This blogger is starting to pee me off! It doesnt work half the time so I am moving the content elsewhere.
Thanks to Paul Kennett at the NZMTB web it is now hosted here.

http://www.mountainbike.co.nz/racelog/

Please bookmark this page now!

Cheers,
jeff

Sheryl Mcleod is sitting in 12th overall in the Womens World Cup DH standings. and is about to head back to Europe.
G'dday from Pasadena.
I am staying at the Foes household here in California, chilling out after the 4th NORBA round at Mammoth Mountain last weekend.

Mammoth always has big crowds and a lot of competitors in both downhill and cross country, so there is a great atmosphere keeping the place pumping all weekend. There were Kiwis everywhere! In cross country we had Kashi of course who came third, but also Paul Bishop, Lisa Savage, Rebecca Cullen, Brenda Clap, Dean Hill and Robyn Wong. In downhill there were the usual scuffers, John Kirkcaldie, Nathan Rankin, Vanessa Quinn, Lisa Horlor, Craig (Cowboy) MacGinnity and also the Lahar Team of Weasel, Cheynne Beaver and Glen Sisarich. Quite a crew!!

After travelling with the Kona guys, they let me sleep in the motor home right in the middle of the tech area so I didn't have to go far in the
morning. I had a fridge and all in there! I was there early in the week so I did a lap of the cross country course on a bike borrowed from SRAM. The uphill part sucked but the downhill was awesome! Then we began practicing the 'Bullet' Downhill course. The queue for the lifts was so long, you could only do one run every thirty minutes. That was OK though because the course was tiring as well as being at altitude. It was very rocky with deep dust and pumice-like gravel. There were lots of great jumps and a section with three log drop-offs in a row that were super fun to ride.

I had an OK run - just a couple of mistakes that caused me to stall and lose time. I came in 13th. Missy Giove won and Katja Repo was 2nd. Lisa didn't race after hurting herself in the slalom (she hopes to race this weekend in Canada). Vanessa came 16th. John Kirkcaldie made it onto the podium in 5th (even after knocking himself out cold in the slalom the night before!), Nathan Rankin came 11th, Cowboy 49th and Sisarich 25th.

We have one last race in this NORBA series in a month's time. Hopefully a few kiwis should make it into the top ten. In the meantime I have gone mad and decided to head back to Europe for two more World Cup races! I bid for a cheap ticket on the internet, so I am on my way tomorrow morning. I can travel with Hope brakes to the venues (Leysin, Switzerland and Kaprun, Austria) so I am sorted. I am sitting 12th overall in World Cup points so I thought I should keep going and see how high up I can finish! You only live once. Why not throw myself down a few more mountains?! Plus Switzerland is the land of chocolate.
Mmmmmm

Catch you guys again soon. Say hi to New Zealand for me.

Sheryl MacLeod
Haro Bikes NZ

Pro-elite XC rider Brenda Clapp (BOB) logs in with the Bob Report, also found on VORB.
We have been in the States for almost a month now. We being Lisa Savage, Rebecca Cullen, Paul Bishop, Gavin Stobie, myself (Brenda (Bob) Clapp, and for a brief visit Dean Hill.

We are based in a small town (that makes the sails for Americas Cup and is nowhere near the sea!) called Gardnerville, Nevada. It s just over the rim from South Lake Tahoe. When Lisa was here in '99, a friendly chap asked if Lisa wanted to stay at his house for a while. We can t ever imagine that he would have thought it would reach this scale (luckily he loves kiwis).

We have had many adventures. The first one involved a van and 6 tow trucks. Needless to say the 'old bag' broke down in the desert (it was 46oC plus some). A white Volvo that was delivered to us from LA, 2 hours away, replaced the van. Paul, Lisa and I stuffed 6 bikes, 14 wheels, 18 pairs of shoes into this sedan (plus we just managed to squeeze ourselves in).

Our first race was a local race at Donner Ski Ranch (north of Lake Tahoe). This race was at 7500 feet. The XC was a technical race involving about 6000feet of climbing and descending on sketchy rocky downhills and drop offs. This was an eye opener for the rest of racing over here. Their race categories consisted of 38 classes. Also racing was Graham Morgan from Queenstown in the downhill. Between the 4 of us we managed to win $40 with Paul Bishop 2nd in Pro Men and in Pro Women I was 2nd, Lisa Savage 3rd, Rebecca Cullen 4th.

Our first big race was the world cup in Durango. It was exciting to be part of it, as the town really got behind the event. In the womans event there was 38 riders. It was a fun course, with myself 29th, Rebecca 30th and Lisa finished 32nd. Paul was 66th out of 85. The big buzz was to see Kashi come in 2nd.

The NORBA nationals at Mammoth was our next big race. The start line was at 8300 feet, with a total of 1100 feet climbing per lap in the 4 lap event. This gave us a really fast flowing decent (yee hah). A big field of 68 starters. Bec finished 29th, Lisa 34th and I 37th. Again it was cool to see our Kiwi Kashi come in third. Dean Hill also did well, placing 29th, Paul came in 55th. Also we must mention Gav s wonderful bottle skills as our feeder!!

When not racing its hard training. Its a tough place to train (not) as the place is packed with trails. One of our favorite trails is Mr Toads wild ride. 2600 feet of climbing, beautiful scenery and 45 minutes of mind boggling fun descent.

From here we head up to Canada and then out East to Vermont for NORBA finals, and then up Quebec for another World cup.

We would like to thank the following sponsors for their help: Gary Fisher, Ground Effect, Happy Valley Cycles - Masterton, Giant, Smith, K2 accessories, Star & Garter, Village Cycles - Nelson, Raceline, Kelvin s Cycles - Nelson, Ocean Lodge Sport Nelson K2, Outdoorsman - Rotorua.
Cheers
BOB

The Rob report. Robyn Wongs extended mix report from the USofA
It could’ve been a NZ National Mountain Bike race due to the familiar faces on the start line and milling around the event village. But it wasn’t. It was the 4th round of the US NORBA series in Mammoth Mountain, California and the Pro Women and Men races were held on Friday July 20. Lisa Savage, Brenda Clapp, Rebecca Cullen and myself lined up against some of the World’s best women mountain bikers, however since it was out first NORBA race we were staged down in the ranks, from 48 down to 60. Then, only in America, we had to stand on the start line, hand across chest and listen to the American National anthem!

The race was pretty dam tough starting at 7000ft altitude and climbing to 9000ft. It was a climber’s course, yet there were some great fast, loose, single-track sections for the technical riders. An awesome spectating spot was the “no fear zone”, a steep, loose, gravely scree descent. Kashi rode this so beautifully and did the manoeuvre of the day by overtaking Bart Brentjens on the descent. Many of the Pro women ran this section.

It was a long course, consisting of a small loop inside a larger circuit. 4 laps for the women totalled around 37km. (5 laps for the Men.) Mary Grigson, riding for Subaru Gary Fisher and who currently leads the NORBA series took the win in 2 hours and 10 minutes. Seems like a Sugar 1 was the way to go. It is lucky for some to be able to choose between a hard tail or a fully. I finished 19 minutes behind in 28th place with Becs a further 2 seconds behind me in 29th place. Lisa and Bob were 34th and 37th respectively. From 67 starters, 58 successfully finished, 8 DNF’ed and 1 was lapped.

It was quite a change to be able to relax and enjoy the other events on the Saturday and Sunday including the sport class XC and the DH finals. I was supporting and feeding Chris Sinclair who had to fend off the huge number of sport riders (Men, Women, Senior, Junior and Master on the course at the same time). Despite the hold ups, he still made it home after 3 laps (excluding the smaller loop) in 4th place in 1 hour and 33 minutes.

The rest of the kiwi entourage included, Kashi, Paul Bishop, Dean Hill and Downhillers – John Kirkaldie, Nathan Rankin, Craig McGinnity, Glen Sisarich, Weasel, Lisa Horlor, Sheryl Mcleod and Vanessa Quin.

I’m now in Columbus, Ohio, racing in the Wendy’s Criterium series over 6 days. 1 day off then I’ll be starting the Tour de Toona, another 6 day road tour in Pennsylvania.
Robyn Wong,
Penny Farthings Cycles Wellington/Gary Fisher

A quick update from Lisa Horler who is doing the DH business in the States
How good it feels to be back on my bike and to be back in Canada.
We are back in altitude but only 5000 feet or so. Did the allnighter drive from California to here in BC, Canada so will enjoy a couple of 12 hour sleeps now for the next few nights. SilverStar is where we are at. An awsome mountain with lots of colourful shops, and Cafes, the home of Canadas altitude training centre and a brand new BMX track that will host The Grand Nationals in September. It is huge (and very dificult to do fast laps on seeing we are at altitude.) Again I would love to move here....how many times will I say that before I fly home. The track here will be dry and dusty again like Mammoth....Thank god for my Oakleys.
My bodys healing. I am still having trouble breathing, laughing and lying down but for some reason I am ok when I am on my bike!!!!! Ha ha. We start training for the Canadian Cup on Friday and race Sunday. Maybe we will walk the track tommorrow. The crazy Canadians are even crazier than ever. Craig has a new bike and loves it, its the Chumba Wumba. The NZers did good in the weekend. We are very proud of JK, who got a Podium finish at Mammoth....even after a bad concusion giving him a 2 minute nap in the middle of the Dual track the day before. Fluffy did awsome and Beavis had his taste of international racing.
I must go, we are going to do a few laps of the training pool here at altitude....gotta be good for ya. Take care and have fun.
Love Lisa.

A link to Vanessa Quins latest Goss from the Funky N-ZONE site

The Cabin Files
Cabin Boy is Racing in Switzerland with Tim Vincent, Andy Reid and the Houltham bro's, (when they have bikes). His latest report follows.
Its been a crazy couple of weeks racing wise, with some rather extreme conditions. Heres the story, in two parts. "Methods of killing yourself on a Mountainbike."

Part 1 - Drowning!
Round 7 of the Swiss Cup at Perrefitte, and the prior week was beautiful. We prerode the track on Saturday in brilliant sunshine. I was feeling strong, and looking forward to Sunday. Then the rain started. Then it got harder. Then it got even heavier. It was still raining on the drive to perifitte. Last time I raced in these conditions was the Whitby National in '99. I won that day, so was looking forward to today.

The start was suicidal, and once again i was at the wrong end. But I was able to recover, using my technical prowess in the incredibly sloppy conditions,to be into the top 50 at laps end. Things were looking good. But then, I went completely flat. I don't know why, but I felt awful. I was going to pull out, but figured if I kept plodding along, enough people would pull out my placing wouldn't be so bad.

I was wet, cold, and miserable. During the 4th lap of 6 my forks seized up, and that was the final straw. As Andy put it (standing in the feed zone) - "Theres no point flogging a dead horse." This horse wasn't just dead, it had been buried weeks ago! When I pulled out I was around 60th.
I was able to watch the finish, where Tim made it all the way down the final descent on his stomach/face, with bike a couple of metres behind. He crossed the line 33rd, with Jeremy in 36th. Stu struggled in in 56th, suffering some vision difficulties in the mud. So an average day for the kiwis.

Part 2 - How to commit suicide with your MTB......
..... In just 3 easy, and progressively more foolish steps.
1) Read about the Swiss Bike Masters
2) Enter the Swiss Bike Masters
3) Actually turn up and ride the Swiss Bike Masters
Now, no offence to the Kennetts, but claims of insanity laid on those who attempted the double Karapoti seem kind of meaningless now. Simon, you're gonna have to try a bit harder! How does this sound? 120km, with 5000m of climbing. Bloody hell!

Having done well in a similar race previously, Tim had big plans. So while he dreamed of a big payday, I was worried about how to finish this epic. Of the startline (at 6:30am!) I was content to ride an easy pace, while Tim stayed near the front. Consequently I continued to go backwards all the way up the first 1500m climb. The crowds were incredible. Riding on goat tracks (real mountaingoat tracks!) over the top of a 2300m mountain, there were people everywhere. Crazy, especially since there was no easy way to get there.

Into climb number two. Only 850m this time! This hill is known as Alp du Heuz. Why? The last 500-1000m of the climb is packed with people. Its a wide gravel road, and theres only about 1 1/2 m of available road to ride on. The majority with huge cow bells, the noise is deafening. Awesome.
Into the 3rd climb of again about 800m. Starting at about 60km mark. On this I finally put the hammer down. The front of the race had gone hrs ago, but I made up many places up this. It seemed to go on forever, getting steeper and rougher the further you went, culminating in walking/carry sections at the top. Just cruel. The reward? An increasingly technical 10km downhill than plunged 1000m down the mountain. Heaven!

After this however, it was a serious struggle to the finish. My efforts on the 3rd big climb had caught up with me, and I was completely 'smashed'. I guess the long walk/carry sections among the 3000m of climbing we'd already done probably had something to do with it to! I limped along the final 35km, with ONLY 2 more climbs - 400m, and 500m. This wasn't a race, it was a torture test. The finish line has never looked so sweet! Total time? I managed to break 8hrs!
Looking back I would've been better to ride a bit quicker from the start and stayed consistent, but things are always easier in hindsight. As it was, I finished 32nd Elite Men. Enough to win the 'Kiwi Cup,' after Tim had flatted, and pulled out.

While my overall result wasn't all that flash, I was bloody pleased to have finished. Its 2 days after, and I might go for an easy ride today. Unlike yesterday, I know think I can move again! Next mission - the World Cups, where just making it past qualifying will be quite an achievement. Better do some training then!
Mark Leishman.

CHEVY TRUCKS NORBA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES, Mammoth Mountain, CA. July 20-22.
Down Hill
Men's Results:
1. Fabien Barel (FRA, Team GT) in 3:59.2
2. Mick Hannah (AUS, Global Racing Team) in 4:00.16
3. Greg Minnaar (RSA, Global Racing Team) in 4:03.2
4. Mickael Pascal (FRA, Be-One Team) in 4:05
5. John Kirkcaldie (NZL, Maxxis Tires) in 4:06.9
11 NATHAN RANKIN 04:08.88 19790430 3 FOES/AZONI
25 GLEN MICHAEL SISARICH 04:15.80 NZL19710 97 LAHAR
49 CRAIG MCGINNITY 04:36.31 0 121
65 BEAVIS 65th NZL LAHAR
68 WEAZEL 68th NZL LAHAR
Ladies
013 SHERYL MACLEOD 04:58.96 NZL19771 39 NOKIAN/HOP
016 VANESA QUIN 05:11.69 NZL19760 5 DDINC/INTE
http://www.mountainbike.com/news/news/news_20010722-12553.shtml

Kashi's race report. Norba number 4, Mammoth Mountain
To save some of the boredom of being on the road, I decided to stop of in Boulder for a couple of days to see friends. It was a great idea, as I gave my mind a complete break, and even went out to a concert (Jack Johnson- pretty good stuff!)

On Wednesday I headed to Mammoth, the location of the first unofficial World Mountain Bike Championships in 1989, is also the home of some awesome dry single track riding. Although the tracks is a bit soft and sketchy at places, the maze of MTB specific tracks could keep us busy for weeks, if only!

Our course was the same as two years ago, with some tough open gravel road climbing, and a long twisty decents. I must have still been tired from last weeks efforts, because my legs were not climbing great. It was my descending that saved me, as I managed a good 30-40sec advantage each of the 5 laps.
Then I just had to grit my teeth and try to hang on once I got caught halfway up the climb! Roland Green, once again made us look like amateurs,
winning in ease by over 2min. Finally I ended up 3rd, after Ryder Hesjedal climbed away from me on the final lap. Considering my feelings, that was quite okay.

It was fun to see so many kiwi's at the race too. In the XC we had Paul, Robin, Bob, Lisa, and myself. In the DH was Vanessa, Sheryl, John and Nathan!

The short track was fast and tight again. At least this time the organizers gave me a better start position, and I was comfortably in the first 5-6 during the first two laps. But then Chris Sheppard and Ryder collided right in front of me, forcing me to stop, get of my bike, and run up a small hill. By the time I was back on my bike, I was almost last. Still, I was happy not to be on the ground! Ryder fell pretty hard and ended up with a sprained ankle. I managed to catch the front group again, but then I was too tired to
give a good battle on the final laps, and I ended up 11th.

Now, FINALLY, its time to go home. Even if its only for a few days, its going to be so good! I actually have a weekend off too, before the final 3 World Cups, a NORBA, and the Worlds!
KASHI

A short note from Robyn Wong. Full report later.
Kashi did really well to finish 3rd behind Roland Green and Ryder Hesjedal. Dean Hill finished 29th and Paul Bishop finished around 64th? Downhillers race on Sunday. Have seen JK, Lisa and Weasel.

I finished 28th in a time of 2:29, 19 minutes back from the winner, Mary Grigson. On the final lap Bec's Cullen was catching me and tailed me in by only 2 seconds! Lisa finished up 34th in a time of 2:31:52 and Bob was 37th in 2:33:48. There was a starting field of 67 riders, with 8 DNF's and 1 who was lapped. It was a tough race - starting at 7000ft and climbing to 9000ft.
Robyn Wong
Penny Farthing Cycles/Gary Fisher

CHEVY TRUCKS NORBA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES, Mammoth Mountain, CA. July 20-22.
Cross country Men
1. Roland Green (Can), Trek-Volkswagen, 29.3 miles in 2:18:05
2. Ryder Hesjedal (Can), Subaru-Gary Fisher, at 1:16
3. Kashi Leuchs (NZ), Volvo-Cannondale, at 1:52
4. Seamus McGrath (Can), Haro-Lee Dungarees, at 2:02
5. Bart Brentjens (Nl), Giant, at 2:16
6. Todd Wells, Hildenbrand, at 3:20
7. Ziranda Madrigal (Mex), Turbo, at 3:45
8. Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, RLX Polo Sport, at 4:10
9. Kirk Molday, SunRace-Santa Cruz, at 5:43
10. Liam Killeen (GB), Great Britain, at 5:44
http://www.velonews.com/race/mtn/articles/1224.r.html

At last, Kashi's offical World Cup race report.
One of the coolest things about being a sports person is the emotional high you get when you achieve well. Its a strange mix of relief, that you have achieved your goals, and self confidence. Yesterday I had probably my highest high that I have yet to experience, when I made the podium for the first time ever in a World Cup. My normal emotions were boosted by the thousands of people around, cheering, yelling and admiring. They pushed me harder then I ever thought I would be capable of riding.

I figured I could do well, because I often ride well at altitude, and also my form was steadily increasing. I liked the course, which was mostly fast and rocky, but had some really fun sections as well as some tough climbing. The start was going to be fast and open, but I took 15th place on the start grid, much better then usual. I felt pretty nervous, which is normal when I feel I can do well.

Race on, and the first 2km was like a strung out road race. Cross winds and a high pace forcing riders to take shelter behind one another. I sat comfortably in about 6th. Roland Green managed to open up a small gap, and everyone else jostled for position before the tricky sections. I fought hard and always stayed in the first 5, this was the first time I had ever managed to start so well and I didn't want to loose this position! After one lap I settled into a good rhythm, riding near the front of a big group of 8-9 riders. The race plan was to conserve, conserve, conserve. At altitude, riders tend to blow much easier!

I was comfortable just sitting in the group, but I also knew that I was a quicker decender then most. At one point I attacked past Miguel Martinez, to be first down a section called "the plunge" I rode the section well and gained about 20sec very easily. I didn't want to ride alone at this point, but I was in 2nd place, so I continued easily for a few kilometers until I was caught. To my surprise the big group had been strung out, and with half the race remaining it was just me, Cadel Evans, Julien Absalon, Ryder Hesjedal and Roland off the front.

I concentrated on being ultra smooth and efficient. Ryder made a huge superman into the scrub just ahead of me, then with one lap remaining we passed Roland who had flatted (the second week in a row he lost a world cup to a flat!) I could hardly believe my situation. With one lap left, I was on the front of a world cup together with team mate Cadel Evans, and Julian Absalon. Cadel made the first move, I was starting to cramp a little, so I was happy to stick to Julian's wheel. We were really motoring, but Cadel still managed a 20sec lead. Now it would be a battle for 2nd and 3rd. On the second last climb I was pinned to the limit, but Julian still took 10sec from me. I fought with everything to catch it back, but Julian was fighting as hard. Finally with just 500m remaining I looked up and to my surprise saw Cadel running his bike. He had punctured on the last possible section. As disappointed as I was for losing a team win, I can not admit I was not happy to take 2nd! The feeling was great. After 5 years of riding world cups, now finally, I am in the competition!

What a cool feeling, standing on the podium above current World Cup overall leader Roland Green, above World Cup winner Jose Hermida and above two time World Cup overall winner Cadel Evans. I was happy to have my dad, back in New Zealand, listening to the action on a mobile phone. In the crowd was my trainer Benoit, Stephanie, Charlie, Christoph, Mike, Martin... I know we all shared the same feeling.

In typical Charlie style, we went out for an awesome dinner, drank wine, yarned and laughed about all sorts of stuff. Then it was early to bed, for another travel day, and another race. Next up, Mammoth Mtn NORBA.

www.mountainbike.co.nz/kashi
kashi@voonoo.net
MOBILE +33 66 414 9892

Kiwi MTBer Robyn Wong is getting some roadie miles into her legs in preparation for her next MTB event. Read on.
Cascade Cycling Classic, Bend, Oregon July 11th - 15th
The Cascade Cycling Classic is a 5 day stage race consisting of road stages, individual hill time trials and criteriums. It is a renown race on the US National calender and always draws strong fields, and this year was no exception with the Mercury and Saturn teams competing in the Men's race and Autotrader, 800.com and Intersports in the Women's field. This was my first road race in the US and below is a stage by stage account of my experience:
Stage 1
This was a road race of 94km including climbing of over 3000ft up Mount Bachelor (starting at 4000ft). There were 59 starters, including the Autotrader.com team (7), 800.com team (6), Intersports (5), and Boise Cascade Office Products (5). Suzy Pryde, who was part of the Autotrader.com team was a familiar face in the peloton and helped relieve some of my nerves. The pace was quite fast early on with a fair amount of descending, and reaching speeds up to 80kmph. The bunch stayed together for most of the race with many unfruitful attacks. However, on the first main hill of the day the peloton strung out with several riders being dropped. Then on the last hill climb Amber Neden of Autotrader split the field apart and managed to put over a minute on Nicole deMars of 800.com to go on to win the stage. I finished 3 minutes down on the leader in 20th place in a time of 2 hours 31 minutes. (The average speed of the winning rider was 40.8kmph)
Stage 2
Friday's morning stage was a 1 km uphill time trial with total climb of 500ft. The course started up a zigzag walking track with a few tight turns. At the top of the walking track the road opened up and curled around the hill to provide spectacular views over Bend and the surrounding Cascade Mountain range. I don't know if it was the altitude or just the suffering of a time trial, but at the top I had the nastiest dry throat. I ended up 22nd - very happy to be just eight seconds down on Suzy.
Stage 3
The 3rd stage on Friday evening was a twilight criterium. The entire evening was running behind schedule as the tow trucks had a field day in removing heaps of cars packed on the city circuit. There was a carnival atmosphere and it seemed like most of the town had gathered to watch. The Woman's race was about an hour late, thus just beginning as it was getting dark at 9pm (typically the start of the Men's race). I had a disastrous start and found myself chasing from the gun. Luckily for me however, (unlucky for the rest of the peloton) a stray dog ran onto the course in front of the pack half way through the race and took out 15-20 riders. One was taken to hospital and one suffered a chipped shoulder, however many others left skin and blood on the tarmac. The race was stopped, and then eventually cancelled. The primes would be saved for the final criterium on Sunday. No results would count towards GC. Phew.
Stage 4
Stage 4 began early on Saturday morning, adding further stress after the late finish on Friday evening. It was a hilly 11 km circuit that we raced 8 times. The men raced the same circuit 11 times. The first lap was an enjoyable pace, and then the attacks started on the hills in the 2nd lap, which caught me at the back napping. Suddenly I was off the back and once again found myself chasing the lead bunch. A group of us worked together to pull ourselves back on, and this time I managed to stay with the bunch until the sprint finish, which was won by Amber Neden.
Stage 5
The final stage on Sunday morning was a 0.8mile criterium around the Old Mill district. This is a recent development in the township and thus had wide roads with smooth seal. Determined to improve on my performance in the last criterium, I started well and stayed with the bunch. The pace definitely wasn't as fast as the last criterium although this time we had the wind to contend with and a small hill each lap. The final sprint was won by the US National Criterium champion. As it is a year since the racing accident of Nicole Reinhart, the Cascade Classic is a tribute in memory of Nicole. Thus there were some very profitable primes ranging from $20 to $500 for the women and some very stiff competition for these.
In the General Classification I was 19th overall, 4 minutes down on the leader. Unfortunately Suzy Pryde was unwell on Saturday and flew home to Monterrey before Stage 5, thus I moved up one position from Stage 1. All the damage was done during day 1 in the hills. I was thrilled with this tour result and just happy that I could mix it up with the big girls. It was quite an experience to race a tour with 59 other women! I had fun, suffered a bit, met some new riders, enjoyed the spectacular scenery, soaked up the heat, and revelled in the hospitality of the locals.
Other kiwi's competing were Nathan Dahlberg, Brendon Vesty, Glen Mitchell and Geoff Burnened
For detailed results of the kiwi performances, check out: http://www.cascade-classic.org

The latest Swiss Cup results, Jeremy Houtham seems to be finding his legs.
http://services.datasport.com/2001/esc/
ELVIA Swiss Cup Perrefitte - (1) Elite Männer
1. Kalberer Thomas, Hinteregg 77 Wheeler-Aquo Nova-Mitsubi 1:57.32,1
2. Näf Ralph, Andwil TG 80 Wheeler-Aquo Nova-Mitsubi 1:58.35,3
3. Sahm Stefan, D-Mössingen 76 T-MOBILE 2:01.33,4
4. Fahrni Ludovic, Ponts-de-Martel 77 GS Bernasconi-Giant 2:02.29,8
5. Manetsch Reto, Buchs SG 80 Athleticum Racer Team 2:03.11,2
33. Vincent Tim, Biel/Bienne 76 Bianchi Motorex 2:13.18,1 15.46,0
36. Houltham Jeremy, NZL-Taupo 81 Avanti 2:14.13,5 16.41,4
56. Houltham Stuart 79 NZL-Taupo 2:24.07,2 26.35,1
65. Leishman Mark, NZL-Palmerston North 78 Raceline 1:33.20,7 Lap 4

More from Sheryl
Whew! My 6th race in a row!

Durango is a beautiful area with mountains and rivers all around. There are loads of mountainbike trails here too, which I will do someday when I have more time! The downhill course was at Purgatory Resort, 28 miles up from the town of Durango, where the cross country was based. Hopefully if they have a World Cup here again, they will put both disciplines a bit closer together!
I had a great place to stay. SRAM said I could stay on their fold out couch in their condo which was right beside the chairlifts, so I was pretty sussed.
This course was a lot of fun to ride. It was fast and wide open with off-cambre turns through the grass. There were some technical sections with rocks, big drops, and steep switchbacks through the trees. As usual there was a nice big jump right before the finish line so everyone could style it up!
On the morning of the race we get an hour and a half of practice. This was nice and dry compared to the mud of the previous day. Then we have a qualifying run to determine the top 70 men and 30 women and their start positions. I had an average run and qualified 8th fastest, so I was excited about my chances in the race.
Then the predicted thunderstorms started to arrive while we were waiting for our 2pm start time, so the course would be a lot more slippery now! I started off well and was having a great run. Then I slipped on off-cambre rocks, catching my bars on a tree and diving over the bars down the slope! It didn't hurt in the slightest, luckily, but wasted a lot of time as I had to run back for my bike. I held the rest of the run together well, pulling back some time. I finished in 13th place, which is my best result at a World Cup yet. Then I had to do a random drug test (just my luck!) and when I came back outside it was raining hard. All the fastest men's qualifiers had to come down an extremely slippery course, which was a huge disadvantage. Eric Carter took the men's win, and Anne Caroline was the fastest woman...as usual!
That night we went into Durango where racers, Missy Giove and Myles Rockwell, both Durango residents, were celebrity bar staff at the Carvers Bar. Myles made much better drinks than Missy!

The next day I watched the Cross Country race and cheered on kiwis, Paul Bishop and Kashi Leuchs. Kashi came 2nd, getting his first World Cup podium. I got to see the look on his face as he crossed the line, and that was definately the highlight of my weekend!

Then we went to Missy's house where everyone was racing the Z 50 motorbikes (very small ones!) around a track in her back yard. Hilarious stuff! After that I travelled in the Kona Motor home with Big Red Ted and dirtjumper, John Cowan - who sang songs all the way since we didn't have a stereo.
Now I am at Mammoth Mountain in California, and we have just finished our first practice day. The course is different from last year's course. It is really sandy and rocky. The surface is very slidey and unpredictable. You have to surf through corners. I think the New Zealanders will do well here. Kashi started the weekend off well today with a 3rd in the cross country so it is up to the rest of us to show 'em how it's done!
Later!
Sheryl MacLeod
Haro Bikes NZ

KASHI makes his first WC podium!!!!
Men's XC Results:
1. Julien Absalon (FRA, Bianchi Motorex) in 2 hours
2. Kashi Leuchs (NZL, Volvo-Cannondale) at 12 sec.
3. Cadel Evans (AUS, Volvo-Cannondale) at 27
4. Jose Hermida (ESP, Bianchi Motorex) at 38
5. Roland Green (CAN, Trek-Volkswagen) at 1:20
6. Roel Paulissen (BEL, Team GT) at 1:43
7. Thomas Hochstrasser (SUI, Team Giant) at 1:58
8. Lado Fumic (GER, Team Telekom-Mobile) at 2:05
9. Ryder Hesjedal (CAN, Subaru Gary Fisher) at 2:22
10. Liam Killeen (GBR, Great Britain) at 2:38
66 109 NZL19720409 BISHOP Paul NZL 2:28:56.00 28:42.00
http://www.mountainbike.com/news/news/news_20010715-22538.shtml

Womens results
1 10 AUS19710603 GRIGSON Mary AUS SUBARU-GARY FISHER 1:47:45.00
2 1 SUI19701222 BLATTER Barbara SUI SPECIALIZED 1:48:50.00 1:05.00
3 4 GBR19680303 ALEXANDER Caroline GBR SPECIALIZED 1:49:12.00 1:27.00
4 19 USA19651111 MATTHES Ruthie USA TREK/VOLKSWAGEN 1:49:59.00 2:14.00
5 7 CAN19660316 REDDEN Chrissy CAN SUBARU-GARY FISHER 1:50:06.00 2:21.00
29 65 NZL19740925 CLAPP Brenda NZL NZMBA 2:07:07.00 19:22.00
30 63 NZL19740130 CULLEN Rebecca NZL NZMBA 2:07:16.00 19:31.00
32 53 NZL19700201 SAVAGE Lisa NZL NZMBA 2:08:26.00 20:41.0
http://uci.ch/english/mtb/world_cup/2001/xc5_dh4/index_resXC.htm

WORLD CUP DURANGO, COLORADO, USA
WOMENS DUAL
1 1 USA DONOVAN Leigh USA 50.00
2 2 USA LLANES Tara USA 40.00
3 5 FRA CHAUSSON Anne-Caroline FRA 30.00
4 6 FRA JONNIER Sabrina FRA 20.00
5 3 AUS MILLER Katrina AUS 15.00
6 4 USA ELLIOTT Cheri USA 10.00
7 7 FIN REPO Katja FIN 7.00
8 9 NZL QUIN Vanessa NZL 5.00 9 8 USA STREB Marla USA 0.00
10 10 AUS MUXLOW Tai-Lee AUS 0.00

MENS DH
1 8 FRA PASCAL Mickael FRA BE-ONE TEAM 3:37.68 +0.0
2 20 USA CARTER Eric USA MONGOSE HYUNDAI 3:38.16 +0.48
3 38 USA BAILEY Colin USA MAXXIS 3:39.94 +2.26
4 10 ESP SAIZ Oscar ESP BE-ONE TEAM 3:40.43 +2.75
5 25 AUS WADDELL John AUS SUNRACE STURMEY 3:40.70 +3.02
6 18 AUS RONNING Michael AUS INTENSE CYCLES 3:41.00 +3.32
7 16 AUS RENNIE Nathan AUS YETI- PEARL IZUMI 3:42.05 +4.37
8 49 USA SIGFRID Jason USA COMPASSION DHNW 3:42.20 +4.52
9 13 GBR WARNER Rob GBR GIANT BICYCLES 3:42.47 +4.79
10 35 USA HOUSEMAN Rich USA TOMAC 3:43.23 +5.55
17 28 NZL KIRKALDIE John NZL MAXXIS TIRES 3:45.21 +7.53
22 84 NZL RANKIN Nathan NZL NZMBA 3:46.13 +8.45
WOMENS DH
1 1 FRA CHAUSSON Anne-Caroline FRA VOLVO CANNONDALE 4:01.97 0
2 6 GBR MOSELEY Tracy GBR TEAM KONA FORD FOCUS 4:07.40 5.43
3 2 USA GIOVE Missy USA GLOBAL RACING 4:07.55 5.58
4 7 FIN REPO Katja FIN TEAM GT 4:10.10 8.13
5 8 FRA JONNIER Sabrina FRA INTENSE 4:16.12 14.15
6 20 USA BRUTSAERT Elke USA SCHWINN 4:16.36 14.39
7 3 USA DONOVAN Leigh USA SCHWINN 4:19.41 17.44
8 4 GBR GRIFFITHS Fionn GBR ANCILLOTTI UK 4:25.85 23.88
9 10 FRA GROS Celine FRA SCOTT USA 4:28.03 26.06
10 9 SUI SANER Marielle SUI GLOBAL RACING 4:28.69 26.72
13 13 NZL MACLEOD Sheryl NZL NZMBA 4:33.27 31.3
16 35 NZL QUIN Vanessa NZL DD INC INTENSE 4:39.05 37.08
http://www.uci.ch/english/mtb/world_cup/2001/xc5_dh4/index.htm

Sheryl Macleod writes from Canada Grouse Mountain, Vancouver. World Cup #3
Hey everyone, More news from the races!

This race had the hugest crowd. It was so close to the city that they had 25,000 people come and watch during the weekend. They hand out sheets with the riders' names and numbers on them so people cheer for you personally when you ride down!

Vancouver is one of my favourite places, so I was so happy to have a World Cup there. The course was really short. The fastest guy, Fabian Barel was 1 minute 53 seconds! It was so crucial to do everything perfectly because everyone's times were so close together. There were five girls on the same second as me including fellow Kiwi chick Lisa Horlor who came 16th. I was right behind her with 17th. I was pretty happy with my run. It was clean and quite smooth, except there was a section at the end where I missed my line and had to brake hard twice to make the corner. As soon as you scrub off speed you lose time. The course was loads of fun though as usual!

Other Kiwis results? I think Vanessa Quinn came 21st and John Kirckaldie came 11th. Nathan Rankin was having trouble hanging on from his shoulder injury. I think he came 50th with a crash. He is much stronger now though.

The party afterwards was not so good because everything in British Columbia shuts at 2am. Everyone was just starting to dance when they turned on the lights!

The next day I hung out with a school friend from Dunedin, then hooked up a ride with the Cannondale Development Truck, as there was only the driver, Adrian in it and lots of room for me. The best part was I got to go out that night to dinner with the Volvo Cannondale team. Sauser had just won the cross country so they were celebrating. I sat at a table with Tinker Juarez, Cadel Evans, Kashi Leuchs from Dunedin (who came 11th), Anne Caro and Cedric Gracia. All the fast guys and gals!

Then I rode at Moab with Adrian on the Porcupine Rim Trail. It is 30 miles, but 26 is mostly downhill. It was heaven! So fast and flowing and then rocky and technical where you had to jump rocks or hop up onto them. Fun and games. I am a bit tired today after the first day's practice at Durango but I think it has something to do with the fact I am at 8000 feet altitude! I am lacking red blood cells to carry my oxygen to my muscles.

The course is another fast, open trail. There are very steep parts and lots of off-cambre. A few drops and jumps to keep the adrenaline going! We race on Saturday, and then it is off to Mammoth Mountain California for the next NORBA.

Hope New Zealand is treating everybody well. I miss home, but know a lot more people here now which makes it better.
Will write again soon. Keep cool.

Sheryl MacLeod
Haro Bikes NZ




A link to Vanessa Quins latest Goss from the Funky N-ZONE site

Mark Leisman (Cabin Boy) writes home with the latest MTB Marathon in Switzerland
So you thought Karapoti was tough eh? Well, we (me and the other kiwis over here), tackled the GP La Liberte held around Fribourg, SUI, on the weekend. 80km of roads, gravel, grassland, dirtroads, and singletrack, with around 2km vertical of climbing. There were also some nasty compulsory bike carry sections towards the end. Bloody tough to run after nearly 4hrs of MTB'ing! Kashi warned it was a tough race, as he and laurence had tackled it back in '97. I now have no reason to dispute this claim.

Thankfully, for once, the start was relatively sedate, as we were 'neutrilised' behind a car for the first few km, touring the streets of Fribourg. Personally I was looking forward to more of a training ride, so was content to sit back, and made no real effort to go with the pace went on on the 1st real climb. I started to get a little frustrated at the holdups in the 'technical' bits, so took some lines inspired by my old flatmate Hadley Boyce (aka Ragdoll) on a downhill, quickly gaining around 20-30 spots! Unfortunately I also gained a puncture. Upon fixing that I noticed my drink bottle was gone - only 20mins in. Thank god for neutral feed stations! So I decided to take it easy until the 1st feed zone. In the meantime I thought it might be a good time to try out my german and/or french and have a yarn to a few riders.

Not a chance. The race faces on these guys were seriously intense. They were chopping each other like crazy. It was if a world title was on the line. It was crazy. Bear in mind, these were the guys dicing for around 150-200th spot!

Unfortunately the first feed station wasn't until the 35k mark, so I was pretty glad to reach it. After sitting down and sculling a couple of drink bottles, and downing some bananas I got a little angry. Enough cruising - time to race. So for the remaining 45-50k I was on a mission - from somewhere way back in the field - around the high 100's.

Meanwhile, near the pointy end of the race, our boy Tim was doing the buisiness. In touch with the lead group for some time, before he blew in the latter stages. He'd eaten hardly anything, not expecting such a long race (rain had made the track somewhat tougher than expected). Tim, tim, tim....I dunno. He eventually finishing 17th Elite, just outside the money. The next 2 spots in Elite (although seperated from Tim by a number of other riders) were............. Jeremy, and Stu Holtham.

And me? I just kept on mowing riders down until the finish, eventually coming in around 25/26th Elite Man, in just over 4hrs. Not bad considering the circumstances. My strength at the end a good sign for upcoming races. Pretty happy really.

And what about Andy Reid? Well the worlds unluckiest cyclist missed the race. He was laid up in Hospital after a training ride crash with a nasty gash. He'll be back though!
Cabin Boy
Raceline

Robyn Wong was 3rd in this years National Pro-elite MTB champs (XC) and is currently racing overseas.
My first World Cup Mountain Bike race! The day was Sunday July 8th, the venue was atop Grouse Mountain in North Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

Before the staging began, the atmosphere was rather quiet among the competitors when I heard "hey" from behind. A face that any keen Mountain Biker would recognise held out his hand and was keen to find out who I was. It was Mr Gary Fisher himself. He didn't linger long but time enough to find out who I was and where I was from and totally happy that I was riding one of his bikes. Wahoo! That was pretty exciting.

One start loop and 7 laps!! The first corner of the pre lap was a ball of dust and stuck at the back I could see the leaders put the pace on and fire into the distance. The pre lap was not enough time to spread out the troops and naturally there had to be some who faultered on the rock drop off holding the rest of us up. So, it wasn't a great start.

The course was short at only 4.7km, technical and had a section of steep energy sapping climbs at the end of each lap. The technical sections twisted amongst trees, were damp underfoot and of dark dirt with some nasty tree roots. Most of the course was single track with some loose rocky 4WD tracks. There were numerous bridges, lined with a non slip surface scattered throughout the course and a series of 3 fairly tight and gravely switchbacks. There were also a few fun rock drops. All in all, the course was excellent and totally challenging, having a bit of everything.

The top of the course was at 1100m and the weather surprisingly, wasn't too hot. For most of the Woman's race we were quite fortunate to have cloud cover. The men weren't quite as fortunate.

During my 5th lap, I took a fall. I picked myself up, only to find my bar end had been wedged into a near vertical position, which I couldn't force back. I continued riding but lost a few more positions as I composed myself and got back into a rhythm. Just as I finished that lap I heard the motorbike behind me, signalling the leader wasn't far behind. I finished in 34th place, 2 laps down in a time around 1 hour 49 minutes. A bit disappointed but a worthy experience.

A dispute arose during the woman's race which disqualified the Italian, Annabella Stropparo, as evidence was shown on video that outside help was given during her mechanical. Final placings were Barbara Blatter, Chrissy Redden, Alison Dunlap, Caroline Alexander and Mary Grigson. Ex kiwi Mary Grigson was in 2nd place before she punctured on the last lap.

In the Men's race, Kashi did extremely well finishing 11th, taking his World Cup position to 15th. I was out there cheering him all the way. On Saturday during the DH semi finals I managed to briefly catch up with JK, April Lawyer, Lisa Horlor and Craig McGinnity.

Now, I'm on my way to Bend, Oregon to compete in the 5 day Cascade Cycling Classic road tour which starts on Wednesday July 11. After that I'll head to Mammoth Mountain for a NORBA race, but will miss the 5th World Cup race this weekend in Durango, Colorado. By the sounds of things, there should be many kiwi racers competing both in the DH and XC so Good Luck to all!
Robyn
Penny Farthing Cycles Wellington/Trek

CANADA 7-8.7.2001 WORLD-CUP
We have just had a really nice week here in Vancouver. The weather has been perfect, the venue ontop of a beautiful mountain over looking the city, and some great results! Christoph took his second ever world cup victory (after home boy, Roland Green flatted on the final decent!), while Cadel also rode amazing to finish 3rd. I finally had a strong race coming home in 11th, and Tinker rode strong in 19th (pretty darn amazing, considering he has already won s 24hr solo race this year). Anne Caro won the womans downhill yet again, and Cedrik made his best result this year in 7th.
So, we have just had a nice celebration dinner, and finally the team moral has been picked up from a rather slow start to the year. Tomorrow we move onto the classic mountain bike venue of Durango, for Worldcup #5.
Kashi
GROUSE MOUNTAIN, (B.C.) CANADA 7-8.7.2001 WORLD-CUP
Mens XC
1 13 SUI19760413 SAUSER Christoph SUI VOLVO CANNONDALE 1:57:08.00
2 1 CAN19740729 GREEN Roland CAN TREK/VOLKSWAGEN 1:57:19.00 11
3 10 AUS19770214 EVANS Cadel AUS VOLVO CANNONDALE 1:57:21.00 13
4 3 FRA19760117 MARTINEZ Miguel FRA FULL DYNAMIX 1:58:43.00 1:35.00
5 16 CAN19801209 HESJEDAL Ryder * CAN SUBARU-GARY FISHER 1:58:57.00 1:49.00
6 15 BEL19760427 PAULISSEN Roel BEL TEAM GT 2:00:18.00 3:10.00
7 38 CAN19770414 KABUSH Geoff CAN KONA FORD FOCUS 2:00:52.00 3:44.00
8 2 ESP19780824 HERMIDA Jose Antonio ESP BIANCHI MOTOREX 2:01:00.00 3:52.00
9 4 NED19730825 VAN DOOREN Bas NED SPECIALIZED 2:01:00.00 3:52.00
10 9 FRA19800816 ABSALON Julien * FRA BIANCHI MOTOREX 2:01:03.00 3:55.00
11 23 NZL19780630 LEUCHS Kashi NZL VOLVO CANNONDALE 2:01:47.00 4:39.00