From the Sierra Nevadas to the French Alps and a few mountains in between, Team WTB rides again…

Just two days off the podium in Downieville, Mark Weir and Jason Moeschler packed up their bikes for a three-week, three-country tour that would eventually lead them to some of the most aggressive riding around, otherwise known as the French Enduro racing series. Checkout the footage from Tribe Sports Group to see what we’re talking about.

2010 French Enduro Racing with Weir and Moeschler from Tribe Sports Group.

Our story begins in London, where Moeschler and Weir found themselves in the good hands of our WTB Europe team as well as our UK distributor (Hotlines). They were promptly let loose in the muddy hills of south Whales (Monmouth), where they rode in the muddy, wet conditions of the trail center followed by the rugged terrain of the English countryside near Todmorden.

Traveling light was imperative, and with little-to-no time to pack, the guys landed with only one set of wheels each, and for Weir it was the same 1,460-gram, tubeless ready “gently loved” Stryker wheel set he won the Ashland Super D and the Downieville DH on.

Using his hotel room and the lobby as a makeshift workshop, Moeschler built his Nomad up with the Laser TCS All Mountain wheel set with WeirWolf 2.1 TCS tires. Weir put Wolverine 2.2 All Mountain TCS tires on his Nomad and called it good. A few epic rides later, the guys got the bikes “properly” muddied but enjoyed the good spirit of the rides and people they rode with. Thanks to the good people at Singletrack, MBR, MBUK and Dirt for their hospitality and mean coffee…(especially you Chipps!)

Stay tuned for part deux tomorrow…

The crowd can barely catch a glimpse of Mark Weir as he blasts by to win the Downhill event at the 2010 Ashland Spring Thaw. Photo by Jeff Anderson.

It was another great year for Team WTB at the Ashland Spring Thaw. They ate deer, drank tasty Lithia water and soaked in icy creeks. Whatever they ate, drank or just plain wallowed in, paid off when it came time to punch in on race day!

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Our friends over at Pink Bike posted a great review of the new Weirwolf tires. It is by far the most thorough review to date. Check it out here.

Oh, and a little bird told me that the Weirwolf 2.1 TCS just won the Spring Thaw DH race under the pedals of Mr. Mark Weir.

Did I say Weirwolf 2.1 TCS? Yes, I did.

Fast.

Real fast.

Course record-setting fast.

We had big plans for this saddle—It was to announce the return of the Yeti team to WTB saddles. This Devo is particularly special, it’s decorated with the world championship stripes to celebrate Jared Graves’ four-cross victory in Canberra, Australia. We were so excited to get this saddle to Graves that we paid the extra shipping fee to have it overnighted to Southern California, just so that he could race with his hard-earned rainbow stripes at the Fontana City National. Unfortunately the saddle went missing somewhere between Mill Valley and Rancho Cucamonga, California.

Some might call it the curse of the world champion’s stripes, others say that things get lost all the time. I have my own suspicions. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that this was a planned and deliberate interception of the high-profile Devo saddle. I’m no detective, but the first suspect to come to mind is Brian Lopes. Mapquest tells us that Lopes lives only 52.91 miles away from Rancho Cucamonga. Lopes is also a WTB-sponsored athlete, with frequent communication to WTB headquarters (his pal Mark Weir may have leaked inside information about the delivery). Also consider that Lopes has won the world championships four times, yet his custom saddle—the Silverado SL55—features no such stripes. This could be a case of jealousy or an elaborate prank. For now we’ll have to settle for this snapshot and hope the saddle turns up somewhere in Rancho Cucamonga.

Brian Miller is from Mill Valley, CA, and he’s been dropping by the WTB office for years. After the first couple of visits a couple of things about him really stood out: he always had a great attitude and hardly asked for anything despite the fact that his bikes were always falling apart. Before long, we started to realize that his skills went well beyond “local ripper”, and we can’t say that we were surprised to see him claim third place at the AT Showdown dirt jump competition earlier this year.

It looks like Miller is really getting his act together. He has full support from Haro bikes, some kick-ass video segments on the web and a great profile on Pink Bike. Anyway, we’re proud of our local boy. Even though he’s now living in dirt jump Mecca Aptos, CA, he’s still our favorite local dirt jump rider.

WTB employee Mark Weir’s home was ravaged by a fire two days after Christmas. Weir was at home with his wife and son, but was unable to stop the flames. Fortunately the Weir family escaped without injury. WTB wishes the best to Mark, Suzie and Gus, the next few months will undoubtedly be a tough chapter in their lives.

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Katie Compton may be the most dominant American rider in the history of cyclocross, but that doesn’t mean that it comes easy for the 32-year-old. This past weekend, at the fourth round of the cyclocross world cup in Kalmthout, Belgium, Compton encountered a number of setbacks and just barely managed to remain the overall world cup leader. The course was blanketed in fresh snow, complete with ruts and frozen snow. Compton had a bad start, then suffered a crash trying to move through mid-pack traffic. By the end of the race, Compton moved up to third place. This race was a stark contrast to Compton’s dominant style, but illustrates the grit and perseverance needed to stay competitive at the top level.

Katie Compton has won every American cyclocross race she has entered this year. And her world cup track record is nearly as remarkable. Compton is currently leading the world cup series (she’s the first American in history to do so) and she is the heavy favorite to win the prestigious world champion title. It should come as no surprise that Compton easily conquered the U.S. cyclocross national championship this past weekend in Bend, OR, claiming her sixth straight national title. Compton took off from the start of the hour-long race and easily distanced herself from the rest of the field. As expected, the other ninety women were racing for second place. Meredith Miller took the second spot, crossing the line almost a minute after Compton.

In other news, WTB-sponsored junior prodigy Coryn Rivera claimed her 25th national title in Bend. The 17-year-old has been winning on the road, on the track and cyclocross. We can only wonder what the future holds for Rivera.

      
WTB’s own Kenny Burt (#386) placed 26th in the master’s race, Kona’s team saddles, Coryn Rivera’s victory salute in Bend.

WTB riders Jamie Goldman and Brian Miller took 2nd and 3rd at the Andrew Taylor Showdown, while gravity-racer grom Christian Wright (above) demonstrated his ability to throw down on the huge jumps. The event took place at the SF Bike Expo and competition was stacked with all the big names. Check out pictures in Marketing Intern Max Houtzager’s Photo Gallery on WTB’s Facebook page and coverage on Pinkbike and Vital MTB.

See the results from the event here.