Tag Archives: 2012

Team H&R Block Finishes 2012 at the Top

2012_03_Langley_SpringSeries-82 Team H&R BLOCK has concluded it’s most successful season to date, finishing the 2012 season with some impressive wins and solid international results. The success of the 2012 season is a result of several years of growth and development for this young squad.

The team kicked off the 2012 season with overall wins at Tour of Walla Walla, WA (USA), the Mutual of Enumclaw Stage Race, WA (USA) and the Robert Cameron Law Cycling Series as part of the Victoria International Cycling Festival, BC (CAN).

As the season progress, so did the team results. The summer months saw the team secure the overall win at the Banff Bike Festival, AB (CAN), 2nd place at the TNA Westside Cycling Classic, BC (CAN) and a top 10 overall result at the Tour de Beauce, QC (CAN) – 2.2 UCI. The team then came together in late June to earn a 4th place finish at the Canadian U23 Time Trial Championships and a 5th place finish at the Elite Men’s Canadian National Road Championships. The team wrapped up the season with some solid results at the BMC Cascade Cycling Classic which saw a 5th place finish in the Crooked River TT and a 10th place finish in the Downtown Criterium.

Highlights of Team H&R BLOCK’s 2012 Results:

Barry’s Roubaix, BC (CAN) – 1st and 3rd

Tour of Walla Walla, WA (USA)

-          Time Trial – 2nd
-          Kellogg Hallow Road Race – 3rd
-          General Classification – 1st and 4th

Enumclaw Stage Race, WA (USA)

-          Time Trial – 1st
-          General Classification – 1st

Robert Cameron Law Cycling Series Omnium, BC (CAN)

-          Specialized/Russ Hays Time Trial – 1st
-          Accent Inns Road Race – 2nd
-          Condo Group Bastion Square Grand Prix – 1st
-          General Classification – 1st

TNA Westside Cycling Classic, BC (CAN) – 2nd

Banff Bike Festival, AB (CAN)

-          Cascade Plaza Prologue – 1st
-          Lake Louise Road Race – 2nd
-          Individual Time Trial – 1st
-          General Classification – 1st

Tour de Beauce, QC (CAN) – 2.2 UCI

-          Stage 4 Time Trial – 6th
-          General Classification – 10th

Canadian Road Nationals, QC (CAN) – UCI

-          4th U23 Time Trial
-          5th Elite Men’s Road Race

BMC Cascade Cycling Classic, OR (USA) – NRC

-          5th Crooked River TT
-          10th Downtown Criterium

As important as top results are, we are also honored to have riders that are well-rounded individuals and great ambassadors for our team the sport of cycling and our valued marketing partners. The team will continue to grow around riders who are first class individuals, individuals who respect each other and are appreciative of the support that they receive.

A team like ours would not be able to exist without the support of our marketing partners gives these talented athletes the opportunity to excel in the sport and to continue to strive to compete as a professional.

As we look forward to 2013 we are well under way in our continued recruitment of the best U25 riders in Canada, as well as select U23 International riders. Along with making sure that our race schedule continues to grow in order to allow the next group of riders who come thought the program have the best opportunities available to them to succeed in the sport.

For more information on Team H&R BLOCK, please visit the team’s web page, or follow them on Twitter.  

2012 Team H&R Block Sponsors

H&R BLOCK, Norco Bicycles, Scotiabank, DirectCash ATM, Stikeman Elliott, Girodana, SPC, BGI, Mavic, FSA, Easton, Curious Communications, Rudy, Sidi, Kenda, Fi’zi:k, Hammer, DeFeet, Axiom, SRAM, Sigma, Yakima, Speedplay, Minoura & John Henry Bikes.

People Who Ride

Working with our team riders last week reminded me that people who ride bikes are cool. We were all down at the Sea Otter Classic, and in and around the Norco pits and camp we had about 8 or 9 factory team or factory supported privateer riders either staying with us, hanging out with us or simply pitting with us during the day. From National Champion XC Pro’s, to Slopestyle specialists. Downhill riders to Pro-Elite CycloCross champs. Dual Slalom winners to Roadies… Juniors to World Cup level riders… and the coolest thing?? They all get along great. They all respect each other’s sport and seem genuinely interested when discussing each other’s disciplines.

It reminded me of a cool quote I just was sent… here goes:

“Like dogs, bicycles are social catalysts that attract a superior category of people”.

I’m not sure of the “superior” part but I sure know it attracts an eclectic and cool group of people – people I enjoy being around. Hmm, what happens if you ride bikes and have a dog?

Sea Otter was really fun. We showed about 25 bikes out of our huge mix of road and mountain bikes, our team went on to 2 Gold’s and a Silver (way to go Jill and Aaron) and we previewed 4 new 2013 bikes coming down the pipe. And from our highest end full carbon road race bike, to an all new 650b 160mm true trail ripper, or a new Aurum or 29’er Dual suspension rig, there was something for everyone to drool on. The crazy part is, my garage is no where big enough to have all the bikes I would like in there. And the really scary thing is… I could go have fun on every single one of the bikes we were showing down there !
Anyways, the summary is that bikes are cool and the people that ride them are too. Hope you are too. Seeya out there !!!

Steak Sauce

Climbing the Sea Otter Podium

Dual Slalom has been a staple of the Sea Otter Classic for decades, new for 2012 though is the first ever Cyclocross Race. These two events saw Norco athletes climb the podium under the scorching California Sun.

In the Dual Slalom Jill Kintner made her way through the field and came out on top. Jill took home the victory in the 2012 Sea Otter Dual Slalom. Congrats to Jill on this big win! In the Cyclocross race, Team H&R Block’s Aaron Schooler took second spot in the first ever cross competition. Another great result for Aaron!

Here are some pictures from the day’s events. Keep tuned for DH results from tomorrow’s big race!

2012_04_SeaOtter_05-2947

Aaron Schooler On route to 2nd place in the first ever Sea Otter Classic cyclocross race.

2012_04_SeaOtter_05_Jon-12Jill Kintner on her way to victory in the women’s pro dual slalom final.

2012_04_SeaOtter_05-2660Duncan Riffle was also on ‘sight’ ripping up the Dual Slalom.

2012_04_SeaOtter_05-2777Bryn Atkinson qualified third with a blistering fast pace. Blowing a tire off its rim in his race run though Bryn was eliminated early on in the competition.

2012_04_SeaOtter_05-2989Congrats on the win Jill!

2012 Norco Event Schedule

Norco has a jam packed event schedule for the 2012 season. Nearly every weekend Norco is on-site showing off new products, supporting races or fixing bikes at a charity ride. Traveling around North America the Norco event crew will travel see a very large chunk of both the United States and Canada. While we don’t have enough space here to list every last event on the schedule these are a few key dates for some of the larger events.

See you out there!

March 10-11 – Seattle Bike Expo – Seattle, WA

April 15 – Paris to Ancaster Classic – Paris, ON

April 19-22 – Sea Otter Classic – Monterey, CA

June 9-10 – Toronto Ride To Conquer Cancer – Toronto, ON

June 16-17 – Vancouver Ride To Conquer Cancer – Vancouver, BC

June 16-17 – Canadian MTB Nationals – St. Felicien, QC

June 23-24 – 24 Hour Summer Solstice – Albion Hills, ON

June 23-24 – Alberta Ride to Conquer Cancer – Calgary, AB

June 23-25 – Mont St Anne World Cup – Mont St Anne, QC

June 30 – Jul 1 – Windam World Cup – Windam, NY

July 7-8 – Montreal Ride To Conquer Cancer – Montreal, QC

July 14-15 – Horseshoe Centurion, Horseshoe Valley, ON

TBA – Norco International Product Launch – TBA

July 21-22 – Gran Fondo Ottawa – Ottawa, ON

August 8 – MS Bike Tour – Vancouver, BC

August 10-19 – Kokanee Crankworx – Whistler, BC

August 18-19 – MS Bike Tour – Waterloo, ON

August 26 – MS Bike Tour – Niagara, ON

September 8-10 – Expocycle – Toronto, ON

September 19-21 – Interbike – Las Vegas, NV

Rob Britton Joins Norco’s Team H&R Block

Rob Britton de Canadá. Campeonato Panamericano de Ciclismo de Ruta
 

February 22, 2012 – On behalf of the Board of Directors, Todd McCallum, Gary Clarke, Paul Blanchette and Carl Jacobson, Team H&R BLOCK is excited to announce that Rob Britton has joined the program for the 2012 racing season.

Rob is one of the most talented up and coming riders in Canada. Last year Rob was the 2nd best North American rider at the Tour of California placing 23rd overall, 4th at Canadian National Road Championships and has had several other notable results such as, 10th at the SRAM Tour of Gila, 1st Merco Cycling Classic and 2nd Sea Otter Road Race, to mention a few.

Rob will be a strong addition to the team’s roster at such events as Tour de Beauce, Canadian Road Championships, BC Superweek and Cascade Cycling Classic. Team Director, Mark Ernsting states: “The team is growing in the right direction; each season the team continues to increase the quality of riders.  We believe that is a direct reflection of the opportunity we offer the riders”.

With the mentorship of Andrew Pinfold and the experience of Rob along with the performance of the rest of the team, this should result in the strongest season to date for the program. The team’s performance growth is a reflection of its philosophy that allows riders to attain their goals. If a rider is selected to National Team projects, has an opportunity as a guest rider on a Pro Team, or is required to fulfill academic requirements in order to further their education; the team will work hard to balance these commitments so that the rider can further their development in all aspects in order to achieve all of their aspirations.

Rob Britton will join the 2012 Team H&R BLOCK Roster of; Aaron Schooler, Adam Thuss, Andrew Pinfold, Craig Jones, Garrett McLeod, Jordan Cheyne, Justin Kerr, Kris Dahl, Laurent Dallaire and Mike Sidic.

For further information about Team H&R BLOCK please contact Team Director, Mark Ernsting – ernsting@m1sportsmanagement.com or visit the Team’s webpage at www.teamhrblock.ca

Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter @teamhrblock

Team H&R BLOCK partners are: H&R BLOCK – Norco Bicycles – Scotiabank – Direct Cash Income Fund – Equity Transfer & Trust Company – Stikeman Elliott LLP – Giordana – Student Price Card – BGI Graphics – Curious Communications – Mavic – Full Speed Ahead – Easton – Rudy Project – Sidi – Kenda – Fi’zi:k – Hammer Nutrition – Defeet – Contour – Yakima Racks – Minoura – Axiom – Sigma Sport – Minoura – John Henry Bikes.

The Dirt Norco Race Team Debuts their 2012 Race Rigs

Original posting from dirt.mpora.com

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It was an exciting day at Dirt Norco HQ today as this years Dirt Norco team Aurum downhill bikes arrived ready for the first race in South Africa now only a few weeks away.

A big thanks to Dirt, Norco, Sram, Thomson, Schwalbe, Gamut, Kore handlebars and SunRingle for an awesome bike which we are really looking forward to racing this year. Here are some first shots as Ben’s bike gets built up.

 

Bike shots 2012 Bike 2 1024x680 New Dirt Norco Race Team bikes have arrived

Bike shots 2012 Bike 1 1 1024x680 New Dirt Norco Race Team bikes have arrived

Bike shots 2012 Bike 10 1 1024x680 New Dirt Norco Race Team bikes have arrived

Bike shots 2012 Bike 5 680x1024 New Dirt Norco Race Team bikes have arrived

Bike shots 2012 Bike 6 1024x680 New Dirt Norco Race Team bikes have arrived

Bike shots 2012 Bike 7 680x1024 New Dirt Norco Race Team bikes have arrived

Bike shots 2012 Bike 8 1024x680 New Dirt Norco Race Team bikes have arrived

 

The Bible of Bike Tests Takes On The Aurum


Bike Magazine – The Bible Review of the Norco Aurum
Words By Ryan Labar

Even before we got it dirty on the trails, it was clear that Norco did its homework when designing the Aurum. The standout features include the integrated fork bumpers, keyed and replaceable pivot-bolt receivers, post-mount rear-brake studs and an extra derailleur hanger stashed on the frame. These are all godsends for privateer racers or anyone spending some serious bike-park time.

The Aurum’s geometry numbers are also quite noteworthy. Not only does it push the slacker and lower trend with its 63.5-degree head angle and sub 14-inch-high bottom bracket, it is the only bike we know of that has size-specific rear ends-as the frame size increases the chainstay length also increases. Impressive.

The mix of Easton, Sun Ringle, Blackspire and SRAM components also seemed well considered, and were right on point with the rest of the bike’s reliable demeanor. Riding the Aurum was a treat. Norco’s ART linkage uses a chainstay-mounted pivot for a rearward axle-path and minimal brake jack. This rearward axle path, combined with the slack head angle, soaked up square-edged hits nicely, allowing the Aurum to hold speed through rough steeps. The linkage also has a good deal of anti-squat, which manifests as snappy acceleration when you put power to the pedals. The suspension tune on the Aurum
felt about perfect as well It was nice and linear through most of the travel with a bit of a ramp up near the end to prevent harsh bottom-outs.

When mated to the stiff, hydroformed tubeset, it made for a bike that held its line through
wicked rock gardens and accelerated like a greyhound possessed. Perhaps a literal chink
in the Aurum’s armor was its thin paint job. We liked the bright-yellow paint, but it chipped easily, which is a bummer considering all the attention Norco paid to making a bike that’ll last through the seasons. -Ryan Labar

Download the Article PDF Here

Norco Aurum downhill bike – Just in

By James Costley-White in Bath, UK
Originally Posted on BikeRadar.com

Norco are set to make a big return to the world circuit this year, with some high-profile new signings – Jill Kintner, Bryn Atkinson and Mike Hopkins – flying the flag alongside the established Dirt-Norco pairing of Ben Reid and Dan Stanbridge.

The downhillers will compete aboard the new 200mm-travel (8in) Aurum, which has been two years in development. It uses a tweaked version of Norco’s ART (Advanced Ride Technology) suspension setup, which is based on Specialized’s venerable four-bar FSR design.

One of the key design features of the bike is its ‘Gravity Tune’ geometry. Rather than just altering the length of the front triangle for different size frames, Norco also change the chainstay length and even the suspension kinematics, dialing in different amounts of chain growth and anti-squat to compensate for differences in rider height and weight. The fork bump stops behind the tapered head tube are a neat touch too, as is the integrated seatpost clamp.

Norco aurum 2: norco aurum 2

Pictured here is the £2,499.99 (CAD$3,550/US$3,550) Aurum 2, which Mountain Biking UK’s technical editor, Rob Weaver, has picked as his long-term test bike for the year. Component highlights on this base-level model include a RockShox Boxxer RC Race fork, X-Fusion Vector RC shock, Sun Inferno wheels shod with Kenda Nevegal tyres, SRAM X7 kit and Avid Elixir 5 disc brakes. Claimed weight is 39.7lb/18kg; we’ve yet to put it on our scales.

Two other complete builds are available. The Aurum 1 comes with a Boxxer R2C2 and RockShox Vivid R2C shock, the same wheels and SRAM X9 kit for £3,699.99 (CAD$5,350/US$5,325). The Aurum LE upgrades to a Boxxer World Cup and Cane Creek Double Barrel shock, Easton Havoc DH wheels and SRAM X0 kit, and costs £5,199.99 (US$7,350/CAD$7,450).

If you prefer, you can buy a frameset and fit it with the kit of your choice. In the UK, distributors Evans Cycles tell us they’ll be offering a Dirt-Norco team replica frameset for £1,799.99 from early March. See our image gallery for an artist’s impression.

In North America, the frameset will also be available with the same white and red paintjob as the top-end LE bike. Both colourways will cost CAD$2,600/US$2,600. Frames will come with a Cane Creek Double Barrel shock and Angleset headset, plus an own-brand seatpost and Syntace rear axle.

Norco aurum 2: norco aurum 2

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Translating Aurum to Gold, The Aurum Reviewed

Norco bicycles are distributed around the globe to countries speaking many languages. Whether you speak English, French, German, Spanish, Croatian any other – there is still a Norco for you.

With that in mind, here is a translated review of the Norco Aurum from Switzerland. The English translation is not perfect but have a read through and you will get the gist. To read the original article please visit frontlinemag.net

Please note that this translation may not be a perfect representation of the original article in wording, meaning or intention.

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 Norco has a new steed for 2012 – The Norco Aurum (Aurum is Latin for gold). In the Silver Star Bike Park, we had the opportunity to test the newest model of the 2012 Norco DH. We spent some time with Norco Designer Owen at Silverstar and talked about the newest model and other news for 2012.

On the varied routes from Silver Star we had the perfect opportunity to test the Norco Aurum in all bike park conditions. Although this bike, considering weight, is clearly designed to race, the Norco Aurum is definitely more versatile than it appears at first glance.
First to the technical data. The lightest version with a Cane Creek Double Barrel, Maxxis Minion DH tires, and the top-of-the-line of SRAM X0 components and Avid Elixir weighed the Aurum at just 34 pounds (about 15.5 kgs) and rivals the frame weight of the latest generation of carbon downhillers (eg Santa Cruz V10).

The newly developed ART-FSR rear suspension offers 200mm of travel, the steering angle is 63.5 degrees, and very much value was placed at Norco for improved stability and rigidity values ​​to be achieved  through the Syntace X12 axle.

In addition to the weight, this bike on many small details that make readily evident that engineers were at work here.

Breaking point at the bolt on the derailleur hanger

Those who have suffered a torn derailleur or hanger could be happy with this system: The mounting bolt for the derailleur hanger was designed with a predetermined breaking point, plus there is a replacement bolt installed into the bottom bracket area of each frame.

Fork bumpers are built into each frame as to protect the fork, frame and eliminate the need for traditional bumpers. In addition, the head tube is only 11cm long designed to provide the driver the greatest possible flexibility in the positioning of the fork and handlebar height.

To save weight, the seat post clamp has been integrated directly into the frame, was also used in the manufacture of a hollow-forged one-piece link arm, which bring additional valuable weight savings without impairing the stability.

 As a final interesting detail there are the easily removable shock mounting bolt requiring only one allen key for adjustment.

Driving Report

The first impression of Norco Aurum: In the small frame size the bike runs with 580mm Top tube length is very agile without feeling unsafe at speed. Already on the first run, the low weight is noticeable and it literally flies down the track. The rear works as normal for four-bar linkage efficiently and offers plenty of reserves.

 On our test laps at the Silver Star Bike Park, we could barely detect a blemish on this bike. The bike feels great in the air and the harder you push the bike the more comfortable you feel. If you are looking for a new DH bike in 2012, you should probably make the effort to give this bike a closer look!

What models for what price in Swiss trading will be available, you can see in the PDF catalog of Indian Summer .

Rumors about new slopestyle bike

Norco is also working on a successor to the Empire 5 slopestyle bike. The first prototypes should it be seen soon. It is unclear at present whether it will remains a prototypes for the athletes or norco whether this latest model of Norco will ever go into production.