The training started with bright blue skies and a dry track but afterFridays practice the scene was set to change, with torrential rain predictedthe riders were not sure how the already technical and fast track would evolve,but for the Damien and Fabien one thing was clear, they would give it all nomatter what.

Damien Spagnolo showed he was riding well after heposted the second fasted timed run, this helped him regain some of his lostconfidence from the first part of the season and also helped motivate histeam-mate Fabien. After a very wet start on Saturday morning the training wascancelled and the qualification postponed to Sunday – making a tight scheduleand no room for uncertainty.

Sunday arrived and as promised the sun was out,training was difficult as the track was still soaked but drying quickly. Damienwas the first down for the team and he posted a good time even though he rodeconservatively. For Fabien it was a slightly different story, he had somemechanical issues at the start which cost him some time and then rode slightlyoff form, he was not satisfied with his run but pleased when he saw hisposition of 13th.

After a few hours the final started and a tough choice had to be made –wet or dry tires, the track was constantly drying but wouldit be dry enough? The riders decided to stick with wet tires and concentrate on exploiting the good points in the technicalsection. Damien had an awesome run, only 3 days afterswitching to the new ZERO suspension prototype he confirmed that it works byplacing 18th.?Fabien was confident in the start, hoping for a podium finishhowever he knew it would not be easy on such a technical track. He startedpowerfully, hitting all the right lines and saw that he was back on form, bythe halfway mark he was flying making it look easy and he decided to let thebrakes go and see what happened, for sure it all happened for him, he posted anamazing time that no other rider could match and stayed firmly seated in thehot seat right to the end.

An amazing comeback for Fabien and his first worldcup win for his own team gave him and immense satisfaction which was added toby performance of his team mate Damien securing his first top 20 for the season. Overall an exceptional weekend for the team and the start of good thingsto come!

Final results:

1. Fabien Barel 3:03.33

2. Sam Hill 3 :04.04

3. Greg Minaar 3 :05.36

4. Justin Leov 3 :07.65

5. Brendan Fairclough 3 :08.50

18. Damien Spagnolo 3:11.68 

Fabien Barel showed last weekend that he is well on schedule with his recovery by his amazing performance in Scotland.

It was just 2 years ago that Fabien suffered a similar challenge on the same track, the challenge to come back and race after a serious injury. As in 2007 where he finished 2nd in the world championships he can be pleased with his performance. The training was difficult for Fabien, firstly due to his knee injury causing him to fatigue after more than 2 min of downhill and secondly due to the limited training hours for him. Being placed out of the top 80 ranking in the world cup he was not entitled to the additional training hours. The bike setup had to be finalized on the first day so that he could concentrate on line choice and raising his riding speed to match world cup level.

On the other hand, the training went really well for Damien who was able to quickly settle into his lines and obtain a good pace. The qualifying went well for Damien and he was able to place 32nd, he was motivated for the final and knew he could ride faster. Fabien did not have a good qualifying round as he made some mistakes on the upper part of the track, which cost him some time.?For Damien the race run was going well and he was feeling really confident, hitting all his lines and carrying good speed, however it all suddenly went wrong as he felt his front wheel slide out from under him on one of the turns. He went down and broke his front brake lever so was unable to continue riding. Fortunately for him he was not injured.

Fabien showed his experience by his consistent, fast top section passing the first split within the top five, however he started to feel that he would not be able to keep up the pace all the way to the final due to his physical condition, so he controlled his run conserving the maximum energy by riding smoothly. He entered the pedalling section feeling really tired and knew he was not going to be able to push as he had done 2 years ago, however he knew that he had already ridden the top section well so managed to keep his motivation right to the finish line, giving it his all.?He crossed the line in top spot and stayed in the hot seat for 25min before he was beaten, with the knowledge that only 14 of the worlds best were able to beat his time he was pleased to back racing and confident that soon he will be back on top.

Next stop Maribor! 

Final results:

1) MINNAAR Greg 4:38.98

2) HILL Samuel 4:40.43

3) BLENKINSOP Samuel 4:41.85

4) ATHERTON 4:41.97?

5) HANNAH Michael 4:43.13

15) BAREL Fabien 4:49.89

The Sport Centre Spicak na Sumave is the ideal location for tourism, cycling tourism and other outdoor summer and winter activities. From 13. June to 13. September, the chair lift will help you to achieve the top of the Spicakhill from where you can continue your  trip by foot to lakes Cerne and Certovo jezero.  The lakes are beautiful glacial lakes located in the Sumava National Park. Even the bikers may enjoy themselves. The SpicakSport Centre offers them a unique Kona bike park. The bikers incl. their bikes are transported to the top of the mountain by the chair lift and then they can choose from several trails of different difficulty for the downhill run.

 *New trail building*

At the beginning of May, the Spicak bike park started the work on the construction of a new downhill trail. The new trail is set out in the length of 1100m with an elevation of 180 meters. It will lead from the top of Spicak hill and approximately at the half of the hill it will join the last-year Black Friday trail. A great part of the new trail is stony and that means a little bit more difficult. It will be spiced up with drops and jumps. The new trail is led along the forest edges and across the downhill courses. The Black Friday trail will also undergo some alterations. Planned are some surprises which include drops and maybe even wall rides. We hope we will manage to finish all in time before the opening day and that we will be able to offer all bikers a better bike park than in the previous year.

 *Bikepark Opening 2009*

On Saturday, 13 June, the Spicak sport area begins its summer season. At the same time, the KONA Bike Park, which has been extended by a new trail, is going to be opened as well. This year, there will be also organized a series of bike camps Simple Ride, where Spicak act as one of the partners. For public, we have prepared bike school for children, bike tour tips, guided bike tours, Open Air night concert and a lot of other things. And this all for free!! Biking for the whole family!

 *BIKE SCHOOL FOR CHILDREN*

For children and beginners, a free bike school will be prepared. We will teach children the correct skills to ride a bike and overcome simple obstacles. The school will be opened on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. and on Sundays from 10:00 a.m.

 *GUIDED BIKE TOURS*

The offer includes several cycling tours for Saturdays and Sundays. You can choose a tour according to difficulty level. The shortest tour is 14 km long and the longest one is 37 km long. Our guides will accompany you on all tours. All bike tours will start at 10 o´clock a.m. from the chair lift cash-office in the Spicak sport area.

 *OPENING OF THE NEW DOWNHILL TRAIL*

On Saturday at 2 p.m. the new downhill trail opening ceremony will take place at Spicak. The new trail section starts directly on the Spicak top and after 1.1 km joins the last year downhill trail. This new trail section belongs to the more difficult ones at Spicak, and that thanks to its stony character.

*OPEN AIR CONCERT*

For Saturday evening, there is prepared a concert of the “Queens of Everything” bands - horn drive rock´n´roll (Prague) and “Suffer” (Trebon) directly at Spicak sport area. There will be a lot of barbecuing, buffet and DJ Zelvin music.

*SIMPLE BIKE SHOW*

On Saturday evening during the concert, a bike show of Simple Ride Bike Camps assistants is also going to start which will be illuminated with the light of fireworks.

Spicak sport area cordially invites you

more info: www.frbs.cz, www.spicak.cz

Last weekend was really successful for SUBWAY UNIBON MARIN-Cycling team (CZE).

At first, Alena Krnakova came 4th in 4 stage race Alpentour in huge competition of elite woman from whole world. 

Another team rider Karel Hartl arrived 3rd in marathon race King of Sumava, one of oldest and most popular marathon in Czech Republic.

 And all good things are three, road rider Peter Vachek won the Championship of Prague. Subway chose tires: Nano Raptor, Wolverine, Raijin and Silverado saddle.

 Congratulation from WTB 

Fabien Barel proves his recovery is going well by a podium finish in the first round of the French national series.

The small French ski resort of Lac Blanc, neighbouring the world cup venue of La Bresse was host to the first round of the SUBARU National downhill series. Damien Spagnolo and Fabien Barel were excited to get on their bikes after walking the track and seeing that it would be an interesting course to race. The track was short but filled with technical sections and loose dusty turns.

 Race day was a little cloudy and the riders started to be concerned that there could be rain storms in the afternoon. The first run did not go well for Damien as he had a mechanical problem right out the start gate (a broken chain), this left him freewheeling to a respectable 23rd place.?For Fabien it was much better news, he was able to ride well within his limits and hitting all his lines, he suffered in the lower part of the track as he could not develop the power needed to pedal hard to the line. He was pleased to finish in 2nd place behind Michael Pascal.

The final round was going to be tough for both of the rider as Damien knew he had to push hard to get into the top 5 and Fabien was still suffering from leg pain due to the restrictions of his knee braces. For Damien the run went much better as he was able to pick up his pace through the run and end up with a good time, unfortunately for him his conservative top section cost him some valuable seconds putting him in 12th place._Fabien was able to pull out another solid run with only slight mistakes he kept up a good average speed and almost same time as the mornings run. He again suffered from the restrictions of the knee braces and found it difficult to push hard on the pedalling without the risk of being too tired for the technical bottom section, so he decided to go for the safe option, this cost his 1 place but with a high level and close times he was happy with his progression.

After the race Fabien commented that he was really happy to be back on the bike but a little frustrated to not be able to push in his race runs as much as he is used to, he also said that he needs to be patient and continue with all the steps for a full recovery.

Overall a good weekend for the team in front of the large crowd, and an essential step for Fabien. The will stay to ride in the bike park and then head off to the next world cup in Fort William later in the week.

Despite some pain in his legs due to the knee braces he was able to ride consistently all weekend and continue with his preparations for his return to world cup racing.

Final results:

1. MICKAEL PASCAL 2:32.254

2. JORIS BIGONI 2:34.835

3. FABIEN BAREL 2 :35.746

4. MATHIEU GALLEAN 2 :36.897

5. PIERRE CHARLES GEORGES 2 :36.969

12. DAMIEN SPAGNOLO 2 :31.114

Great news from the SUBARU mountainbike pro team is that Fabien Barel is back in action and on top of the podium in DH REGIONAL DE ROUBION.

The team travelled to the regional downhill hosted by team partner, Roubion. Damien Spagnolo made the trip down to the south of France to get some more time on the bike in a “no-pressure” environment and to ride with his team-mate Fabien. The riders were greeted with perfect weather and a great track and a full field of almost 300 riders.

 The training went well for the team and eventhough Fabien was not 100% comfortable riding downhill with an extra 1.2kg’s worth of knee braces he felt good on the bike and realised that his recovery goals are realistic. Damien was also enjoying the track but struggling with the conditions. The extremely dry hard pack track riddled with holes and dusty turns was proving to be a challenge for a rider who prefers the wet.

As is the case of most regional DH races the best run of two is taken. Damien performed well in his first run despite numerous mistakes due to washing out on the turns he finished second, 6sec behind Fabien who had a good smooth run. The second run did not go as well for Damien as he decided to calm his pace in the hope of eliminating the mistakes of his first run, unfortunately this did not work out and he ended up a sec slower which cost him 2 places. Fabien was able to replicate his first run almost identically showing that he really is within his current capacity and is taking every precaution to recover 100%.

After the race Fabien was really pleased with his performance and especially with his progress over the past week. The team will now travel to the 1st French Cup in Lac Blanc and then to the 4th world cup in Fort William, the next 2 races will be critical steps for Fabien deciding if he will continue the season or undertake knee surgery.

Final results:

1. Fabien Barel 3:00.02

2. Paul Rovigo 3:05.44

3. Yohan Barelli 3:05.83

4. Damien Spagnolo 3:06.73

5. Richard Marini 3:09.20

Damien Spagnolo moves into the top 30 overall world cup ranking, Fabien Barel back on the Bike, And Florent Payet out for the season! A good weekend for the SUBARU mountainbike Pro team saw the progression of Damien finishing 30th overall in the UCI world cup ranking due to consistent riding so far this year. The world cup pace has considerably increased for 2009 and the times are closer and closer every round, with only 2 seconds separating 15th and 40th place.

Damien had an overall good run but rode a little cautiously on the upper section of the track and then pushed a little too hard on one of the technical sections trying to catch up lost time, unfortunately this lead to a couple of mistakes loosing valuable seconds. The next few weeks will be important for Damien as he tries to increase his speed by pushing the limit of his riding a little past his current “safe pace”. This is a step that he is prepared for and now will have Fabien to help him pass it.

 Fabien spent the weekend supporting Damien and was also able to get some time on his enduro bike, he was happy to have been able to get back on the bike and do some runs in the bike park, all went well his knee was feeling strong. Fabien’s next goal will be to prepare for the Fort William world cup. More news about Fabien next week.

Another big news this weekend has been Florent Payet pull out for the season. Racing is requiring Technical but also mental skills to perform. The riders are under pressure all year long to give the best of them self. As a big surprise for the all team, Florent decided to pull out racing. He precised to us that he was not capable to hold the pace of a full World cup season, and that he would need to refresh himself to come back stronger next year. The all team is very disappointed of the situation but wish him all the best in the new challenge that is facing him.

On the team side, we will find out during the week, if we will hire another rider for the rest of the season.

Final results:

1. Steve Peat 2:22.05

2. Gee Atherton 2:22.07

3. Greg Minaar 2:23.46

4. Michael Hannah 2:23.71

5. Justin Leov 2:23.93

41. Damien Spagnolo 2:28.84 

Santa Cruz Syndicate rider Steve Peat made history last Sunday, winning the second round (2:07:14) of the World Cup series in La Bresse, France. The victory marks Peat’s 16th World Cup win, tying him with legendary Frenchman Nicolas Vouilloz. The charismatic rider from Sheffield, England is one of the most recognizable and popular personalities in downhill racing. Peat is known for his consistency and has been performing at the elite level for more than 15 years. Peaty’s saddle of choice is the WTB Rocket V SLT in white and red.

 And other hell rider, supported by WTB, Adam Vagner (CZE) with the time 2:13.73 has finished 20th.Adam was on Hot Seat (backside of Nissan car =) ) for the best racer in temporary ranking around 20 minutes. He was the first non proffesional rider in top 20, what underlines his success!!

 CONGRATULATIONS from WTB!!!!

A tough week-end for the Subaru Mountainbike pro team ended well with a solid performance from Damien Spagnolo.The Team was faced with a two rider shortage, Fabien, still suffering from his knee injury,  was there to support his team and offer some important advice to Damien and Florent was unable to attend due to his educational commitments leaving only Damien to represent the team. Damien felt the pressure during Friday’s training and was not feeling very confident on the track but he managed to focus his attentions on improving his lines and riding skills to finish the day with a smile on his face. The track was new so it was continuously changing and it was difficult to know which lines would be the fastest come race day.

Sunday was hot and sunny for the morning’s training and Damien was feeling confident he could knock 3 or 4 seconds of his qualifying time, unfortunately for him and about 15 other riders, there was a short rain storm before his start. The rain came at the worst moment causing chaos under the start tent whilst mechanics rushed to change to wet tyres.  Damien decided to do the same but unfortunately the storm did not last long enough to warrant the use of spikes, after a good top section Damien had a few scary moments in the rocky parts of the track, this caused him to loose focus a little and make 2 big errors.?The times were exceptionally close and with only 5 seconds separating the podium from 40th place there was no room for mistakes.?Damien was very disappointed with his run finishing 42nd, however he was able to console himself that he had improved his time by 4 seconds from the qualifying with a much deteriorated track.

Final results:

1. Steve Peat            2:07.14

2. Sam Hill            2:08.41

3. Mick Hannah        2:09.00

4. Brendan Fairclough    2:09.99

5. Gee Atherton        2:11.15

42. Damien Spagnolo    2:15.55

Another great news from Subaru! The first place trophy stays with Damien Spagnolo and the SUBARU mountainbike pro team!

Damien Spagnolo conquered the conditions and the track to take home first place for the second year running, his team mate Florent Payet followed up with 3rd place, the two of them being separated only by a flying Kiwi.

After a dry days practice on Saturday the riders were feeling confident despite the usual puncture problems associated with this very rough track. This year the partnership and close development with Mavic, WTB and Mojo suspension allowed the riders to have the best feeling ever on this track. Comfort, speed and accuracy were delivered by the choice of components.

The only thing remaining was to battle the elements, the rain started on Saturday night and soaked the track and the riders! The new conditions made the track very challenging and even forced some riders to pull out. Florent had an average run and played too much on the side of careful not wanting to injure himself for the rest of the season. Damien on the other hand, attacked with control and held his nerve all the way to the top spot of the podium.

A great result for the team and especially for Fabien who was watching from the sidelines, seeing his team fill the podium in his home town race gave him even more motivation to get back on the bike soon!

Final results:

1. Damien Spagnolo

3. Florent Payet

Keep it up guys =)