Last weekend was an exciting one in Saalfelden Leogang! The big season finale in the disciplines downhill, enduro and crosscountry took place at Biketember Festival. Due to the rainy weather, the athletes fought through the weathered track giving everything at the season’s final iXS European Downhill Cup, at the last stop of the Specialized-SRAM Enduro Series and at the Cross Country Europacup. What a finale! The weathered iXS European Downhill Cup track added even more adrenaline into the intense race. Slawomir Lukasik (POL – NS Bikes FroPro) and Veronika Widmann (ITA – Bike Club Egna Neumarkt) dominated the field of…
Author: Tomas
Valberg is one of those venues that just surprise you when you arrive. A few hours from Nice and the landscape changes rapidly, you find yourself in high mountains and incredible rocky scenery. Coming into this event I knew we would be climbing the most of any race so far in the season and it was quite evident arriving into the town with the valleys showing off some superb exposure. With 8 stages over the two days of racing and a prologue on Friday night it was going to be a busy week-end. The forecast was not looking too promising…
The seventh round of the Enduro World Series will be remembered as the race where Sam Hill earned his enduro stripes. In a race that promised drama from the start thanks to an apocalyptic weather forecast, forcing the cancellation of the prologue on Friday and stage two on Saturday, the stage was set for an epic showdown. The promised storms never emerged but even with the cancelled stages, riders faced a huge day on Saturday featuring 1600m of climbing and 2500m of descent over 51 km. Race day 1 But in the end the Enduro des Portes du Mercantour driven…
Slawomir Lukasik and Veronika Widmann dominated the field of 300 riders from 24 different nations in an incredibly exciting last round of the European series this weekend and took this year’s title as the iXS European Downhill Champions 2016. Leogang has been a part of the iXS European Downhill Cup right from the start of the series and, hence, played host for the EDC already for the ninth time this season. The bike park belongs to the favorite downhill spots of many riders, which is why the races in Leogang are typically extremely crowded and lure especially the downhill elite…
We are currently racing towards the end of the downhill season and the different iXS series will come to an end with the finals. And, almost as a tradition, the finals of the EDC once more invite you all to Leogang, where more than 300 riders from 23 different nations will fight for this year’s title one last time. By now, Leogang is probably well-known by downhill riders all over the world, especially since in became an integral part of both the iXS European Downhill Cup and the World Cup. This year, the bike park once more opens its gates…
The Enduro World Series heads back to France and the sport’s spiritual home this weekend for round 7 – the Enduro Des Portes du Mercantour driven by URGE Bike Products. The penultimate round of the series will take to the famous trails of Valberg-Guillaumes, an area that is no stranger to enduro races thanks to its association with the iconic Portes du Mercantour event, now in its twelfth year. The 380 riders competing face a big weekend in the saddle – they’re up against long, physical stages that compromise over 4000m of climbing and more than 5000m of descent. But…
With the season-long points race of the 2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano behind them, elite downhill racers prepare for the biggest race of the year when Val di Sole, Italy hosts the 2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships, live on Red Bull TV September 11. Rachel Atherton (GBR) heads to Italy with a perfect season, the 2016 overall World Cup title, and an unprecedented 13 consecutive victories to her name (including wins from last season). For Aaron Gwin (USA), the 2016 men’s elite overall world cup winner, Val di Sole is a chance to claim his…
One of WTB’s most popular saddles, the women’s specific Deva, will be relaunched at Eurobike with updated graphics to make it more consistent with the current line of WTB saddles. The Deva will retain the same shape and all of its previous features as when it was originally designed by Mark Slate, WTB’s founder and the designer behind many WTB products. As a saddle that developed a considerable following, WTB is bringing it back in all its previous glory with an updated look that will appeal to a wide range of riders. WTB Deva Team As WTB’s performance-focused women’s saddle,…
Expanding upon the recently introduced Ranger 27.5+/29+ tires for trail and bikepacking uses, WTB is officially launching the first tubeless 26+ mountain bike tire at Eurobike. Similar to the 27.5+ retrofit concept introduced by WTB two years ago, the Ranger 26+ 2.8/3.0 tire is able to sneak into the frames of many existing 27.5-inch trail bikes without any modification. In recent years, 27.5” tires have taken over as the most prevalent tire size for riders looking to bridge the gap between fast rolling efficiency and playful nimbleness. Introducers and continual innovators of the plus-size tire concept, WTB designed the Ranger…
For elite Cross-Country (XCO) and Downhill (DHI) racers, it all comes down to a crucial final race as the 2016 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano heads to the misty hillsides of Andorra in southwestern Europe. Three overall world cup titles are still on the line as is one history-making winning streak. Red Bull TV will carry all of the action live as it happens September 3-4, 2016. Danny Hart In Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec, downhill rider Rachel Atherton (GBR) clinched the 2016 women’s elite overall world cup title; her mission in Vallnord is to secure a perfect season and…
For 2017, ION is extending its backpack range by adding a third model: called Villain, the backpack comes with optional capacities of four or eight litres and rounds off ION’s range with a view to compact backpacks for use in racing and training. Also in the range is the versatile Rampart with a volume of eight or sixteen litres. Winner of a Eurobike award 2015, the Transom, includes the revolutionary Air_Condition cooling system to regulate ventilation on the back. VILLAIN 4 & 8 As from 2017 ION is offering a fully fledged water carrier with the new Villain. Availa-ble with…
Austrians Gerd Skant and Yana Dobnig rule round 5 of SloEnduro series in Kamnik while Tadej Razpet becomes Slovenian enduro champion. Tadej Razpet Winners of Enduro Kamnik, wet and slippery round five of SloEnduro series put on by Calcit Bike Team, are Austrian riders. Gerd Skant (RideTSG) was the fastest man while Yana Dobnig (RLM Mondraker Racing Team) literally faced no competition this time. Skant is also the new SloEnduro leader. It was the first time on top of SloEnduro podium for the 25-year old Skant, the series where he started his enduro career only last year. He was a…
Leatt Corporation, a global developer, marketer and distributor of personal protective equipment for all forms of sports, and whose products include the flagship Leatt-Brace®, announced today the introduction of its new 2017 Bicycling Range, expanding its existing product portfolio of protection gear, backpacks and gloves to include all-new helmets and, for the first time, a line of cycling apparel designed for a wide group of mountain bike riders. Sean MacDonald, CEO of Leatt Corporation: We believe that the new helmet technology incorporated in the 2017 Bicycling Range surpasses anything else on the market in terms of advanced design, comfort and…
The fifth season of ION’s bike department sees the introduction of a fifth product category: bike shoes. To mark the premiere of the footwear line, the brand is releasing two different models: a flat pedal bike shoe called Ride_Amp featuring classic lacing. And a clipless shoe named Rascal with a combined lacing and Velcro closure system.The centerpieces of both shoes are the soles. They have been developed in collaboration with Swiss shoe specialist Suplest and are called SupTraction Rubber Soul: for the treads the focus in both versions was on walking comfort and traction on the ground – grip on…