Andrew L’Esperance races XC and Cyclocross and at this year’s Canada Games he is looking to bring home some hardware for the province of Nova Scotia and Norco. Following his training and preparations Andrew has the support of the province, his team and his sponsors pushing him towards the podium!
Follow Andrew’s Race Season at norco.com/team
He likes Kilmeaden Cheddar and almond slices and is fast on a bike…it’s Greg Callaghan!
Greg Callaghan. Photo: Dermott Sweeney
Name? Greg Callaghan.
Age? 21 years young.
Favourite cheese? Kilmeaden Cheddar.
Tell me a joke? The Irish economy.
What’s your secret talent? I can ride a bike with only one eye, although I don’t really have a choice in that as only one works. Sure the other one is only a spare anyway.
Tea or coffee? Coffee in the mornings and flat out on the tea for the rest of the day.
Ah, sunshine, I remember that! Photo: Gee Milner
When was the last time you scared yourself? I had a pretty wild moment recently on the road bike travelling at a fair old click, overshot a fast corner and had to initiate the “steer with the rear” technique to slide to safety. Was nearly the end of me.
Read all 14 Questions at dirt.mpora.com
The roster of riders on the Norco team is about as diverse as you can get so when you pull them all together for a team camp some interesting dynamics happen. This year we took 13 Norco riders and made the trip to the beautiful Sunshine Coast BC and hit the trails.
The roster of Norco riders in attendance spanned a number of teams. We were lucky enough to host Team Norco International riders Bryn Atkinson and Jill Kintner, Norco Privateers Mike Hopkins and Sam Dueck, Dirt Norco Race Team’s Casey Brown and Norco Factory Team riders Jay Hoots, Ryan Leech, Mislav Mironovic, Sarah Leishman, Nick Geddes, Zander Geddes and Lee Jackson. What a crew!
The goals for the team camp were three-fold – photos, video and some amazing mountain biking. In such an amazing location the riding had to take precedent but with that comes some amazing footage. The Sunshine Coast is a mountain biking mecca; hiding behind each and every tree is another amazing trail. The loamy descents, winding climbs and high speed open stretches are a great balance for the diverse range of riders at the camp. There is something about watching Jill Kintner, Ryan Leech and Sam Dueck all ripping down the same trail in unison using totally different styles.
Over the course of three days the team went on 5 different rides, ate some amazing food and grew together as a unified-team. The knowledge that comes out of an event like this is more than you may expect. A better understanding of the bikes we ride, a stronger social network between riders and the added experience of riding on the Sunshine Coast just scratches the surface of the Camp’s true impact. It is times like these that grow a rider in ways that a competition cannot.
The Sunshine coast is the breeding ground for amazing cyclists and after spending a few daysin the area it is clear why. It is not just that the trails are fun, they are contagious and they offer opportunity for growth like no other. “Sunshine Coast” has a ring to it in the global cycling community but it is still a hidden gem that truly is a global cycling destination. Whether you are an XC fanatic, all mountain shredder or DH racer this is a place that should be on every rider’s bucket list!
It is time to start planning your next cycling vacation so consider the Sunshine Coast as your destination.
The Sea Otter Classic is the season opener for cycling in North America. This April event attracts some of the best athletes from around the world through the disciplines of Road, Cyclocross, XC, DH, Slalom, and more. As a kick-off for the year’s racing Sea Otter is a track to show the field what you have brought to the table and forecast how the summer’s race season could stack up.
Beyond the racing Sea Otter is also a massive draw for cycling enthusiasts for the expo, demo program and of course viewing the world class racing action. Beyond the racing Sea Otter is also a massive draw for cycling enthusiasts for the expo, demo program and of course viewing the world class racing action. This year Norco showed a sneek peek at a Carbon Sight that will be released next year. This is still a prototype model but shows an idea as to where things are going in the years to come.
With 13 athletes covering 6 disciplines of racing it was a busy week but also a fantastic time to be spending time in California. Representing the downhill side of things was Jill Kintner, Bryn Atkinson, Lee Jackson, Zander Geddes and Casey Brown. Jill, Bryn, Casey and Lee all took their shot at the Dual Slalom in addition to the DH. For XC and short track racing Andrew L’Esperance, Evan McNeeley, and Haley Smith all took to their bikes. Sam Dueck competed in the Speed and Style, Mislav Mironovic tried the dirt jumps and Ryan Leech was busy with his world famous trials demonstration.
Sweeping the weekend was Jill Kintner who took the event by storm. Starting off with the Dual Slalom she seemingly coasted through the field of racers taking the victory for yet another year. Following the Slalom Jill’s gears switched to DH where the stacked field showed a fight for the top. After a few training runs Jill was feeling confident on her Norco Sight and ready to race. With a clean run top to bottom Jill again climbed to the top of the podium to be awarded a second gold medal in as many days.
Photo by Jonathan Duncan
Jill was not the only racer making moves in California. Racing partner Bryn Atkinson took 8th place in the slalom and 13th spot in the DH. Junior ripper Lee Jackson finished in 6th spot while teammate Zander Geddes took 10th place. For the women Casey Brown crossed the line in 6th for both the Slalom and DH while Sarah Leishman was a shade behind on the downhill course in 7th spot.
The XC racers had their work cut out for them on a physically demanding course in both the Short Track and Cross Country. The team fought through the heat and finished mid pack among the world’s best racers. Haley Smith, Evan McNeeley and Andrew L’Esperance all had great races leading up to the 2013 season.
Beyond traditional racing and to the fans’ excitement Ryan Leech was back for another year of Trials Demos. Following a brief hiatus at this event, Leech returned with daily demos and free morning Yoga for the thousands of spectators and athletes in attendance. Through four days Ryan completed 10 trials demonstrations and 3 yoga sessions. As always watching Ryan is an inspirational and aspirational experience!
The Sea Otter Classic is an iconic event that everyone should experience at least once in their lifetime. If you have every considered making the trip to Laguna Seca perhaps 2014 could be your year to see it all happen?
The Norco Bicycles Premier Tech team has been busy through the winter and spring in preparation for the 2013 race season that is just around the corner. Going against the grain, the team made their way to Cuba for a training camp. Spending a week in the sun the team managed to ride more than 900 kilometers and escape the cold Canadian winter.
Enjoy this short recap video that they put together!
Submitted by Yuri Hrycaj
Joe Martin Stage Race day 4.
Good Morning. My legs seemed confused by this statement seeing as I had to check to make sure they were still attached. It was rough just walking over to the washroom and getting off the seat as so many of us know, can be an epic struggle; one that can require more watts than the final sprint. Lucky for me, I had been the sole competitor for the “Lantern Rouge”, so I had not had the luxury… err, chance… of sprinting.
The days have been long, and the weather great – if you happen to be a duck. With my morale waning, I keep going, rather than dropping out of the race. Coming into the race I did all my homework, I was fit. I made the people on the P90X exercise videos look like their before photos. Something just didn’t click, maybe I had gone a little too far in the fitness pool, too little in the freshness. So I paid the price. I will finish as the Lantern Rouge. It’s easy to just drop out of any race or competition. Finding the drive to actually finish – to keep going, to be able to say you finished, is hard. Finishing dead last (with a huge time gap to boot) was the hardest thing I have ever done. I will be forever remembered as “Lantern Rouge” at the Joe Martin stage race of 2013.
On a brighter note, today’s weather was beautiful. The race, however, was much shorter in length – 85 minutes. It happened to be a Criterium with a sharp hill in the middle of it. Someone dreamt up this nightmare of a course. The normal criterium format is flat with lots of tight turns. When a punchy hill is thrown in as well, it’s just plain cruel for both Crit racers and climbers alike. As soon as the race started, all hell broke loose. The crit riders moved up on the small flat portions and in the corners. The climbers would drill it on the hill. Either way, both were losing spots to one another regardless of your talent. As for me, I suffered as long as I could, and after my legs got torn off I was forced to pedal with my arms, and not long after they fell off too. It was time to pack it in and call it a day. Team mates Anton, Travis, and Luis were all going strong like diesel, but as time went on, they too faded. Anton got caught behind a crash with about 4 or 5 laps to go ending his race on a sour note.
My racing experience at Joe martin has been a big one, a life lesson that will stay with me forever. Racing strong in Ontario means just one thing; you are strong in Ontario. In the cycling world, you are basically a fetus, unable to defend yourself or prepare yourself for what is about to happen. I am glad I had this experience so that I am now able to mature as a rider. 4 days of good racing, 170km+ back to back stages. My team mates and I have learned a great deal about ourselves and each other. I thought I was going to finish this race as “Lantern Rouge,” but as fate would have it, I did not even last long enough in the crit to attain this title. I have now been shelled out of the rankings as if I was never in it. That goes to show you that in this race, even finishing dead last is difficult. I now know what to expect of the race next year, and boy do I have a lot of arm curls to do.
For more team stories visit Jetfuel-norco.com
My first Sea Otter was pretty darn fun. I flew down to San Jose on the Wednesday before the event and drove in with Katie Holden, which made the trip even better. It rad to have the on-hand support of the Norco crew during the week. I stayed with the team in a house in Monterey that week, trained every day with Miss Casey Jayne Brown, Zander and Lee (loved that) and got to know the ‘fit kids’ (Hayley, L’Espy and Guthrie) on the team. Was awesome getting to know everyone I hadn’t spent time with before and Pete, Jonathan, Havy, Dustan and Chris from Norco had us dialed all week.
Because I’ve never been to Sea Otter before I really felt like I needed to work harder than the average bear to dial the course in. The course is pretty easy overall but being fast on it is both fitness-based and dependent on your comfort with letting your bike run fast and loose. The ground is super hard there and it was a fine line between overshooting jumps, two wheel drifting and actually crashing (I tried that one out too).
Casey and I training on day 1.
In the end I pulled a 7th. I’ll take it – the field was stacked and that result is satisfying, especially considering the fact that I buried myself by overdoing the laps in training. It was awesome to have the on-hand advice from Chrissy (TaG Cycling) during the event; I think I’d have stayed on the ground after that crash on the Friday had it not been for spending the winter crushing weights with coach Jordan and the rest of the crew at Crossfit also. Hah.
Margus Riga photo of my race run for Pinkbike. Love those guys!
The other really cool announcement at the ‘Otter was the release of me and Jill’s cover on Freehub Magazine by Paris Gore. Love it and am thankful for being invited on that trip to Orcas Island with Katie, Strand, Shorty and Jill. We collaborated on the story inside the issue and I thought it turned out pretty well. It’s worth checking it out!
Thanks again to the entire Norco team for a fun week. Next up: Sunshine Coast team trip with the entire Norco crew! Stoked.
Photo : Paris Gore
The Underworld Cup, also known as the Northwest Cup or US Grand Prix has become one of the most exciting races leading up to the World Cup Circuit. As an early season race it offers some of the biggest names in mountain biking a chance and an early season victory. This race is also a glimpse in to what each rider’s hand holds for the upcoming races. What started as a small locals-only race is now an international affair with a podium topped by the world’s best.
Joining in on the action from Norco was Jill Kinter straight off her recent win at the Sea Otter Classic and Norco teammate Casey Brown. On the men’s side Bryn Atkinson, Nick Geddes, Zander Geddes and Lee Jackson all coming out to test their off season training. For the women, Jill Kinter took her third win in two weeks by posting a time 2.5 seconds faster than her top competition Miranda Miller. Following shortly behind was the Dirt Norco Race Team’s Casey Brown in third spot. Bryn Atkinson went down in practice and decided to sit the race run out while Nick Geddes placed in 33rd spot for the Pro Men. Nick’s younger brother Zander climbed into 2nd place for the Junior Men and teammate Lee Jackson finished in 6th spot.
This is very early in the season but races like this help to predict what is to come. Watch from more race coverage soon and follow Team Norco’s quest for the podium.
Photo by Paris Gore
Pro Men’s Results
1. Steve Smith 2:22.44
2. Josh Bryceland 2:24.69
3. Connor Fearon 2:25.15
4. Aaron Gwin 2:25.17
5. Brook MacDonald 2:26.32
6. Andrew Neethling 2:26.49
7. Cam Cole 2:26.83
8. Nick Beer 2:27.00
9. Neko Mullaly 2:27.06
10. Luke Strobel 2:27.09
33. Nick Geddes 2:35:30
Pro Women’sResults
1. Jill Kintner 2:41.32
2. Miranda Miller 2:43.84
3. Casey Brown 2:48.52
4. Vaea Verbeek 2:57.05
5. Jaime Rees 2:58.91
Cat 1 Men 0-18
1. Matt Hardwick 2:34.00
2. Alexander Geddes 2:35.60
3. Chase Nelson 2:35.66
4. Jay Fesperman 2:36.09
5. Galen Carter 2:36.74
6. Lee Jackson 2:38:30
More results at pinkbike.com
Post by Jill Kintner
I am pretty stoked to announce a clean sweep at the season opening event of 2013 at the Sea Otter Classic in slalom and DH!.
Sea Otter is a unique race, as it’s a huge expo/ media extravaganza with the whole bike industry on display for the first time for 2013. It’s action packed as well with almost every type of event going on; Slalom, DH, xc, speed and style, cyclecross, road races, grand fondos, etc. Plenty of top class competitors in both the men’s and women’s fields as well, so it was fun to see everyone again after a long cold winter and get back into racing.
Slalom is the best event in my opinion. I look forward to it so much every year. Love the intensity, and getting to ride a slalom bike. The course is really fun, and gets slippery and windy as races progress. Boggles my mind how they build the course so similar every year after tearing it down, wish the jumps were a little bigger or more tech, but the speed is awesome. It moves through elimination rounds quick, and spectators love seeing the best riders in the world battle it out to the finish.
photo Matt Delorme
DS results
DH is fairly basic with most everyone choosing a trail bike of some kind for the fast rolling hard packed ground with loose sand on top. Baked in ruts in a couple places, but overally pretty flat with one off cambered tricky dh section, etc. This year was notable with so many different types of bikes and wheel sizes, 26″ , 27.5″, 29″ ,,, slalom bikes, trail bikes, dh bikes, etc. The massive pedaling efforts dictated bike choice. This race is a really good fitness check to be on the podium. 2+ minute sprint, few uphill sections, jumps, 7 turns, etc. Pin it to win it:). I felt awesome this year, didn’t even get the usual jerkey lungs, Big Thx to our trainers at Potentrx in Seattle:)
Here is the first look at my Norco carbon prototype 650b sight I raced. It’s my trail bike 90% of the time and a dh bike just for here:)
photo Paris Gore
Bryn was riding strong all weekend as well.. He is unbelievably talented in slalom and DH, just bike riding in general. I am a big fan!! nice style, powerful. It was so impressive to watch him rip those berms apart. He took down Prokop in the first round, then 7th seed Cous Couse from france, just moving through the rounds, till the round of 8, which is the quarterfinals. He matched up against Jared Graves (eventual winner)and gave him a super tight battle, but got knocked out. Finishing 8th, so good job to him!!!.
In DH the next day, Bryn was only a couple seconds back, finishing up in 13th. Times were sooo close year, top 20 was within 4 seconds. Gwin was the winner on a 29er by a hundreth. Kinda sucks he won on a 29er, but he played it tactical with the rolling speed. We rode Norco’s new 650B trail bikes- sights, and I think comfort wise, they made the couse feel smoother than in years past while still being maneuverable.
BRYN:
Small overview: there was a lot of sun, sunburn, and wind, most of the top contenders were here, tons of sprinting, some rowdy american fans waving their flags (KT):) , new products on display, fresh bikes and kits, all kinds of wheel sizes, lot of “enduro” talk getting thrown around, expo madness, thousands of spectators, and bike riding. That kinda sums it up. Slalom was the best part.
Happy to get some solid coverage for our sponsors on our new norco 650b bikes, with all black Crankbros wheels, etc.
Marketing, and finding ways to stand out are part of the beauty of sea otter. Bell had a mechanical bull to test out helmets:) Renthal had autographed bar give aways and a super stealthy new prototype dh stem for us, Shimano was on tech service and doing a lot of media stuff with the new XTR gear, wheels, etc.. Fox Shox were gold and black float 34 is rad- the best squish in the bidness, 5.10 had the whole pro team working with the designers giving feedback and wearing the new freeriders, e.13 has some new carbon guides, seemed like everyone had something going on, which was cool.
Guess one of the only other things that made the highlight reel was Lars and his mustache looking exactly like the Sea Otter mascot. Uncanny resemblance:)
DH RESULTS:
Big thanks to all of our sponsors:
Norco Bicycles, Red Bull, Crankbrothers, Fox Shox, Shimano, Renthal, Bell Helmets, Sombrio, Maxxis, Stevens Pass Bike Park, 5.10, e.13, Oakley, Jet Black trainers, PotentrX health and performance, Motorex, Cane Creek, Fi’zi:k, camelbak, alpinestars protection, and Park Tools.
Photo by Jonathan Duncan
The Sea Otter Classic is wrapping up and much like 2012 Jill Kintner cleaned up and took home some hardware. Starting off with the Dual Slalom Jill took her fourth consecutive title. With an olympic medal background in BMX the tight track is right up her alley and she seemingly coasted to a victory.
In similar style Jill took to the DH track on a confidence high. A smooth run gave her a second gold medal while fellow Norco riders Casey Brown followed in 6th spot and Sarah Leishman was a split second behind in 7th spot.
Congratulations to all the riders in the Women’s DH race!
Dual Slalom Elite Women’s Podium