cord to protect the mouth piece from grit and dirt while you are on the trail. The mouth piece also has a built-in shut off valve activated just by turning the mouth piece clock wise by one turn. There is a tube fixation piece on the right shoulder strap for those who prefer having the tube and mouthpiece secured while on the trail. The water reservoir uses an innovative slip clip called the streamer clip to open and close the water reservoir for filling and use. There is a reflective tail light strap and Deuter uses what they call Airstripe that is supposed to hold the pack onto your back and still have airflow to keep your back cool and not sweaty. The whole reservoir system uses an anti-bacterial material that inhibits bacteria growth and doesn’t add any taste to the water.

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Following the AM and the AC the new Helius line is getting a new  sibling. Our latest baby has taken the name of the Helius AFR, it stands  for All Freeride. The name is the destination: Bikepark playgrounds,  trail hunting, gaps ‘n steps, epic descents, spot hopping while dropping  in where ever you want and always full throttle.

The AFR provides 7 to 8 inches of poised rear wheel travel that is still  rapid in acceleration due to the Horst-Link technology. With a 7 inch  Totem that matches the frame perfectly, the head angle sits at 66,8°.

We’ve lowered the top tube while the seat-tube is offset and flattened.

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Oakland, Calif.—Gritty performances in tough conditions defined a successful and historic first national championship campaign by the NorCal Travel Team, a nine-rider ensemble representing the NorCal High School Mountain Bike League, which competed at the USA Cycling Mountain Bike Nationals held in Granby, Colorado, July 17-19.

Six boys and three girls comprised the team, which was selected on performance at the 2009 Invitational Camp. The team included: Karli Haugen, Lauren Catlin, Sofia Hamilton, Zachary Valdez, Andrew Taylor, Bryan Duke, Adam O’Camb, Noah Hanagen, and Nik Dommen.

Conditions were difficult for the lowlander NorCal riders. After a 21-hour drive, riders faced a technical course with a start line elevation of 8,400 lung-searing feet.

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BIKE EXPO a success right from the start

• More than 5,000 international industry professionals
• More than 20,000 cycling enthusiasts on the public days
• Exposition focus: Urban Mobility, E-Bikes and Pedelecs
• Great response to side event program
• Exhibitors pleased with results

BIKE EXPO, the new cycling sports show from Messe München International, ended on July 26th, 2009 but already 2010 is the industry talking point as a result of the debut show’s positive success. Right from the start BIKE EXPO distinguished itself with a high level of international interest and the first two exclusive trade days saw more than 5,000 visitors from 42 countries taking in the latest product innovations and leading brand developments. During the weekend over 20,000 consumers attended BIKE EXPO at the New Munich Trade Fair, to find out about up and coming bike trends and to test the latest models demo tracks. With the theme “Cycling Trends for City and Nature” BIKE EXPO showcased 211 exhibitors from 25 countries over a total of 22,000 square meters of exhibition space, as well as 25,000 square meters of outdoor exhibits and event areas. Germany, Italy, Austria, the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan all had a strong exhibitor presence and visitors came from all over the world. A special spotlight at BIKE EXPO was on E-Bikes and Pedelecs, currently very much in trend. To cover the increasing demand as well as tap into new market segments, almost all large bicycle manufacturers now include E-Bikes and Pedelecs in their selection. Another hot trend the show highlighted was single-speed bikes, or Fixies as they are known, as well as city, fitness, and racing bikes, road, trekking, and mountain bikes. Components, parts and accessories were all featured strongly too and a number of tourism areas and associations also resented their latest cycling attractions.

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We’re happy to announce the release of XXC Issue #3. XXC Magazine is a PDF eZine that collects personal experiences and photos from pro and amateur riders and racers from across the country and around the world. XXC attempts to show the beauty and the pain of endurance mountain bike racing and riding. The eMag can be viewed online or downloaded at xxcmag.com.

XXC #3 continues to capture the endurance race experience with stories and photos from two races in the West Virginia Mountain Bike Assoc. Ultra Race Series, the Dirty Kanza 200 gravel grinder, a look back at the 2009 Cowbell Challenge, and an epic feature from Dave Harris about his record setting effort in the self supported Grand Loop “race.”

We’re also pleased to have Jason Boucher sharing some incredible photos from his ride on North Dakota’s Maah Daah Hey trail and we debut a new feature called Enduro Nut Corner by nutritionist and Topeak-Ergon endurance racer Namrita O’Dea.

Hope you enjoy XXC #3, then get out and ride!

source: Jason MahokeyX

Maxxis-Rocky Mountain’s Sabrina Jonnier Wins and Geoff Kabush Third at Mont St. Anne World Cup

July 27, 2009 – Mont St. Anne, QC

Coming into round six of the 2009 UCI DH World Cup in Mont St. Anne, Quebec, Maxxis-Rocky Mountain team rider Sabrina Jonnier had already won four of the five prior events. Although she had a solid lead on the World Cup series overall, there was still an immense amount of pressure on her to pull out another win.

The women’s field had 20 starters. Through the first 10 racers, there was rapid and frequent turnover in the hot seat. The first rider to hang on to the hot seat for a bit was Emilie Siegenthaler (Scott 11). Siegenthaler was eventually dislodged by Melissa Buhl, who was clearly stoked by her run. “It was pretty good. I struggled a bit in the mud but I kept it together. I was going back and forth between the mud and the dry tires and I was glad I stuck to the dry. There were a couple of spots of mud where I would have like spikes, but it paid off in the rocks because they were pretty slippery.“

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Munich, Germany, July 27th 2009 – Martin Soederstroem from Sweden won the BIG IN BAVARIA dirt jump competition in mountain bike – Brandon Dosch from the United States did so among the BMX riders. Both showed a whole bag of stunning tricks that brought them not only huge props from the BIKE EXPO visitors, but also each 9.500 US Dollars cash.

The mountain bike and BMX had open practise from Thursday on. But the weather conditions at the BIKE EXPO trade show in Munich didn’t make it easy for the riders: lots of heavy rains and only a few dry sections with many guts of wind made long sessions impossible until Saturday evening.

So the BMX qualifications on Friday had to be cancelled during the first heat. Only finals have been ridden on Saturday evening. The wind was still a bit scary, but the big names in BMX business proofed that they are pros for a reason and coped with this quite difficult situation very well.

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