Norco Returns as Bike Sponsor for 2008!

The Camp of Champions, always leading the way in finding cool new ways to enjoy summer in Whistler, is pleased to announce MTB Pro Camp.

MTB Pro Camp is The Camp of Champions Mountain Bike Camp stripped down to the bare essentials to save you money but still making sure you still have everything you need to have the best time ever in Whistler and in the Bike Park.

The Camp of Champions MTB Pro Camp is the amazing mountain bike vacation in Whistler designed to get you onto a top of the line Norco DH bike, into the Bike Park, and into accommodation as economically as possible.

Included with The MTB Pro Camp is six day lift tickets for the Whistler Bike Park, a Norco Park Edition A-Line to ride, guiding on your first day in the Bike Park, seven nights double occupancy accommodation in two bedroom suites at “The Dorm”, a Camp of Champions T-Shirt and COC/Sigg Water bottle. Bike Damage Insurance, Cancellation Insurance, and transfers between Vancouver International Airport and Whistler can be added for an extra charge.

The Camp of Champions MTB Pro Camp is $950.00 Cdn for each eight-day session. Throw together 2,3 or 4 sessions for a longer stay. Stay too long though and you’ll never leave. Space is extremely limited so pick your session or sessions and sign up today and get ready for the best summer of your life.

To get the more info on The Camp of Champions and their industry leading line up of summer camps go to: The Camp of Champions

Apparently, standing on the podium once per weekend isn't enough for Fionn anymore. Following her double-podium streak this season, Fionn took yet more medals home, this time with two 1st place finishes in the DH and Dual Slalom at the US Open.

DH practice on the Friday went well although conditions were extremely un- predictable. "with the track as rough and rocky as it is here at Diablo Freeride park, the conditions in practice were unforgivable, just finding yourself slightly off line in the wet rocks will more than likely end in tears or at least with a quick nature appreciation visit to a nearby tree." Fionn escaped a fairly big crash on the wet rocks without major injury, just a couple of bumps and bruises to show for her efforts.

Friday afternoon slalom qualification went as well as it could. Fionn had good runs on both courses and took the qualification win convincingly. The 2nd place Kathy Pruitt and 3rd place Joanna Petterson were both riding well. It was a milestone in events for the crew here at Diablo Mountain with their first Dual Slalom event being held here this weekend.

Saturday was literally a whole new day, with Blue skies and a constant breeze both tracks were drying up quickly. DH qualification went off without a hitch, and made for some close racing. With a time of 3.13, Kathy Pruitt nudged Fionn out at the line by 1/10th of a second for the lead and less than a second from that was the South African Joanna Petterson in 3rd.

Slalom Finals got underway fairly late in the evening, with the sun setting it was becoming more and more difficult to see but racing was tough fought to the line every time. In the semi finals Fionn met Katie Holden the 4th place qualifier and easily advanced to the finals where she met Kathy Pruitt.

Both Kathy and Fionn charged out of the gate in hopes of opening a time margin which Pruitt did taking the win in the first run. Even with Kathy's time margin it would not be enough to hold off a frustrated Griffiths in the second. The end result would turn out to be the same as qualification.

Slalom Results:
Fionn Griffiths 1st
Kathy Pruitt- 2nd
Jonanna Petterson- 3rd

Sundays Downhill event took place in front of large crowds lining the rock sections of the track and the lower portion of the mountain. With the Pro's racing for the top prize of $5000 everyone looked slightly nervous.

"I was all good at the start, got focused and went for it out the gate but in the second turn I noticed Jo walking back up the side of the track, she had left the start house only one minute before me so I thought it was kind of weird but carried on anyway. I got maybe another 45 ft before an official jumped into the track and stopped me."

After having a re -start due to an accident on course it came down to who could get their head back in the game. Joanna Petterson had a great run beating the fastest qualifying time from the previous day in 3.12, but it was not enough to hold off Fionn who followed with a time of 3.03. Fionn anxiously awaited the arrival of Kathy at the finish but it was not to be Pruitt's day as she rode in with a time of 3.06.

"The Norco was working really well for me on this rocky track today, I loved every second of it. I just had fun riding my bike and the rest came together for me."

DH Results:
Fionn Griffiths- 1st
Kathy Pruitt - 2nd
Joanna Petterson - 3rd

Next stop is Andora for round two of the World Cup tour. For more information about Fionn and the Norco World Team, check out: griffithsracing.net

From May 26th till June 1st, Norco's staff have taken on the Bike To Work Challenge!

This spring the Vancouver Cycling Coalition threw down the gauntlet, challenging workplaces across the Lower Mainland to enter a huge (but friendly) competition to see who can get the most co-workers onto bikes for the trip to work.

To help ease the process, some of our experienced cycling commuters volunteered their time to teach 'Gears and Gear' seminars for any rookies or wannabes.

We challenge YOU to consider hoping on your bike this week, remembering that change always starts with just one person!

For more information on the Bike to Work Challenge, check out: Bike To Work 2008

Building upon the success of the new Fluid design from last year, the LT offers more travel and burliness to handle anything you can dish out...

I’ve been reviewing Norco bikes for several years now. The crew at Norco is super-friendly and their bikes are always good for a ride–especially downhill rides. The first Norco I reviewed was the 2004 Norco Shore… a capable freeride rig that could still climb if prodded properly. It’s very evident that Norco designers value the downhill above all else because every bike I’ve ridden since has been a scream on the down.

For that reason, I’m always stoked to get on a Norco. They may not be as well-known here in the States as they should be, but that shouldn’t stop you or I from wanting to get on one.

This year’s test bike is the all-new Fluid LT 3–the entry-level bike in the new Fluid LT lineup. Building upon the success of the new Fluid design from last year, the LT offers more travel and burliness to handle anything you can dish out. Lets see how it fared after I doled out some punishment on the local Utah singletrack.

Read the FULL REVIEW at feedthehabit.com

Fionn Scores Two Top Spots at Maribor World Cup

Although she's only two races in, Fionn has already decided that standing on the Podium is her style. She started out with a great season opening double podium 3rd & 2nd spot at Sea Otter, and this past weekend she scored another deux with a 3rd & 4th at Maribor World Cup. Here's what she had to say...

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Arriving in Maribor nerves were flying - new pit set up, new mechanic, new bikes and a fresh start to the season. The sun was shining and the track looked amazing, so we just fed off the positive energy and gave it our all.

4X racing started with a bang. Straight out of the gate Fionn was flying. She loved the track and qualified in 2nd place just behind Anneke Beerten. Heading into racing Fionn was focused on the task at hand. She won each of her rounds, working her way into the finals alongside Anneke Beerten, Melissa Buhl and Anita Molcik. Stuck between Melissa and Anneke in the gate, Fionn got a bit of a squeeze coming into the first corner. She didn't let that get to her though and came out of the first turn in 2nd place. Fionn and Buhl battled it out until the 2nd corner where Molcik took advantage of an opening and moved herself into 2nd. From there the chase was on. Fionn blasted out of the 2nd turn trying to make up her lost speed and catch Molcik. But the gap would prove to be too much.

Results:
Anneke Beerten 1st
Anita Molcik - 2nd
Fionn Griffiths - 3rd
Melissa Buhl - 4th

Sunday. Race day. Fionn had been ripping up the DH track all week absolutely loving the speed and technicality of the course. She gave a strong qualifying run, making only a few mistakes on course and finishing in 6th. By the time racing came around Fionn was ready to give it her all. Bettering her qualifying time by over 7 seconds, Fionn finished the day with 4th place - her second top 5 finish of the weekend

Results:
Sabrina Jonnier - 1st
Rachel Atherton - 2nd
Emmeline Ragot - 3rd
Fionn Griffiths - 4th

Also a special mention goes out to our new team mechanic - Paul Miles. Maribor was Paul's first World Cup event and he did a wicked job on the bikes all weekend.

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For more information about Fionn's season go to: griffithsracing.net

Svein Tuft Takes Four Golds, Bell A Silver

The Norco-sponsored Symmetrics Cycling Team had an unbelievable week in Uruguay last week, taking an unprecedented haul of medals. Competing against all nations of both North and South America, Symmetrics had Svein Tuft and Zach Bell on both road and track.

Svein Tuft started the trip off well when he won the Individual pursuit--taking the gold by three seconds over Jose Antonga (Argentina). Tuft had a day off before competing in the points race--where he snagged another gold over American Daniel Holloway. Bell just missed the Bronze, taking fourth. The stage was set for an incredible madison the next day--where Tuft and Bell did not disappoint. Finally, the two riders were allowed to show off to the country what a great pair of madison riders they are--the S-team riders won beautifull over Gonzalo Miranda / Luis Sepúlveda (Chile). Zach Bell ended the track portion of the Pan Ams off well by taking a second in the five event Ominium event.

Next up, Tuft and Bell hit the road portion of the Pan Ams. Although the road race was difficult because of their being marked due to the success on the track--the time trial was another unbelievable day for Tuft and Bell. Tuft won convincingly, averaging 50kmh for almost an hour--and Bell finished in a solid fifth.

Go to SYMMETRICS CYCLING for more information.

This is the third edition of the Norco Fluid that I've reviewed. I loved the 2006 version, I gushed about the 2007 version and (big surprise), I'm just as stoked about the 2008 version.

This year Norco has entered the long-travel all-mountain fray with the Norco Fluid LT (Long Travel). I was given the Fluid LT One to test - which I will occasionally refer to as the Gucci or Pimp edition bike - for reasons that will become clear as we discuss the component specifications.

What more can I say about the Fluid line of bikes? I really like Norcos. Indeed, the gentle reader can be well-justified in questioning my objectivity. Having said that, it's hard to argue with a bike and part spec that continues to deliver top-quality bang for the buck year after year after year.

Check out the FULL REVIEW on NSMB.com

As Slopestyle contests go, Crankworx 2007 won’t go down as one of the best in memory.

Marred by crashes and injuries, most riders never got their groove on the course. Many said it lacked flow and riders would traverse – often detouring for trannies and stunts – in a desperate attempt to find a line they liked. After the first round of the finals there was very little suspense – Ben Boyko made sure of that.

One of the biggest critics of the course, Boyko went out and put together a solid run anyway. It appeared his lead would be insurmountable as rider after rider fell or under-performed in round two, and indeed his victory was sealed before he arrived at the drop in for his second run. I figured Ben would just style it out and treat his descent as a victory lap but apparently that’s not his style.

Run two was just as burly and had fewer flaws in the eyes of the judges putting more distance between himself and the rest of the competitors. The crowd went ape when he again spun three off the huge final drop to end the contest and further cement his victory. Finally a Canadian had won the Crankworx Slopestyle.

In the off season Ben was kind enough to answer some of my questions about life as a pro rider. Check out what he had to say below as well as epic photos and sequences by Harookz.

Read the FULL INTERVIEW on NSMB.com

VPS-Fest is Norco's one-of-a-kind Rider Appreciation Day. In 2003 we created our first VPS-Fest event as a fun way to give back to the riding community and a great excuse to get Norco riders together for a great time.

Since our first event, VPS-Fest has grown and expanded into a much anticipated event on many Norco riders' calendars. This event gives us the opportunity to say, 'Thanks!' to our riders by providing FREE (or half price) lift-accessed riding, FREE tech support by World Cup mechanics, FREE flat and wheel repair, the chance to win thousands of dollars in prizes, and much more.

To learn more about Norco's Rider Appreciation Day, VPS-Fest: Check out vps-fest.com

If you are wanting to attend the event: Don’t miss out, register for VPS-Fest now!

Norco has been around for over 40 years, and anyone who has been riding as long as I have has seen Norco bikes change from fully rigid no-nonsense bikes to sophisticated high performance machines. Since the introduction of the first VPS bikes in the late '90s, Norco has been a force in the world of big mountain bikes. With the launch of the newly redesigned Shore chassis, Norco's commitment to the continued improvement and evolution of their long travel full suspension bikes is clear.

Read more of the Gear Shots #40 article at nsmb.com

Source: nsmb.com