Trek World Racing Update

It's been a few weeks since we looked at how the Trek World Racing team was going, and there's been some great results in the mean time.

First up, at the third round of the Cross Country World Cup in Offenburg, Germany, Mathias Fluckiger achieved an excellent result of 6th overall and was a clear winner of the U23 category, further extending his lead in that category. Brother Lukas had a tough race with a mechanical issue and finished in 15th. 

Earlier, in the women's race, Emily Batty had a great start, but got a front flat at the worst possible time, just as she was about to descend one of Offenburg's famous steep chutes. Emily's front wheel caught a root part way down and twisted, catapulting her over the bars. Emily is made of tough stuff, however, and she got back up and made it around the lap to the tech support zone where she got a new wheel before continuing. She ended up in 51st overall and 10h in U23.

Photo courtesy CyclingNews.com

The next World Cup isn't until late July, but meanwhile the riders have been doing some National rounds, with Emily racking up a win in the Canadian National close to home and Lukas getting back on the podium too at the Racer Cup Series in Switzerland:

From the TWR press release:

Meanwhile, on the same day but in Switzerland, Lukas Flueckiger was racing a world class field at the Racer Cup, the Swiss National Series. The night before the race saw a lot of rain, so the course was muddy and slippery. The course had one long uphill on big open dirt road, as well as single track. There was also one long downhill with rocks, wet and slippery roots - extremely technical. Luk chose his Top Fuel with the a prototype Bontrager XR3 mud tires. The riders had 1 startloop and 5 laps to complete. Luk had taken a 3 day break off the bike after the Offenburg World Cup and was fresh and looking forward to the race.

Luk said: "After a solid start, I was in the lead group after the startloop. In the first lap I felt strong and did some attacking in the uphills. On the highest point I was a few seconds in lead. Then on the downhill I had a good run and gained even more time. So, after the first lap I was in lead ahead of (World Champion) Nino Schurter and Florian Vogel. On lap 3 I had a front flat tire, changed the wheel and jumped on the bike just as Nino caught me. I was still in front with him but then Vogel and Jean-Christophe Peraud were coming up fast. Nino did no work because his team mate Vogel was not far behind, but with the wind it was pretty hard to do all the work alone. On the last section Vogel caught us just as Nino attacked. No chance to follow him as I was already too tired from all the lead work before. Vogel won the sprint, Nino 2nd, and I finished 3rd, but happy".

Meanwhile the DH riders have been racking up the frequent flyer miles, and the podiums. The first World Cup was at Maribor in Slovenia. Rain all weekend made for very muddy and slippery conditions, which made race runs a bit of a lottery. All three riders had runs that could've gone better, but stayed positive and headed back to the US for some National level race's. Check an interview with Andrew and Justin from Maribor here.

Firstly was the second round of the Pro GRT series at Plattekill, New York. Backing up from the good results at the first round, Tracey Moseley won the women's race and Andrew Neethling won the men's with Justin Leov joining him on the podium in third.

Photo courtesy VitalMTB.com

The following weekend was the lucrative US Open race. Drawing a field to rival a World Cup, the competition would be close. Showing they are a force to be reckoned with, TWR achieved the same result  as the previous weekend! Two wins and a 3rd! Check out the Vital video with Needles here.

From there it was back to Europe and the second round of the World Cup at the famous Fort William venue in Scotland. It was to be a weekend of ups and downs for the team. On the plus side, the team all qualified well, and overcame previous nerves and intimidation from the rough track. Unfortunately, they couldn't turn those positives into the results they were hoping for. Nevertheless, they are taking positives from it and looking towards the Wheels of Speed event this weekend, and the next World Cup the following weekend.

Also, the second episode of the In Pursuit video series has been released. Check it out here:

Check in later for more news, or follow out Twitter.

Trek Fuel EX5

The Trek Fuel EX5 was heavily revised for 2010 with a frame that was only found last year on much more expensive models. Featuring the key Trek technologies of Active Braking Pivot, Full Floater and EVO link, the frame is a fantastic platform for anyone on a budget looking for an all-round mountain bike.

And it's not just us that think that. BikeRadar.com recently had one on test and were very impressed with the overall package. You can read the review here.

Photo courtesy BikeRadar.com

Retailing in Australia at just $2,299, it is at the lower end of the Fuel EX range, but it offers superb performance from the frame and will out perform bikes selling for much, much more!

Find a Trek dealer near you and check one out today!

Clarence Street Cyclery Women's Store Open for Business

A new arrival on the Trek dealer scene is the Clarence Street Cyclery Women's store. Located at 118 Clarence Street, it is practically right next door to the original Clarence Street Cyclery that recently celebrated it's 35th birthday.

The new store is the first of it's kind in the country, being focused purely on the female cyclist. It is staffed entirely by women who are passionate about bike riding and about helping other women enjoy the fun, freedom and fitness of riding bikes.

It's not just restricted to 'serious' cyclists either. There is a great range of bikes that are suitable for just riding down to the corner store to get the paper, as well as high end bikes for riding on the road or off.

You can read about the opening of the store and some people's opinions on it at a few blogs like Le Pista Resistance, Bicycle NSW and OhOh2.

You can also drop in and visit the store for yourself! The staff are very friendly and there are some great products to help you get out and about.

Weekend Viewing

To keep you entertained over what could be a wet weekend, check out the following videos:

Rene Wildhaber at the Rock Shox Press Camp in Colorado:

Rene Wildhaber in Colorado from Taylor Sage on Vimeo.

Trailer for the European film VAST, featuring Rene Wildhaber:

Trek World Racing In Pursuit Episode 2:

Follow Me Behind the Scenes with Cam McCaul in Baja Mexico:

World Cup DH bike weigh in, with the Justin Leov's Session 88 coming in lightest:

That's it from me, have a great weekend!

Trek Speed Concept Goes Public

For just over a year now, Trek sponsored athletes Lance Armstrong, Levi Leipheimer and Chris Lieto have been seen riding a prototype triathlon and time trial bike. The look of this bike, with it's unique aero tubing and hidden brakes, has has been generating a lot of interest. Now, finally, this bike has been released to the public.

To tie in with the time trial at the recent Tour of California, Trek held a launch for the new bikes, inviting journalists form around the world. These reports are now on line and you can see and read about the bikes for yourselves.

BikeRadar.com

Triathlon.com

FirstOffTheBike.com (including video from the official launch)

Trek president John Burke described the new Speed Concept as the most technologically advanced bike Trek have produced. It uses a revolutionary aero tube shape called Kammtail Virtual Foil to create a frame that beats all others in the wind tunnel. It also means that it is incredibly aerodynamic in cross winds too, which are more likely in 'real world' situations.

For all the details on the bike, see the dedicated web page here.

These bikes are available now through the Trek Project One program that allows you to choose the colour of your bike, along with the wheels, groupset and components. This can result in a truely unique bike that not only looks good, but is the fastest bike out there.

But don't think that these benefits are restricted only to those with loads of money. Later this year Trek will also have available the Speed Concept 7 Series and 2 Series both of which will offer most of the benefits of the 9 Series.

You can also check out an interview with Trek/K•Swiss team triathlete Chris Lieto here, courtesy of FirstOffTheBike.com

Bike Check: Remedy 9.9 from Bike Force Fremantle

We recently featured a Bike Check of a Team RadioShack Madone from Bike Force Clarkson, and now we have a Remedy 9.9 from Mark Williamson at Bike Force Fremantle.

Last year Mark had a Trek Remedy 8, and used it for all sorts of riding including a local 4 Hour Enduro!

Mark loved the versatility of the Remedy, and has decided to up the ante this year and gone for a Remedy 9.9!

He says that he is impressed with the improvements over the 2009 model "and I thought that bike was a fantastic ride. DRCV rear shock is bottomless. ... The carbon main frame is so much lighter and stiffer to ride, this bike climbs like it should be a XC machine."

With a few component changes, he has got the weight down to just 12.2kgs! (It is a 19.5")

Looking good Mark! Hope you have some fun riding it!

You can learn more about the Remedy on the website, or see your local dealer.

Wet weather getting you down?

Well, a lot has happened in the last 2 weeks, so today will be an attempt to catch up on it all. This way you'll have heaps of reading to do and videos to watch over the weekend while it's raining outside. Well, if you are in Sydney at least. For those of you living where it isn't raining, lucky you! And I hope you make the most of it! :-)

First up, when I last updated, the Giro D'Italia and the Tour of California were both underway. Both races saw exciting racing right up until the final stage, with the top 5 riders not giving in and attacking right up until the end. Great stuff to see! In the end, Ivan Basso took the win in the Giro, despite the best efforts of Cadel Evans, and Aussie Mick Rogers took the win in California, denying Team RadioShack rider Levi Leipheimer his 4th consecutive victory, despite his best efforts.




Photo courtesy of VeloNews.com

Despite Basso winning the overall, it was great to see all the other jersey's in the Giro won by Aussies! Cadel took the red points jersey, Matt Lloyd the green climbers jersey and Riche Porte, the young sensation of the race, the white U23 jersey. An excellent race for Australia.

Meanwhile, the build up to the Tour de France is building. Although the exact make up of Lance Armstrong's preparation for the Tour was still undecided recently, he is now competing in the Tour de Luxembourg, finishing in 5th in the very short opening prologue, and currently sitting in 3rd place overall after the first stage. Fellow Team RadioShack riders Gregory Rast and Andreas Kloden are also in the top 10.

The other Trek sponsored road team, Trek-Livestrong U23, also had a win recently with Taylor Phinney winning the U23 Paris-Roubaix for the second year in a row. This is a great result and confirms the talent this young rider has. You can see a video from the race here.

Although denying rumors that he will get called up to Team RadioShack early, no doubt there is a bright future ahead for him.

Photo courtesy CyclingNews.com

That's it for now. I'll have more stories from the world of Trek soon.