Point One Newsfeed

CCCX #4

2012-01-24T09:06:00.000-08:00

Rain has finally brought traction to the Monterey coast! Check out 4 podiums for Team Point One Racing!

Ian Massey - 5th Pro

Ben Vickery - 3rd Expert 19-34 and 1st Chainless!

John Hauer - 2nd Pro

Full results

Special thanks to Rick Rasmussen for the photos.

CCCX #3

2012-01-10T15:00:00.000-08:00

Check out some photos of those who came out and supported Point One Racing for round #3 of the CCCX Fall/Spring series!

Christopher Lauber

Ben Vickery

James Amaral

James Amaral - Chainless Win!

Ian Massey

Full results

Special thanks to Rick Rasmussen for the photos.

VitalMTB Product Guide: Flat Pedals

2012-01-09T08:23:00.000-08:00

Vital MTB flat pedal review! Vote for your favorite flat pedal by clicking here. Make sure to pick Point One Racing.

Santa Cruzin' with Josh Maurer

2011-12-29T14:40:00.000-08:00

Take a pre-Christmas ride in Santa Cruz with Josh Maurer...

Pinkbike Video Re-wind

2011-12-21T10:46:00.000-08:00

Pinkbike Video Re-wind with Point One Racing athletes Alex Amaral, Allen Stoddard, Chris Lauber, Christian Wright, Nathan Podshadley and more. Enjoy!

CCCX Fall 2011 #2

2011-12-21T10:33:00.000-08:00

Bright blue skies draped over the Monterey Bay for round #2 of the CCCX Super-D series.

Point One Racing athletes made it on to 5 different podiums! Congratulations to all!

Pro Men:
Kiran MacKinnon - 1st
Ian Massey - 5th

Cat 1 Men 19-34:
Alex Amaral - 3rd
Peter Lucas - 4th
Ben Vickery - 5th

Cat 1 Men 55+
Mike Amaral - 1st

Cat 3 Women:
Quincey Sigona - 3rd

Chainless:
James Amaral - 3rd
Josh Maurer - 4th

Full results

New Stumpy - Jordan Lopez

2011-12-19T15:34:00.000-08:00

Hello All,

I am excited to say that my 2012 Race bike is done, it is a Specialized Stumpjumper FSR Expert Carbon EVO. Pictures weight is 25.4lbs and this includes the pedals, Reverb post and non-UST tires.

I am excited beyond words to be on this bike and after its maiden voyage this morning I am twice as motivated for the upcoming season.

I would like to thank the following sponsors for helping me build this bike:
Victory Velo Racing - Access to an Amazing Bike
PO1NT Racing - 70mm Stem
GAMUT USA - P40 Chain Retention System, 38t Race ring and hardware
ODI - Ruffian Grips
Real World Cycling - Ceramic Bottom Bracket
CrankBrothers - Mallet Pedals
Formula Brakes - The One Brakes
HBC - Ti Hardware
Honey Stinger - Energy to build

CCCX Fall 2011 #1

2011-12-12T14:05:00.000-08:00

Thanks to all those who came out and supported race #1 of the 2011/2012 CCCX Super-D series.

Alex and Jimmy Amaral shared the same second and scored 8th and 9th, respectively, in the Pro class. Ian Massey barely missed the box by almost a half second, scoring a solid 6th place.

Mike Amaral crushed 55+ expert by over 20 seconds, wow!

Newcomer Quincey "Flyin" Sigona put up a great effort for her first race. Smooth is fast. Be on the lookout for her moving to the top as points tighten up later in the series.

Full results here.

Mikey Sylvestri on Cove for 2012

2011-12-09T14:44:00.001-08:00

Thanksgiving Ride

2011-11-28T10:59:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Day ride with Epicenter Cycling in Aptos, CA.

Point One Racing athletes Josh Maurer and Ben Vickery.

Black Friday SALE

2011-11-23T12:18:00.001-08:00

4 Day SALE (Thursday-Sunday)
15% off ANY 1 product
20% off ANY 2 products
25% off ANY 3 or more products

FREE domestic freight on $200+ order
FLAT $20 international freight

Please e-mail in your orders

3 more sets of pedals left...

2011-11-14T09:57:00.000-08:00

Please e-mail if you are interested...thanks!

Santa Cruz V10 Carbon Time lapse

2011-11-10T08:25:00.000-08:00

Great time lapse build featuring Podium Pedals!

2012 Race Season Announcement - Jordan Lopez

2011-11-08T15:42:00.001-08:00

Hey Everybody,

I am very excited to announce that for the 2012 season I will be racing on the new 2012 SPECIALIZED Stumpjumper FSR Expert Carbon EVO and I could not be more excited to ride a bike that is at the forefront of bike development. The bike highlights are as follows: 142mm rear tru-axel, PF-BB30 Bottom Bracket, ISCG05 Chain Guide Mounts, Full FOX Suspension with the new RP23 AUTOSAG, and Carbon Fiber Main Triangle. There are several more “Little Things” I will be doing to this bike to make it race ready, but the stock options blow my mind. - Website

For 2012 I will be racing under the flag of the Victory Velo/SPECIALIZED Race Team. This team is located in my hometown of Auburn, CA and has a long pedigree of competing at the top level Road and Cross Country Racing. 2012 will be the first season that Victory Velo will have a dedicated and competitive All-Mountain/Super D race group. Under the direction of the shop owner and long time PRO Racer Dan Tebbs, I am extremely confident that this team will have all that it takes to be at the top. - Website

Thank you all again for your support and I am excited to see what the 2012 season has in store.

Jordan

Used Pedal Sale!

2011-11-01T09:03:00.000-07:00

We have some sets of pedals that were used during Interbike's Outdoor Demo and Outerbike in Moab.

40% off
Raw only
Please e-mail if you are interested.

The Good Life - Max Houtzager

2011-10-31T16:39:00.000-07:00

My season has been ‘over’ for a little while now after finishing off back home with a podium finish at the Howl Mountain Classic. After many weekends of nonstop travel and racing, two weeks off was a great chance to hit the reset button on my body...And then jam in my Subaru all the way up to Whistler!

I made the drive alone in two days stopping in Portland to stay with my idol photographer (legend in snowboarding, soon to be in mountain biking), Tim Zimmerman. I drove straight to a freshly redone dj park in Portland for a GT photo shoot with Eric Carter...

We feasted on sushi afterwards which was delicious, and amazing to sit next to another legend, EC. I learned a lot while devouring endless plates of sushi. Life in Whistler is obviously pretty rad, living a stone’s throw from the village/chairlift in a house with a bunch of chill Aussie’s.

Multiple dirt jump and pumptrack spots within a 5 minute pedal from my door. And trails galore. Don’t feel like riding the road or bike path? Just ride the ripping technical singletrack that’s right next to it nearly everywhere in the valley.

The ‘xc’ riding doesn’t exist by US standards, it’s all tech trail/all mountain stuff, and I could not get enough. I barely rode the same trail twice and your constantly either going steep up/down or over endless roots and rocks. Just how I like it, although coming home to fast buff trails was a nice change.

Another highlight was the Art of Flight Premiere, where I got to watch on the big screen and see all my favorite snowboard pros in person, including the all time Travis Rice.

I pretty much spend all my time riding, cooking, and eating. A lot of thinking about food and I am obsessed with some of things available (Farmer’s Market twice a week, Local Wild Salmon, Grass-Fed Buffalo, Pastured Eggs, Japanese ingredients, epic cookies).

Lots of Experimenting (Coconut Blueberry Muffins with pastured eggs and the best blueberries)

I did the last Wednesday night downhill race, Chainless on A Line with most everyone dressed up in costumes. Unfortunately I didn’t have any thing out of the ordinary to sport.

Overall actually getting to live in Whistler was quite epic, and a great beginning to my year off of training, traveling, cooking, and racing! It got a bit cold and wet towards the end and I’m stoked to be back in Cali, until it gets too wet here :)

I also got to hit up the Air Dome before leaving and stopped to shred and eat in Ashland on the way down.

BC2011 Teaser Trailer

2011-10-31T16:36:00.000-07:00

BC 2011 Teaser video from our friends Joz & Moz Zimmermann

This was a tough one. A few days ago I decided to finally sit down and have a look at all the footage that my brother Jonathan and I captured during our amazing summer in Whistler. 'Having a look at the footage' quickly turned into dragging all the files into my editing software and working my way through it. Well... I'm nowhere close to being done but here's a first glimplse at what to expect from us in the following weeks... enjoy!

Trek Session 9.9 Build

2011-09-26T12:42:00.001-07:00

If you thought the V10 was light, check out this sub 29lbs Trek Carbon Session 9.9, complete with Split-Second DM. Full ride report to follow courtesy of VitalMTB

Fanatik Santa Cruz Carbon V10

2011-09-26T12:34:00.000-07:00

Check out this beautiful 32.8lbs Santa Cruz Carbon V10 build courtesy of Fanatik Bike in WA. Click here for a full report!

Pinkbike Product Pick

2011-09-26T12:28:00.000-07:00

Pinkbike has been putting out regular product picks on what they are using and like right now. Our Podium Pedals made the cut, click on the photo to hear what they had to say.

Pinkbike Tech Tuesday

2011-09-26T11:54:00.000-07:00

Santa Cruz bikes product manager Josh Kissner runs you through some tips on keeping your VPP bikes fresh. Don't forget your Podium Pedals.

Pumptopia

2011-09-12T14:32:00.000-07:00

Writer (and rider) in the field Lee McCormack, has been putting in some pump laps on our pedals. Check out this latest video from a new pump track in Oak Creek, CO...

Recent athlete photos

2011-09-08T09:52:00.000-07:00

Some recent shots from our athletes...

Ian Massey - Northstar Pro GRT (ouch)

Jordan Lopez - Sandy, OR Super D

2011 Devinci Wilson

2011-09-07T08:29:00.000-07:00

Sicklines just posted a review of the 2011 Devinci Wilson. Choosing tier one components like our Split-Second DM and Podium Pedal, no expense was spared. Click on the Sicklines link to read the full story!

Sandy, Oregon Super D - Jordan Lopez

2011-09-06T14:31:00.000-07:00

Hey Everybody, Like many of this season, I had another great weekend of racing and growing in Oregon for the 4th and final round of the Oregon Super D Series. This weekends race was held in the town of Sandy and I must say that this venue was one of the best of the season. The “Sandy Ridge Trail System” trails are fast, fun, challenging and a rush from top to bottom and they encompassed every part of Super D/All-Mountain Racing; rock gardens, drops, table-top jumps, dozens of berms, and miles of single-track.

The course this year was a bit longer than the previous years and at 6.25 miles it was definitely one of the best courses of the season. In my race run I finished in 21:55 and with this time I finished in 11th and less than a minute out of 4th place. With hindsight being 20/20, I now see a few places where I could have pushed harder and gone for broke in my race run. This is a frustrating feeling, but I know that self-realization and self-motivation are at the core of racing.

Overall I had a amazing weekend of racing and riding in Oregon with some of the best All-Mountain racers in the country. Oregon Super D Series showed once again that they have the process of Super D/All-Mountain Racing figured out and they ran a seamless race with no hiccups and to top it all off they gave each racer their race time as they crossed the finish line. It was also great to see my teammate Lizzy English take the overall Pro Womens Title and watch my other teammates Timmy Evans Battle for the Pro Men’s #1 Plate

With the completion of the series, I am very excited to say that my final ranking for the Oregon Super D Series is 7th of 35 in the Pro Men category. With this series being one of the premiere Super D/All-Mountain events in the country and with my goal for this series being top 10, I am very happy. Now I am looking forward to improving this rank by 2 places and getting into the top 5 for the 2012 season.

With all of this being said, this race capes my 2011 season. Thanks to all my sponsors!

Sea Otter edit with Ian Massey

2011-09-05T15:41:00.001-07:00

A Backyard with a View

2011-09-05T14:05:00.000-07:00

Our friend Ian Massey has been spending time shredding the local pump tracks. Check out this article featuring him.

Photos by Jason Van Horn

Mammoth Mountain - Twilight Zone

2011-08-20T14:37:00.000-07:00

Our friend Nick Simpson spent last week up at Mammoth Mountain, CA. Check out this short video riding Twilight Zone.

Whistler video part 2

2011-08-13T17:43:00.000-07:00

Josh Maurer and Jamie Perugini are still up in Whistler riding and testing products, check out their latest video...

Oakridge, Oregon Super D - Jordan Lopez

2011-08-11T14:12:00.000-07:00

Good Morning All,

The 3rd round of the Oregon Super D Series - Oakridge is a wrap and one to look back and learn from. Going into this race I was not going to be able to race on my GIANT Trance, this was due to a mistake made at my local bike shop which caused my fork to need to be sent back to SRAM for a full rebuild. With this happening and still wanting to race, I was forced to ride and race on my Dad's Blur LTc. Mind you, this is a very nice bike, but it is a size to small and it is set up for more his style of light riding.
The race course (Alpine Trail) was one of the most aggressive and physically demanding trails of the series and of my season. With 750' of climbing and 4,000' feet of descending in just over 12.25 miles, it is a lot more up than the numbers let on. We were able to get in 1 rough practice run on Friday (I rode with car lag and was dehydrated) and 2 more on Saturday. With each practice run little issues that I knew going to affect my race run kept popping up. They were the lack of chain guide and the overall size of the bike. With each run, the chain dropped off the ring at least 3 times and at each occurrence, I had to slow down significantly and allow the chain to climb back on. The other issue was the overall size of the bike. Being almost 6'4", my normal bike size is a XL and with my Dads bike being a Large, the 90mm stem and the seat post were both to short. I was forced to compensate with my riding on the stem and put the seat up as high as it would go, which was still about an inch to short. I knew this lack in post height, would caused me to not be able to pedal efficiently up the 3 steep climbs losing valuable time in the race.

All my issues and fears came to a fruition in my race run, which started strong, but when pedaling out of a corner, I dropped the chain out and off and proceeded to go over the bars, off the bike and down a small hill. I got back up and had to pick up the bike and slowly crank chain back on. This exact situation happened again about 6 miles later in one of the flat rolling sections of the course, but in this crash I slammed my right leg, just above my knee cap into the bars and a golf ball sized welt immediately popped up on the muscle. After struggling up the last long hill, I reached he last bit of the course which is all down hill and was one of the best parts of the whole race; steep and straight. Just to make things worse about 3/4 of a mile from the finish line I got a rear flat tire (yes with stans too) in a mild rock section and because of the flat I spun out and came to a complete stop in a long sweeping corner soon after. I proceeded to limp the bike to the finish line in 14th place with a time of 49:14.

I was definitely disappointed with my race but I had yet another great weekend hanging out with friends and having the ability to race in Oregon. With every race, the Oregon Super D seems to improve and with over 116 people competing in a little town in Middle Oregon the sport of Mountain Biking and All Mountain Racing get propelled in the right direction

My next race will be the 4th and final round of the Oregon Super D Series which will be held in Sandy, Oregon September 3rd & 4th.

Summertime in Whistler

2011-08-09T11:02:00.000-07:00

Our friend Moritz Zimmermann is also up in Whistler BC, read his account from week one.

Almost a year ago my brother Jonathan and I decided to save up as much money as possible, leave our homes in Germany behind and do something awesome for once: Spend our summer in what has to be the best place in the world if you're at least somewhat interested in the sport of Mountain Biking... fast forward and here we are in Whistler, first week into our summer vacation!

In fact we arrived in the Pacific North West around 2 weeks ago since we decided to spend a few days with some friends in the US. After a long 9-hour-drive we finally made it to Whistler exactly a week ago and have been riding the park every day since. Luckily the weather has been rather nice lately so all the trails are running very fast right now... except for Una Moss which is still covered in snow. Note to self: Don't ever ride again ride a fire road covered in snow. It's simply not worth it.

Apart from the, we've been having a blast so far. The bikes are working like a charm and we haven't had any mechanicals so far (knock on wood...). When we got over here, we received a pair of shiny Podium pedals which work amazing. In fact it took me a while to get used to the outstanding grip they offer - you know that feeling when you're wearing brand new Five Tens? Finally I don't have to worry about my feet blowing off the pedals anymore. Thanks to Jimmy and the rest of the crew!

A few days ago Jonathan and I decided to spend a day shooting some pictures up on the mountain instead of riding all day long. This proved to be a rather interesting experience. Every time I head out to snap photos I'm surprised by how many factors you have to keep in mind when shooting a rider going down the hill and for the rider, constantly switching between pushing up the hill and riding down in front of the camera can be as exhausting as riding all day long. We're fairly happy with the way most of them turned out though. Keep your eyes open for some more updates in the next weeks - after all, we'll stay here for another 5 weeks... good times to be had!

Cheers from Whistler, BC
-Moritz Zimmermann

Josh Maurer - A Line, Whistler BC

2011-08-09T10:35:00.000-07:00

Josh is up in Whistler right now doing some serious product testing, it looks like he is having fun too...

Team USA

2011-08-08T09:31:00.000-07:00

Big congratulations to team athletes Curtis Keene and Christian Wright for making the USA World's team. Best of luck to them next month in Champerey, Switzerland.

Click here to read the full press release.

Crankworx Enduro DH - Max Houtzager

2011-07-29T08:41:00.000-07:00

Whistler B.C.
Junior 16-18
Result: 1st (30:26)
FOOD

Last year the Richie Rally during my pilgrimage to Whistler became my favorite race, and this year it would be replaced. The multi stage, untimed climbs/timed downhills format combined well with the amazing group of racers and unbelievable trails. This year Crankworx adopted the format utilizing Richie Schley and Brian Lopes to lay out five downhill/super d stages for the Crankworx Enduro DH.

I practiced the all the courses once, saying each stage is my favorite after each one! Some ripping fast berms and jumps and tech root sections in the bikepark, pedally flowing constantly weaving trail riding in the 'xc' labryinth of Lost Lake trails, and a fresh cut world cup dh-style trail down the Blackcomb mountain. You were begging for a downhill bike half the time and a trail bike the other half. Discovering each stage's radness with the top 10 fastest pro men (world cuppers and legends from the US, Canada, and France), I had my favorite race experience before the start!

The race started in the Whistler Bike Park, allowing use of the lifts and racing down a moderately technical (as far as bike park dh goes) pedally selection of trails 4 minutes long. I pedalled hard and felt strong, my bike felt super light, maneuverable, and quick pedaling compared to riding my big bike. I didn't hang it out too much on the tech sections but kept it clean and smooth. Stage 1 of 5 done I already had a blast doing a little dh race and then it was time to cruise to Lost Lake Park. In between you're relaxed because your not racing, stoked on the race you just did and looking forward to some more!

I loved the two stages in Lost Lake because they were technical yet trail bike appropriate and pedally, exactly what I love. For these 7 and 3 minute stages I again pedaled strong and kept it clean since any little mistakes could completely kill your flow or stop you completely. Some railing loam, rock roll ins, and flowing roots/rocks and then it was already time to hit the biggest climb to the start of stage 4 on Blackcomb. 3 races in my legs = definitely starting to tire!

This was actually my favorite stage for sure. A solid 20-30 minute grinding fireroad climb to the start of an 8 minute dh stage, with one little climby fireroad section thrown in at the last 30%. The trail seemed fresh cut nearly the whole way down, making some sweet rocky rooty loam that never let up. And only after a brief time of rock roll ins with flat weaving sections between at the top you were going straight down. With out interruption. Everyone said this was the most technical portion, and had the top pros scratching their heads for lines to ride on their all mountain race rigs. I was totally on it bombing down in control getting loose just enough. A bunch of the pro men I knew were posted on the gnarliest section cheering me on (waiting for their starts). Halfway down it became hard to keep it together as my whole body was super fatigued, but I kept on it, reminding myself to really focus. Then it was pedal as hard as possible for under a minute, and ride slalom corners through the woods and flat ski run turns for the last 25% to the finish. This was my fastest stage relative to everyone else for sure.

We found out what position our combined times put us in our respective fields before the final stage, which was the longest stage, in the bike park again, and web-casted live! I was leading, but unaware by how much. I knew my competition was stronger on the downhill bike stuff, so really wanted to make it down mechanical free (my bike was definitely too light for the more dh stages) but still fast enough to keep my lead. I gave it my all to still pedal my eyeballs out where I could and go fast yet keep it together through all the roots, rocks and corners. After only about 1/4 of the run my arms and hands were dying as I held on for dear life on the steep rock slabs and tight rooty switchbacks of the Lower Whistler Downhill trail.

I definitely wished for more pedaling to give me more of an advantage, especially since there was a lot of recovery time between stages with waiting for staging / each individual start time. It was such a cool experience and being on a live webcast is pretty sweet to! You really had to give it in every stage unaware of the times. I was stoked on how I rode, the fastest in my category in every stage but the first one, however my time did not stack up in the pro field so I definitely need to hang it out a lot more to get up there and know I can.

E.T. Crankworx Pump Track

2011-07-26T17:02:00.000-07:00

Great shot of Evan Turpen competing on the Pump Track at Crankworx.

Split-Second 90

2011-07-26T16:59:00.000-07:00

Available now in both black anodized and raw aluminum!

Team Camp: Downieville and Nationals - Max Houtzager

2011-07-26T16:51:00.000-07:00

Downieville Classic XC
Downieville, CA
Jr Expert 13-18
Teammates: Dario Fredrick, Will Curtis, Will Patterson, Nick Newcomb, Lucas Newcomb, Eliel Antila, Jonathan Kauffman, Taylor Smith
FOOD

Result: 1st (1:44)
After an awesome race last year I was looking forward to this event quite a bit. I underestimated the climb after feeling good on our preride and doing well last year, and had high expectations coming in more prepared. The climb was sustained and hot. I started in the top 5 on the road which was sweet and then settled into a decent pace on the dirt dropping back just a bit but began to lose positions halfway up the climb-mostly to all of the guys on our team (Lucas, Taylor, Nick, Riley) doing just the xc! I knew I had to ride my own race and not think about them. The top of the climb was super gratifying and Julia helpfully told me Taylor had 1.5 minutes on me, leading from our team.

Finding out how far ahead Taylor was got me super stoked because I knew I had the entire 50 minute descent to catch him on my all mountain steed! This gave me extra motivation to really kill the dh. I definitely got the flow on Butcher and kept my speed through all the technical rock sections, and then killed the waterfall section! A bunch of spectators cheered and it was quite epic. I caught Lucas in the middle and Taylor at the end of 3rd Divide and was incredibly stoked to come across the line first junior in both the XC and All Mountain categories, with a time putting me top 15 in the all mountain pro category (I only did top 20 last year).

Downieville Classic DH
Jr Expert 13-18
Result: 2nd (41:51)

The awesome part of racing Downieville in the All Mountain Category is once your done with the climb in the xc, you get to look forward to the most fun nearly hour long descent. Twice! First in the xc mixing it up with lots of other riders and keeping a moderate race pace on all the pedaling sections given you already climbed 3000 feet and then again in the downhill race, absolutely killing yourself to pedal all out at every chance you get for 45 minutes. At the finish of my downhill run I can easily say it was just as hard as the grueling xc.

I did just that as this year although I led the junior all mountain category by 5 minutes in the xc, a new points system meant that I had to finish stronger in the dh than 2nd place in order to win. And that was the goal after getting the All Mountain World Champion title two years in a row and $2300 Easton Haven Carbon Wheels on the line as a prize. Unfortunately I didn't have the run of my life. Although I found my flow and cleaned the waterfall in the xc, I wasn't quite able to do so in the dh. My front wheel slipped in the waterfall section, and then I slipped again getting up. My chain wouldn't go back on for 30+ cranks or ~10 seconds of trail afterwards. Before and after that I just wasn't that fast on Butcher. I knew at this point my run was probably over if Mason Bond (Giant Northstar, 2nd in the xc) had a clean run, so all I could do was pedal my eyeballs out and hope he had errors or didn't go that fast. I did just that, but unfortunately he had the run of his life, which is a really good one considering he lives an hour away from the course. His time placed 7th in Pro, right behind endurance downhill phenom Nathan Riddle. I was still stoked on my time, which was the second fastest expert time, and would have placed in the top 15 in pro and (I only did top 30 last year). In the end I still went pretty fast, rode pretty well, and am stoked to be moving up in the pro field for next year! Definitely wish I could have won the all mountain again but Mason put in a solid downhill (pts tie goes to the downhiller) with a blazing fast time (just over a minute faster)!

Nationals XC
Sun Valley, Idaho
Cat 1 17-18
Teammates: Keegan Swenson, Taylor Smith, Eliel Antilla, Tony Smith, Bobby Zidek
Result: 4th, 1:17 (52)

Combining ~10 consecutive weekends of racing/travel and all my training (and acclimation camp) with worlds qualification on the line for this race, there was a lot of pressure. The course was somewhat of a let down, but had pros and cons for me. The 8 minute sustained and steep gravel fire road climb was great while the non technical descent was not. With Howard Grotts and Keegan Swenson racing, as long as they kept a pulse a 3rd place was my best bet. Between my competition from Norcal, the AZ Devo kids, Casey Williams (Big Bear, CA) and Ryan Standish (US Citizen from Australia), and some more rocky mountain states kids, this would not come easy.

I thought they'd call up at least the top 10 ranked riders, but they did top 5, which did not even include Keegan with 3 pro xct's wins. I luckily weaseled my way in from the back to 2nd or 3rd row. I was nervous, but thought about how much worse it was at the world cup in Germany or the Swiss Power Cup, and that helped a lot. I clipped in quick and pedaled well off the line. I saw an opening on the far right side and decided to go for it instead of sprinting in the pack to get into position for the climb. There was a reason that it was clear... I began to slip and made every effort to stay upright and not slip out and was able to do so,but during this effort I dropped back to mid pack, and then there was a ball up and the running began. I had to run (somewhere in the last 5 riders) for at least 50 feet due to the steep loose road making it tough to get back on. I killed myself to get up to the front, making it nearly into the top 15.

At this point I basically tapped out and chilled behind the two riders in front of me on the descent. I thought I had no chance of a decent result, just looking forward to super d practice and the race being over. I recovered on the flat planning to just hit the climb hard again. Julia told me Taylor was a minute ahead. I felt good on the climb and went all out from the bottom, picking off more and more riders, stoked to see a lot of my originally threatening competition end up behind me. I passed Taylor and Will Patterson just before the top of the climb with Casey in sight.

The third climb was definitely the hardest as I wanted to catch Casey more than ever. I could see the gap shrinking and that he slowed down a lot at the last steep up previously so I gave it everything I had. After standing out of the saddle for the entire middle portion of the climb before the hardest steep ending, I did everything I could to stay up right as I made it up to right next to him. He had to get off and walk due to his 1x10 and then was running next to me at my same pace! I absolutely could not go any faster and this was really frustrating as we were on the fringe of the descent but the time it took him to get back on gave me a 15 second gap hitting the downhill.

Unfortunately, I rode the descent like a total nancy and he caught me half way down, hot on my heels, eager but not able to pass. We raced together through the flats and I could tell I felt stronger. I wanted to get a comfortable gap so went all out but in control up the climb knowing if I blew up, slipped out, or had to walk the top section I'd be in trouble. I got a pretty solid gap as I looked down and threw down, and ended up seeing Cypress (AZ Devo) in third up ahead! He had ~30 seconds on me so there was no way I could make it to him, with only half the climb left. I hit the downhill slightly better but still not the fastest and just made sure to hold it together to the finish, stoked to have worked my way up to fourth (1 minute down from 3rd, 30 seconds ahead of 5th).

I'm super happy with how I rode given my weak ability on the downhill and mess up at the start, and even more so to have made the podium in cat 17-18 nationals! Although the course was sub par I definitely had fun jumping the wooden fly over and surprisingly also riding through the parking lot rock garden. Everyone on the team absolutely killed it yet again and I'm glad to have been a part of all the success.

Nationals Super D
Sun Valley, Idaho
Cat 1 17-18
Teammates: Taylor Smith?
Result: 7th, 21:41 (56)

USA Cycling finally got the super d format right. Individual time trial starts with 30 second intervals and a course longer than 5 minutes. Unfortunately for me the course consisted off balls out fast fireroad and singletrack after a 350 foot 5 minute climb. I decided to lighten up my all mountain bike to feel more comfortable on all the super high speed loose slippery singletrack and blown out corners, instead of racing my xc bike.

I started behind Mason Bond (beat me in Downieviile DH by a minute) and in front of Taylor. I was gaining on Mason fast on the climb expecting to pass but after I closed the gap from 30 to ~10 seconds I couldn't get him. Just before the single track Taylor caught me on his epic and dropped in before me. Since he was clearly more comfortable on the course in practice I figured this would be great to follow his lines/speeds. Not so much. It ended up super sketchy following race pace blindly in the dust and trying to pull passes on the same rider traffic, only second. It also wasn't conducive to a fast time trial run since he could go all out where he was strong making up time on me but I couldn't push it where I was more confident. So much for the all mountain rig! I was pretty much able to hold onto his wheel until the start of the xc downhill where he gradually opened up another 30 seconds on me to the finish. It was pretty sweet to race almost the entire time with my teammate, ripping down the mountain. Enough excuses though, the competition was strong and I need to learn how to ride fast trails faster! I'm still pleased with another top 10 at nationals in a competitive field and my time was still quick enough to win all the other expert categories! Everyone from Whole Athlete killed the super d, especially Bobby and Taylor, getting 2nd and 3rd respectively. Time to train on some more fast Novato trails!

BEFORE these races as part of the Tahoe portion of the camp we also did a race in Reno. Here it goes:

Peavine Challenge XC
Reno, NV
Cat 1 19-39
Teammates: Dario Fredrick, Will Curtis, Will Patterson, Bobby Zidek, Nick Newcomb
Result: 1st

Preriding the day before I was convinced I wasn't even going to race. The heat, elevation, fatigue from previous training, and long non-punchy course led me to think I would maybe do the minimum 1.5 lap junior race. Prepping for the race with the team and knowing I'd be ripping it up with them beforehand got me amped enough to sign up for the grueling 2 lap Cat 1/Pro race (didn't really want to start 4th w lap traffic).

'm stoked on my decision as the course ended up being pretty fun at race pace especially with everyone else out there giving it. It seemed like a total road race as I settled into a pace with Dario, Will Curtis, and Clint Claussen and made it my goal to stick with them up the gradual yet never ending climb. I dug super deep and the dry air/elevation really struck during this time but I was stoked to make it. They opened up a gap and then I pretty much rode on my own for the rest of the race, getting passed by Gregg Stone and Don Myrah.

Riding the fast flowy single track through the meadows at the bottom as light on my bike as a cat was awesome as was the last bermed out techy gully section. I felt strong the whole time and hit the climb the second time pretty hard, ending up passing Dario in the process since he was having a few issues. The race was solid training and confidence inspiring going into Downieville and nationals given i'll only be more acclimated by then. Everyone killed it out there in the long hard race!

A Season Kickstart with Christian Wright

2011-07-18T10:51:00.000-07:00

Mikey Sylvestri - Northstar Summer 2011

2011-07-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

Also, a 1st place finish at last weekend's Northstar race...

Downieville All-Mountain Race Recap - Jordan Lopez

2011-07-12T16:26:00.000-07:00

Hey Everybody,
All I can say is - "WOW...I'm glad that's over".
"The Downieville All Mountain Classic" is a race unlike any other and it tests every rider differently, but tests you none the less.
In climbing over 3250' in 20 miles on day one, riding through several rivers, mud pits and descending through snow drifts and loose rocks and waterfall...Downieville has it all.

XC:
Up until this point and with my season being primarily up in Oregon for the Oregon Super D Series and other Southern Oregon events, my training has been focused primarily on intervals and keeping a high pace for 25-40min. With this being said and with the Downieville XC being 1hour & 50min long (first hour is climbing), this race worked me over. I was ill prepared for this climb and I know that my race run this and the following day suffered for it. I finished in 36th overall for the day, but I knew the following day would be my saving grace.

DH:
The downhill course for 2011 was significantly shortened, 17miles to 14miles, due to a high snow volume on Sunrise Trail, and the course was a bit slower than previous years. This lack of speed was due to the myriad of issues previously mentioned. In my race run my focus was to try and stay smooth and get over and through the rough sections that were ending other riders runs. I had one good "get off" in a shale section on "1st divide" where the bike came to a stop and I jumped over the bars and ran down the hill. I finished the race in 22nd place overall with a time of 42:33.7. There were section on the course where I could have gone faster and pushed harder, but my desire to finish the race in one piece superseded my desire to go faster.

All Mountain Finishes:
XC - 36th
DH - 22nd

I want to thank you all for your support and products that have gotten me to this mid-point in the season:
PO1NT Stem - 90mm stem was perfect for the long climbs and rolling flats
Honey Stinger - Gave me the nutrition and quick energy I needed pre, during and post race
GAMUT USA - Guided my Chain and Protected my Drive system from the millions of rocks that were out to kill it
Enduro Fork Seals - Kept my forks, pivots and shock working smooth and consistent through all the grime and mud
ODI Grips - Kept my hands on the grips through the jarring of the dissents
CrankBrothers - Easy access into and out of the pedals through the mud sections and my wheels never bent or slowed down
Monster Energy - Helped me get back up and feel some semblance or normal after the abuses of each days race
Formula Brakes - Helped me control my speed and never faded at any point of the race

I now have a few week off before my next race, Oregon Super D #3 - Oakridge, and during this time I will continue to put in the necessary work to keep me near the top of the finish board

Thank you all again

2012 Stumpjumper Carbon EVO

2011-07-12T15:41:00.000-07:00

Check out Curtis Keene put some proper testing on our Podium Pedals as he rides the new Specialized Stumpjumper...

Bend, Oregon Super D - Jordan Lopez

2011-07-06T12:41:00.000-07:00

What a great weekend in Bend Oregon for the second round of the Oregon Super D Series and North American Enduro Series

Pre Race: We arrived in Bend Oregon mid-day on Friday and we were able to work in and through 3 good practice runs and 3 more on Saturday. The 7.7 mile long course consisted of dozens of sandy loose berm’s, flat sweeping turns, rock drops, rock jumps, rollers, and 100 vertical feet or so of climbing. All in all the course was in short a “pedal fest”; where the rider was pedaling 95% of the race, both up and down the hills.

Race Day: I was the 7th racer off of the morning and my run went well, minus 3 severely blown corners in which I came to a complete stop and lost my all important momentum. I ended up finishing the race in 7th Place with time of 26:07. Just to show the level of competition present for this series of races, 2nd place through 10th place were all within a minute of each other and for races of this length, this is unheard of. Yet again I had an amazing time racing in the Oregon Super D Series and I now look forward to the Downieville Classic where I will be racing in the “PRO Men All Mountain”.

Into Summer: Ashland and Wisconsin - Max Houtzager

2011-06-30T08:59:00.000-07:00

I love ashland. Like last year, it gives me the first real taste of summer. The nice weather + re familiarization of some of the raddest trails ever combo works perfectly. There's also a large portion of the industry gathered making it cool to see, meet, and ride with so many different faces (the most stoked pro field with top endurance downhillers, downhillers, marathon xc riders, world cup xc riders, and more). Add in some of my favorite places to eat and awesome prizes and you get a truly great time.

This event was new to me since they skipped it last year. I couldn't use my xc fitness to win. The course was fast turny drifty double track that rides like singletrack with some tech rocks/massive ruts near the end. There were a lot of shin to waist high water bars / rollers to manual, jump, or suck up to keep and generate more speed which were super fun. Since most of it wasn't too steep any errors would be detrimental. Dialing in your lines/position/speed was essential to hit the sweeping turns fast without drifting too much. It's a total mind game between not over-braking or blowing corners, ruining your run completely. Some sections feel super slow without pedaling, which is unstressful as far as racing goes yet annoying while you must keep your head in the game. I had a clean run, nothing super loose or amazing but it was enough for a pretty fast time! loved pumping like crazy, tucking, and just riding as smooth as possible. I ended up 6 seconds faster than second place!

Ashland Mountain Challenge
Ashland, OR
Junior Men Open 13-18 (25)
Result: 1st (37:42)

Mostly remembering the pedaly nature of the course made me completely forget about the awesome downhill sections. From railing the upper loam to sliding sandy banked switchbacks around trees and some doubles in between at the bottom, with pumping some high speed Third Divide type flow in between, it's impossible to not have a blast.

I mainly killed myself up the main 4 minute climb and rode smooth is fast on the downhills. I definitely made fewer mistakes than last year and ended up with a clean but fast run (just not really what will get me a competitive time in the pro field). I did start to get a bit excited/rowdy on the bottom corners, trying to really get my roost on. I drifted completely around one of the last sandy switchbacks, hearing tons of sand and rocks thrown off the trail a second later. Easily the highlight of my race as it was like making one of the best powder slashes in snowboarding or off the tops surfing. Thinking about it still makes me smile.

I finished ~1 minute up from second place. Almost backing out of the trip to let my back heal faster in preparation for the big races ahead, I'm super stoked I went ahead with it. I even got a Rockshox Lyrik fork for the Super D and Elixir 9 Brakes for the Chainless Race! I look forward to returning next year and working my way up in the pro field.

Subaru Mt Morris Pro XCT
Mt Morris Nordic Ski Area, WI
Cat 1 17-18 (17 and 130 Cat 1's)
Teammates: none
Result: 3rd
FOOD HERE

Even beyond the race my whole experience on this trip was nothing less than amazing, from staying with team specialized in a kick ass house on a lake to riding an epic course. After some gnarly unfortunate travels (not that bad when your with awesome super knowledgeable Specialized USA Marketing Manager Sean Estes) I was a bit burned going into it but once I got to the front after a bottlenecked massive cat 1 field (thought juniors would get first call up like last year so missed the front line) I began duking it out the entire race- totally rad.

I lost a lot of time in the first wooded single track section from the ball ups, but did successfully work my way up in the field pretty fast given (far from my first time with this). I also fortunately discovered the most technical section of the course followed by sweet fast and flowy singletrack during the race, which added a lot to the tight twisty tacky east coast singletrack course. The third junior I caught was Ryan Standish (Merida Flight Centre, USA World Cup Team member and 3 time Ozzy Champ) at the top of the climb on lap 1 and then Payson McElveen early in lap 2.

The course was pretty hard to give it with few real climbing sections and short flats you had to really focus at any chance to pedal and use all those efforts to add up to a fast time. I wasn't quite by myself with other cat 1's yet not quite up there with Casey Williams (2nd, Bear Valley Bikes) and Brendon (Ellsworth Jeep, African Continental Champ) either making this nature of the course even harder. It was still sick having guys on my heals at every second. That's fun bike racing!

I even got paid for 3rd place overall in cat 1! Congrats to Casey for an awesome ride and Brendon Davids as well because he is really cool.

I'm glad with my performance and another consistent result. Can't wait to train in Tahoe, shred Downieville, and kill it at nationals!

Sol Vista Triple DHip

2011-06-21T17:29:00.001-07:00

Great shots of Mikey Sylvestri at last weekend's Sol Vista Triple DHip. He managed an impressive win on Friday's first round. Scoring a 4th place overall!

Ashland Mountain Challenge - Jordan Lopez

2011-06-21T13:52:00.000-07:00

Yet again, The Ashland Mountain Challenge was a huge success for the All-Mountain racing and definitely pushed the movement in the right direction and towards a greater popularity. With almost 400 racers, both men and women racing in all categories on the 12.12 mile course, the weekend could only be seen as a success.
I was able to get up to Ashland on Thursday Morning and after 3 practice runs and 1 more on Friday I felt very comfortable and confident for my race on Saturday.
My start time was bright and early Saturday Morning and at 8:20am the top of Mt Ashland was a brisk 48 deg. My run went good with no major bobbles or blown corners. In looking back, I would have like to run a 40t ring (I was topped out on both of the fire roads), but I stupidly left it at home.

I am very excited to say that I finished my race run in 35:59 which placed me into 19th place out of 67 PRO Men and overall. To show how tight the competition is at this race; 7th through 19th place were all in the 35 minute mark. For a race of this length of time and distance, this grouping is incredible.

I would like to specifically say thank you to Real World Cycling for the amazing pivot bearings, enduro fork seals, and suspension linkage bearings they sent out to me. My bike felt amazing all weekend and it was more responsive than ever.
A huge thanks is definitely necessary to Wild Bill and his lovely wife Sue at Ashland Mountain Adventures for another amazing event and for all of your hard work, it really paid off – http://ashmtnadv.com/

Fast Yeti

2011-06-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

Couple photos of Brian's beautiful Yeti, happy new customer.

Family Rides

2011-06-17T16:41:00.000-07:00

We always like doing our group rides, it gives us a great time to not only continue to test our products, but also to enjoy being in the presence of family. Here are a few recent ones from Santa Cruz and Morro Bay.

Skyline XC - Max Houtzager

2011-06-17T16:36:00.000-07:00

Skyline Park, Napa CA
Cat 1 19-39 (35)
Teammates: Tony Smith, Dario Fredrick, Bobby Zidek
Result: 2nd
FOOD

I wasn't sure about this race. I just got back from Europe, had high school graduation/graduation parties, a rest week, and a packed 6 weekends of racing/travel ahead. I've experienced this race once before, attempting to race singlespeed but DNF'ing from a mechanical (had to break the curse). The course is too epic to pass up, so I made every effort to get my back/hip feeling better from my crash in Switzerland on Sunday. I'd ridden easy all week with out the pain getting worse, but it by no means felt good or even ok and was unsure it wouldn't get worse going race pace. The race turned out to be successful and worth it in every single way! I felt my ailments for sure but they didn't hold me back too much. Two treatments and some Rock Taping by the team doctor Sara Lemarch made all the difference!

had a solid start after a long warm up doing half a lap of the course with Dario, which seemed like too much at the time. I was stoked to ride in the top 3 with Mark Weir (WTB-Cannondale-Fox) and Dario, but then settled into the top 10 behind Mark. I haven't raced against all the regional pros in the field this year so didn't know where I stood nor how i'd fair in my longest race of the year yet so Mark's pace seemed solid.

Riding his lines and speed on the first descent was definitely a highlight for my race! I soon remembered that he was riding a trail bike, beefier tires, and a dropper post so rode a bit more with in my control. I passed him on a short climb and then he flatted following my lines (he let me know later), which left me pretty much alone. My plan/goal to pace off him was short lived.

The technical rocky sections were a blast although I mostly just rode smooth is fast with in my ability, which I was fine with given how fun it was and that I really didn't feel like hanging it out after eating it last weekend. I was surprisingly ready for lap 3 to get to ride more of the epic course!

I was stoked that everyone in the top 10 was fast at descending so I never got held up except for minor lap traffic. My rear tire seemed flat on lap 2 so I nursed it to some degree but in the end it was fine. I caught glimpses of Will Curtis at the top of some climbs and could tell I was getting closer on them so really wanted to catch him (also because he's an amazing super fast rider). I wasn't fast enough on the downhills on lap 2 and made a huge effort on lap 3 to catch him, but he started having a stronger lap as well. I did catch Kevin Smallman (Cannondale-Incycle) in the process, so duked it out with him for most of lap 3.

I finally dialed in the descents at this point (forced to since Kevin was on a trailbike). After I got in front of him I knew getting small gaps on the climbs wouldn't be enough especially with the lap traffic. I finally pulled away running faster on a hike a bike section and rode smooth is fast to the finish (still hoping to catch Curtis but not seeing him).

I ended up 6th overall and 2.5 minutes off the winner which I'm totally stoked on given the stacked pro/expert field and places/ways where I can make up time. Nice job to Dario and Tony for going 1-2 and absolutely killing it!

Leogang World Cup

2011-06-17T16:28:00.000-07:00

Great shot of Curtis Keene at last weekend's Leogang World Cup. Podium Pedals perform at the highest level of competition.

US Open - Evan Turpen

2011-06-17T16:22:00.000-07:00

Better late then never I say...One of these days I'll be on top of this whole "blogging" thing.

After racing in Plattekill, New York, PJ and I headed back to Jersey (Hoboken to be exact) so that he could go back to work and I could kill time between races.

Coming from a small town in Northern California, life in a densely populated city was pretty overwhelming for me. Luckily I had brought two bikes along with me (my TR450 and Double) so I had a short travel bike to mess around on to remain sane.

The weekdays before the U.S. Open were mostly spent recovering, catching up on the internet and laundry, and dialing in of bikes. I did venture out a few times for rides in and around Hoboken. Since there was almost no dirt and definitely no mountains nearby, I improvised. I scoured the streets looking for anything to bunny-hop over, jump off of, or slide around on. I eventually settled on this cool little area under a bridge where there were raised sections of cobbles forming rollers in the street. I started pumping and jumping off of them and eventually had a little course going complete with a rutted cutty berm. This was the most fun I had in a long time in Hoboken, but man I miss the trails back home!

One of the days (following the suggestion of my girlfriend) I went on a Manhattan journey. PJ let me borrow his around town beater bike which after some major mechanical love I deemed safe for my solo city mission. I rode it to the PATH (Jersey/New York transit train) and took the PATH train all the way to 33rd in Manhattan.

As much as I thought Hoboken was culture shock, New York was 10 times as much! I have never seen so many people and cars packed in to an urban area in my life! So crazy! Riding a bike here was hectic as could be! There were no bike lanes (for the most part) and what seemed like no consistency with the flow of traffic. I looked to other cyclist for guidance by following there methods of travel. Still not much consistency there, but it sure was better than what I would have done on my own.

From 33rd I took a journey up to Times Square just to see it then up further to central park. Central park was cool, green, and alive with the energy of those wanting to escape the madness of the city. All it needed was a pump-track and some dirt jumps under the trees and it would be complete! I got lost in the park riding all over and enjoying the lack of traffic and noise until my phone rang, bringing me back to reality. It was a massage therapist that I had tried to schedule an appointment with, but she had been out of the office. She said if I was around that she could fit me in to her schedule within the next half-hour. I told her where I was and she gave me directions to her business.

I managed to make it to her massage studio six stories up in the heart of Manhattan in a timely fashion. $145 later I was shocked and questioned the benefit of massaging my messed up shoulder. Oh well...what's done was done and it was time to head back to Jersey.

Once Thursday rolled around I was excited to hit the road again headed out to the U.S. Open for the weekend. The U.S. Open has always been one of my favorite events and I've had some good results there in the past. This year the course had been changed drastically and to be honest I didn't really care much for its new flow (or lack of). Regardless, it was still a good track and the weather for the first time was hot without much threat of rain (a welcome change compared to the other East Coast races).

My practice sessions here were pretty strange. I never seemed to get that many runs and I was always stopping and starting. I never managed a full run until qualifying Saturday and that didn't go so well. I clipped a pedal hard and blew both feet off entering the first main woods section. I tried to regain my composure but for some reason struggled to get my feet back on in the exact right spot. Maybe the thousands of rocks I was riding through were to blame! Eventually I would find my flow (sort of) and qualify 27th out of roughly 150. Not bad, but not good either.

Once Sunday rolled around I still didn't really feel prepared for the finals. I had some mistakes and line changes in practice right up until the end (something I don't normally do). Feeling a little nervous before finals due to my lack of preparation, I had a beer with Nick from Shimano to calm my nerves. It must have helped cause I only made one mistake costing me a tiny bit of time and eventually finished 18th, 3.74 seconds off of top ten and 8.78 seconds off podium. Not too bad given the circumstances.

Overall it has been a fun trip, but I will definitely plan my East Coast travels better in the future. It is looking like I am short on funds at the moment so unfortunately I will be staying home to work instead of racing Mont-Saint-Anne and Windham World Cups. Bummer! But I'll be back racing soon enough...

Happy Trails,

Evan

Offenburg World Cup + Euro Camp - Max Houtzager

2011-06-06T08:47:00.000-07:00

Offenburg, Germany
Junior Men (126 starters)
Teammates: Keegan Swenson (USA-Cypress Gorry, Ryan Geiger, Casey Williams, Tyler Coplea)
Result: 88th

Pre-riding with former-Olympian Adam Craig was incredible. Following his playful yet aggressive riding style made me feel super dialed on the technical sections and really got my trail mojo flowing. I couldn't stop saying how I've never had more fun on an XC course than a proper super d or downhill track. It is in a park nestled in the city of Offenburg yet weaves and switches between wine country hills and dense European forest. The short punchy climbs follow with downhills consisting of high speed flowing single track, a couple drops/chutes (very west Marin, thank you WA team rides!) and built up bermed sections on mostly tacky hard pack dirt with some roots thrown in for good measure. There was nothing beyond technical, but this was definitely the kind of course I've been itching to get on all year! Although my teammate Tyler fractured his collarbone in the 'Snake Pit' section, I could not be more excited to race.

Between warming up on the road next to every country's fastest juniors (in their national team skinsuits, including some fierce looking junior women) who did the most intense focused openers, to lining up in the 6th starting box back mid-pack in the largest most competitive field ever (all the riders that attend worlds and then some, the most attended world cup), you could say I was pretty nervous. Despite my strongest start of the season and not horrible starting position, I couldn't get to the front half before the first climb which led to participation in a massive ball-up. Thus, all the USA juniors but Keegan ran the entire first climb, and nearly the rest of the climbs on lap 1. When things sorted out slightly after the mess, I started lap 2 last American.

I took my hardest individual effort/attack from every other race this year and did the same thing, but on every single climb. It seemed ridiculous crossing the start line after only 1 lap pedaling like I was in a sprint finish. You had to constantly balance making the most aggressive passes of your life without errors or wasting energy, at the same time brain-dead from turning yourself inside out. On all the downhills I'd usually catch up and get stuck behind some Euros which got pretty annoying, although I was able to pull some pretty gnarly passes (like passing twice on the inside of a right hand turn into the steep drop to G-Out berm dubbed the 'World Class Drop'). I was totally stoked on how I rode (especially compared to the Euros on downhills) all around and learned a lot about how to race at this level. In the end I was only 10 minutes off the leader which isn't too bad given all the running on lap 1 and traffic later on that the front group did not deal with what so ever (shown in lap times). A rider finished no more than every 10 seconds and I worked my way up to 3rd American (11 seconds off 2nd, stuck behind a Euro for the entire last downhill on the last lap as I closed the gap)! Keegan totally killed it as well despite some unfortunate mishaps and I can't wait to do some more world cups (especially the less attended). The results show lap times, and my fastest lap was 60th fastest out of the whole field(which isn’t too bad for a world cup and being forced to go slow on a lot of the downhills)!

Ft. Bill - Curtis Keene bike check

2011-06-03T17:31:00.000-07:00

Ft. William World Cup #2 this weekend! Check out Keene's bike...

Whistler Snow

2011-06-01T10:51:00.000-07:00

Tavish Capewell from Royal Racing just sent these over, check out how high the snow walls are in Whistler! Also Infinite DM stem in action...

Hood River, Oregon Super D - Jordan Lopez

2011-06-01T10:05:00.000-07:00

What a Memorial Day weekend: drove 1200 miles in 19 hours over a 3 day period and raced in one of the toughest Super D’s I have participated in.

Practice:
The first practice run on Saturday morning was wet and wild; the course had several “buttery” mud sections, boulders covered in mud and the top half of the course was hidden in a rain cloud. After this run, I and many of the racers decided to take a break for a few hours and let the course dry out. 3 hours later when I did my second run the course had completely changed and had dried out significantly. Many of the buttery mud sections were dry and the course in general was significantly faster. I then proceeded to take another practice run and again the course was even faster and now all of the mud was dry.

Race:
I was the 13th racer on course and as I went down my legs felt good and I was excited for the race. In the rock section at the top of the course, I got off my line and I almost had a “yard sale”, luckily I was able to save it and continue on. At the hill climb, my legs felt good at the base and as I topped the hill I was breathing hard but not deterred. Yet, from this point my run began to fall apart. I lost the front tire in a tight steep section of the course and I crashed off the bike down a steep hill. I then had to climb back up to my bike and try to get my flow back for the steep sections that followed. Finally, as I neared the finish line, I pushed to hard into a wet berm and lost the front tire again, going down onto my side and losing the much needed momentum for the last flat sections of the course.

With my two crashes, my finishing time was 24:13 which was off the top guys and put me into 13th place in the PRO Men Category and 15th overall.
Yet, with the disappointment of a poor race run, I still had a great weekend with friends and I was able to ride on some amazing terrain in Northern Oregon. Also, thanks to a good friend, a couple of items were revealed to me about my race training and prep which I now am working on and I am excited to see these correction to fruition.
Thank you all again for your support and sponsorship and I now look forward to the Ashland Super D and a little retribution

Highland/Plattekill/US Open

2011-05-31T17:04:00.000-07:00

The last 3 weekends have been busy with two Pro GRT races, and of course the US Open. Check out some shots of Evan Turpen and Curtis Keene.

Curtis placed an impressive 4th place at both Highland and Plattekill PRO GRT races!

Evan placed 10th overall at the US Open Giant Slalom, and 18th in Pro DH.

Plattekill Pro GRT - Evan Turpen

2011-05-31T11:15:00.000-07:00

Last Friday my buddy PJ and I hit the road headed for Plattekill, New York. This would be the third stop of USA Cycling's Pro GRT (gravity tour).

The weekend before we had raced stop #2 in New Hampshire at Highland mountain bike park. Unfortunately there I crashed in the muddy finals and finished a disappointing 26th place.

Needless to say, I was motivated to improve upon this result and aimed to crack into the top ten, if not top five at this race. A bold goal based off of my last weekend's result, but one I thought to be attainable given the right circumstance.

After roughly a three hour drive from PJ's house in Hoboken, New Jersey we finally arrived at our destination, the middle of nowhere. As much as I thought Highland was way out in the boonies, Plattekill is 100 times more. Although Plattekill lacks in location, it more than makes up for in tradition. This place has been around for ages!

A trip into the base lodge alone is indicator enough. It is old and rickety from many years of use and has the feeling and smell of an old log cabin. Upon entering myself for the race the young girl processing my credit card asks me if I have been here before. I replied "nope, this is my first time". Wrong answer. She then explains that I have to watch an instructional safety video about riding in Plattekill before I can finish my registration. She sets me up on a TV nearby and presses play on the DVD player. The next five minutes or so was some of the most hilarious, boring, and wasteful minutes of my life.

The video was a culmination of riding footage from the early 90's that was supposed to instruct me on how to ride my bicycle safely at Plattekill mountain. Without it, I'm not quite sure what I would have done! It taught me how to use my brakes, look ahead, and even tackle nasty obstacles such as the "water-bar". Once that painful video was over, I completed my registration and got on the lift for practice as soon as I was ready.

The lift here may very well have been from 30 years ago...It sure looked that way to me. Despite the old non-detachable triple chair, their lift setup was dialed. They ran the lift about as fast as possible to load and unload bikes and they had a dedicated load/unload person for your bike at the top and bottom. Once at the top you have to pretty much run off the lift to not get whacked in the butt, but I'd rather do this than have a painfully slow lift.

First run down the track was fully blind, as in I had not walked the course previously. It started off with fairly flat and pedally singletrack littered with roots and rocks. The kind of stuff that keeps you on your toes and trying not to clip your pedals. After what seemed like a minute of this traversing, the course took a nice right turn down the fall-line of the mountain and things immediately got gnarly. Big rocks and drops, whooped out muddy rutted sections, and berms that had you struggling to line up for with the extra speed. This stuff was sick!

After these epically cool sections, again the course traversed real flat for probably 30-45 seconds. One more cool technical section then spit out onto yet again another flat, pedally traverse into a big curved wall-ride to the finish. Overall the course was really fun to ride. I LOVED the steeper more technical sections. It was like a playground for me. So much fun!

After four practice runs the sky opened up with consistent rain and lightning shutting down the lift and practice. About an hour later the rain let up but practice was no longer. I decided to be productive and hike up and down the 1,100 foot vertical race course searching for lines.

That night PJ and I went out to dinner in nearby Roxbury, New York and on the way back we stopped by the world famous "Delta House". The Delta House is a wannabe fraternity house that is a staple of the Plattekill ski resort. Beers, booze, card games, motorcycles, bonfires, fireworks, and barbeques. The house is a mecca for entertainment! Around midnight we finally succumb to the days events and went to bed in our luxurious accommodations (PJ's GMC Safari van).

The next morning was a ridiculously long practice session followed by qualifying. I had a decent qualifying run, but couldn't seem to carry good speed through all of the flat traverses. The track was a lot more pedally than I had first thought and I am not in the best of racing shape at the moment. I would end up qualifying in 25th place which was a disappointment. I knew though that there was lots of time to be shaved by pedaling harder on the flat sections so I didn't feel too bad.

After a nice dip in a nearby swimming hole, we again went out to dinner in Roxbury. This time we avoided the Delta House on the way back and got some good sleep for race day.

Race day practice was long, but I only did two practice runs to make sure I didn't wear myself out. Come race run I felt ready to give it my all. The start beeps went off and I sprinted like hell into the first section. Pedaling hard into the first jump, my shifting skipped and I went off the jump with only one foot on the pedals! I put my other foot on in the air, landed, and tried to recover, but I was riding on my heel into the first flat section. I somehow got my foot back in the right spot soon after, but lost some speed for the first flat.

Once into the steeps it was like my run finally started to pick up speed. It felt so good ripping the steep, technical, rough bits. Again into a flat section and this time I tried to maintain my speed, but struggled. Then back to the steeps and I was loving it only to be spit out into the last long pedaling section where I gave it my all. I hit the last wall-ride/corner and almost collapsed from the G-forces and fatigue. I crossed the line in third place with 25 more riders left to go.

In the end I finished 20th place about five seconds off of top ten and seven seconds off of podium. Disappointed with the result, but stoked with how I rode the technical bits, another race weekend was in the books. Trek World Racing's Aaron Gwin took the win with a 2:39.4 and I finished 12.3 seconds off of him with a 2:51.7.

Next up is the U.S. Open in Vernon, New Jersey this coming weekend. I'm looking forward to racing on this more consistently technical track and improving further. I'm also going to make a conscious effort to document a lot better by taking more pictures. I apologize for the lack of photos this time!

More words soon from the road...

Cheers,

Evan

Ca State Championships HS XC - Max Houtzager

2011-05-17T08:45:00.000-07:00

CA State Champs HS XC
Los Olivos, CA
Varsity Boys (40)
Teammates: Bobby Zidek, Eliel Antilla, Sven Beer and Taylor Smith
Result: 4th
Food HERE

A happy bike racer is a fast bike racer.

I was stoked that the 'State Champ' title was on the line, however a quick preride changed things. As this super competitive race determines the High School Series State Champion while the less-attended Napa Skyline XC determines the USA Cycling State Champion, the extremely non-technical windy course we faced made me inclined to say the Napa title is more worthy. I was glad I did the Rockhopper last weekend, because the course was similar physically, yet had every fun and challenging technical aspect this course didn't. A long loop of singletrack and fireroad through rolling dry wine country hills, just chunkier, more blind corners, and no trees or rocks.

The least charged, yet also least stressed i've ever been going into a race, I followed Tobin off the line and tried to hold onto his powerful wheel. I dropped back a bit at first confident I wouldn't lose the front group but soon struggling as the group split. I was in 8th place or so and feeling pretty negative, and saw bad visions of even dropping out since there wasn't much motivation to ride the course beyond duking it out for a top spot. I knew from past experience I'd be proud to come back strong and make up some positions so I stayed with it. I just had to ride my own race and keep it together, proceeding to do so with Spence Peterson, and Jacob Albrecht. We'd have to work together roady style through the windy flats to bridge up to the front group, so tried to share the work a bit, but it was no use. This probably distracted from simply hanging it all out there. We caught Jimmy Winne and then Cody Phillips on lap 3. On lap 4 I finally fully opened myself up, attacking harder than ever before on the steep climb.

I really dug deep and put the hammer down, gapping Jacob (we had dropped the rest) and keeping the gas on all the way to the finish. (as shown by my last lap time, despite the most traffic of any lap)

I'm stoked for Tobin on his Varsity Win (and title) as well as Noral taking it and Taylor / Casey Williams going 2-3. Tobin and Taylor were super strong out there today which is awesome and I can't wait to race with Casey in Europe (next Tuesday)! Also really glad I was able to pull out a solid varsity result, keeping my season consistent with all podium finishes! It's also good to know i've got plenty of room for improvement and look forward to really making some more big gains! Next time here I’ll be writing from Germany!

2011 Spring Thaw XC & DH - Jordan Lopez

2011-05-17T08:43:00.000-07:00

What a Great weekend it was in Ashland Oregon for the 20th annual Spring Thaw Classic at which I was able to race in both the PRO Men XC and DH.

The XC consisted of 22 miles with 4800′ of fire road climbing and ripping single track dissents. With the course being dry, race started fast and immediately lead into the initial climb which lasted almost 45 minutes. I was feeling good at this point but this is where the true XC racers created their distance from me. After the first dissent and as we made our was back up the climb, I felt refreshed and this is where I got my second wind. I passed 6 of my fellow PRO racers on the climb and once the single track dissent started I walked away from them. I finished up in 15th in the PRO men category and 15th of overall. I am very pleased with this result and I had a blast mixing it up with the guys with 1.9″ tires and spandex

The DH was a different story in that the face of the trail completely changed from practice to the day of the race. Throughout practice it was that a consensus among the riders that the track never felt faster; yet as the day progressed the rain clouds began to form over the surrounding mountains. As we drove to the top of the hill on the morning of the race it had not only been raining all night, but snow actually began to fall, so a track that was dry and fast became wet and slippery. With this many of the fast lines through sections became slippery and traction went from phenomenal to marginal at best. On my race run as I entered the small rock garden at the top of the course and as I was exiting I clipped a rock with my drive side pedal which launched me up and the back end of my bike to the left. I landed on my front wheel and as I looked up I saw that I was heading into the crowd of spectators along the left hand side of the track. I quickly turned the handle bars right and I barely made it behind a woman and back onto the course and off down the track. From this point of near death, I just had the thought to calm down and just finish the race in one piece. I took it easy through the slick sections and really pushed the flat and the hill climb at the end. I ended up in 13th in the PRO Men category and 13th of 200 overall. With racing XC the day before and with the conditions as wet as they were, I am very happy with this finish and my overall results.

A huge thanks again to Joe and Zoe at Echelon Events and the amazing races they put on and promote.

I now look forward to the first race of the Oregon Super D Series in Hood River on May 28th & 29th

Santa Cruz with Josh Maurer

2011-05-03T16:54:00.000-07:00

Josh putting some testing in on the new Infinite DM, available soon!

Photos by Beau Saunders

Norcal HS Race #5 Boggs - Max Houtzager

2011-05-03T16:51:00.000-07:00

Norcal HS Race #5 Boggs Mountain Classic
Boggs Mountain near Cobb, CA
Varsity Boys (35)
Teammates: Bobby Zidek, Eliel Antilla, Sven Beer and Taylor Smith
Result: 2nd

Food Consumed!

My form seemed off and on before the race. I had been training well but struggled to recover with a slight cold, coughing a fair amount, yet had little stress going into the race and seemed to have good legs. I haven't seen much good luck at Bogg's with double flatting and being pretty sick each time before, but pre-riding the day before for a rad course with some rocks and little to no drafting / road tactics kept me happy. I had a blast flowing through the endless sweeping singletrack filled with loamy corners, ups and downs.

My poor starting position thanks to still not having call up only lost me a bit of energy sprinting like mad at the start in the wilderness next to the fireroad to get up front. Into the first singletrack I got 5th wheel knowing all the guys in front of me could descend fast enough, but soon realized I still wasn't really ok with not leading or riding in 2nd, so didn't let that happen for the rest of the race. I ended up setting the pace and leading most of the downhills for the majority of the first half of the race, although evidently I should of done so even more. Bryan and I dropped the rest of the lead group off and on, and I was stoked when it was just us because we absolutely ripped the course.

Starting lap 3 it was just us and Spence, who I had no idea was with us until he decided to pull from the feed zone to the first singletrack. I was stoked to see him having such good form compared to before (and for the pull). I dropped into the singletrack before him and we got a small gap on Bryan but he latched back on pretty quick.

Bryan and I dropped Spence on the main fireroad climb due to my gnarly attack (dug deep!). I strung Bryan out a bit doing this which I was proud of because until then it seemed like he was in complete control. Bryan got ahead into the final singletrack on the lap. He had just tried to make a really sketchy pass that I would not allow because it was totally unsafe and could have led to both of our demises. A bit later he aggressively passed two riders weaving off the trail to the right of one rider and then in between them and to the left of the second, forcing me to do the same in order to not get dropped. The decisive 4th lap was close but this riding was kind of annoying since things were not yet imminent. Then he passed another rider who moved just shortly enough for Bryan to pass, forcing me to try to pass him on a tiny slippery soft patch of trail in order to not get dropped while Bryan rode a frantic semi-attacking pace. My bars clipped the riders hip and I saved my self from crashing, my bike drifting sideways, unclipping a foot, and dropping my chain, which I got back on without too much trouble. I was then able to pass the rider while Bryan passed two more that then wouldn't let me pass easily just before two switchbacks before the chicanes and the start of lap 4, giving him about a 20 second gap to start the final lap. I proceeded to ride the final lap strong but mostly just solid, knowing that if I tried to catch him my eyes would probably pop out of my head. It was cool to be neck and neck for so long but kind of a bummer to have another race mostly determined but uncontrollable factor, yet I'm still stoked with how I rode and even more so with 2nd in the overall in spite of missing a race.

"X Gon Give it To Ya"

2011-04-29T09:06:00.000-07:00

Check out athlete John Hauer in the X-Fusion video "X Gon Give it To Ya"

Part 1

Part 2

2011 Sea Otter Classic!

2011-04-27T11:14:00.001-07:00

The Sea Otter Classic wrapped up last week and Point One Racing athletes had some outstanding results in the downhill! Check out those who made the top 10!

Curtis Keene - 2:18.3 (8th place Pro Men)
Brad Benedict - 2:20.7
Mikey Sylvestri - 2:21.7
Evan Turpen - 2:24.4
Ian Massey - 2:25.1
John Hauer - 2:25.9
Peter Lucas - 2:26.2 (1st place Cat 1 19-24)
Alex Amaral - 2:27.1 (3rd place Cat 1 19-24)
Ben Vickery - 2:29.3 (2nd place Cat 1 25-29)
Christian Wright - 2:29.5
Allen Stoddard - 2:29.6
Jimmy Amaral - 2:33.4 (5th place Cat 1 25-29)
Patrick Tidd - 2:38.1 (10th place Cat 1 40-49)
Nick Simpson - 2:40.7
Josh Maurer - 2:51.7 (missed time on start due to mechanical)
Tim Lukko - 3:00.7

Here are just a handful of photos of our fellow racers and friends:

Evan Turpen

Tim Lukko

Allen Stoddard

Nick Simpson

Josh Maurer

Jimmy Amaral

Ian Massey

John Hauer

Christian Wright

Brad Benedict

Ben Vickery

Alex Amaral

Special thanks to Rick Rasmussen for the photos!

Brad Benedict bike check

2011-04-27T11:13:00.000-07:00

Sub 33 pound Specialized Demo 8 complete with Podium Pedals!

Curtis Keene bike check

2011-04-27T11:12:00.000-07:00

Curtis Keene prototype Demo 8 complete with Podium Pedals.Check it out here!

Sea Otter Classic Pro XCT - Max Houtzager

2011-04-20T08:29:00.000-07:00

Sea Otter 4 years ago was my first race ever (Sport 14 and under Downhill). I’ve been every year since to compete in downhill and once in slalom, but never made the podium. Really focusing on XC this year and a little burned on the ‘reworked’ pedal fest dh course, I decided to just do the XC for the first time at my 5th Sea Otter. I was stoked Juniors only had to do one lap, making it so I’d never experience the even harder near marathon xc version of the race! I also couldn’t wait to spend another amazing couple days living, eating, and riding with the Whole Athlete Specialized Team at a sweet house in Pacific Grove.

Pro XCT #3 Sea Otter Classic
Laguna Seca, Monterey, CA
Cat 1 17-18 (28 plus 13 Cat 1 15-16's)

Teammates: Keegan Swenson, Tony Smith, Lucas Newcomb, Johnathan Kaufman, Bobby Zidek, Eliel Antilla, Sven Beer and Taylor Smith

Result: 3rd
Food Consumed Here!

I knew this race would be tough. Either from the 2nd most stacked junior field besides nationals (just missing 1 or 2 fast CO kids), or the 20 mi/ 3700 feet of climbing with no lack of steep loose fireroad pitches. We began on a half lap of the Laguna Seca Race Track roady style, mountain bikers in a peloton, no one wanting to pull. The first person to go down due to sketchy half attacks and maneuvers was right next to me. With my lack of road experience I just followed Keegan as best I could trusting that'd put me in a good position once off the track.

I was stoked as Keegan, one other and I led on the dirt. I thought the brutal pace couldn't last long but it did, and as I couldn't hold on and needed to keep it together I gave up a few positions, while Keegan did the opposite and proceeded with his usual alien-pace ahead of the field on the steep climbs ahead. I again didn't want my Fontana start, so I sacrificed riding 110% on the steep slippery climbs for a few positions, putting me somewhere around 8th. I really wanted to get on the box with my teammates again and knew I could, but at this point had no idea it would happen in the end. My bad position only proved annoying once on the first 'mildly entertaining singletrack' as the rider who ironically was slowing Taylor and I down previously referred to it. I got around him once there was room as it started climbing and tore myself apart to catch the next group. I never had it easy during the seemingly long, hot race.

Halfway through on the third steep fireroad climb (two consecutive steep pitches) I put down the most painful attack on the group of 4 (AZ Devo kids and SoCal 15-16 winner Shane) I was in, which gave me enough of a gap to pass some one-speeders ahead before the next singletrack descent. I blasted the S-turns and woops, stoked on roosting flowy sandy corners while growing my gap. Soon after tucking on the next road section, the same kids bridged up to me. Great. I barely hung on during the windy flat fireroad section back towards the venue, aware that if I got dropped I'd be done for. I managed and duked it out the entire next single track climb with them, starting to lead at the top and finally opening a gap on the final singletrack climb in the 'jungle'. But it was far from over.

I saw them on my tail for a while, and then hit the last fireroad section, discovering I was in third! Incredibly stoked, I wanted to celebrate. It was just as gratifying as ripping the singletrack descent earlier on, however I looked at my Garmin and saw over 1000 feet of climbing left. On an open fireroad with a huge cross wind. This death climb seemed to last forever and made the rest of my race a love-hate relationship, ecstatic about my place but wanting the end so badly. And afraid of getting caught by the group working together. The final singletrack into the venue felt amazing, and crossing the line seeing Keegan and Tony topped it all off.

This race was huge for me given it's my best finish in a stacked xc field yet, but what really satisfied was sweeping the podium with my teammates. Making two in a row at a Pro XCT after Fontana! Also finally podiuming at Sea Otter, after 4 years of being one place away in downhill/slalom, the first race I ever entered.

I spent all day Saturday watching the rest of the team in the Pro race, as well as cruising the pits and talking to pretty much everyone I know in the cycling world. Awesome to see so many faces and catch up for sure. I even got to meet and have a chat with Mike Sinyard of Specialized! I came home on Saturday night so that I could really get a good ride in today, and boy was it worth it. There’s nothing like a celebratory 4 hour all mountain ride on the trusty Enduro. I hit all the burliest trails and steepest climbs I know! Totally worth skipping the dh race. I wouldn’t mind doing more of these rides at all, I’d been missing all those rocks and ruts.

Jacksonville Super D - Jordan Lopez

2011-04-18T07:25:00.000-07:00

Here is a brief recap of my time at the Jacksonville Super D Weekend in Jacksonville Oregon. Arrived in Jacksonville Friday afternoon and was able to get one run top to bottom on last seasons super d course. But, this course had an added 3 miles of track on it and I was interested on checking it out. The new section consisted of fast dissents and tough hill climbs which would have been fun in optimum conditions…but there was snow on the course and dozens of very long/deep mud puddles that completely soaked the rider and the equipment only a mile into the ride.

Race 1 The next day, after speaking with the race promoter, it was decided that the new section would not be included in this years race. So, with this good news, all of the racers went up the hill to get in more practice runs on the final course. In the race, I went off 2nd and after the brutal hill climb and false flat (these sections determined the race) I was descending fast through the fun/fast part of the course. All of a sudden and without any warning, my front tire went flat and threw me over the bars and into a berry bush thorns and all. Lucky for me the landing was soft and all I got from it was some scratches on my legs and a few bruises. I then proceeded to get up and run next to my bike for 2.5 miles through the finish line, completing the race and finishing in 4th of 7. Note: the 2 of the 3 other racers behind me also flatted but did not finish.

Race 2 After 2 practice runs down the decomposed granite/sandy “moto trail” race course we all queue’d up and were ready to race. I went down the course and felt strong on the multiple climbs but my legs felt weak on the snappy sprints and there were a couple of times where I needed to pedal and I was not. I finished the race in 5th of 8 but only 25 seconds outside of 1st (Race Run Time – 12:20) Overall – 4th In the end, I had a great weekend and I am thankful for the opportunity to race at a event where I can see where I stand on preparation for the season and what aspects of my training I need to improve on before the All-Mountain season really kicks into high gear next month Thanks again to all of my amazing sponsors, I really do appreciate all of your support and amazing products.

Pro Grt #1 - Port Angeles, WA

2011-04-13T21:54:00.001-07:00

Pro GRT is back for 2011! Round #1 kicked off at Port Angeles, WA with sunny skies for practice, but rain during the race runs. Point One Racing's Curtis Keene nabbed an awesome 10th place qualifier. Fan favorite Christian Wright got a podium spot, big congratulations to him!

Full results

Credit: Allout Productions

10th in qualifying, 11th in the overall!

Christian Wright on his way to a podium finish.

Norcal HS Race #4 Laguna Seca Grand Prix - Max Houtzager

2011-04-11T14:05:00.000-07:00

Norcal HS Race #4 Laguna Seca Grand Prix
Laguna Seca, Monterey, CA
Varsity Boys (~40)
Teammates: Bobby Zidek, Eliel Antilla, Sven Beer and Taylor Smith
Result: 2nd

I felt pretty prepared/stress free going into the race, despite no call up or any course experience. In fact, I didn't know where the start or course location was until I finished my warm up. Didn't hurt me too much though, lining up 30 minutes early (20min before the delay) so I could get an awesome 4th row spot...

The course impressed as far as Norcal goes, but still nothing to write home about (for my taste). The physical aspect was solid: 2700 feet in 17mi (Fontana was 2700 in 14mi) total. The descent offered a well built section in the beginning; solid berms and rollers made some nice flow. The rest was just fast mildly sweeping single track and fireroad, off the brakes and go (and tuck from all the wind). None of my favorite rocks, mountains, or anything you can't ride on a CX bike. A 29er hardtail course for sure.

I started in 15th and went balls out with everyone immediately grabbing 7th into the singletrack climb and 1st descent. As Bryan Duke got 1st wheel on the decent and the group started to separate 2 places in front of me, he started his gap. Passing opportunities on the course- at least on the first half- were minimal so by the time I reached the lead group of three Bryan had 40 seconds on us, in sight, but not bridgeable unless he slowed down. After my mistakes freaking out and really going for it on lap one at Fontana, I knew I had to keep it together without blowing up in hopes of a solid 2nd. I caught Taylor and Tobin Ortenblad at the end of lap 1, and continued to battle it out with them until lap 3.5 where I opened up a small gap, which slowly grew to the finish, 1 minute behind Bryan and 1 minute ahead of Tobin. From the start, to bridging up to Taylor, to staying with Taylor (dropped me on lap 2 a few times) and then riding away, the race was hard. I foresaw a top 10, then 5, and thankfully 2nd in the end. My final lap was almost equal to my first, thanks to the vision of possibly coming back from the dead to see Bryan, but no thanks to no sight of him and my ok gap on 3rd (ended up 15 seconds faster than Bryan's last lap!).

I'm stoked on my super hard effort and solid result. Can't wait for Sea Otter and then Boggs where I may get a call up and ride some more technical yet passable courses!

March Road Trip - Christian Wright

2011-04-11T13:59:00.000-07:00

Pro XCT #2 Fontana City National - Max Houtzager

2011-03-31T09:07:00.000-07:00

Pro XCT #2 Fontana City National
Fontana, CA
Cat 1 17-18 (total field of ~20)
Teammates: Bobby Zidek, Tony Smith, Keegan Swenson
Result: 3rd

After the long drive including some lovely LA traffic, the new descent on the course stoked me out of my mind. Finally a real mountain bike race! After climbing up the 'wall', riding the the rocky-twisty-tacky downhill in a death train with all my teammates left me hooting and hollering (corny but true) down the course. The park no longer presented a sandy, dusty race infamous for the Fontana-lung in the middle of suburbia that I remember from two years ago in Cat 2. The rest of the descents offered flowy railable berms. I initially started well with the front group ready to kill it, but unclipped on the first corner, followed by bobbling with my pedals in the wet conditions. Dropping back in the field, I knew it would be vital to get to the front before becoming the caboose of a slow singletrack train, however this only led me to frantically try and make up positions and then bobble with my pedals again on an inside corner pass, really dropping back to last place. I then used a ton of energy to make passes and recover time from people's mistakes in front of me, but proceeded to make more errors on my favorite downhill. The field went fast on lap 1, and so it seemed crucial to go all out, however this only led me to race in a hasty, stressed manner which was not the fast. Of course thoughts of finishing horribly crossed my mind, but I knew that spot on the box beside my teammates was mine. After that descent I realized I had to get it together and ride 98% instead of 110% (mostly mentally not physically). I wouldn't let go in order to work my way up into 4th after passing the final AZ Devo rider Tyler Coplea, with Casey Williams and the 15-16 leader in my sights. It felt like it an eternity to catch them, but I saw the gap narrowing, and once I passed them I had every intention of making my gap as large as possible. Besides railing the downhills where you could actually recover and still enjoy them, this aspect of the race was thrilling, constantly duking it out with riders as I gave it my all to catch them and then keep them off my ass. I also want to mention how awesome it was when people from other categories were friendly and got out of the way quickly. It seriously made my day every time I could actually race my best and rip it up not impeded by other riders, so a big thanks to them. Seeing Tony and Keegan kill it ahead of the field up the wall on lap 1 looked killer, and I'm bummed I couldn't be there with them (the whole field between us...). The race could have gone better given the beginning, yet I learned valuable lessons about my strength compared to/what the field is like Pro XCT's and keeping it together/solid, and am super proud I was able to hold on and claw my way up to 3rd from last place, only 1.5 minutes from Tony. Can't wait to get faster and race with (hopefully next to) my teammates at the next big race! And get to more super fun gnarly courses! My S Works Epic absolutely destroyed the course too. The suspension felt like a trail bike when necessary fully using all the travel, yet I ran the brain fully on front and rear making it a road bike with my stiff carbon wheels when sprinting and pumping through corners. Straight up phenomenal.

Mikey Sylvestri Bike Check

2011-03-29T07:23:00.000-07:00

Check out Mikey's new Demo 8, complete with Podium Pedals.

Raw DM - Satisfied Customer

2011-03-29T07:21:00.001-07:00

Check out our Split-Second DM, now available in beautiful raw aluminum! Thanks Johnnie for sending in this photo.

Prep mountain biking: Talented Redwood rider keeps busy competing, studying, writing, working and cooking

2011-03-21T21:01:00.000-07:00

Max Houtzager was recently featured in an article for the Marin Independent Journal. Please click here to read the full story!

Brian Buell at SolVista Bike Park

2011-03-14T12:11:00.001-07:00

Oldie but a goodie. Brian Buell of Team Geronimo at SolVista Bike Park last Fall.

Intense 951 test bike for sale!

2011-03-14T08:48:00.000-07:00

Our custom Intense 951 test bike is for sale! Size is a medium. Frame is less than a year old, just received NEW paint job, stickers, cables/housing and bearings (no rides on it). Bike is in pristine condition, super lite (33-34 lbs) and ready to ride! $3,999 obo. Please contact info@pointoneracing.com if you are interested.

Point One Racing Split-Second DM 50mm
Point One Racing Podium Pedals
Fox 40RC2
Fox DHX RC4
Ti bolts throughout the bike
K9 +/- 2 headset cups
SDG carbon post and saddle
Kenda single-ply tires
Gamut P30 chainguide
Dura-Ace derailleur
Ti Dura-Ace cassette
Shimano Saint Cranks
Shimano XTR Brakes
Stan's Flow rims with Hadley hubs (plus brand new rim)
Gravity bars - 30" width
KMC chain

Norcal HS #1 Granite bay WIN - Max Houtzager

2011-03-14T08:27:00.000-07:00

Norcal HS Race #1

Folsom, Granite Bay, CA

Varsity Boys (~35)

Teammates: Bobby Zidek, Eliel Antilla, Sven Beer and Taylor Smith

Result: 1st

Testing out new Carbon Rovals on Saturday got me stoked for this race. They feel way lighter, AND are noticeably stiffer, so shralping Tenderfoot (even with wet roots and 1.9 Renegade race tires), I confidently high posted tech sections, drops, and corners like never before, taking some high lines I only occasionally attempt on my Enduro, and equally fast. If only the race could of been on a mountain with technical downhill...

I knew the competition would be much more fierce with the entire league present, but luckily had 1st call up, so the start ended up the complete opposite of the last race.

Everyone seemed to learn from last time that it's hard to go all out for four whole laps, and no one wanted to pull, so the pace was gruelingly slow. Thus, I followed Taylor for lap one, riding a comfortable pace with the whole field behind us. We were just shredding corners on our Epics like last time! Except this time all the rocks were on the uphills since it was the same course run backwards. I really didn't want to work hard unless attacking for the finish, and also didn't want to waste energy trying to catch back up to the leader if other people made mistakes in front of me, so I made sure to stay in 2nd the entire race until the end. So I did just that as Bryan Duke led the remainder of the race for the majority of the time, throwing little baby attacks every now on then, mostly on the same downhills. I knew he wasn't working hard and is capable of a truly impressive performance coming off a CCCX win in the pro field a few weeks ago. The race was pretty weird as it wasn't super hard physically until the end, but the mental aspect killed the whole time, knowing that at any moment anyone could take the win. I also partially rode downhills like a total nancy, keeping it clean but wasting energy playing catch up, which wasn't very reassuring for what would soon take place on the critical final lap. Plus I felt pretty tired/low energy on lap 3, since we weren't going hard, similar to when your body warms down on a ride when stopped or finishing, but knew I'd have to open it up soon so really had to focus my energy.

Things did heat up slightly on the final lap with some solid attacks by Bryan. I planned to attack on a certain climb with a 1/4 lap left, but ~ 5 minutes before on one of the 3 lightly technical climbs Bryan's bike mis-shifted during an attack, so I took the opportunity and made my move early. I did my best to turn myself inside out to the finish, worried that I went too early and would just be reeled back in by the lead group with the semi windy straight road sections, or simply by Bryan Duke. It ended up successful as I held a solid 20 second gap to the finish!

Stoked on my first real varsity race and first varsity race win. Also, on lap 3 our lead group of 6 had to ride an entire road section slower than 2 MPH due to the evacuation of two other Varsity Riders' crash. Best wishes to Eliel and Jeff (Shen?), get well soon. And of course AMAZING job to everyone on our team racing today! We really took the top spots all over the place!

Go-Ride Intense M9 build

2011-03-13T12:25:00.000-07:00

Awesome Intense M9 build from the guys over at Go-Ride.com. Complete with our raw Podium Pedals, available now for purchase!

Josh Maurer - Daily Shot

2011-03-11T08:35:00.000-08:00

Another VitalMTB daily shot for Point One Racing. This time it is Josh Maurer riding in Santa Cruz, CA...

Fontana Winter Series Round 5

2011-03-11T08:33:00.000-08:00

Fontana Winter Series is done. Enjoy these shots of Allen Stoddard on his way to score some points in the pro class.

Photos by Mike Lord

Results

Evan Turpen Rides Transition

2011-03-06T20:22:00.000-08:00

Norcal HS Prologue WIN - Max Houtzager

2011-02-28T12:06:00.000-08:00

Folsom, Granite Bay, CA

Varsity Boys (~25-30?)

Teammates: Bobby Zidek, Eliel Antilla, Sven Beer and Taylor Smith

Result: 1st

I came into this race with low expectations and some doubt. First Varsity race and I was sick the entire two weeks prior, barley getting healthy with clear breathing and sinuses after a hard first lap. I started at the back, literally in 2nd to last place after the gun, figuring it wouldn't be impossible to get to the front, where I could then at least got a top ten for a good start once the real racing begins. The whole field went really hard for the first half lap, which I spent the first half of trying to bridge up to the lead five, pushing all out just to do so. I thought it was going to be like another Balboa World Champs with the Whole Athlete-Specialized Team experience: Crazy hard from the get go and never letting up leaving me at the back to the end. Fortunately, I was up against mortals this time so it wasn't.

Finally I did, and then there were 3: Taylor Smith (Whole Athlete-Specialized), Bjorn Fox (Above Category, fresh from CX Worlds), and I.

Bjorn ran out of gas on lap two so I led with Taylor. We were just ripping single track like a really fast team ride! I'd break into a sick two wheel drift on one of the many flowing tacky corners, and we'd get amped and push even harder. Too much fun. I rode away in the beginning of lap three and time trial-ed/rode smooth is fast to the finish ending with a 3.5 minute gap! And Taylor came second, Bobby 4th! There's nothing like shredding corners in the woods as fast as you can and getting solid results.

Especially on the sickest bike ever! Losing 1.5 pounds going to race tires and pedals made my bike come alive like none other. So nimble and maneuverable, yet still stiff and efficient. I knew trying out my race set up on muddy Tamarancho the day before that if there was something holding me back in the race it would definitely not be my bike. XX shifting was dialed as I dropped/added gears 3 at a time out of every corner, or short up and down, and 1.9 S Works Renegades hook up amazing for 400g and I want to run them for every race this year that's not insanely rocky!

I really wanted to see where all my training and preparation put me amongst the competition, and am totally stoked on the win! It's a super motivating way to start the season and really reaffirms everything I've been doing to train and prepare!

Fontana Winter Series Round 4

2011-02-23T08:43:00.000-08:00

Round 4 of the Fontana Winter Series is in the books. Our local heroes John Hauer and Ben Vickery made the trip down and brought back some good results! 1st place in expert men for Mr. Vickery!

Photos by Mike Lord

Full results

California Snow?

2011-02-23T07:12:00.000-08:00

These are just in! Soquel, CA Demonstration Forest. Thanks to Jamie MacMahan.

Jordan Lopez in Outside Magazine

2011-02-22T11:31:00.000-08:00

Jordan Lopez featured in the March 2011 Edition of Outside Magazine - pg 55. The picture is an advertisement for the city of Monterey and is of the running start of the infamous Sea Otter Pro Men Super D held at Laguna Seca Raceway.

Allen Stoddard edit

2011-02-22T11:30:00.000-08:00

Allen Stoddard doing some riding in Monterey, CA,

Courtesy of Brian Damschen

MTB Gear Tech Pedal Review

2011-02-17T09:37:00.000-08:00

MTBGearTech did an initial review on our Podium pedals, please click on the photo to read the whole article. Thanks guys!

Peter Lucas

2011-02-17T09:16:00.000-08:00

Our friend Peter Lucas just uploaded some new photos of his bike, nice!

Urban Downhill at Santos, Brazil

2011-02-17T09:04:00.000-08:00

Descida das Escadas de Santos! Emmeline Ragot with an impressive 2nd place finish by less than 1/2 of a second!

Masculino:
1º Mario Jarrin (Equador) - 1.00.801
2º Cedric Gracia (França) - 1.01.406
3º Djone Fornari (Brasil) - 1.10.452
4º Cris Van Dine (Estados Unidos) - 1.32.103
5º Gabriel Oliveira (Brasil) - s/ tempo

Feminino:
1ª Luana Oliveira (Brasil) - 1.09.559
2ª Emmeline Ragot (França) - 1.09.900
3ª Bruna Ulrich (Brasil) - 1.11.659
4ª Melissa Buhl (Estados Unidos) - 1.16.451
5ª Fionn Griffits (Grã-Bretanha) - 1.15.454

The Graveyard

2011-02-14T11:41:00.000-08:00

Max Houtzager spent the weekend dirt jumping in the Graveyard. Mill Valley, CA.

VitalMTB Daily Shot

2011-02-12T20:30:00.001-08:00

Another VitalMTB Daily shot for Point One Racing. This time it is Christian Wright destroying a berm at Sol Vista in Colorado.

Photo by Long Nyguen

Fogelsodes

2011-02-11T17:08:00.000-08:00

Check out some recent Jack Fogelquist episodes featuring Point One Racing athletes Christian Wright and Allen Stoddard.

A Ride At The Auburn Ravine with Christian Wright

2011-02-02T08:10:00.000-08:00

Christian Wright - A Day At The Trails

2011-01-29T08:53:00.000-08:00

VitalMTB Daily Shot

2011-01-26T10:40:00.000-08:00

VitalMTB has been doing a daily shot and today is more Josh Kern photography with Allen Stoddard.

Josh Kern photography

2011-01-25T15:06:00.000-08:00

Here is some Josh Kern photography with Allen Stoddard at the Carlmont Hills in Belmont, CA.

Photos by Josh Kern

Hello 2011! - Josh Maurer

2011-01-25T14:43:00.000-08:00

First post on here for 2011! I have some new things in the works for the new year, first off, I have a new sponsor I am VERY excited to announce. Hinde Chiropractic Center in Scotts Valley. They have helped in the recovery in all of my major injuries in the last couple years and I am very happy to add them to my list of sponsors. Dr. Aaron Hinde is great with athletes and I have had a ton of success with his help.

I also got a couple photos back from my photoshoot with Pat Branch. Check them out! Photo 1, 2, 3...

On another note, I broke my wrist on Christmas Eve this year doing a ride for fun with my friend. Thankfully my wife was waiting at the bottom to bring me to the ER. I just got the cast off last week and I am not doing some physical therapy and soon some cold laser therapy thanks to Hinde Chiropractic. I am hoping to be back on a bike in 3-4 more weeks.

(if you don't see your logo on here, I need more stickers!)

More updates to come soon.

Tentense

2011-01-25T14:38:00.000-08:00

Nice pedals on this Intense M9!

More Happy Customers

2011-01-24T22:25:00.000-08:00

Some more satisfied Podium Pedal customers. A father and son out of Connecticut.

"This household ONLY uses Podiums for lift bikes. Your product is THE BEST."

Twenty10 Photo Journal

2011-01-24T22:23:00.000-08:00

Check out Tony Tarumoto's 2010 photo journal featuring Point One Racing athlete Allen Stoddard.

Cody Eichhorn Bike Check

2011-01-20T10:59:00.000-08:00