Trek Australia is offering 8 lucky people the chance to participate in a mountain bike skills master class with New Zealand World Cup downhiller Justin Leov, from the Trek World Racing team.
Known for being one of the worlds best downhillers, Justin possesses a wealth of riding talent that has helped him get to the World Cup podium on numerous occasions. That talent also comes in handy away from the race track when mountain biking on trails the world over, and it is these ‘trail riding’ skills that Justin has taught in previous skills clinics and will be teaching in this Master Class. A very easy-going guy, Justin is known as being an excellent teacher, passing on his many years of riding experience in a very understandable way to his pupils.
Now is your chance to participate in a Justin Leov Master Class at the world class MTB facility, Stromlo Forest Park. To enter simply follow the guidelines below.
Enter to win a MTB Skills Master Class with Justin Leov
How to enter:
1. Follow Trek Australia on Twitter: @TrekBikesAust (If you are already a follower, you don’t need to un-follow and re-follow)
2. Send a Tweet explaining why you would benefit from a MTB Skills Master Class with Justin Leov. Tweets don’t have to be just text. They could be a photo or something else. Get creative!
3. Tweets DO need to include the hashtag #TrekLeovClass
4. Justin Leov will pick the 8 best Tweets as the winners.
The Prizes:
1. The chance to attend a MTB Skills Master Class conducted by Justin Leov at Stromlo Forest Park, Canberra, ACT, on Saturday March 19th and Sunday March 20th, 2011. Spots are limited to 8 people.
Official Rules:
1. No purchase necessary to enter or win.
2. You must be 18 years or older to enter.
3. You must be following @TrekBikesAust on Twitter
4. Tweets must include the hashtag #TrekLeovClass to be eligible
5. Entries will close and judging take place at 6pm Tuesday March 15th, Canberra time. ***Competition extended to 6pm Wednesday March 16th, Canberra time!***
6. You must be able to accept the prize as it is outlined above. The prize is not transferable and is not redeemable for cash.
7. Participants in the Master Class could be photographed and those photos used in publications from Trek Australia or Australian Mountain Biking magazine.
8. The Class will start at 3pm on Saturday afternoon, March 19th, 2011, with an introductory BBQ. The remainder of the class will be conducted from 9am to approximately 3pm on Sunday March 20th, 2011.
9. Winners will need to make their own way to Stromlo Forest Park, Canberra, ACT, and provide their own accommodation, if required.
Ever since mountain bikes started being divided into categories there has always been arguments about which bike is the most versatile. Of course, this depends a lot on the sort of terrain that you ride, and the sort of rider that you are, but that doesn't stop the specualting and the arguements.
In the Fuel EX and the Remedy, Trek have developed 2 outstanding mountain bikes that are very capable all-rounders. Of those two, the Remedy has longer travel and has become a favourite for those riders who love to hit the gnarlier lines and jumps while out on their trail rides.
One fan of the Remedy is Jeremy from Venture Cycles in Noosaville. Here's what he said about the bike recently:
Thought I’d flick you a photo of the Remedy in action one Saturday morning Shop Ride. The bike is still impressing me each ride in one way or another…a bike that handles the gravity trails and big hits with no complaints has no right pedaling up a hill as well as it does…truly an awesome bike..
So, the Remedy is definitely in the running if you are looking for a versatile bike! Check one out at your local Trek dealer!
LSD Sports is a triathlon store and club based in Melbourne. Trek Australia and LSD helped a few of their top club members recently to get onboard a new Trek Speed Concept 9 Series. One of these triathletes is Natalie Sheffield.
After using the bike for a few weeks, including the Shepparton Half Ironman where she finished 5th overall, she wrote this email explaining just what she thought of her new bike:
Hi Guys
Here is a little review of my new green machine: the Trek Speed Concept 9.5
This bike looks fast, feels fast and my recent TT results clearly show the streamline benefits. I recently welcomed the offer from LSD and Trek to get myself a TT bike for racing, rather than racing on my road bike - an idea that I have entertained for sometime but never truly been able to justify the spend or convinced of the time benefit.
I've had this bike for just on a month now, which gave me a few weeks to get some training in on it before doing the Shepparton 1/2 Ironman last weekend.
What do I think of it? From the very first ride I could see that this bike is a fast comfortable ride. For a TT bike the handling is excellent - cornering, climbing and descending is a breeze and it is super comfortable on long rides. The only downside to the sensational streamlined design with fully integrated everything is that basic adjustments, particularly the front and rear brakes are a little more complicated (and best left to the experts at LSD). Still I wouldn't swap it for anything right now - I love it!!!
The other great thing about this bike is that the fluro green colour is much easier to spot than my black and silver road bike in transition and I'm apparently much easier for my supporters to spot out on the course now.
Thanks LSD, Trek and particularly Cam at LSD for all your support and great attention to detail.
Its a great ride!
Natalie Sheffield
LSD Team Member
So, if you want to experience the speed for yourself, get yourself to one of our upcoming Demo events, or speak to your local Trek dealer. Speed Concept 9 Series bikes are available through Project One, so you can spec them just how you want, or order them as a frame only, which includes the handlebars, extensions, seatpost and brakes.
Well after a bit of a break, including a move to a new city, we're back in the blogosphere. There has been lots going on in Trek land, including the launch and arrival in the country of the 2011 Trek bikes. You can see them all now over at TrekBikes.com.au
The Trek World Racing team finished off the racing season very strongly with an overall World Cup win for Mathias Flukiger and a World Championship for Mathias in the U23 mens XC and for Tracey Moseley in the Womens DH. You can see the latest episode of the In Pursuit series here:
Meanwhile, Bart Brentjens is out here in Australia competing in the Crocodile Trophy, "the worlds hardest, longest, hottest and most adventutous MTB race in the world."
Photo courtesy CyclingNews.com
As of last night he had ridden his Trek SuperFly to victory in the last 3 stages, and sat in 2nd overall, 4.22 behind the current leader Urs Huber, with 3 stages to go.
Over on the road, Lance Armstrong has announced that the Tour Down Under will be his last professional race outside of the US. No doubt this event will be up to it's normal high standard and will be a fantastic week of cycling and racing in Adelaide. With this being Lance's last time to the event, make sure you take the opportunity to see one of the worlds greatest sportsmen in action. Keep an eye on the blog and our Twitter for details of some exciting things Trek has planned for the week.
Of course next year Trek will also be sponsoring the new Luxembourg cycling team that will have Andy and Frank Schleck riding for them. The team will also include cycling legends Stuart O'Grady and Jens Voight. This is an exciting new development in the world of Pro cycling, and you'll have to keep an eye on the worlds cycling media for further news about signings and sponsors for the team.
In triathlon news, Chris Lieto put in a strong challenge again at the Hawaii Ironman, posting a fastest bike time on his Speed Concept 9.9, but didn't get the final result he was hoping for.
Photo courtesy TriRig.com
Fellow Trek/K•Swiss team member and Hawaii first-timer Julie Dibens set a womens course record on the bike leg on her way to a strong 3rd place. Check out TriRig.com for some coverage of 'the fastest bikes of Kona' and a full review of the Speed Concept 9.9.
If you're up at the Noosa triathlon festival, check in to the Trek stand at the Expo to see the Speed Concept in the flesh and purchase a limited edition 'SPEED IS HERE' t-shirt. You can also test ride a Madone or a Speed Concept at Venture Cycles in Noosa.
That's it from me for now. Now that we have settled in here in Canberra you can expect some more regular updates to the blog here, and don't forget to follow us @TrekBikesAust to get the latest news as it breaks, and to find out about other Demo events and exclusives. Speaking of Canberra, it is fantastic to be in a city that caters for cyclists. Bike paths everywhere that make cycling places that much easier, calmer and safer, great road bunches for training, crit racing, and plenty of MTB trails. See you out there!
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.
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!
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.
