Author: Cris Bloomfield

I need to produce some flash animations for my research at the moment so it seemed like a good idea to test some out on the site. There’s a new front end entrance page as a result. Click here to take a look.

There is a new Mountain Bike World Champion and that’s Specialized’s Filip Meirhaeghe, who rode his Epic FSR to the finish nearly a full minute quicker than Ryder Hesjedal. Damn good effort and hats off to Specialized for spotting his talent and supporting him for this long. Here’s the full cyclingnews report:

After chasing Ryder Hesjedal (Canada) for most of the day, it was three time bronze medallist and two time silver medallist, Filip Meirhaeghe (Belgium) who took the win today and finally realise his dream of becoming World Champion. Meirhaeghe was very happy with his win. “It’s a dream come true,” he said. “Last year I was so close, only 19 seconds behind Roland (Green), and on the start line today I thought it was going to happen again, so I am really happy now.

On the course that has been described over and over as ultra technical, the men completed 8 laps for a total of 49.3km. Ryder Hesjedal (Canada) put the hammer down early to set the pace for the race, with Roland Green (Canada) and Ralph Naef (Switzerland) hot on his wheels. As the race progressed, Green fell off the pace and the Begians started to make up the 50″ they had lost on Hesjedal as did the two Swiss riders, Naef and Christoph Sauser, who rounded off the top 5 on the course.

For most of the race the front five riders remained the same and it was with almost two laps to go that Meirhaeghe bridged the gap to Hesjedal and the pair rode together for what was to be a very exciting finish. Meirhaeghe’s pace proved too strong for Hesjedal in the last lap and he gradually edged away to eventually finish 46” in front. A very muddy and exhausted looking Hesjedal rolled across the line the take second place in his first attempt in the senior ranks and Paulissen took third place to make it Gold and Bronze for Belgium.

Naef came in to take fourth place, however his teammate Sauser wasn’t so fortunate, flatting in the seventh lap and having to settle for 14th place in the end. Designer of the course, Thomas Frichknecht seemed to be suffering early in the race, perhaps feeling the effect of the marathon last weekend, however came back to take a respectable 11th place and defending champion Roland Green also showed the effect of having been out of racing for most of this season, coming in 19th.

Merihaeghe admitted later, to being nervous that Hesjedal had such a strong lead early in the race. “I didn’t actually realize that Ryder was up there at first because I could only see four riders in front of me and I he wasn’t one of them. All of a sudden I saw him and he had 55 seconds on me so I became a bit worried because a minute lead on this course is a lot. Later though I started to catch up and it was only then that I started to believe in my chances.” In fact even after he had caught Hesjedal, Meirhaeghe didn’t relax. “In the second last lap I took too many risks because I was getting tired and nervous, and I started to make mistakes, so in the last lap I took it a little easier because I wouldn’t have been able to cope if I lost due to a flat tyre.”

Of his choice to use a duel suspension bike, Meirhaeghe had no doubts. “I’m sure it was the right decision, in fact I only came here with this bike, I didn’t even bring a hard tail with me. I have been riding the Epic all year now and we have been working on the weight and I am absolutely sure that the weight is not a disadvantage. I think it was easier to recover from the up hills with the dual suspension.”

Hesjedal was happy with his race despite being so close to the win. “This is my third silver medal, but this is by far the most significant because it’s the elite category and it’s only my first attempt. I felt good all day today but when I heard over the radio that Meirhaeghe was catching me I decided to back off a bit and let him catch me. I wanted to let him catch me and then attack to take his spirits a bit, but he stayed right with me and then I knew that he would be very strong for the finish.”

The men’s cross country race wrapped up the 2003 World Championships in Lugano where a crowd of 25,000 people turned up to view the action on the last day. Many riders will now head to the final World Cup in Kaprun, Austria which will be held next weekend. Some will be there to redeem themselves from bad luck this weekend, especially riders such as Christoph Sauser whose puncture cost him a high placing today.

Britain’s Nick Craig finished only 1 minute and 18 seconds behind Roland Green and picked up 24th Place. Frischi, who won the Marathon category earlier in the week, still managed to come in at 11th.

Day two of the Vuelta. The word is “apart from Igor González de Galdeano (ONCE-Eroski), the candidates for overall victory are looking like Roberto Heras (US Postal) and Oscar Sevilla (Kelme)”. Well that settles that. Any other takers?

In the same event Cipo is out retiring today. More here. Obviously he isn’t a great fan of Spanish cuisine.

Game on! Brant over at on-one now has some fun and games up on his site. It’s pure genius and you’ll no doubt be saying ya’bast’d everytime you hit a solid object. Click here for some inbred action.

The Vuelta kicked off today and the ONCE squad put in a performance that should make the chances of the team riders getting a major new sponsor a bit easier after pipping US Postal by ten seconds. David Millar’s Cofidis team managed a respectable 7th, but could more have been expected of Cipo’s Domina Vancanze team?

Meanwhile over in Switzerland, Steve Peat didn’t make it onto the podium. Guess he’s a few more years to crack that one.

There’s been a fair bit on Shimano’s recent legal action against SRAM, but as this report shows there’s a bit more to it.

Oh and finally there is word of a $6000 limited edition (only 500 are to be made) Lance Armstrong Trek Madone for the coming year…

Monster Eurobike photogallery over at cyclingnews, check it out. There’s more from the show here. Synchros and Voodoo showed that the mighty come back is still possible in the bike world, but unlike onZa they haven’t completely changed their target market.

In/out, in/out (shake it all about). Is Cipo a bit of a shark when it comes to media publicity? Can’t say I blame him for wanting to opt out of the Vuelta to increase his chances of a better show at the Worlds, but then you can’t blame the Spaniards for kicking his outfit out of the race.

The Swiss continue to dominate and now have a new generation of rising stars. Liam Kileen, came close, but as you could say was first loser, just missing out on a podium placing after getting a puncture. The Eclipse tubeless system is the way ahead and if it’s good enough to take Frischi to the top step of the podium, it’s good enough to get taken seriously. I’ve been puncture free since installing it…

Back in the shop today and it was a busy day. Parcels, parcels, parcels and new spangly bikes. It’s good to be back. The 2004 Specialized Enduro range looks stunning. So good in fact that I think I want one! A bit of bike rationalization might have to occur before I can commit to one and that’s not a simply operation.

So the start of a new season in the bike world means new colours and the recreation of old favourites.

Somethings have disappeared completely, others have been back to the drawing board and some are new kids on the block. The latter has just produced a scary flashback. Staunch old favourites continue to do the business and it’s looking like it’s going to be another good year.

I need to get out and ride my bike more.

Tour de France hardman, Tyler Hamilton has left CSC and switched to Swiss based team Phonak. There’s a full story on it over at Cyclingnews. The fact that his season has been ended by a cracked femur, means that it’s been an eventful year for Tyler. One thing for sure he’ll be one to watch (yet again) in next years Tour.

Lots of new stuff on preview at the Eurobike show. The new Specialized S-Works road bike, the Tarmac, looks awesome more news on that as and when. For now there are photos here, here, here and here.

Talk about stupid, this really takes the prize for dumbass. This story about an armada of floating rubber ducks circumnavigating the earth is just odd and the fact that students are distracted by the lures of the internet isn’t that surprising at all. I might have linked this already.

I’m back from the mediterranean warmth of the Channel Islands and am now adjusting to the autumnal chill that seems to have descended on Manchester. There’s more on my travels on this page. Oh and it’s spawned a few new wallpapers, click here to take a peek.

I’m still catching up on what’s been going on since I left. I should be used to the vast amounts of the e-mail that seem to land in my inbox while I’m away and reading this doesn’t make me to cheery. Anyways, here are a couple of new things worth looking at.

First up , the below picture is the real thing. It’s a video capture from Dave Watson’s Tour de France peloton leap and can be seen in part in the video link (right click and save target as) available here. It’s from the forthcoming New World Disorder IV video, ride the lightning, that should be available by the end of the year.

Watson guns it over the Peloton

Meanwhile it’s probably not come as too much of a surprise to see that Welsh star Nicole Cooke has claimed the world cup title, the full report can be found here and there’s more over at cyclingnews.

I’m a big fan of Thomas Frischknecht. The guy is an old school mtb’er who is still showing his talent. It’s good to see that he’s added a new set of rainbow stripes to his record of achievements. You could say that man has a good reason to smile.

This weeks recommended arty link: Jason Brooks (you might recognise some of his work

New Specialized bikes have finally be previewed, find our more here. Look very interesting and if anything like previous years, they will look even better in the flesh.

I’m on the boat tomorrow. Back in a couple of weeks. Over and out. Cherie!

For a regular mounatin biking fix have a look at:

blog ring | busted spoke | eastside freeride | speed metal | 20-24-26 | stumphunters

More photos from Sleepless in the Saddle have been posted up and about on the internet, a few even featured the rothar.com team. I haven’t thanked our support team yet, so this is a big thanks to Jo for being there. Nick B was riding in the pairs category too, he and his team mate were the numbers preceeding us and he had this to say:

From: Nick B
Subject: Sleepless in the Saddle

I know how hot it was out there, that heat wasn’t funny at all. I drank my 2 litre Camelbak dry after a lap and a half, just trying to wash the dust out of my throat. Was going at what I thought was a comfortable speed for the first couple of laps, but by lap four I slowed right down because I felt so shaky. Couldn’t believe I felt so bad after just 30 odd miles, it was quite depressing. Started to pick up again once things got cooler though, but really for a long long time it was more about surviving than enjoying the thing. Hard bloody event…

I think that pairs was an evil category to be in with those conditions… a lot of the pairs riders, myself included, started off at a pace closer to what they’d have ridden at in a team rather than solo speed, if you know what I mean. Really hard to judge things right when your brain has started melting!

_ _

I’m getting ready to head off to the Channel Islands on Friday at the moment. There’s not going to be much happening on the site until I get back, so don’t be expecting any updates for a while. This is where I’m going.

If I ever manage to get over to British Colombia, this site could be damn useful. Loads of trails mapped out and plenty of local knowledge on offer. Seems to be pretty up-to-date too. The Numplumz team were out in force at Sleepless last weekend, this is where you can find them lurking.

And following news of the recent rejiggling at Titec, more news reports of the loss of what had been a rising star within the British component manufacturing scene. Forge’s mountain bike parts arm has been folded following the loss of their product developer. That is a bit of a bugger, because they were doing some really nice kit.

Sleepless in the Saddle proved to be my nemesis this year. I don’t want to complain about the weather too much because it was fantastic, but just a bit too hot. We were sweating just standing around in the campsite, let alone out on the course. It was damn hot. Results can be found here.

Jed and I had a plan, to ride two on, two off until about 8pm and then start doing three on three off night laps, to maximise the burn time from the lights. I still stand by this plan as a good one, but I now have to admit it might not have been suitable given the heat.

The course was fantastic with a mix of fast track roads, single track, climbs and descents. There was enough technical content to keep people occupied and enough fast bits to make up time if you were caught in an early bottleneck. Having arrived after sunset on Friday night, my first chance to ride the course came just after 9am on Saturday and I clocked a 39 minute recce lap and rode the entire course. The start and finish area allowed the sponsors to do a bit of advertising. and there were plenty of trade tents (more here).

After a bit of fettling and preparation, the rider briefing was soon upon us and we stood and sweated in the heat while we were read the riot act and told to expect to drink 15 litres of fluid a day I this heat. We didn’t need to be told, we were drinking like fish already. The new race kit was donned in preparation.

The Le Mans run from the start seemed to last forever, but was a reasonable way to spread the field out over the course, the run through the single track sections certainly narrowed the running field down to single file at times. Having picked the bike, camelbak and radio up from Jed back at the transition area, I set off on two laps.

The first was incredibly dusty with a high concentration of riders on the loose gravel road tracks kicking up the dirt. There was plenty of opportunity to pass slower riders and those that had gone off too fast in the run and were now paying the price. The heat was stifling and the humidity in the wooded sections was stifling. A few people rode in a fashion unbefitting of the spirit of the event, with one guy running into the back of my bike on three occasions on the same single track section where I was being held up by a queue of riders in front. Words were said.

I turned down Jed’s radio offer of a change over and stayed out for another lap and rode at a steadier pace managing to clean a lot more of the course which had earlier been clogged with riders. By the end of my first stint I was quite happy to hand over. Jed managed a good couple of laps but picked up a puncture on the curb of doom at the top of the campsite early on.

My next two laps were a bit more comfortable, but after them I was pretty iffy and ended up seeing the contents of my stomach, which was a nice touch. Following rehydrating and getting some food I felt much better and recovered enough to do my night laps.

These went well, except for the fact that it was frequently the case that you would get stuck behind a slower rider and not be able to find a safe passing point for some time. The first two laps were dispatched without too much problem, but lap three was the final nail in the coffin. I started feeling ill about a mile it the course, had to stop and lie down for five minutes, managed to get up and keep going and then was ill. What followed was a painful crawl back to transition with a few more sickbag stops on the way.

At the transition Jed and I decided to call it a night and I crawled back to the tent and died a thousand deaths. Heat exhaustion had taken it toll (and a certain energy drink may have been partly responsible). We will be back…

Ordered some Eclipse sealant from Jon over at Just Riding Along. I’m hoping it’s going to do the business for the UST tyres at Sleepless, after my first puncture using UST tyres (took over 500 miles) I’m hoping that this will mean no more punctures for a very long time. Jon is racing in a pair too, so Jed and I have some very strong competition.

This is just typical of this bloody country, during last year’s British round of the World Rally Championship, a large number of the drivers were busted by speed cameras and now are all being prosecuted. I don’t know how many tens of millions the events generates for the local economy and aids the community, but last time I looked South Wales was in need of all the investment it could muster. If this legal action leads to the region losing the competition some heads need knocking together.

Remember that pick of Dave Watson’s jump over the Tour posted last week? Well the word is it’s a fake. The real photos haven’t been published yet. More news as and when.

Following on from yesterday’s post about the Simplon race, the Trans Alp race finished at the end of last month. There’s another Trans Alp report here. That and the Grand Raid Cristalp is also on the way. There’s some good riding out there in Europe and the World Champs are in Lugano. It’s all very Swiss on the mountain bike scene at the moment.

Some disappointing news in the world of road bikes. ONCE have decided to pull out of sponsoring a pro team from the end of this season. It’s going to be a shame to lose a team which has always seemed to be very popular with the followers of the Tour. I’m sure Beloki and the rest of the team will soon get picked up by a new major sponsor.

The chain gang tonight was assisted greatly on the return leg by a fairly strong tail wind. We were cruising back at about 25-28mph. Must admit I’m a bit gutted not to have set any speed cameras off. There were a few opportunities, but I just didn’t have it in my legs.