Maribor, Slovenia - June 22, 2009.

Heading into the fifth round of the UCI Downhill World Cup in Maribor, Slovenia, Maxxis-Rocky Mountain’s Sabrina Jonnier had reason to be confident having won three of four World Cups so far in 2009. However, after Saturday when a torrential downpour soaked the track and delayed qualifications, Jonnier who prefers drier tracks, found herself out of her preferred element.

Floriane Pugin (Iron Horse-Kenda-Playbiker), the tenth rider down, set the first fast time of the day for the final, over 20 seconds ahead of the previous best time of Fionn Griffiths (Norco World Team). Pugin’s time was so fast that only two riders would beat her - Jonnier and Emmeline Ragot (Suspension Center), the fastest in qualifying.

Tracy Moseley (Trek World Racing), the winner of round one was well back, after crashing near the top of her run, and Myriam Nicole of France came within 12 seconds of Pugin, but it took Jonnier to finally displace her young French rival, and she did it with the first sub-3:40 ride, at 3:39.59 . There was only one rider left by this time - Ragot - and the former Junior world champion came through the first intermediate timer two-hundredths of a second ahead of Jonnier. However, Ragot lost four-tenths of a second in the lower portion of the run, to finish 0.31 seconds down on Jonnier. Celine Gros (Morzine-Avoriaz 74) took fourth, while Mio Suemasa of Japan took the final podium spot, breaking the French stranglehold. Claire Buchar (Chain Reaction) was the only Canadian to race, finishing tenth, 27.53 seconds behind Jonnier.

“I wasn’t super happy about my race run,” revealed Jonnier, “because I made many mistakes, and didn’t really think that I had done enough to win. But I’m glad that I changed back to my favourite Maxxis High Rollers from the 2.5 Wetscreams after qualifying, because the track was drying out quickly and conditions changed in favour of dry tires.”

Jonnier’s win puts her at 1132 points, 197 ahead of Ragot and 322 in front of Moseley with three races remaining in the World Cup.

Report: Rob Jones – Photo: Colin Meagher
For more information, please visit www.bikes.com and www.maxxis.com
Rocky Mountain Bicycles Contact: Peter Vallance:

source: Peter Vallance

Chilcotin September 2008 Day 1 - Little Paradise - Manson - Tyoax - September 4, 2008 Words by Lee Lau. Photos by, Sharon Bader and Rob McLachlan unless otherwise noted. (Hyperlinks in the titles lead to the full story with large pictures)

Useful links:

• Trail Ventures Map
• Spruce Lake Wilderness Adventures
• Tyax Air
• Our trip planning page
• Link to search for various trips I have done in this area (Taseko - Lorna - Spruce - Tyax - Shulaps areas)
• BC Parks Spruce Lake Protected Area page
• Chilcotin Wilderness Society
• Bridge River community page
• For some of you who don’t know what the South Chilcotins mountain biking experience is all about read about Lee’s Chilcotin Wanderings:

The Southern Chilcotin has been getting some play in the mtb media. A segment in The Collective showing riders ripping along velvety singletrack had adrenaline racing and many people saying “Where is that? And how do I get there?” I’ve had the good fortune of knowing the Chilcotin from the days of rigid forks, long stems and cantilever brakes - having embarked on my first expedition there some 12 years ago.

Mountain-bikers are latecomers to this area. While I’ve documented many trips to the Chilcotin with photos and words on my private site (and left just as many trips unrecorded), I’ve always felt protective about the area. Call it elitism, call it secret-trail-society syndrome, the southern Chilcotin has always been my little slice of paradise shared only with a few other adventurous souls interested in venturing off the beaten path.

Things change, the word gets out and as the sport of mountain-biking has grown in popularity the number of people who are interested in venturing away from the safe confines of the Lower Mainland around Vancouver have increased. Resources like the first decent map of the area, and guided tours have made some trails “crowded”. Having said that, crowded is a relative term. I now see other people on the Gun Creek grasslands milk-run where I never used to see other tracks. Fortunately it really isn’t that hard to ride for hours and not see another person if you take the time to explore.

The area where most people bike, hike and ride horses is known as the Southern Chilcotin-Spruce Lake Wilderness Area, designated as such by the British Columbia government in 2001 after almost 70 years of lobbying by environmental and preservation groups. A step of protection below provincial park designation, a wilderness area permits mechanized and self-propelled transport but prohibits resource exploitation (ie mining and logging).

Our bikes wait patiently at the hitching posts then get loaded in the horse truck for transportation 30km down the road to the end of the non 4×4 part of the Relay Creek FSR

Vancouver, BC Canada- 04/15/09

Rocky Mountain Bicycles, who since 1981 has been known for top-quality bicycles made in Canada, is pleased to announce the hiring of a new sales rep in the Northwest United States.

Eric Daignault, based in Portland, OR will act as the sales rep for Alaska, Washington and Oregon. Mr. Daignault most recently managed the Downtown Bike Gallery in Portland, OR.

John Olden the US Sales manager says “I’m really thrilled to hire Eric out of the local market, with recent retail experience. It will be great for the whole team to have Eric as a resource and we are excited to help him learn our side of the business.”

Eric Daignault says, “I’m excited for the opportunity to work for Rocky Mountain Bicycles, a well respected and innovative company. I’ve enjoyed working with them in the past and I look forward to being part of their team.”

Rocky Mountain Bicycles has always been committed to excellence in both products and service provided. We are constantly working to improve every aspect of our business. For more information about Rocky Mountain Bicycle, visit www.bikes.com

source: Andreas Hestler

Take your riding to the next level in fun not fear

Get an entire season of learning under your pedals in two days with the Dirt Series by Rocky Mountain Bicycles

New cross-country mountain bikers tired of just-go-for-it advice and downhillers itching to give their skills a jump are invited to sign up for North America’s premier traveling mountain bike program, the Dirt Series by Rocky Mountain Bicycles.

The Dirt Series is geared to riders of all motivations and levels with women’s-only and co-ed camps in California, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Alberta, and British Columbia.

“Every year we work to refine and progress what the Dirt Series offers,” says camp founder Candace Shadley. “For 2009, we’ve added advanced level programming, so that even more experienced riders can learn to be smoother, faster and more confident all around. I guess new programming like this is what you need when you’ve been helping beginner and intermediate riders improve in leaps and bounds every year.”

The Dirt Series by Rocky Mountain Bicycles is famous for its high return rate of repeat offenders. Getting your tire over a log on an up-hill climb or nailing that drop that stared you down last summer is too big a pay off not to come back for more.

This year the Whistler-based program broke a registration record: the May camp in Santa Cruz filled up within 48 hours. With more than 5,000 riders pedaling through the program over the past nine years, word is getting around just as fast as the sign ups, and sometimes the wait lists as well.

The secret to camp sell outs is found in the same balance it takes for a rider to successfully navigate a plank bridge – technique and attitude. The weekend camp includes small-group skill sessions, instructional rides and social time led by motivational coaches who seek to both inform and empower. As national and world champions, as well as health and wellness professionals, coaches bring plenty of tire time and dedication to the camps.

The Dirt Series delivers world-class instruction with the goal of developing skills in a supportive step-by-step process that gets past the fears and into the fun of what mountain biking is all about. Whether that means clocking in air miles or meeting new riding buddies, the Dirt Series by Rocky Mountain Bicycles will make your 2009 mountain biking season one that counts.

Register at www.dirtseries.com.

2009 Dirt Series by Rocky Mountain Bicycles Camp Calendar

April 25-26
Santa Cruz, CA
The Bicycle Trip

May 2-3
Laguna Hills, CA
Jenson USA

May 16-17
Calgary, AB
The Bike Shop

May 18
Calgary, AB
The Bike Shop
Co-ed.

May 23-24
North Vancouver, BC
Different Bikes

May 30-31
Whistler, BC
Summit Sports

June 13-14
Park City, UT
Cole Sports

June 20-21
Sun Valley, ID
Sturtos

June 27-28
Whistler, BC
Garbanzo Bike and Bean

July 11-12
Bend, OR
Pine Mountain Sports

July 18-19
Hood River, OR
Discover Bicycles

July 25-26
Whistler, BC
Garbanzo Bike and Bean
Co-ed.

August 8-9
North Vancouver, BC
Different Bikes

August 22-23
Canmore, AB
Rebound Cycle

August 29-30
Fernie, BC
Rebound Cycle
Co-ed specialty.

September 12-13
Whistler, BC
Summit Sports
Co-ed.

The Dirt Series by Rocky Mountain Bicycles is run in partnership with Fox Racing Shox, Sugoi, Dakine, and Race Face.

It is also supported by Luna, Yakima, Bell, crankbrothers, Maxxis, Kicking Horse Coffee, Sleeman Beer, Mikes Hard, and the Whistler Mountain Bike Park.

source: Karen Gutrath