August 23rd, 2010 in Andrew Watson, Catherine Vipond, team | No Comments »
Last weekend in sunny Bromont,Quebec the Canada Cup XC series wrapped up for 2010. To date this has been a great Season for our Factory Team riders Andrew and Catherine, both in the running for Overall series titles.
Well they both ran into a little bad luck… Catherine flatted on her 2nd lap, having to run into the pits for a wheel change. She held strong
fighting back some spots, but had to settle for 2nd Overall in the
series….Not Bad.
Andrew was having a trouble free race battling it out with fellow National Team rider Derek Zandstra and Great Brittan’s Olympian Liam Killen, just before the last piece of single track he lost control and found himself hitting the deck hard. After collecting thoughts he rolled off course, not being able to finish. Good news being he had enough points to hold on and WIN the Overall..
With a 1st and 2nd in the overalls, both look forward to a World Cup in New York followed by World Championships in Mont St Anne in the coming weeks.
May 21st, 2010 in General, Racing/Adventure | No Comments »
I remember this course from last year, a brutal long climb and a super fun downhill. We had 3 laps to complete. After a 2km hill climb to the start we were ready. A steep hill climb start to our first downhill, I had a little too much air in my tires and was just trying to adjust being thrown around a little more then usual. At the bottom of the downhill there was a creek crossing, last year I managed to ride straight through it, although not able to get around the person in front of me, I actually fail to unclip and find myself sitting in the cold cold creek!!
Check out the blog at megans-adventures.blogspot.com
May 12th, 2010 in Events, Racing/Adventure | No Comments »
The Sunshine Coaster is the newly-renovated Rat Race. A classic up on the Sunshine Coast just North of Vancouver in Roberts Creek. With a BC Cup XC on Saturday and a DH race on Sunday and pre-riding everywhere between the weekend was a flurry of activity and a blast for everyone involved.
Eight members of the Norco crew head up for the race with everyone signed up for the DH and 4 lucky soles registered for the XC as well. Brave soles they are taking on gravity in both directions. Taking the ferry over on Friday afternoon meant that we could head out on a pre-ride mission before settling in at the Up The Creek Hostel. This is by far the nicest hostel I have ever stayed in. A 10 minute walk from the beach, equipped with a great kitchen, hot tub and cleaner than your average hotel, this was a great, economical choice for the weekend and the perfect place to grab some rest.
Racing on Saturday was 2 hours of gut-wrenching XC with grueling climbs, ripping descents and even a few bridges in the mix. The Sunshine Coaster XC really is the perfect cource for a well rounded rider. The DH on the other hand is a fairly flat, Stand and hammer course. Racing the DH is tuned towards the most fit of racers… Let’s just say there where a few people hacking up a lung at the finish.
Check out a few photos from the racing action
Check out more photos at flickr.com
