Subaru-Gary Fisher MTB Team Race at World Championships

Subaru-Gary Fisher athletes finished up a week of racing Mountain Bike Worlds in Ft William, Scotland. Sam Schultz started things off with his U-23 men's cross-country competition on Friday. Scheduled for five laps of the 7.9km course, Sam was feeling confident given his bronze medal team relay performance several days before. He steadily moved up to position himself in a group of five riders all riding in a third place group behind the two race leaders. As the race progressed and the omni-present Scottish rain began to fall, the gaps between riders in Sam's group began to increase. The repeated climbing up the nearly 300 meters in the first 3 kilometers of each lap, began to take its toll on the riders. Loosing a few spots, Schultz crossed the finish line in eleventh place. His performance was the best by an American male since 2002. This was also Sam's best Worlds results in his four years thus far. The following day, it was the elite cross-country men and women time to take to the course known as the Witch's Trail. Willow was one of three USA women who received front row start positions. She and her fellow Americans battled the strong international field for most of the race in the sixth to eleventh positions before each lost some places on the final two laps of their four loops. Willow grabbed fifteenth position and Heather was twenty-first, the third and fourth Americans respectively.Always one to push the envelope, Jeremey Horgan-Kobelski made history by being the first rider to toe-the-line with a 29-inch wheeled bike at a cross-country world championship aboard the new Gary Fisher Superfly. He felt the bike gave him good traction for climbing and control on the high speed descents. Unfortunately for JHK he just didn't have the punch he was looking for. After battling in the twenties, he faded near the end of their six lap race. He was the third American, crossing the line in 39th.

Overall the spirits of the Subaru-Gary Fisher team was high for racing on a course that favored power riders and featured less technical sections than previous races at Ft William or other Worlds courses.
Next stop for the Subaru-Gary Fisher team is World Cup Finals in Maribor Slovenia. This is the first time cross-country races have been held at this venue which has hosted downhill and World Cup ski events for several years. Willow has the chance to finish in the Top-5 for the World Cup overall, if she finishes 6th or better in the race.

The Subaru-Gary Fisher MTB Team is proud to be sponsored by: Subaru of America, Inc , Gary Fisher Bicycles, SRAM , RockShox, Bontrager Wheelworks and Components, Avid Brakes, Bontrager tires, Crank Brothers pedals, Nike Cycling shoes, performance and casual apparel, 661 gloves, Tokyo Joe's, Stronglight chainrings, Light & Motion, Pedros, Genuine Innovations, Brave Soldier, Yakima , Mountainsmith, Cane Creek, Sara SuperSocks, GU Energy Gel and GU₂O Sports Drink.