Tracy Moseley Announces T-Mo Racing

Tracy Moseley, the 2011 downhill World Cup champion and 2010 downhill World Champion, will be refocusing her racing efforts in 2012 under the T-Mo Racing banner. The Trek-sponsored rider will expand her racing calendar to include a variety of race formats next year.

Having begun her racing career in the early 1990s, downhill became Tracy’s speciality, although she has always enjoyed mixing up her mountain biking. Going forward, Tracy will return to her multi-discipline roots and will participate in several races in 2012, including World Cup downhill events, Pro Sprint Eliminator races, and a special focus on enduros.

“After 12 years on the World Cup downhill circuit and the achievement of all the goals I set for myself, I felt that the end of 2011 was a perfect opportunity to make a change in direction and pursue some new challenges,” said Tracy. “I would like to extend my thanks to Trek World Racing and everyone working behind the scenes at Trek for the most successful three years of my career to date. That support has allowed me to attain both a World Championship title and a World Cup title. I look forward to continuing my relationship with Trek as both an athlete and ambassador, as I pursue new ventures,” she added.

With support from Trek, Tracy’s new objective is to elevate her profile as an all-round mountain bike athlete. She has set goals to finish in podium positions across all of her planned races, and to gain points for World Championship selection in both cross country Pro Sprint, and downhill. She will have a variety of bikes from the Trek quiver to choose from, including a Session 9.9 and Slash, as she pursues her new aims. “We are delighted to keep Tracy within the Trek family,” said Trek UK’s Marketing Manager Andrew Griffin. “Her successful career and outstanding reputation made furthering the relationship an easy decision to make. We look forward to supporting the shift in her racing career,” he added.

2012 RockyRoads UCI MTB Logo

RockyRoads Network, the new title sponsor of the UCI Mountain bike World Cup, along with the organizers of all 10 rounds of the 2012 edition, official timers Swiss Timing, technical delegates and UCI staff met in Geneva, Switzerland, this week to prepare the upcoming World Cup season.

Simultaneously, a new logo for the 2012 UCI MTB World Cup was presented. The red and blue banner is gone; the logo is now entirely in black, only the title sponsor RockyRoads and the sub sponsor Shimano keep their signature colors.

The idea behind the organisation of the seminar was to present the changes to the series for 2012. “We want to ensure that the World Cup is a united series rather than 10 separate events,” explains UCI Mountain Bike Organisation Coordinator Mélanie Leveau.

The owner of RockyRoads Network, Sietse Schelpe, was pleasantly surprised with the enthusiasm and positive attitude of the organizers after the first meeting. “We are pleased with the feedback from the organizers. They were a bit skeptical about the changes a new sponsor always brings. But they understand our perspective. We want to support and develop the sport more than anything else. Everyone is now energized to work toward creating a beautiful future for the mountain bike sport.”

Schelpe is also pleased with the integration of Sprint Eliminator (XCE) into the World series, even though in 2012 there will be only three sprint eliminator races ridden in Houffalize (BEL), Nove Mesto na Morave (CZE) and La Bresse (FRA). “The sprint has great potential and we hope that together with the UCI we can develop this great discipline even further,” said Schelpe.

Troy Brosnan Kicks Off The 2012 ANS With A Win

Summer is well and truly arrived South of the equator, and the Australian National series has begun. Monster Energy-Specialized athletes Troy Brosnan and Sam Hill were keen to do some racing in the World Cup off-season and made their way to Thredbo, N.S.W for the first round of the 2011 series. With the weather report looking sub-par, the boys were keen to make use of the Friday practice session as it has been a couple of years since both Troy or Sam had ridden on this track.

The only substantial rain fell Sunday morning but was enough to make things challenging without limiting the speed of the track. Both riders felt good after seeding, where Brosnan placed second behind Jared Graves, while Hill sat in fourth. Both Monster Energy Specialized riders were confident and knew they had time left in them for their race runs. 

Hill raced to a 5:33.87 in the finals, knocking last year's National Series Champ, Rhys Atkinson out of the hot seat. Most Aussie racers know what a brutal track Thredbo can be, but Brosnan had looked unbelievably fast all weekend. All eyes were on the Junior World Champion as he dropped in and stopped the clock with a 5.31.54, taking the lead from Sam by over 2 seconds. Graves was just under a second Behind Hill, putting Monster Energy Specialized 1-2 for the weekend.

Both riders were stoked with the beginning of the race season. Sam was really impressed with Troy’s run, and keen to be on the other side of him for the next round in Buller. 

“ I really feel my fitness is where it has to be in this part of the year on a long track like this. I just don’t feel like I got stuck into it from the start for a race run but I guess that’s going to come from doing more races. Aside from that I felt pretty happy with my run, I was smooth everywhere and hit everything like I wanted to. Troy was just on top of his game this weekend.”

Troy was ecstatic with his win. With it being his first year stepping up into the senior ranks he made a statement on a big track with the big boys. “ There had been a bit of rain early in the morning and before racing, so was a little unsure how the track would hold up. For my race run the track was pretty dry, and a lot faster than I thought. I just threw down a really good run and no mistakes really, pedalled out of each corner as hard as I could, and it just seemed to all work out. On to the next round in Mount Buller” 

Team manager Sean Heimdal was happy to have both riders healthy and back on the podium locally.

“Its great to see both Sam and Troy getting amongst the Australian Nationals...it shows they’re both focused on 2012 and looking to sharpen their skills for the upcoming World Cup Season. I’m sure these guys will all keep pushing themselves harder than ever to keep pace with each other.” Specialized Bicycles are more than happy with the start of both Troy and Sam’s season down under and couldn’t be more proud.

Both Sam and Troy look forward to tackling the next Australian round in Buller.

We’d like to thank the following companies for their continued support: Monster Energy, Specialized Bicycles, Mad Catz, SRAM, Truvativ, Rock Shox, Avid, DT Swiss, SDG, Renthal, Troy Lee Designs, Maxima, Spy Optics, Cane Creek, e-thirteen, Contour, Five Ten, Alligator, Obtainium, Freestyle, Kicker, KMC.

Jill Kitner And Bryn Atkinson Part Ways With Transition Bikes

The last two years have been a whirlwind of success for Transition Factory Racing. Following their first year as prvateers in 2009, team Bryll (as they are affectionately called) were brought into the family of Transition Bikes. The two riders had an existing friendship with TR Team Manager Lars Sternberg, who saw a great opportunity to work with the duo and simultaneously launch Transitions involvement into the DH world. Many victores were secured by the squad over the following two seasons. This year saw highs and lows for the team, and they endured it all together. The three were finally reunited on the trail once again in the beautiful forest of northern Oregons foothills of Mt Hood this August.

In two seasons the team secured 3 out of 4 of the Elite Mens and Womens PRO GRT Series overall titles and 3 National Championship titles, Jill Kintner's beloved Transition Double went the entireity of the 2011 season without a lost race run, and both Bryn and Lars overcame injuries to head into the 2012 season healthy and strong.

This particular story ends here, but both parties are opening new chapters and have exciting things in store for the future. It was a great run, and we wouldn't change it for the world!

Transition Factory Racing would also like to thank all of our sponsors who have supported us through thick and thin. We wouldn't have been able to do it without you!

Stay tuned for news about Bryn and Jill's 2012 plans, and keep an eye on the Transition Bikes page for news about the 2012 program.

Transition Racing is supported by FOX Racing Shox, Crankbrothers, KORE, Maxxis, JETT, Shimano, TLD, ODI, 5.10, e.13, Jetlites, Jagwire, Cane Creek, Kinetic, Feedback Sports, Contour HD, and Stans no tubes.

ABOUT TRANSITION BIKES

Transition Bikes is a bicycle company located in Ferndale Washington and is focused on creating trail and gravity oriented mountain bikes. Our philosophy is simple, Rider Owned for Life since 2001. It is not a slick marketing slogan but something that defines who we are as a company. Connecting with our dealers and customers from a rider standpoint is our number one concern. Through outstanding and responsive customer service, and unique niche product design, we create and build relationships with our customers that are important to everyday riders and forgotten by larger companies. When you buy a Transition product you can be assured it has been tested in real world conditions by the same people that design them. We don't believe in using Catalog designs; everything is designed in house by us. Our goal is not to become a huge corporate brand but rather a company the average rider can believe in. Our customers are our family and we get immense joy from seeing them progress their riding to new levels right beside us.

2012 Trek World Racing Team Announced

Trek World Racing announces its roster for 2012, returning once again with an impressive line-up of Cross Country and Downhill riders ready to take on the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup, World Championships, Olympics and a selected set of major events including Crankworx in Whistler, the Sea Otter Classic and the Sunshine Cup in Cyprus.

DH: As the number 1 Downhill team in the world this year, Trek World Racing will return with 3 elite men, namely Aaron Gwin (USA), Justin Leov (NZL) and Neko Mulally (USA). The 3 Downhill men will be aboard their Trek Session 9.9 carbon bikes and racing the full World Cup along with a number of MTB Grand Prix events in the US, Sea Otter Classic, Crankworx in Whistler, and other selected events.

Also new for the team in 2012 is the hiring of 2000 World Downhill Champion, Myles Rockwell, as a rider liaison assisting the riders with their training, strategy and racing at the World Cups and Worlds.

Tracy Moseley successfully raced for the program for last 3 years, taking 18 World Cup podiums (including 6 wins), the World Championship Title in 2010, and the World Cup title in 2011, however she has decided to take her career in a different direction in 2012. T-MO will be making her own announcement.

XC: The team will field 4 Cross Country riders including new signing Junior XC phenom Anton Cooper (NZL) who will be racing selected events throughout 2012 while continuing with his education. Willow Rockwell (USA) returns to full time racing after getting married and having a child in December with husband Myles, with the goal of being selected to race for the USA at the London Olympics. Returning for their 4th year with the team are the Flueckiger brothers from Switzerland. 2010 Under 23 World Champion Mathias, and Lukas who finish 5th at last year’s Worlds, will be opting to spend more time racing the Trek Superfly 29’ers in 2012.

Rider Quotes in alphabetical order:

Anton Cooper – “I am very excited to join Trek World Racing for the 2012 season. It is a significant step forward in my goals of becoming a World class rider. This is aided by the fact that the team’s focus is at the World Cup, World Championship and Olympic stage where they are able to provide top leve l support that is required to perform at this level. This is a great way to kick-start my career as a professional Mountain Biker and I look forward to what lies ahead.”

Luk Flueckiger – “I have more confidence than ever before. I will start my 2012 season where my 2011 season ended. The Olympics are my biggest goal for the year.”

Math Flueckiger – “2011 was my first year as a full time professional athlete. It was such a big change and I expected too much from myself after a season like 2010. I learnt so much in 2011, and I’ll bring all this experience to 2012. I won’t look at other riders, results, etc. I will focus solely on me! My moto will be ‘step by step’, improving throughout the year.”

Aaron Gwin – “I'm looking forward to the upcoming year. We had an awesome season in 2011 and I'm excited to get back to the races with my team!”

Justin Leov – “2012 is going to be an exciting year; with a new coach on board I feel a new motivation towards my ra cing. My hopes and goals are to have fun at the events like I did this year and aim for those top steps of the podium, which so many times have just alluded me.”

Neko Mulally – “I'm excited to go into 2012 and put together all of the experiences that have brought me to this point. I can see it coming together already. It's going to be awesome spending every weekend with people I love being around, I really can’t wait to go racing.”

Willow Rockwell – “I look forward to being the fastest mom on the planet. With the support of my Trek World Racing team and sponsors, I know I have everything I need to be the very best. I intend to do my part, and let the universe supply me with energy, grace and balance as I follow my destiny path."

Team Owner Martin Whiteley – “After the successes of the past 3 years, the team returns once again with a strong line-up of athletes, and the same talented staff and sponsors we’ve been lucky to have with us in 2011, building on a ll that we’ve achieved to date. New signings Anton Cooper and Myles Rockwell bring both youthful enthusiasm and experience. Our major sponsors Trek, JBL, Shimano and Fox have been extremely supportive and I’m really excited to take the 2012 version of the team on the road next year.”

The team website www.trekworldracing.com will be updated with more information throughout December and January. For media who haven’t yet applied for their login to access photography, simply go to the Media tab on the site and apply.