The Crankworx Slopestyle event is now complete and Norco Factory Team rider Sam Dueck took home some cash with a 4th place finish. Sam lay down a huge lap first run down which held out for a final score good enough for 4th place. When all was said and done, this is how the results came through. Way to go Sam!
1: Cam Zink
2. Mike Montgomery
3. Casey Groves
4. Sam Dueck
The past few weeks have been a little on the busy side for members of the Norco Team. From racing to demos, teaching to event hosting there has been a little bit of everything from the team’s diverse members.
The Canadian race crew has been showing what they are made on the national circuit where two weeks back in Mt Tremblant at, Catherine Vipond took the win for the Elite Women while Andrew Watson was 2nd for the Men. Coming out of XC#3 in Hardwood Ontario, both Catherine and Andrew are wearing the leader’s jerseys for the both Pro XC categories. On the gravity side of the race circuit, junior Norco rider Nick Geddes had a near flawless race in Tremblant finishing second for the junior men with an overall top ten finish for the day. Heading back to Whistler for the First Fluidride Cup, Nick took home the Junior win with the second fastest time of the day.
Trials sensation Ryan Leech is well into his Cross-Canada Trials of Life Tour. having passed through nearly every province it is now nearly time to head up north to Whitehorse for some riding, yoga and well deserved relaxation. If you want to spend some time relaxing with Ryan and riding with Boreal Mountain Biking check out borealmountainnbiking.com
Jay Hoots, or should I say Dr. Hoots has finished up teaching the Mountain Bike Operations Certificate program with Capilano University and is now back building bike parts across Canada. Dylan Korba, our resident economist has found time before heading back for his Master’s Degree to meet up with some friends at Decline Magazine, and get out riding his all new 2010 bikes. Darcy is busy preparing for her event this summer at Silverstar resort called “See Jane Jump” and Mislav has been busy winning competitions in Europe such as the recent “Bike Days” in Switzerland.
On the road side of things Team H&R Block competed in the BC Championships this past weekend in Victoria BC. Norco was out to support the team for Sunday’s Bastion Square Grand Prix where riders Justin Kerr and Jacob Schwingboth took second and third place after a grueling 75 lap race. Check out some photos of the race at flickr.com
The Dirt Norco Race Team has been touring around at the First World Cup in Maribor Slovenia where Ben Reid through the intense slop to finish a respectable 26th place. The Norco Dirt Team is currently sitting in 18th place on the World Cup Circuit. Check out a video from the race here. With Fort William coming up on this weekend The race will be as tight as ever. We should see Ben doing his best to climb the ranks while teammate Dan Stanbridge should be recovered from injury and back to racing. Check the blog next week for an update on the Dirt Team’s weekend of racing.
The Norco World Team was back in North America racing the US Open in New York this weekend where Fionn Griffiths again fought through the elements to finish with a time quick enough for 6th place. Along side the Norco Dirt Team, Fionn and Bernard will be heading over to Scotland for this coming weekend’s World Cup in Fort William. Results from the weekend will be posted as soon as they come available.
The Team is off to quite the season, for updates as they happen on the whole team check out the Norco Blog at http://norco.com/blog
Well, 2010 is now in full effect!
Winter Olympics in my Home town, no snow to speak of and a blanket of people about converging on Vancouver, Lower mainland all the way up to Whistler…
I am out!
With the amount I travel I do in so many cool places combined with how awesome my job is I figured that I could sail through life at full charge, ready to handle all the daily nuances without issue… Apparently this is not true and I found myself pretty burned out after an incredibly successful 2009 season went down… hmm what to do??
Surf trip to Costa Rica! Yeeeha!
Almost 3 weeks of traveling around Costa checking it out, holing up in cool places surfing on sand break, busting beach time Frisbee in hand and checking out the local medical system after my Sting Ray encounter… Wow! Sweet mother earth thru sand and surf! Man I could feel the layers of stress peeling off, almost as fast as my sun burn, YIKES!
Sunset blessings!
Of course no trip is as fun as when you can recreationally ride mountain bike and that’s just what went down! While in Las Vegas for the Bike Show I met young gun Philippe who ‘sent it’ lap after lap in Boulder Canyon. It turned out ‘big P’ was from Costa Rica and when I let him know I was considering the possibility of visiting his country he offered to meet up and show his favourite trails. Enter stress relief trip.
A 4×4 road to the middle of ‘no where’ 10,000 feet up ended up ‘somewhere’ in a town called Providencia where the village welcomed us with open arms! Providencia embraces bouldering and Mountain bike and they have a 10km downhill trail including several other trail options, most of which are very advanced steep ass trail, GNAR!!!! Two days of riding and I still wanted more!
Tica (local) riders Cristhian and Philippe tearing it
As luck would have it there was a bouldering competition so I got to check that out as well, man how cool… There is no major hotels or restaurants, however comfortable sleeping arrangements and GREAT food from the local bar (both breakfasts and dinners) were easily arranged. We met Great people in Providencia and it was very accommodating to mountain bikers, they were stoked to have us ride their trails!
Grrrrr gnarly trail alert! Wish I could scream ‘WICKED’ in Spanish!
I was offered the lead instructor job position for the trail building component of the Mountain Bike Operations Course at Capilano University. After a lot of consideration I have accepted the position and am now hitting the books trying to get my teach on so I can kick butt on information delivery for the students!
MTB ops group
April will be the advanced trail building section of the course so I will be on the Sunshine Coast working and SHREDDING all month!!!! Sweet!!! Stoked to hit dirt with the Coastal Crew while there, the coast is just so cool..
I continue to put mileage and wear on my Prototype ‘all mountain’ bike and my Mace gear which both are equally loving it!
This Top secret ripper will twist your nipples raw!!!
New updated rear stays on the bike have got it nailed and the last round of feedback on the gear has got me stoked that Norco and Mace development departments are listening! SIC! I love my job!
I love my job!
Hoots
The Norco Team has some new faces these days along side some well known members. Spanning across disciplines from XC to Road, Slopestyle to DH and Track to Trials there is a Norco rider that can do just about everything.
The Newest addition for 2010 is the H&R Block Road Team. Since 2006 the team has been competing at the Elite National level and will look south in 2010 at expanding into the US. Check out more info on the team at http://www.norco.com/team or http://www.teamhrblock.ca/
The Rest of the Norco team is better than ever too, here is the roster:
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Ryan Leech is starting his 15th year wearing a Norco jersey. For 2010 he will continue to amaze spectators with his amazing trials show as well as inspire youth with the Trials of Life education program |
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Jay hoots is starting his 10th year in the Norco family. Through freeriding and Park Building Jay will travel the world and turn it inside-out along the way. |
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Dylan Korba is Norco’s ‘if it has two wheels I will ride it’ team member. Dylan can be spotted riding street, freeride, slopestyle, trials or anything else that resembles a bike. Maybe next year he will launch his road career? |
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Mislav Mironovic a.k.a the Croatian Sensation lives on his bike. In Europe Mislav competes in slopestyle and dirtjump competitions, watch for him though in North America this summer around Crankworx time. |
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Darcy ‘smiles’ Turenne. Between competing, filming and riding Darcy will make the rounds in 2010. Watch for her at major events such as Crankworx and Sea Otter; if you spot her come over and say hello! |
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National XC champion Andrew Watson is back for 2010 and will likely be ripping up the National Circuit again this year. Lets just hope that the Moustache doesn’t come back. |
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Catherine Vipond is racing the National XC circuit for 2010. Coming off a great season in 2009 Catherine will be fighting her way to the front of the pack all across Canada. |
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Young Gunner, Nick Geddes is racing the DH/4X circuit and not looking back. Keep your eyes on the Junior Podium and you may just find Nick rising to the top. |
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Newcomer Sam Dueck is a new addition to the team for 2010. With a 2009 season including Goatstyle, Crankworx Colorado and Crankworx Whistler, watch for Sam to make a splash in the 2010 Slopestyle circuit. |
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Ben Kaufmann is the first BMX rider to join the Norco Team in some time. Ben will be competing in events on the East Coast of Canada and may even come out to say hi in the West. Ben adds a new flavour to the team and will bring new energy for 2010. Watch for more on Ben coming soon! |
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Fionn Griffiths is taking on the world once again with the Norco World Team, watch for her travelling the world cup circuit again for 2010. |
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Bernard Kerr is moving up in 2010. Coming off a recent title of British Junior Champion, Bernard will be stepping up to the plate on the Norco World team trying his hand in the pro category. |
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