2011 UCI World Cup Best Events

In keeping with tradition, riders, UCI Mountain Bike teams, media, sponsors and UCI officials voted for the best events of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano. At the end of each season, a trophy is awarded to one of the organisers in each of the three disciplines: cross-country, downhill and four-cross. 

Cross-country: Nove Mesto Na Morave convinces all 
Part of the World Cup calendar for the first time, the Czech event convinced all. The perfect organisation, great TV production and enthusiastic crowds, with as a cherry on the cake the win of the national hero Jaroslav Kuhlavy, had many considering the event as the best in years. Offenburg (GER) was lauded as one of the most technical courses of the series and came in second place ahead of last year’s elected winner, the Yorkshire Dalby Forest (GBR). 

Downhill: La Bresse takes the top spot 
La Bresse (France) who joined the World Cup calendar just two years ago was voted best downhill event of the season. The smooth organisation, unique atmosphere and the thousands of spectators that turned out for this event ensured its popularity within the mountain bike community. The short, old school track which renders tight results was also cited. Last year’s winner, the well established Fort William (GBR), also proved popular in second place, noted for its great loud, big and boisterous crowd and long demanding track. The small ski resort three hours north of New York City, Windham (USA), took third place with a particular mention for the excellent organisation as well as the welcome and enthusiasm of the local population and its local community support/work. 

Four-cross: Fort William rewarded for its efforts 
Ten years of World Cups / World Championships has seen Fort William rise as the most popular Four-cross event of 2011. The new track is providing great racing and clearly seduced everyone. Val di Sole (ITA) which in 2008 hosted the Mountain Bike World Championships, was also well liked and took second place. The Austrian resort of Leogang in third place is creating a buzz with its permanent track, designed by the German Four-cross rider, Guido Tschugg. Leogang will host next year’s Mountain Bike World Championships.

Every year, the competition for the trophy for the Mountain Bike World Cup’s best event is more intense and more closely fought. This is more than encouraging for the quality of the series’ events!

2012 Trek Session 9.9

Details

• Colors Carbon Smoke
• Frame OCLV Mountain Carbon w/InTension main frame & seatstay, alloy chainstay, Carbon Armor, ABP DH, Full Floater, E2 tapered head tube, AngleSet compatible, internal control routing, HexMC carbon EVO Link, Mino Link, MicroTruss, replaceable derailleur hanger, 210mm travel
• Front suspension Fox Factory Series 40 Fit RC2 Hybrid Air w/Ti coil spring, Kashima coat, hi/lo speed compression, rebound, 1-1/8" steerer, 20mm thru axle, 203mm travel
• Rear suspension Fox DHX RC-4 w/externally adjustable velocity sensitive damping, bottom-out force adjust and bottom-out progressiveness, external rebound; 8.75x2.75" (S 400lb; M 450lb; L 500lb; XL 500lb spring), tuned by Trek in California
• Sizes S, M, L, XL
• Wheels DT Swiss 240s, 20mm front hub, 157x12mm rear hub; DT Swiss FR 600 32-hole rims
• Tires Bontrager G4 Team, 26x2.35"
• Shifters SRAM X0, 10 speed

Geometry

2012 Trek 9.9 Carbon

2012 Specialized Demo II

Features

• Manipulated M5 alloy FSR frame with Mag Link has 8" of rear wheel travel; an oversized, forged head tube; rear derailleur protector, with suspension linkage engineered for the world's toughest terrain
• Cane Creek Double Barrel coil shock provides a downhiller's dream of externally adjustable high-and-low-speed rebound and compression settings for maximum control over challenging terrain
• RockShox Boxxer World Cup has 200mm of air-sprung travel, and features extreme tuning capabilities with high-and-low-speed compression and rebound adjustments, and a 20mm Maxle thru-axle
• New Roval DH rims are 30mm wide, laced with DT Swiss spokes to Specialized hubs with a 20mm front thru-axle and 150x12mm rear thru-axle hub creates a reliable, and super strong wheelset that easily handles the biggest hits
• Specialized Butcher DH 26 x 2.3" soft dual compound front and rear tires offer great traction with Monster Team approved tread, and a bombproof casing
• SRAM X0 DH crankset with carbon arms, 36T chainring and Gamut bashguard is built with speed and durability in mind
• Renthal Fat Bar is 780mm wide for maximum control for riding the steepest descents, just like the Monster boys
• Custom Avid Code X0 hydraulic disc brakes for lightweight precision, modulation and power, plus carbon levers with tool-less reach
• SRAM X0 DH short cage derailleur and 10-speed 11-26t cassette provide lightweight and accurate shifting performance

Geometry

Neko Mulally Takes Gold And Silver At US nationals

18 year old Neko Mulally from Reading, Pennsylvania, picked up 2 medals and a fastest time of the day honor at the US National Championships held this past weekend in Beech Mountain, North Carolina.

His first medal came in the Dual Slalom where he was able to compete against the best Pro's in the US, and found himself in the final against celebrated slalom rider Mitch Ropelato. The first round of the final saw the two riders within 100th's of a second of each other, and the gap between the two at the end of the match up was only 0.37secs.

About his Dual Slalom, Neko said: "This was the first time I'd raced slalom all year and I really enjoyed it. It was tight racing and the crowd was huge, which made for a really fun night of riding my Trek. The crowd was so loud I could hardly hear the cadence in the gate!"

In the Downhill Championships, as Neko is still a junior until the end of this year, he was placed in the Junior category, which he won decisively by nearly 11 seconds over Austin Warren, in the very wet conditions. Team mate Aaron Gwin crashed in the Elite Men's and took 2nd. Neko's time of 2mins 43.2secs was 1.5secs quicker than anyone else that day and would have won him the elite men's title, but rules are rules, so Neko will wait until 2012 to have his shot at that coveted US Flag on the sleeve of his team jersey.

On the Downill, Neko said: "National Champs was something I have been looking forward to all year. It was a really fun atmosphere down in North Carolina. So many familiar faces and good people around. All the tracks were really well built, fun and challenging. My good friend Christopher Herndon has been working here all summer preparing for the event and really did an awesome job. It was typical east coast weather all week with a little rain every day and foggy mornings. Fox Racing Shox was there and we pitted with them for week, and Shimano was also there with full support.

"The downhill track was really hard by race time. I ran my Wetscreams uncut for the first time ever. I had a good run, got sideways and was really stoked to post the fastest time."