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 =)

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