2015 Pro GRT Receives UCI Status, Will Be Broadcast

USA Cycling announced Tuesday that the 2015 Pro Mountain Bike Gravity Tour (Pro GRT) has gained UCI status for all five races of the calendar, making the U.S. an international mountain bike point-chasing destination in the coming year. Additionally, USA Cycling has partnered with Mountain Bike Mania to film the events to be aired in July and August on local ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC affiliates nationwide.

The five-event 2015 Pro GRT calendar, which all hold C2 UCI status, includes the April 24-26 NW Cup in Port Angeles, Wash., the May 17 Mountain Creek Spring Classic in Vernon, N.J., the June 19-21 Chile Challenge in Angel Fire, N.M., the June 26 Snowshoe Wild Hare in Snowshoe, W. Va., and the Sept. 26 Kamikaze Bike Games in Mammoth Lakes, Calif.
 
“This raises the bar of international competition here at home and provides an arena for U.S. riders to gain UCI points toward valuable World Cup and World Championship starts,” said Micah Rice, USA Cycling Vice President of National Events. “It means less travel for our riders, which provides more opportunity for American international success.”
 
In addition to offering UCI points opportunities to elite downhillers, the new 2015 Pro GRT format also provides points classifications for select amateur and juniors categories as well.
 
“I really think that 2015 will be the catalyst to give America a competitive edge and develop riders into world-class competitors,” said Olympic bronze medalist and three-time World Champion Jill Kintner (Seattle, Wash./ Team Norco International). “Building from the ground up, the changes to the series have occurred because of everyone striving to make the series better. Taking in lots of rider feedback, selecting good venues who want to work together and USA Cycling stepping up to get UCI points across the whole Pro GRT series will be amazing! I will be there, and it's up to everyone to attend and show support so American racing becomes what we all know it can be.”
 
USA Cycling recently partnered with Mountain Bike Mania to film the Pro GRT. The television coverage will air July and August on local affiliates of ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC in select areas.  
 
“With Samantha and Ross McDonald at Mountain Bike Mania, we now have an incredible opportunity to highlight the excitement of the Pro GRT, the athletes and five great race venues to a broad television audience,” said Rice. 
 
A complete listing of cities, channels and times will be available in June at www.mountainbikemania.net.  
 
Pro GRT information and race schedule may be found on the USA Cycling website.

CANYON FACTORY FREERIDE TEAM LAYS IT DOWN IN BIG FIRST YEAR

KOBLENZ, 25th November 2014 — The Canyon Factory Freeride Team definitely did not fly under the radar in its debut season. Packed full of huge tricks, buckets of style and a couple of crashes along the way, the team competed in the world’s biggest contests, filmed a new edit and shot in epic locations to make their first year together one to remember.

Thomas Genon (BEL), Anton Thelander (SWE) and Peter Henke (GER) kicked the season off back in February with a roadtrip to ride and shoot together on the iconic red dirt at Terre Rouge, France. Later in spring, Pete hosted Thomas and Anton at his local spot in Germany to produce the team’s first ever edit, “Hashtag Goodtimes”. The film is just a taste of what’s to come and showcases the riders’ huge talent and unique styles. To coincide with the release Canyon launched the long-awaited “Stitched”. The guys were heavily involved in the development of the bike and spent hours with the engineers at Canyon testing out new ideas until they finally came up with the ultimate dirt jump setup.

When the 2014 FMB World Tour kicked off, Canyon Factory Freeride Team shot straight to the top of the rankings with impressive results in the early season contests. The guys held their lead for weeks until injury took Anton (broken collarbone) and Pete (cracked rib) out of the game. That left Thomas to go at it alone in a way that only he could, racking up four wins and four further podium spots across the season to finish fourth overall in the FMB Diamond Series. The guys also took a solid third spot in the FMB Factory Team rankings. When back at full strength next year, they’ll be gunning right for the top.

We caught up with the riders and Team Supervisor, Flo Goral, to find out what they had to say about 2014: 

How was your first season as part of the Canyon Factory Freeride Team?

Flo: The season was full of ups and downs in every sense. With Pete now on board, we probably have the strongest slopestyle line up out there. What’s even better is to see that the boys don’t just work together well on paper but also hang out all the time and always push each other on. After a solid start bad luck struck and took out two of our riders. That was a real downer but the guys are recovering well. It’s just cool that we were able to create the Canyon Factory Freeride Team and we are now mixing it up with the world’s best.

Thomas: It was good but unfortunately my teammates were injured in the contest season. We still managed to shoot a video and that was pretty cool!

Anton: It was awesome. I mean, it's really cool to be a part of such a huge brand like Canyon and it feels great that they believe in us and in everything we do.

Pete: I think we make a great team and we get on really well. We always have a great time training and going to contests together. In past years I was basically always riding alone.

What do you think about your own performance?

Thomas: I rode a lot in the winter and felt good on my bike during the year. I am happy with the progression I accomplished compared to last year. The first half of the season went so well for me. I had some trouble in between when I left Europe but I am going to work on that for 2015.

Anton: I'm happy with my performances at the beginning of the year but then unfortunately I got injured and missed a lot of the season.

Pete: From a rider’s point of view this season did not work out quite the way I imagined it. I was injured quite often and could not show my best at the contests. In terms of media and other stuff it was a really exciting year. I participated in the series “Wild Ones” for German TV. That was fun and I’d like to do more things like it in the future.

How did you deal with your injuries and what did you learn from them?

Anton: Injuries can come at any time but they happen most often when you ride tired or after a lot of riding. It was definitely hard for me to sit on the sidelines at events but I still enjoyed supporting my friends and teammates. I focused on taking it easy to let my body heal up and regain strength for rehab training. We were really lucky with the weather this summer in Sweden, so I spent a lot of time with my family and hung out at the beach.

Pete: We all know that injuries are a part of our sport, but it's still not cool if you miss important contests. I distracted myself with other things, but after two weeks I just wanted to get back on my bike. In my case, I was too eager and began riding too soon which then delayed my recovery even more. Our sport is demanding, you have to be patient and recover from your injuries completely before riding again. It certainly helps to draw motivation from your break. It is a good opportunity to pay attention to your body and recognize your weaknesses so you can develop them and come back stronger than before.

What’s the plan for 2015? What are you going to target next year?

Flo: Third in the FMB Factory Team Ranking was definitely not too bad, but with full manpower we can do even better. First of all I hope that Thomas, Anton and Pete stay fit and healthy. Of course injuries are a part of this sport, but I am sure the boys learnt some stuff this year. Now in the off-season we will be focusing on physical training and overall fitness so that when next season comes we are ready. I can’t wait to see them ride the first contests in 2015.

Thomas: Hopefully I can develop my weaker areas and strengthen the things I’m good at. I want to stay injury-free and have as much fun as possible.

Anton: I'm really excited for next season since I missed a big part of it this year. I think 2015 is going to be great. I can't wait!

Pete: I’m not going to do as many contests early on in the year. I’ve got a couple of big film projects lined up which are going to take up a lot of time so I want to commit to those, but I don’t want to give too much away just yet. We’ve got loads of backing from the sponsors so they’re going to be pretty awesome… I’ll be back doing contests again in May, but I’ve done so many over the last couple of years so it will be cool to have the chance to do some other projects, just not right in the middle of the season though. Going on roadtrips, travelling with my team and getting some filming done, that’s what I look forward to the most, being able to see the world a little beyond the same contests each year. Now I have the chance to do that so I really want to make the most of it.

Anyone who can’t wait for the 2015 season to start should (re-)watch their edit “Hashtag Goodtimes”: http://youtu.be/cw9bGdrkzwk         

More information about the Canyon Factory Freeride Team can be found on the CFFT Website and on Facebook.

Is Yeti Getting Back Into The DH Market?

A new DH bikes for Graves or is it a trail bike running a triple crown? Notice the carbon hoops......

Cameron Cole To Retire From WC Racing In 2015?

Cam posted this up today....

"Well it has been a bit quiet on the news front for me. It is that time of the year when deals for the coming 2015/2016 seasons have been finalised and the public is waiting and speculating as companies endeavour to build anticipation prior to releasing team details.

I have some news about my future as a professional athlete on the world cup circuit.  I will not be riding for a world cup team next year or racing world cups.  At 26 years old, for now I have made a decision and I am committing to a career after racing. It was a decision that I was prepared to make when I realised my situation. Moving into the 2015 season my main goal was to find a team that had good bikes and products and I was committed and believed I would be back on the podium this coming season.  However, after many emails and conversations I found there were no vacancies on any of the top teams for the coming season.  After having raced for some of the best teams during my career you begin to understand that the systems and processes that these top teams have in place, and the finer details that receive attention, all really put riders in the best position to make the most of their talent and the hard training undertaken in the off season.  I have loved racing at the highest level, along with the ups and downs that come with the risk taking that is required to be at the top.  I love to push myself to the limit, which you may have all noticed, I am sure that this will carry me through this next stage in my life.

I love biking and racing too much to stop, so I’ll be at local and national events moving forward and who knows about World Champs. I have partnered with one of New Zealand’s leading bike brands and there will be some news about this in the coming weeks. Otherwise I’ll be fulltime at the University of Canterbury and I’m looking forward to the challenges that studying will offer.

I have to thank a few people who helped me out in many ways during my time racing overseas. Starting at the beginning with Lahar and Aaron Frankiln who took a risk with me as an underdog to win the junior world champs title in 2006. Winning world champs as a junior kicked things off for me, and since then I have learnt a lot about being an athlete and getting to the top in my sport. I have enjoyed many good times along the way and have to thank Mum, Dad and my family, Reece Mcleod, Lester Perry, Aaron Fernandez, Skinner, Baron, Mavis, Gary Wolf, Christopher Warrick, Hulen King, John Kirkaldie, Mark “Fitzy” Fitsimmons, Nathan Rankin, Jason Marsh, Hamish Ferguson, Katherine Prumm, Justin Leov, Simsy and Red-Dog, Bass Man, Dodzy, Sabrina Jonnier, Luke Strobel and his family, Peter Valance, Andy Ward, Rob Warner, Chris Kilmurray, Matt Clarke, John Oldale, Laurent Delorme, Jack Roure, Loic Bruni, Sam Blenkinsop, Thibaut Ruffin and the whole Ruffin Family (I really enjoyed 2014 with you all) and my wife, Amy. Plus everyone else who has made racing overseas such an experience, I know I’ll have missed some of you, cheers.

Horse"

CORY SULLIVAN AND CONNOR BONDLOW JOIN THE RANKS AT E THIRTEEN

Petaluma, California, November 21, 2014 – The Hive/E*thirteen strengthens staff with additions of Bondlow, Sullivan to US office.

The Hive, parent company of brands e*thirteen components, Chub Wheel Goods and Revl Road, has hired two employees to expand its staff in its Petaluma, California office.

Cory Sullivan will head dealer sales for the US market and assist customer service and technical support staff.  “Sullivan’s roots as a UBI certified wrench combined with years of sales and service experience at Art’s Cyclery make him an ideal fit for the position,” said Todd Bischoff, Director of Marketing and Sales for The Hive. “His mechanical knowledge lends itself well to serving as an ambassador for a technical brand such as ours. We are excited to bring him onboard as an integral part of our growing brand.” Sullivan is also accomplished on the bike – a pro-level enduro and DH racer, he has excelled in races at both the California and Oregon Enduro Series.

Connor Bondlow will assist Todd Bischoff with marketing duties as well as utilize his artistic talents to bolster The Hive’s design team. Bondlow comes from a mutli-disciplined background, having most recently worked for clothing brand Upper Playground as a production designer; he has also worked on editorials and photography for cycling magazines and media support for a professional road team. “Connor brings a wealth of experience and skills with him,” said Bischoff, “His design abilities are top notch and he always has a great attitude. We are thrilled to have him on board.”

E*thirteen™ and the Hive™ design and manufacture class-leading wheels, pedals, cranksets, chainrings, bottom brackets, drivetrain protection, and chain retention products for discerning cyclists worldwide. For further product information contact your preferred distributor, Hive USA Sales at 1-800-801-9936, Hive EU Sales at +49-861-211-77-145.