- Podium Threat Sam Blenkinsop to take on the Enduro World Series – OK, so who is gonna race what mountain bike event isn’t really our deal. But come on, it’s Friday afternoon. It’s cold and winter. And when that photo of Crankworx popped up in my inbox it makes me want to go for a ride. The story behind it is that Norco’s World Cup DH winner Sam Blenkinsop will race all five rounds of the 2016 EWS (in Chile, Argentina, Italy, the US, and Canada) in addition to the full WC DH and Crankworx calendars. Sounds like it will be busy for his Norco Factory Racing team. Head on past the break for more week’s end event and cycling news hits…
Events
- Join cyclists nationwide next summer for Bike Your Park Day – The Adventure Cycling Association just announced the inaugural event to inspire people around the country to get on a bike and explore your favorite national park, state park, wildlife refuge, or other public lands. Registration is now open for the inaugural event to take place on September 24, 2016, so you can start planning a ride. Participants can set up their own ride or join an existing ride posted on the interactive map. More info at: AdventureCycling.org
- Register tomorrow at 9am (EST) for 6 Hours of Warrior Creek in Boomer, NC – Be ready to hop only Saturday morning and mark your calendars for April 2 for the 8th annual 6hr XC race. If recent years are any indication, it will sell out in minutes, so get on the ball. Registration opens Jan 16 at 9:00. Rest easy knowing that profits from this year’s race will continue to benefit the BMCC trail fund to keep Wilkesbermo in tip top shape. 6hoursofWarriorCreek.com
- Sign up for the Chiltern Cycling Festival in Buckinghamshire, UK – Building on a growing reputation the 2016 Chiltern Cycling Festival hopes to be a celebration of all things cycling. This year’s event at the Penn House in Amersham is confirmed for Sunday July 17, with registration now open. Described as one of the most challenging UK sportives you’ll ever ride, the festival’s Amersham-Brill-Amersham route links up many of the regions classic ascents. Add in a host of other events from Retro rides, MTB sportives, and the lung-busting Penn House Classique Hill climb for one of the most exciting days out on the UK calendar. ChilternCyclingfestival.com
- Stay inside this winter to join the Sufferfest’s fourth annual Tour of Sufferlandria – The 9-day “Greatest Grand Tour of a Mythical Nation” will run from February 6-14, when thousands of cyclists from 30+ countries will dig into a nine-day suffering binge from the comfort of their home pain caves. The Tour of Sufferlandria is an indoor cycling event where riders complete nine consecutive days of Sufferfest videos, considered one of the most difficult indoor cycling challenges out there. Riders again get to suffer for a cause and ride to benefit the Tour’s patron of choice: the Davis Phinney Foundation. A $10 donation gets Sufferlandrians in on a host of amazing prizes up for grabs. TheSufferfest.com
Legal-ish News
- Courts make Split Pivot pay just a portion of Trek’s fees after failed infringement suit -Dave Weagle’s Split Pivot had originally sued Trek back in 2012 over perceived infringement on a couple of his suspension patents. Trek won the case more than 2 years back, but had been since asking for over $300,000 for defending themselves. At the end of 2015, the courts finally sifter the wheat from the chaff and decided there were still $40,000 that Split Pivot must still pay to Trek for actual legals costs. Details at: BicycleRetailer.com
Racer Stories
- On CNN: Julien Absalon – The chance encounter that spawned a mountain-bike superstars – Mountain bikers don’t get a lot of mainstream press outside of bad news, so it was nice to see this piece written by Matt Majendie and Leila Hussain about how Absalon got into racing. Head over to CNN.com to get a bit of back story on the multi-world champion, and to see how he is preparing for Rio and life after competition.
