Teammates Chris Sheppard and Seamus McGrath took the win on stage one of the BC Bike Race yesterday. The duo finished over a minute ahead of Kona team riders Barry Wicks and Kris Sneddon. “We rolled off the front 20 minutes in,” Shep said. “Frickin’ gnarly singletrack. Shamoe [Seamus] guided me down a trail that was rooty death.” The BC Bike Race travels from Vancouver, British Columbia, to Whistler, BC, in seven arduous stages.

Sheppard is racing aboard a Santa Cruz Blur Carbon, outfitted with WTB ExiWolf tires and Silverado saddle. McGrath utilized a lightweight, prototype Jamis hardtail and Silverado saddle. The Kona duo of Wicks and Sneddon are also riding WTB Silverado saddles. Sheppard and McGrath will have to battle for six more days to retain the leaders jerseys.

Follow the race at bcbikerace.com.

Subaru Mountain Bike Team rider Fabien Barel stormed to victory in the fifth downhill world cup of the season in Maribor, Slovenia.

The three-time world champion proved last weekend that he is back on form and recovering well from a dislocated patella suffered earlier this season. Barel is the first non-Santa Cruz Syndicate rider to win a men’s world cup downhill this season. He bested Sam Hill and Greg Minnaar on a rough, technical track made more difficult by torrential rains the day before.

“The weekend was really challenging, it was my first time riding in the mud since my knee injury,” Barel stated. “After a 13th place in qualifying, I was hoping for a top 10. But in my race I felt that it was now or never, so I pushed the limits.”

The Barel has been plagued by injuries for several seasons, but this victory proves that the charismatic Frenchman is still one of the best riders in the world. “It is an unreal satisfaction to take first place and be back on top of the international scene so quickly,” he said. “On the other hand, I know I need to improve even more if I want to stay at the top.”

Barel—and the Subaru Mountain Bike Team—ride WTB saddles and tires. His components of choice are WTB’s Silverado saddles and Timberwolf tires.

For more information please visit WTB.com or www.subaru-mtb.com

Jason Moeschler, WTB’s OEM sales manager, is on a tear. Last weekend he narrowly missed a big win at the Ashland Super D (he came in two seconds behind National Champ Adam Craig). Then this past Sunday he battled the world’s top road racers at the Nevada City Classic.

Moeschler’s primary focus (aside from his day job) is elite mountain bike racing, but Nevada City, California is his hometown. He decided that the opportunity to race alongside Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer in front of his friends, family and 30,000 other spectators was too good to pass up.

The fans were treated to quite an exciting race. Moeschler spent some time on the front with an unsuccessful attack early on, then Lance, Levi and Ben Jaques-Maynes drilled it. The three riders went on to lap the field. Twice. Then Lance took off for a solo victory. Although a large portion of the 120-rider field was pulled from the race for being off-pace, Moeschler managed a top-20 finish.

He is clearly on form. Look out for the WTB rider at the upcoming Downieville Classic, a race that really rewards riders with such a versatile set of skills. Moeschler has won Downieville’s All Mountain race twice. Last year he took second to Ross Schnell, this year he’ll be more prepared than ever.

You can read about the race in Nevada City’s local paper here.

WTB sponsored rider Max Plaxton is currently leading the USA Cycling Pro XC Tour. Plax will be defending his lead this weekend at the fourth stop on the national PXCT circuit in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The Canadian racer has been consistently finishing in the top three all season aboard WTB Nano Raptor, Vulpine and Wolverine tires. Plaxton’s saddle of choice is the Silverado. Keep it up Plax!