- Rasputitsa Spring Classic to Benefit Northeast Cycling Programs – Rasputitsa is a gravel grinding sufferfest starting in East Burke, VT on April 16 and tackling the backroads of the Northeast Kingdom of Vermont. They just announced a partnership with two great cycling non-profits: Little Bellas and JAM Cycling Fund, whose aims are to help young women realize their potential through cycling, and grow the next generation of cross racers and ambassadors. In addition to donating a large chunk of their profits to these 2 organizations, they’ll also run a VIP preview of the course in February with 4 special treatment spots up for grabs in a raffle to ride with pros Lea Davison and Jeremy Powers . This year’s event already sold out, so this is the last chance until 2017 to get in on the fun. RasputitsaGravel.com
Events
- La Thuile Fat Mountain is back on the Alpine snow March 5-6 – Back by popular demand, the La Thuile Fat Mountain weekend returns to the Valle d’Aosta, Italy. Get there to join in on two days of fat mountain biking and snow. The first event had over 80 participants and a big industry presence, with both expected to grow this year. Come test new fat bikes and fat e-bikes, explore the area trails, or go for a guided group ride. More info at: LaThuile.it/mtb.
- Register now to race Crankworx Rotorura – Registration to shred the flowy forest trails at Crankworx Rotorua alongside the world’s top gravity mountain bike athletes opens next week. Both the Giant Toa Enduro and the Crankworx Rotorua DH offer amateur riders the chance to race a top-tier course next to their heroes. Registration opens for both races Friday, Jan 15 at 7 pm(NZDT), aka Thursday, Jan 14 at 10 pm(PST). Crankworx.com
- 6 days on the Portugal Tour MTB with a teammate – The second year of this event takes in 6 cross country stages in as many days, running March 21-26. Racers compete in teams of 2 with most teams clocking over 24hrs of ride time over the six days last year. This year’s course isn’t finalized yet, but expect and average of 75km/day with up to 3200m of climbing on the longest stage. Registration and info at: PortugalTourMTB.com.
Travel
- Crested Butte’s Nordic Inn celebrates a lot of snow with limited time travel deals – If you book before Jan 15, all lodging from now through Feb15, 2016 is 40% off. Take a chance to spend some time in the Colorado mountains for a bit of fat biking or skiing. The Nordic Inn even has a special Fat Bike Experience Package with lodging, breakfast, and one day of fat bike rental included. NordicInnCB.com
Advocacy
- QBP Announces 2016 Women Mechanic Sponsorships – QBP with partners SRAM, RockShox, Park Tool, and UBI will send 16 women to attend UBI’s Professional Shop Repair and Operations Workshop in late February and early March. This class in the third year of the sponsorship program will be the first all-women class of this two-week mechanics training. Sponsor covers the winners’ tuition and lodging with the goals to keep, encourage, and grow the careers of talented women working in the cycling industry; and to better serve and grow women ridership. The list of winners is available at: QBP.com/womensscholarship.
Contests & Freebies
- Free sports gels from Science in Sport – To celebrate the new partnership between Team Sky & Science in Sport, SiSis giving away some sports nutrition to their fans. They’ve got 10,000 free bundle packs to give away, each worth ~£17, and all you have to do is register on their site, and they’ll send a code to redeem at ScienceinSport.com. The promotion is limited to the first 10,000 people so act fast…
Team Updates
- Orbea adds another 5 years onto a decade backing the LUNA Pro Team – The Orbea and Luna collaboration dates back to 2006, with numerous victories, including 2 world championships, 2 world cup titles, and an Olympic bronze medal. Over that time the LUNA Pro Team has set the bar as the world leader in women’s elite mountain bike racing. In a time of growth of the recognition of women’s competitive racing and when sponsors are dropping out year-to-year, it’s nice to see longtime support like that form Luna and Orbea. TeamLUNAchix.com/proteam/
- Cannondale supports Team Cycling Academy, Israel’s first pro team – After a breakthrough first season Israel’s first international pro cycling team announced that Cannondale will join on as official bike sponsor for 2016. With 14 wins in 2015, Team Cycling Academy will try for more in a mix of one-day races all over Europe, Asia, and North America. The team has 13 riders from 10 different nations, including Canadian national champion Guillaume Boivin and Israeli national champion Guy Sagiv.
