|
|
|
Fontana NMBS 2008
The great thing about the first race of the season is that you can work out the bugs... Unfortunatley my computer crapped out during the weekend, so the last few day's reports have been a bit delayed. Everything's back in order now & I'm working on some great stuff for Sea Otter! Be on the look out for not just daily reports, but news as it happens!
Day 4 - Friday, March 30
|
Riders arose in the morning finding the ground
wet at their homes & hotel rooms. Apparently in the surrounding towns, the
heavens opened up & poured for several hours over the night. However, to
everyone's surprise, the ground was completely dry at the Fontana track.
With only about an hour or so worth of practice, riders took their last few runs to finalize their line choice & see how the track was wearing in. One notable rider not participating in today's dh action is Cole Bangert. Cole was spotted with his hand bandaged up from the previous night's MTX crash. Cole said that his wrist & hand wasn't broke, but they're just taking precaution for the next few days. Come seeding time, the sky's cleared, but temperatures remained a bit cool. A few riders were having issues with blown out corners & random rocks knocked into the course, but since every rider would qualify, anyone with a mistake would be able to brush themselves off & get ready for the finals. With several riders saving their energy for the finals, it was a hard call to make if you were betting on any particular rider for the win. Kovarik, Rennie, Blenkinsop, Rando, Saiz, Leov, Carter, Strobel, Cole & many more... I would seriously hate to take odds on this race! In the end of qualifying, Cameron Cole (Team Maxxis) was sitting in first. A few seconds behind sat Jared Rando (Giant), Sam Blenkinsop (Yeti Fox Shox), Duncan Riffle (Cannondale) and the aussie tag-team of Chris Kovarik (CRC Intense) & Nathan Rennie (Santa Cruz Syndicate). In the women's field, Melissa Buhl (Team KHS) also took top spot in qualifying. Although the women's field is a bit smaller, there are some extremely fast names in the mix. Griffiths, Myklak, Buchar, Petterson... many of whom have done well or have won previously here in Fontana. In the finals, Chris Kovarik (Chain Reaction Cycles / Intense) was on another level. There are only a few times when the phrase "the rocks moved outta the way when he came down" can be uttered... & this was certainly the case! Throughout all the turns, steeps, & rock gardens, Kovarik was at ease. His Intense M6 made it look like he was riding on a flat surface. Kovarik was the only person to crack the teens at 2:19.6. A few seconds behind sat fellow Aussie Nathan Rennie at 2:22.2 (is that a sign???). It was practically an Oceania event as the Kiwi's filled out the podium. Yeti / Fox Shox's Justin Leov & Sam Blenkinsop placed 3rd & 4th respectively, while top seeded qualifier Cameron Cole rounded out the podium in 5th spot. In the women's field, Melissa Buhl took top honors, besting her competition by over 8 seconds! Lisa Myklak took second place, with Joanna Petterson in 3rd, Claire Buchar in 4th & Fionn Griffiths (Norco) pulling out a fifth place finish, after sustaining a crash in her run. All in all, it was a great weekend, albeit a bit early in the year for most people. RUMOR MILL Rumor has it that this will be the last Fontana stop in the series (or whatever the series will come to be). With this being the last year for Blue Wolf & Team Big Bear running the show (thank God), it's being said that there will no longer be a NMBS/National/NORBA series. Yes I know many of you might be happy about this, however since "certain people" have really ruined the sport of mountain bike racing for us, this come down as a dark day in MTB history when the series is cancelled. Some say that there will be a East Coast / West Coast series... other say that there will be nothing that will replace it. I personally think they should work with already established races (similar to what they're doing with the MSC event in Angelfire)... but apparently no one at USAcycling cares about my opinion. Only time will tell & hopefully the people in charge will get their heads out of their asses & actually put some effort into the sport. With the remaining factory teams like Giant, Maxxis, etc not racing any further NMBS races... they've got to take the hint!
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
Day 3 - Friday, March 29
|
MTX Finals
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
Day 2 - Friday, March 28
|
Again sorry for the delayed report... no excuses this time (though I did have a GOOD reason)... & didn'get home til well after midnight. Anyway, some quick notes.. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
Day 2 - Thursday, March 27
|
Sorry for the delayed update, luckily being the first day there isn't really a whole lot to report. I only just figured out the internet set up here at David K's house. Speaking of David K, he is on his honeymoon out in Maui, Hawaii this week. Congratulations to him & his new wife Michelle! |
|
|
|
|
|
|
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
)
Day 1 - Wednesday, March 26
Dropped by Fontana for a few hours today to check in & quickly set up the Nema booth. There weren't that many teams there yet... though a few slowly arrived throughout the day. Yeti was one of the first to be set up. Luke Strobel was helping his mechanics & fellow Maxxis personnel to set up their pit. The X-Fusion boys rolled up as well, right as I was returning to Southridge Park (from helping Don Jackson pick up the shuttle vans). EC was rolling around somewhere... Mongoose apparently won't have a pit here, but the Mongoose TRIBE will, so EC will most likely be pitting with them.
The MTX course appeared to be unchanged. I only took a quick look at the bottom of the course as I cruising around & neglected to take a quick run to the top... mainly because I had heard that they did not change it... & I was short on time.
I did however take a walk up the pro downhill course. Let's just say I'm actually pretty impressed with what Don Jackson has put together. Approximately 90% of the upper track is brand new. There are a few spots that have been used before (in particular the short rise in the middle), but for the most part... it's been cut fresh... "weed-wacked" actually!
What you'll notice most on this course is all the rocks! Fontana has frequently been known as a "rock free" course, but this is just not the case this weekend! Put away the short travel bikes & pump up those tires. The new pro/expert DH track is bound to catch a few riders off guard. It'll be interesting how the hard-packed-dirt track develops as hundreds of riders tear into it. Be cautious of the loose dirt over the rocks & off camber track... it's surprisingly slick!
Here's some snaps with the point & shoot camera of the pro dh course. Sorry for the 3 "white spots" in some of the photos... the nor cal boys from X-fusion aren't used to all this sun in southern California & are taking advantage to work on their tan!
Here's a quick list of PRE-REGISTERED riders. This is not to say that every single person will be racing & obviously there are many more to come! It's kinda funny... I realize that it's all because of the time of year, whos' in town, etc. but so many people criticize Fontana, yet it hosts more world class riders than any other NMBS!
DH - PRO MEN
| Name | Team | |
| NATHAN RENNIE | SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE | |
| Jared Rando | Giant MTB Team | |
| Oscar Saiz | Giant MTB Team | |
| Sam Blenkinsop | Yeti/Fox Shox Factory Team | |
| Chris Boice | Yeti/Fox Shox Factory Team | |
| Justin Leov | Yeti/Fox Shox Factory Team | |
| Evelio Suarez | IRONHORSE/NEMA/SDG/ODI | |
| QUINTON SPAULDING | KHS BICYCLES | |
| Cody Wilderman | Team Totally Wired Factory Racing | |
| Andrew Mince | Specialized,SVCS,Gamut, Fox, Scott | |
| BEN FURBEE | WTB/ART'SCYCLERY/GAMUT | |
| Geritt Beytagh | Morewoodbikes USA | |
| Phillip Wiering | 661 / Trail Head Cycles | |
| John Hauer | X-Fusion/ Mongoose Bicycles | |
| Brad Benedict | X-Fusion/ Santa Cruz Bicycles | |
| Ryan Condrashoff | X-Fusion/ Santa Cruz Bicycles |
| Name | Team | |
| Tenille Smith | NA | |
| Leana Gerrard | Bear Naked / Cannondale MTB Team | |
| MELISSA BUHL | KHS BICYCLES | |
| Wendy Reynolds | Sobe/Cannondale |
| Name | Team | |
| Brian Schmith | NA | |
| Jared Rando | Giant MTB Team | |
| Chris Boice | Yeti/Fox Shox Factory Team | |
| Rich Houseman | Yeti/Fox Shox Factory Team | |
| Ross Milan | Yeti/Fox Shox Factory Team | |
| Rudy Unrau | Yeti/Fox Shox Factory Team | |
| Evelio Suarez | IRONHORSE/NEMA/SDG/ODI | |
| DALE HOLMES | KHS BICYCLES | |
| Cody Wilderman | Team Totally Wired Factory Racing | |
| Erik Nelson | Thor/Michelin | |
| peter hanak | Totaly Wired | |
| John Hauer | X-Fusion/ Mongoose Bicycles | |
| Ryan Condrashoff | X-Fusion/ Santa Cruz Bicycles |
|
Name |
Team |
|
|
Leana Gerrard |
Bear Naked / Cannondale MTB Team |
|
|
MELISSA BUHL |
KHS BICYCLES |
|
|
Wendy Reynolds |
Sobe/Cannondale |
|
