SB Nation User Blog: lyne

RedBull Rampage - these guys are nuts...

lyne — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 03:43:26 -0000

... and I would love to be there taking photos.

The RedBull Rampage is back after a 3 year hiatus on a course that, and I quote "the riders who plan to tackle this sucker better be packing some brass cojones and have them polished to a lustrous shine."

What is it you may ask? The RedBull Rampage is a freeride mountain biking competition (check out the teaser video) which brings riders from all over the world to a sandstone ridge in the brutal landscape near Virgin, Utah. Riders such as World Champ Gee Atherton and his brother Dan, 2004 winner Cedric Gracia, Darren Berrecloth and lots more.

The competition is held on October 2-5 with the first two days scheduled as open practice days for the athletes, allowing them to scout their lines, size up the thirty-plus foot gaps and cliff drops, and practice their tricks.aturday, each of the 28 invited riders will take two runs; their best single-run scores will determine the top 14 who will advance to Sunday's final. The 14 finalists will run two more descents on Sunday, with their best score determining the overall winner.

Wanna go? Not so easy. You'll have to walk or bike four miles from the parking lot to the contest venue over uneven desert terrain. Pack everything in and pack everything out.

More info on the race site including photos of Day 1 (practice day) and the course and videos from previous years.

If the sideburns weren't enough reason to like Kabush....

lyne — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 18:23:01 -0000

Yao Ming vs Geoff Kabush at the Olympic Closing Ceremony

If the sideburns weren't enough reason to like Kabush....

Men's USA Crits Finals

lyne — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 01:28:51 -0000

Well, after being abandoned by my acolyte (ha!) who left during the industry race, I hung around the Men's USA Crits final. The race was marred by crashes mostly on the first corner, heck that was a crash in the first lap. The racing was aggressive and fast as only 38 points separated Toshiba‐Santo’s Yosvany Falcon over Time Pro’s Adam Myerson in the men’s overall competition.

Hilton Clarke and his two Toyota-United teammates took advantage of the cat and mouse games being played by the Toshiba-Santo and Time teams to pull out the win. Aldo Ilesic (Blacksheep) was second and Myerson finished third.

Clarke has time to celebrate his victory

"Tonight was a really sketchy course and I have the best cornerer in the business with Ivan Stevic and he just looked after me the whole race and the word of the night was composure. I just really, in the last three laps, had to keep my composure, it was just crazy out there. So just in the corners, every time, I just gave a bit of distance, I really made sure I had that last corner though, everyone else I think on every corner could outcorner me but that last corner, I kept waiting for it and I kept watching it, going through it and knowing I could do it in that last corner. " said Clarke who is also looking for a contract for next season.

All photos copyright Lyne Lamoureux

Lining up for the start of the 60-lap race around a 1km course

An aggressive Jonny Sundt (Kelly Benefit/Medifast) in front of a fake moon - only in Vegas

Rider getting ready to go back in after one of the numerous crashes

Stevic leads pack around last corner

Focused Myerson

It's all about positioning in the final laps

Clarke moves up to the front with one lap to go

"I'm looking for a job, I'm riding as hard as I can, I'm not finishing my season until I've got a job so it's not the best thing for US cycling but all I can do is try and win races to get myself a job." said Clarke whose Toyota-United team is folding.

Race results and USA Crits Series final standings here
More photos here

Women's USA Crits Finals

lyne — Mon, 29 Sep 2008 00:43:52 -0000

As part of the Las Vegas Interbike extravangaza, last Thursday's night was held the final race of the USA Crits Series. The event organizer did try to make it interesting by having a beer tent, adding dancers (it is Vegas) and more, but for me it came down to a sketchy parking lot crit with bad lightning. Maybe I was just tired after two long days in Vegas.

Also, a one-hour industry crit was scheduled in between the women's and men's races with the men starting at 9:30pm. Way too long for an industry race in my opinion or they should open up the VIP tent to the media as it killed the buzz. So much so that the announcers were telling the crowd, the majority being attendees from Interbike, that they were the quietest and lamest audience they had even seen.

But the cyclists took the race seriously as the overall winner was still up in the air with only 64 points separating leader Kelly Benjamin (Cheerwine) from Vanderkitten’s Jennifer Wilson. And to add to the pressure, a lot of cyclists are still looking for a contract for the 2009 season.

In the final 4 laps of the 40 lap women's crit, Jen McRae (Advil/Chapstick) attacked with only one other rider who couldn't keep up and with 2 laps to go McRae went solo to victory. Tina Pic won the field sprint for second place over Laura Van Gilder.

"This is such an awesome way to end the season. I have been consistently finishing in third all season long. I have been quietly wanting to improve on that….to do it here in Las Vegas is totally awesome. I am pumped." said McRae.

All photos copyright Lyne Lamoureux

Women race in front of purple thingie where the dancer did her job (no, no photos of the dancer)

Lauren Franges (Tibco) leads the field in front of Mandalay Bay

CrossVegas winner Katie Compton (Spike) put in a few early moves

Jen McRae is off with Christina Smith (LoneStarWorks.com)

McRae is solo with 2 laps to go

Cheerwine leads the chase

A happy McRae hopes that this win will help her get a contract for next year.

"It is not my last year of racing. I am not really sure what is next. Advil is not sticking with it. This is another reason to come to Vegas….to talk to some sponsors for the following year. " said McRae.

In the end, there were no changes to the USA Crits standings. Kelly Benjamin won the overall with Jennifer Wilson in second and Taitt Sato in third. Vanderkitten won the team title.

Race results and USA Crits Series final standings here
More photos here

Men's CrossVegas

lyne — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 23:24:53 -0000

The crowds were bigger and rowdier by the time the men's CrossVegas race started at 9pm. The presence of Lance Armstrong brought out a lot of media and the scrum at the start/finish line was unbelievable (see pic on the flip). It was so bad that when I was talking to the winner Ryan Trebon (Kona) after the race, we were physically pushed by folks, including media, trying to get close to Armstrong - blah.

But the racing was great.

"This was the most kickass [cross race] I've ever done, I've done a lot, I've raced I think eight World Championships, I don't know eight or nine Nationals in my time. So many people, to have Lance here, one of my other hero of all times, [Thomas] Frischknecht here closing out his career, it's badass." said US Cross Champ Tim Johnson who finished second.

Trebon wins after a solo attack in the final laps. I was all ready to get the shot but the guy (with a media pass) in front of me with his phone moved and so...

All photos copyright Lyne Lamoureux

The selection was made pretty early on as a group of about twelve riders separated itself from the pack which shattered in mutiple chase groups. Armstrong was in the third group chasing with BMC's Tony Cruz among others.

Canadian Geoff Kabush attacked the group with three laps to go and got a gap. Jonathan Page bridged up to him and...

"They went and I had kind of a bad moment there, and I just had to tip myself back, I kind of knew, Kabush was tired and Page went across to him and Jon wasn't doing any work and was sitting in so I knew it was going to come back , and I just kind of rode myself back into it. I don't know, I was just trying to do something like maybe get a group of three or four, try to see how it went from there, I just didn't want that group to go to the last lap." said Trebon.

The media scrum around Lance Armstrong at the start

Two-time Danish Cross Champ Joachim Parbo in the house.

Trebon leads front group through hurdles

Jonathan Page finished fourth

Third-place finished Adam Craig bunny hops while Frischy carries

The guys at the back of the field raced hard but enjoyed the crowds, grabbing money as they went. Some even came with wigs on such as Justin England and ?

Lance Armstrong over the hurdles

A focused Armstrong

Kabush attacks with 3 laps to go but was caught and finished sixth. We asked him the following day what he though about Lance Armstrong racing and he said (with a smile): "Was he there? I never saw him."

Frischy finished fifth

Tim Johnson

Mountain Bike World Champ Christopher Sauser tried his hand at cross. He finished seventh.

Trebon still with the lead group in the final laps just before his solo attack

Complete results here
More photos here

Women's CrossVegas

lyne — Sun, 28 Sep 2008 23:00:31 -0000

The Men's and Women's CrossVegas races were a blast. While there was no mud and the course was considered 'easy', the racing was fast and aggressive, the crowds big and enthusistic (and beered up as it should be in a cross race) and the organizers had set up plenty of flood lights to help out with the photos. Speaking of, as I had to make do without a real flash (don't ask why, I am an idiot...), the shots could be considered artistic.

The women's race came down to a battle between US Cross Champ Katie Compton (Spike) and Luna's Katrina Nash.

Compton wins CrossVegas 2008

"It was really hard because Katerina rode really well. It was a challenging race and the course was really tough. I tried everything I could to go fast. We were trying to attack each other and we also tried to have a pace that we both could sustain. It’s pretty hard to get in front on this course. We are just naturally fast starters so we just kept the pace on and we really got a good start. It feels really good to win." said Compton after the race.

All photos copyright Lyne Lamoureux

Canadian Cross Champion Wendy Simms is in the house. She finished seventh.

Compton at the front in the early laps.

Luna's Georgia Gould crashed in the barrier section and lost touch with leaders Nash & Compton and finished third

Kelli Emmett finished fourth.

Roadie Meredith Miller (Aaron's) is trying cross and is loving it.

The final podium (l-r): Katrina Nash, Katie Compton and Georgia Gould

Complete results here
More photos here

Interbike - Day 2

lyne — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 03:27:51 -0000

Apologies to all for the delay in coming back to the collective.

My last visit to Interbike was two years ago, and the addition of the two evening (night?) races, the CrossVegas and the USA Crits finale, make for extremely long days. Thursday started off with the Armstrong press conference at 9am and finished at 11:30pm when the men's Crit race finished and I made it back to the hotel - and still hadn't processed the photos.

Also, both Stephanie and I noticed other changes at Interbike the first moment we set foot on the expo floor on Wednesday morning. The crowd attending the show was smaller, less exhuberant, less free stuff given out and the number of 'star' riders available to sign autographs was also smaller and mostly all Americans. The only European road cyclist was Mark Cavendish. Was this caused by Worlds being scheduled at the same time? The economy? The fact that many teams are switching sponsors?

We discussed this with a couple who own a bike shop and they confirmed our thoughts. The bike industry is taking a hit along with everyone else with the economy troubles facing us. A lot of owners are now faced with a big inventory and are not ordering 2009 wares from the vendors, or not in as high volume. And there were no major announcements to generate buzz. They went on to add that the area that is still growing and making money was in the customization, including custom jerseys.

On with the show

The new Merckx

The ageless Merckx

updated: More photos here

The Lance Armstrong Press Conference

Rock Racing's Botero Fuji bike from Tour of Britain

Boonen's Specialized

The Luna ladies including Georgia Gould

The lovely Niki Gudex being interviewed by a young reporter

Thomas Frischnecht

All photos copyright lynelamoureux.com.

News from Bobby J and Rahsaan Bahati

lyne — Fri, 26 Sep 2008 00:54:11 -0000

As we all know, Bobby Julich announced his retirement from Team CSC Saxo Bank earlier in August. The 36-year old rider has been with the team since 2004 and is looking ahead to a possible future within the sport.

This morning, Bobby J told me that he was offered a DS position with the team but he turned it down as he said he "wasn't a good multitasker" with such tasks as driving, texting and talking on the radio and that furthermore, he "hated to drive". He wants to stay with the team, and he is still talking about his future with Bjarne Riis and would like to work in some capacity with the younger riders because he believes "that is what his strengths are".

I also talked to Rock Racing's Rahsaan Bahati yesterday. In a cyclingnews interview in July, Bahati describes his chronic injuries, from his crushed L5 vertebrae is crushed to his overgrown right femur which doesn't fit in my hip socket. I asked Rahsaan about his surgery plans, and he will go under the knife in a few weeks to take care of his hip, but will not have surgery for his back. As he put it, he talked to a few people, and they told him "not do it because he would never come back as strong".

Interbike - Day 1

lyne — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 14:19:00 -0000

Greetings, er what day is it? what time?

Sorry for delay, but the day ended quite late with a great race last night, the Vegas cross when Kona's Ryan Trebon put the hurt on everybody in the final laps to take the win ahead of US Cross Champion Tim Johnson (Cannondale/Cyclocrossworld.com) and Adam Craig (Giant). In the other story, Lance Armstrong riding in a LiveStrong kit raced hard and finished 22nd. Photos later...

Stephanie and I spent the day meeting old friends and making new friends,oh and collecting some autographed posters for the collective. There were less road cyclists signing stuff than previous years. And took a few photos of the shiny stuff ...

you know what to do

It's a big place

Look shiny colorful wheels

Did I mention autographs?

Gee Atherton, World Champion Mountain Biker

Rock Racing Michael Balll & Rahsaan Bahati

Jill Kintner, third in the BMX at the Olympic Games in Beijing

via lynelamoureux.com

Interbike

lyne — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 01:18:03 -0000

Allrightie folks, it's that time of year again, the serious-bike-retail-show-fans-seeking-autographs-free-schwag-contract-negociation-party-free-schwag-drinking-what-the-heck-lets-add-two-races-all-in-Vegas event known as Interbike. Love it or hate it, it's the place to be at the end of the road season in the bike business in North America.

And I'll be there, reporting all most some of the happenings to PodiumCafe readers. So what's going on, you may ask?

Bike (frame, component, tire, saddles, any techie stuff you can think of and more) vendors are showing their new wares to retailers, hustling for orders. Pro riders of all sorts sit in booths and sign autographs to bring attention to the booth. Media is running around taking photos of anything that moves or is shiny, bonus points if it's shiny and moving. Oh, and lots of alcohol is flowing.

And to make it even more interesting, two races will be held under the stars: Cross Vegas and the finale of the USA Crits Series.

Update: I'll leave it up to Chris to come up with a way to distribute the schwag (mostly autographed posters) once I get back.

More on the flip (but before moving on, cool doodad from Vee again!)

CrossVegas on Wednesday, starting with the Wheelers and Dealers at 6:30pm, followed by the Elite Women race and culminating in the Elite Men race at 9pm (and importantly the beer garden opens at 6pm). Interesting lineup which includes Cross National Champ Tim Johnson, . Thomas Frischknech, Andy Jacques-Mayne, Chris Jones, Jonathan Page, starcrossed winner Jeremy Powers, Wells bros Todd & Troy, and the twin towers of Barry Wicks and Ryan Trebon ... and lots more. The women include starcrossed winner Sue Butler, Katie Compton, Georgia Gould, Laura Van Gilder and more. (warning: I have never shot a cross race at night, should be interesting).

On Thursday evening, is the final of the USA Crits Series, yep a 1km parking lot at the Mandalay Bay in Vegas. The Pro/1/2 Women start at 7:20pm and the Pro/1 Men at 9:15pm (bummer no beer garden on the schedule). No start list yet. Of note, the races will be streamed live at UniversalSports.com

Finally, the current schedule of all happenings can be seen here

And pics from 2005 & 2006:

Even Eddy needs a nametag

Sharing funny stories

Work it baby (yeah I know it's blurry but who cares)

Shiny stuff