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