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Friday Roundup: Cycling Odds & Ends

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  • QBP & co. announce 2017 Women’s Bike Mechanic Scholarships – QBP, together with SRAM, Park, Michelin & UBI have named the 16 women that will attend UBI’s Pro Shop Repair & Operations Workshop in Ashland, Oregon later this month. In the 4th year of the scholarship program, it’ll be the 2nd all-women class of this two-week mechanics training. The program was created with two goals in mind: to develop the careers of talented women already working in the cycling industry and to aim to better serve & promote growing women ridership. These women come from 13 states all across the US to join the 28 who have already gone through the program. QBP.com/WomensScholarship 

    Check out how to keep up with where to ride, racing, and staying motivated through the colder months after the break…

Where to ride

  • Tales On Tyres: riding the Baja Divide – In 2012 German couple Franzi & Jona quit their jobs and went for a global hiking tour starting in New Zealand before crossing to India and Nepal. They got tired of walking, got ahold of some bikes and continued on two wheels through Iran and Mongolia. Then after a year working in Canada to refill the coffers, they started their current trip zig-zagging from Alaska to Patagonia. After completing The Great Divide they realized the bikes they were using weren’t up to the challenge, and in came a deal with Bombtrack.
    Bombtrack met Franzi & Jona in the Sierra Nevadas last September and put them on a couple of Beyond+ bikes. Then the two got loaded back up and headed south, to ride the famous Baja Divide, the off-road bikepacking route down the length of the Baja peninsula where we also have a couple testers working over some bikepacking gear from Revelate and others. Tales on Tyres will premier a video of the trip at the Berlin Bike Show in March, until then you can read the trip and scope some pics over on Yumpu’s e-magazines.
  • Save the date: 4th Annual Moots Ranch Rally this coming June – It’s still a ways of at 17 June 2017, but set it aside in your calendar if you are a dirt & gravel aficionado and lover of titanium. It’ll be run again in Moot’s Steamboat SPrings, CO hometown and will take in some of the excellent off the beaten path roads in the area. The fundraising event hit 50 miles of dirt roads riding last year, but is limited to just 150 participants. Keep and eye out here and over at Moots.com for registration and more details soon.

Racing news

  • MTB legend José Antonio Hermida and road star Joaquim Rodríguez will tackle the 2017 ABSA Cape Epic together – In a unique pairing of a couple of power houses from very different disciplines, the recently retired & former XC World Champ and current Pro Tour Bahrain Merida road pro will riders will take on the race together where Hermida has taken a number of stage wins over the years. The Spanish pair have been training partners for years and the combination of their physical abilities, friendship, and undeniable will to win should make them an interesting pairing to watch over the duration of the Cape Epic.
  • Norco Factory Racing Team announced – Norco Bicycles announced continued support of their Norco Factory Racing team for 2017, adding Joe Smith and Henry Fitzgerald to the new roster along with returning rider Sam Blenkinsop. They’ll compete internationally with a full race schedule, including the UCI World Cup DH circuit, Crankworx series, and select Enduro World Series events. They also work together as part of the Norco Race Development program to help design and test the next generation of Norco bikes. Norco.com
  • Freeride legend Brett Tippie rides Rotor cranks and rings – Rotor Bike Components has added Brett Tippie to their roster of sponsored riders. Regarded as one of the pioneers of Freeride mountain biking, Tippie’s infectious grin offsets his penchant for hitting the steepest terrain around. When he’s not dropping in on big lines, Brett hosts Redbull Rampage, Sea Otter festivities, opening day at Whistler Bike Park and the Crankworx event series. His social media offers his followers a glimpse of what it’s like to shred around the globe, while keeping a humorous slant. RotorBike.com

  • Team Sky selects Stages as official power meter supplier for another season – Stages Cycling is now heading into their 4th season supplying Team SKY with their power meters, handling the team’s most important performance tracking for the 2017 season. The team will ride the new Stages Power Dura-Ace 9100 production model as well as the previous Shimano 9000 models and even some exclusive prototypes, as they continue to partner with Stages on product R&D. “We took a chance on Stages Cycling four years ago,” said Carsten Jeppesen, Head of Technical Performance for Team Sky. “We proved their product meets our needs and they offered us really great support. Even in the worst conditions the Stages meter was reliable, consistent, and accurate. We couldn’t ask for more as we head into the 2017 season.” StagesCycling.com

Training

  • The Sufferfest Podcast is Here: Listen to “Everybody Hurts” from Radio Free Sufferlandria – Grunter von Agony is always looking for new ways to spread his message of Suffering. Now GvA is taking to the airwaves (and your earbuds) and is proud to announce the launch of Everybody Hurts: A Radio Free Sufferlandria Podcast, featuring interviews with cyclists, athletes, and inspirational figures. The show will explore the theme of Suffering – not for suffering’s sake, mind you, but as a means through which people confront their fears, challenge their limitations, and gain a better understanding of themselves. There’s already three episodes available to get started available through iTunes or Soundcloud.
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Maus Haus
Maus Haus
7 years ago

QBP is one of the more progressive “large” companies in the bike industry. They are not scared to have bike alternative spec, push for more women in cycling, have a loose atmosphere at the office, push environmental agendas, donate to worthy causes. I’ve work for many companies in the bike industry who only push what’s best for the bottom line. Steve Flagg is the man and has hired/promoted some good people. Trek has also done a good job on promoting woman programs aggressively (for a large company).

Muchachos
Muchachos
7 years ago
Reply to  Maus Haus

You have only seen QBP from the outside via their marketing, PR and how they present themselves at events. The people inside the building may have a different opinion on that subject.

maus haus
maus haus
7 years ago
Reply to  Muchachos

I’ve been there many times for business and had great relationships with some of the employees. Of course all corporate jobs have there internal issues. These guys are different then most for the positive.

Jordan B.
Jordan B.
7 years ago

Congratulations, Shelby!!!

lop
lop
7 years ago

As if QBP needed to do anything else to get my business!

Thanks so much for this. This week, it’s news a lot of us can use.

Chase
Chase
7 years ago

Maus Haus- You do realize that the push for more women in cycling and pushing enviro agendas is solely to expand their market in a certain demographic. Right? The last remaining hurdle for cycling to tap is women, which by and large reject the sport for many reasons and IMO will continue to do so, Except for the practical urban transportation market. The effort to bring them into the service side is to soften the harshness of dealing with the typical shop environment dominated by immature young men (primarily). I know this as I worked for my college years in a bike shop and from what I can see it hasn’t changed much.
I think you can get off your soapbox about it being some benevolent, altruistic pursuit and recognize what it is………a PR effort to expand the market. Nothing more than that.

Robin
Robin
7 years ago
Reply to  Chase

One should not confuse one’s opinion with fact.

maus haus
maus haus
7 years ago
Reply to  Chase

The staff at QBP are not mostly men. It’s very mixed on all levels of their business. Been there many times as a supplier and they walk the talk. Just talking from experience which you don’t seem to be doing since you’re lumping them into retail shop staff. Yes they are a business and here to make money… it’s that what businesses do. Why wouldn’t they market their efforts to expand women’s mechanic scholarships which are currently male dominated. Your argument is weak, negative and funny to read… good luck out there with your excellent perspective.

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