Evil Announces The Calling

The Evil Calling

Have you ever wanted a bike that wasn’t like a bike at all? More like your favourite snowboard, or your funnest surfboard, the one that catches all the waves or trashes [pillow] lines faster than Kate Moss in the '90s. The Calling is your answer. This bike-shaped-skateboard has enough travel to keep you honest, while encouraging you to irresponsibly hit every extra-credit line on the trail.

At this juncture most bike companies would drive in some high-scoring-scrabble words like optimized, nimble or anti-squat technology. But we won’t insult you with that nonsense. The Calling has all the bits and bobs you have come to expect from Evil, and water bottle mounts.

The Calling is the Following's delinquent little brother that left on a road trip and never returned, that peddled into the night in search of more, then woke for the sunrise mission to the summit.

The Calling is the trails, it’s the road trips, it’s the little side hits on the way, it’s the all-day peddle-fests, the backyard pallet sessions, the pre-work rip, the “I’ll get it this time”, the stories told later in the bar with your best mates, it’s 130mm travel, it’s Super Deluxe, it’s 27.5 or 26+, it’s boost and it’s as stiff as Ron Jeremy.

The Calling Geometry

The Calling Features

Evil The Calling

Mavic To Provide First Mobile Neutral Support For Leadville 100

OGDEN, Utah - January 4, 2016 - Mavic, a leading manufacturer of bike systems and riders’ equipment, has partnered with the Blueprint for Athletes Leadville Trail 100 Mountain Bike (MTB) race series produced by Life TimeSM, The Healthy Way of Life Company, to provide the first-ever mobile neutral support to the biggest and most influential cross country mountain bike race in North America. The partnership is multi-year and Mavic will also be the official wheel supplier and sponsor of the entire Blueprint for Athletes Leadville MTB Series.  

Since 1972, Mavic’s neutral support has provided mechanical assistance to road bike races throughout the world. Regardless of team, riders entrust Mavic’s famous yellow car to assist them when in need. In order to adapt to the variable nature of mountain bike racing, Mavic will provide on-course support via multiple motorcycles, wagons, with designated Special Service Course tents along the trail, all stocked with experienced mechanics to keep the racers pedaling forward. Mavic will use this opportunity to expand its efforts in neutral support for mountain bike races.

“We look forward to becoming part of the legendary “Race Across the Sky,” assisting riders to complete something they have been training for and dreaming of,” says Mike Wilson, North American brand manager for Mavic. “The logistical difficulties of supporting a 100-mile mountain biking event will be great but our expanding team is up for the challenge. We were the first ones to provide neutral support in road racing so it’s only fitting that we are the ones that will help pave the trail too.”

First rode in 1994, the Leadville Trail 100 MTB race is one of the oldest and best-known 100-mile mountain bike races in the world. Due to growing popularity, a race entry is only secured by completing one of the races in the Leadville Qualifying Series (25-100 qualifying slots) or entering a drawing, which opened December 1. The course runs throughout the Colorado Rockies above Leadville, Colorado. Riders must be physically prepared for the distance while also being acclimated to the high altitude as the race reaches 12,424 feet above sea level. The mountain biking series began as an addition to the historic Leadville Trail 100 Run, both of which were started by Ken Chlouber in an effort to boost the economy in Leadville.

“It’s a real thrill for our Leadville team to have Mavic on board for the  2016 Blueprint for Athletes Leadville Trail 100 MTB,” says race director, Josh Colley. “Our riders will now receive the best on-course support available to make the race more competitive than ever.”

Prior to Leadville on August 13, 2016, Mavic will provide neutral support during at least two additional mountain biking events within the Leadville Trail MTB series.

2016 Lapierre Zesty

Bike Odyssey An Epic MTB Race In The Mountains Of Greece

Pindos, the largest mountain range in Greece, will host for the third consecutive year the toughest mtb race in Greece, “Bike Odyssey 2015”. From the village of Laista in Zagorohoria up to the historical city of Amfiklia, this race will be a cycling odyssey for the riders! 

The race

The route has a total length of 600 km., 25,000 elevation gains and passes through 57 villages in mountainous Greece of unrivaled natural beauty and historical significance crossing thePindos Mountains. There are few sections covered with asphalt, several paths while the largest proportion of the race route is covered by soil.

The race consists of seven stages and a prologue and has eight villages-stations. The prologue is a circuit race and has as start and finish at the square of the first village-station. At next stages the race starts from the square of one village-station and ends to the square of the next village-station.

«Bike Odyssey» is a team race and open to all (adult) ages provided they know mountain biking and have very good physical condition. Participants must form teams of two members and must ride with their team partner at all times and must not separate more than the allowable limit of 2 minutes. The valid time for a team will be the time of the last of the two team members.

Each and every rider must wear an appropriate helmet throughout the whole race. Helmets must be constructed according to safety standards. Each Participant «Bike Odyssey» is expected to be equipped according to the requirements of an 8-day mountain bike race. Appropriate attire for any kind of weather and first aid kits are minimum necessary. We recommend that you take with you additional tools and spare parts. E-Bike (power assisted) is not allowed.

During race of mountain biking has predicted from the organization to be three water supply points for athletes at each stage but each athlete is required to carry the necessary food and water that will ensure the completion of the race. 

Parallel Races

"Bike Odyssey" comes in three other versions for those who want to taste a little of magic of the 8-day version. There will be a three-day team race, «3-Day Odyssey», alongside the last 3 stages of 8-day Bike Odyssey. In addition the following one day races will take place: “Laista Circuit”, race in circuit form which will be held along with the prologue in Laista and daylong «1-Day Odyssey» to be held in parallel with the last stage. In the case of one day races, athletes can register as a unit.

Registrations 

Open from 20/11/2014 to 31/12/2014. For registrations from 01/12/14-15/12/14 you get up to 20% discount depending the participation package. Register for 8-Day Bike Odyssey or 3-Day Bike Odyssey.

More information about the whole event in race’s official webpage:
http://www.bikeodyssey.eu/en/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bike-Odyssey/164291513617269

Review Of The Enduro Mediterraneo Series 2014 & Pelion Race

The first race series of the Enduro Mediterraneo has ended. With three races for 2014, the ground has been prepared to welcome this new race format to the greek mountainbike scene.<image.gif> Despite the harsh conditions through which these races have been organized, the main organizators and all the local coordinators ( www.eviatours.com / Mountain Active / www.montisordo.gr ) managed to unite their power, setting a beautiful combination of destinations all around Greece, which either were known to the public before, or now became basic locations for Enduro mountainbiking in Greece and the Balkans.

The Pelion race
The maiden voyage of the trails of Pelion left the best impressions to all the riders, with the only setback of the alteration of the race track on Sunday due to intense weather conditions on Saturday night. The scenery was unique, with the start next to the sea, providing the riders with the opportunity to enjoy views of the Pagasitic gulf from above. The trails were really demanding at some points, and even the Prologue Stage and the Liason Stages were as enjoyable as the Special Stages. The ones that were not lucky were the riders who started first, as many leafs had fallen on the tracks from Saturday's storm making the trail very slippery.

The Winners
Nontas Lamprakopoulos from Velocity Bikes was the Series winner. He showed special commitment to his goal with 1st, 2nd & 5th places on Rnd#1, Rnd#2 & Rnd#3. With 470 points in total, he managed to gain first place against other big athletes. Velokas Apostolis finished 20th in Xanthi race, 4th in Steni & 3rd in Pelion, gathered 326 points conquering 2nd place. Vagelis Kavvadas, who is well know to the downhill community, who was really steady in general, had to stay with 9th place  and 315 points in Pelion while he came 4th & 5th at the previous races, settling at 3rd place. Konstantinos Andriotis had to settle with 4th place with 300 points participating in only two races of the series.

At the final race, and in the Junior category, Marios Zabelis from Corfu prevailed against Kalliris Panagiotis and Nikolaos Kabaklis, while also gaining top position against Nikolaos Tsarouhis and Faidon Bouloubasis in the whole series. Erini Mavraki claimed more points than any other woman race the Mediterraneo series, setting her self at the top of both downhill and enduro racing in Greece for 2014. Hardtail category showed particular interest with 20 competitors taking score. The Pelion race revealed Miltos Sarakinos, with John Korfiatis and Theodore Mavropoulos following. Leading the series is John Korfiatis with just 3 points ahead Theodore Mavropoulos. Miltos Sarakinos having competed only in two races for 2014 remains in 3rd place.

Some Race Statistics
With three races all over Greece, the Enduro Mediterraneo Series managed to gather 220 unique enduro riders. Many claim to be pure enduro riders, but many also come from XC, or DH, or even from other motorsports. Racing participants were 110 at Rnd # 1, 81 at Rnd # 2, and 121 at Rnd # 3, which shows us this more and more growing trend, and the passion riders have developed for this series. The destinations are scattered all over Greece, with one race in Xanthi, one in Steni, and one in Pelion. This geographic distribution made it easier for foreign athletes specially from Bulgaria (25 athletes), to participate in our races. Our 5 categories did actually have full participation. For 2015 we will also include one more category for Veterans 40+ as we can see more than 20 veterans competing against the younger riders. So it is about time to give same competitive race action to the more experienced category.

The race season of 2014 ends in a great way with the best of impression and a promise from the organising team for new locations for 2015. From three races for 2014, Enduro Mediterraneo is expanding to four enduro races all over Greece for 2015 and one Mini Enduro. Dates will be announced mid-November.
 We would like to thank our SUPPORTERS without whom this race series could not have been completed.