Mike Cushionbury
Every rider knows at least one person who believes he rides faster than his actual speed. Mbaction.com is the place for all your racing news and gossip. This page will be dedicated to all things racingresults.com, including news, commentary and bikes, as well as related products. A racing calendar and results list will be available. It will include both major pro events as well as many amateur events. Here’s where you come in. Send me your local event schedule. I will post as much as I can. Send me your results, especially if you have a top professional attend. I’ll also post a brief report on what happened. That’s all! Now, go racing and tell us about it. Continue reading the news
Latest Breaking Napa News
Bas Van Dooren, of the Be-One Team, won the men’s race at Napa. Mary Grigson from Fisher/Saab was first for the women. For more information on the wild Napa event, check back tomorrow (Monday).
SEASON ENDS WITH SEA OTTER CLASSIC
Just now, I walked into my double-wide and put the cat out. Then, I sat down in front my computer. My 36-mile trip to the Sea Otter and a week-long blitz in central California culminated with a visit by Tom Ritchey and his dream team in Redwood City and ended with the de facto launch of the international mountain biking season in Monterey.
Tom Ritchey’s house was full of Euros and there were many more. I rode with the mustached man, Thomas Frischknecht, his team leader, and Martino Fruet, his new protegee from Italy. It was an incredible experience. Martino was third in the U-23 category of last year’s World Championships. There is a buzz that Martino is the future of the Ritchey team. Henrik Djernis, three-time World Champion, was not yet in the States. Hank won all three rainbow ribbons while riding for Ritchey. He was also attending an Olympic training camp, in the hope of qualifying for the Danish team.
Thomas Frischknecht is looking great this year, the Ritchey veteran. Frischy, a veteran of the cross-country circuit for 10 years, said that he doesn’t plan to retire as he believes he can win. The Swiss 30-year-old is still trying to win the cross-country World Championship title. Thomas is thrilled about Hank’s return, as he believes they are a formidable duo.
It was time to move on to Laguna Seca Raceway, Monterey, California’s 10th Sea Otter Classic. The first race of the season opened under sunny skies after nearly a month of storms. Rain was not expected on Sunday. California style, the sun brought out hordes of spectators to fill the expo area and line the concourse for three days of competition. Three of the four World Champions were present at the Euros, according to a quick count of cross-country and downhill races. Sweet!
Then it’s time to get out of your mobile home and travel north to Napa, California, for the World Cup cross-country.
SEA OTTER RESULTS
TIME TRAIL
Bart Brentjens, Subaru-Specialized Rider, posted the fastest time on Friday’s 5-mile course. It had 213.4m of climbing and took him just 34 seconds. The former World Champion and Olympic Gold medalist Laurence Leboucher, a womans World Champion, won the race by 34 seconds over Caroline Alexander who finished second with a time 2:03.
Men
1. Bas Van Dooren (Be-One), 1 2. Michael Rasmussen(Haro-Lee Dungarees)1 3. Cadel Evans(Volvo-Cannondale)1 Women
1. Laurence Leboucher (GT)2 2. Caroline Alexander(Great Britain)2 3. Alison Dunlap (GT)2
DIRT CRIT
The weekend’s hottest day saw lines drawn in the sand as the dominant riders in time trials continued to display their strength. The men’s field was left watching as Rasmussen, Van Dooren set a blistering pace in front of a chase group consisting of Thomas Frischknecht(Yahoo!-Ritchey), RoelPaulissen (GT), and Bart Brentjens. The race was a two-man affair as the chasers failed to make contact with the leaders. Van Dooren pulled Ramussen over the final steep climb, but Rasmussen attacked. Van Dooren brought Rasmussen back and took the lead down the technical downhill. This led to a fast sweeper which was able to make it into the finish. Van Dooren held the advantage, but Rasmussen’s superior descending skills allowed them to ride side-by side through the sweeper. Rasmussen had a little more momentum and just beat Van Dooren to win the sprint finish. Rasmussen had a slight edge in the overall GC standings.
Leboucher took an early lead in women’s event, and all Elsbeth Vink Subaru-Specialized (World Champion Marga Fullana) could do was chase her to the finish. Leboucher maintained a comfortable GC lead after two events.
Men
1. Michael Rasmussen(Haro-Lee Dungrees)
2. Bas Van Dooren (Be-One).
3. Thomas Frischknecht(Yahoo!-Ritchey)
Women:
1.Laurence Leboucher(GT)
2. Elsbeth Vink(Subaru-Specialized)
3. Marga Fullana(Subaru-Specialized)
CROSS-COUNTRY
The Sea Otter Cross-Country event started under cloudy skies with cold mist, which cleared by the halfway point. The 18-mile loop was split into two laps. This year’s event featured a longer route with one-mile more riders, thanks to some new singletrack and some other sections. The cold weather was accompanied by a strong wind. Dry weather made the course run quickly and almost mud-free. It was amazing! Bas Van Dooren, the men’s winner, completed the course in just 2 hours. That’s an average of 18 miles per hour!
Van Dooren started solo at the halfway point of the first lap. He cut a windy swath for about 25 miles, and he was there alone. Bart Brentjens was the only rider who launched a worthy chase, but he couldn’t match Van Dooren’s power and fell short. Third place went to GTs Roland Green who broke away from a chase group. Ryder Hesjedal was a Canadian teenager who led the race into the singletrack. He persevered and finished fourth, his most impressive result.
The women used team tactics as Alison Dunlap, her GT teammate and general leader Leboucher, protected from the wind for 36 miles. Fullana was the only one who could stay with the GT duo. This made for an exciting finish. The GT riders were at the front as the riders entered Laguna Seca Raceway, with Leboucher initiating a sprint from far away. Fullana was fast by but Dunlap caught Fullana at the finish. GT and Dunlap won the stage. Lebouchers won the overall title.
Men:
1. Bas Van Dooren (Be-One).
2.Bart Brentjens(Subaru-Specialized)
3. Roland Green (GT)
Women:
1.Alison Dunlap(GT)
2. Marga Fullana(Subaru-Specialized)
3. Laurence Leboucher (GT)
Overall Men
1. Bas Van Dooren
2. Bart Brentjens
3. Michael Rasmussen
4. Roland Green
5. Thomas Frischknecht
All Women
1. Laurance Leboucher
2. Marga Fullana
3. Mary Grigson (Gary Fisher-SAAB).
4. Zu Putlitz(Be-One)
5. Jimena Florit(Polo-Sport)
DOWNHILL & DUAL
A downhill course with a drop of less than 91.4m, a length of less than one mile, and a time limit of less than two minutes can be considered a « no-brainer » when it comes to equipment. It was a pedaling course. Volvo-Cannondales Anne Caroline Chausson was untouchable riding her 10 cm travel Jekyll dual slalom bike. Volvo-Cannondales Brian Lopes was beaten by Yetis Nathan Rennie, who rode a true downhill bike with a slick back tire. The course was enjoyed by all riders. The Sea Otter was the first time that large teams will face off and there were no points at stake, so most downhillers were pleased that they were able to stage a downhill.
Men
1. Nathan Rennie (Yeti). Brian Lopes(Volvo/Cannondale)plus 00.7
3. Eric Carter(GT)plus 01.3
Women
1. Anne Caroline Chausson(Volvo/Cannondale) 2. Elke Brutsaert(Schwinn/Toyota)plus :07
3. Leigh Donovan(Schwinn/Toyota)plus 07.5
In the giant slalom, Volkswagen-Treks Wade Boots beat Brian Lopes to the title. Anne-Caroline Chausson destroyed everyone in her first ever Slalom race.
Men
1. Wade Bootes(Volkswagen-Trek)
2. Brian Lopes(Volvo-Cannondale)
3. Cedric Gracia(Volvo-Cannondale)
4. Dave Cullinan(Schwinn-Toyota)
Women
1. Anne-Caroline Chausson(Volvo-Cannondale)
2. Leigh Donovan(Schwinn-Toyota)
3. Cheri Elliot(Maxxis-Intense)
4. Missy Giove(Foes-Azonic)
OUTDOOR LIFE NETWORK
Outdoor Life Network is a sponsor of Sea Otter and had a large staff. They will be showing eight hours worth of racing from the Sea Otter. Bob Roll, Mercedes Gonzales, and Greg Herbold were the staff announcers. Rishi Grewal rode around the course using a helmet camera to provide a point of view. Rishi Grewal was a shadow for Laurence Leboucher during the women’s crit. This led to a lot of complaints from other media personnel about Rishi’s inability to capture Laurence (sans Risi), on her way to victory.
JULI FURTADO
Juli Furtado, the great Juli Furtado, was there to guide the ride and to promote her new line Juliana Wear, which is women’s-specific cycling wear. She shared that she has been riding quite a lot lately and is very excited about her new venture.
JOHN TOMAC Announces Retirement
John Tomac announced his retirement at the end this season at a Friday night party/press conference held at the Sea Otter Classic, Answer/Manitou tech. Although he could have retired earlier, Tomac said that he was not able to do so due to the bad luck he had last year. He wants to end racing on a positive note and with a successful season. Tomac will continue to travel to many races in 2001, but will now be the Team Tomac race director. Tomac started out as a Mountain Bike Action test rider and photo rider. He quickly became the most well-known mountain bike racer. He won many titles in cross-country, downhill, and slalom. He also won a National criterium championship for road racing. Tomac Bikes will be his main focus.
JUNIOR RIDDER OF THE WEEK MATT KELLY
This guy was leaving the junior ranks so we had to quickly get him in.
Matt Kelly, 18 years old, is the future of mountain bike in this country.
The young Wisconsin man has been racing bikes for four years and has a track record in mountain, cyclocross, and road racing. Matt started racing on the road to learn mountain biking. His mentors at U.S.A. Cycling saw his potential and tried to convince Matt to go to road racing (hoping to follow in the footsteps of Armstrong). Matt wants to concentrate full-time on elite mountain bike racing. Matt decided to cut back on his cyclocross training this season in order to be ready for the 2000 NORBA/World Cup seasons. This is a significant sacrifice, considering Matt is the defending Junior World Champion.
Matt still does some?cross, but not enough to win the Junior National Championship. Last year, his major mountain biking achievements included a 9th overall place in the cross-country race at the Big Bear, California. He also finished in NORBA National’s top ten. Additionally, he won the Mercury Tour of the Rockies hill climbing stage in Colorado, beating out Jerome Chiotty, a former World Champion. Matt has also signed a contract for the Trek-Volkswagen Team this year.
