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 =)

As Fabien has already mentioned, Life is not written as expected… After his crash during practice on South African National MTB Downhill (RSA) he dislocated his knee. Long discussion with the doctors has resulted in decision against surgery to keep him racing this season. A long and strong therapy is waiting for him now. Fabien, we wish you a speedy recovery and even a better comeback.

With Fabien out due to his knee injury it was down to Florent Payet and Damien Spagnolo to battle against a very Physical track and score the points for the SUBARU mountainbike pro team.

Florent and Damien cautiously started the training on a slightly modified track from the National race the preceding week, both Riders were keen to improve their times and knew that hitting every line perfectly was imperative. The track had been slowed in some sections and made safer in others, however for the most part it was still fast and technical with lots of pedalling. The qualifying round was held on Friday afternoon and it did not turn out so well, Florent lost his upper derailleur wheel which left him short of gears and Damien made some critical mistakes in his run. Sunday morning was hot and sunny and they were both feeling confident and ready to push them selves to the limit of exhaustion.

Damien had a good run and improved his time by 6sec from the qualifying, he crossed the line in 4th place but could not hold onto this as the times slowly dropped during the afternoon. Damien pushed himself as hard as possible and he realised that he rode well despite his lack of power on this type of track.

For Florent things unfolded in a similar way, he crossed the line with a good time and was confident he had done everything he could to perform and almost flawless run, however he too suffered physically and could not match the pace of the top 10 riders. 

The times were really close with only 6 sec separating 6th and 30th place, both Dam and Flo were disappointed that they were not higher on the results sheet as they had both very good top sections but could not hold the physical pace at the bottom.

This was not a very successful weekend for the team, however on this type of track both Florent and Damien can be satisfied with the knowledge that their week point is their physical condition and they know this will improve through the season, so they will climb the results ladder as the season progresses.

Final results:

1. Greg Minaar 3:43.44

2. Mick Hannah 3:45.69

3. Steve Peat 3:49.25

4. Sam Hill 3:50.18

5. Gee Atherton 3:52.01

21. Florent Payet 3:57.54

27. Damien Spagnolo 3:59.14 

Greg Saw, KTM team rider, had some great feedback on WTB’s Raijin and Wolverine tires: The first race of 2009 in Norway, and my first race in 7 months. 2ND was a nice result to start the season, placing behind Fagali and in front of Hoydahl. I was suprised how i rode in the deep mud and wet singletrack, not bad for my first KTM test ride. The KTM rode nicely, the frame is compact and light, it is a F1 BIKE with cool shapes! Easy to control and seems like the perfect fit. I am very happy with it, almost jealous my team mates have the same bike! The first Norges Cup is on the same track on Sunday. I feel ok! but its a tricky course. 7 laps will be very messy and anything can and will happen…Thanks WTB for a great mud tire.

WTB wishes you good luck for the rest of the season…

We would also like to thank, our Norway distributor www.porsgrunnsykkel.no, for their support

Wilderness Trail Bikes, Inc., a global leader in bicycle components, is proud to announce that its star endurance rider, Harlan Price, claimed victory at India’s nine-day International Khachendzonga MTB Expedition.Dodging chickens, dogs, cars and other riders through the Himalaya foothills, Price managed to build a commanding lead throughout the 18 demanding stages. Due to shoddy organizational management the race ended up being more like a season of ‘Survivor’ with food deficiencies, tent shortages and poor medical services for the first four days. “Despite those problems the race ended up being a lot of fun,” Price stated. “There were two stages a day, one an uphill and the other a descent; each being anywhere between 5- and 25-kilometers long.”Price rode an Independent Fabrications 29er with a Rocket V SLT saddle, WTB Nano Raptor front tire and a Vulpine rear tire. “As it turned out that was the perfect set up since half of the downhill’s were mixed pavement and gravel. Some of it was really rough jeep road but the Vulpine hooked up a lot better than I expected at speeds around 40 to 60 kilometers/hour. Plus it felt like butter on the climbs.”Price survived the lengthy stage race without a single flat or crash. “It’s the second long stage race in a row without a flat,” Price commented. La Ruta de los Conquistadores was the other race, where Price was the first-placed American (tenth-place overall).For more information please visit WTB.com or Price’s blog, http://boxedbee.blogspot.com/WTB, based in Mill Valley, California, has been an industry pioneer since 1982. The small, independently owned company strives to produce innovative parts and accessories for both OEM and aftermarket use.