04/18/2007 Team
After a day of sunning themselves like lizards while posing for pictures with the saguaro cactus, the team got underway with the other task at hand, racing. For Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski this was the first race as series champion. And he proudly displayed the 1 plate as he began his title defense. New team member Sam Schultz, who finished 10th last season, told team mechanic Matt Opperman, to just go ahead and remove the 0 from his plate. Nothing like some good intra-team rivalry between the seasoned pro and young gun.
The event weekend began with the optional time trial race, a 5-mile loop covering half of the cross-country course. The race was a great opportunity for the competitors to survey the course at race pace. The ride was not with out incident for some riders, including JHK who clipped a cactus on the final turn and received an ankle fun of needles from it.
Despite this brush with the indigenous plant life, Jeremy was able to record the fastest lap time (19:44) and secure the stage win, just 9 seconds over second place. Trailing just :45 seconds behind in fourth place was Sam Schultz. For Schultz this was his first podium appearance in the NMBS series. Both Jeremy and Sam raced aboard their 29 wheeled race bikes, which they both felt helped to give them and edge on the rolling dessert terrain. During the awards ceremony, Jeremy returned the favor for Sams plate number comment earlier by dousing him with champagne.
While the Subaru-Gary Fisher ladies opted out of the time trial, they did make their presence know during Saturday nights short track race. Contested in a rocky dirt lot in downtown Fountain Hills under portable stadium lights, the dusty conditions and fast paced action was fueled by lap cash bonuses and an excited crowd. After racing for 25 minutes, Willow managed to grab the last podium spot and Heather was nipped at the line to finish seventh.
And two familiar faces re-emerged on the mens side as Horgan-Kobelski and Schultz were part of the lead group for most of the race. In the end JHK edged out Sam for third place.
Sunday's cross-country was going to be a grueling early season test with the women racing three 10-mile laps and the mens doing four, all under the high desert sun. Heather and Willow were both part of the lead group that charged from the gun to try and position themselves in the tight single track. This strategy seemed to be working as both riders were in the top-10 at the end of the first lap. A heat exhausted Irmiger crossed the line in eighth place. Koerber was crashed out in the second lap as she tried to pass another rider and was forced off-course into a ditch and cactus.
The strategy for the mens race was similar, especially with over 100 starters. The first lap saw both JHK and Sam enter the tech zone with flat tires. Where team mechanic Matt Opperman was able to swap out wheels for both and get them back into action with minimal lose of time and distance from the leaders. JHK was able to surge back up to the lead three riders, however this strong effort forced him to ease of the pace on the final lap to prevent from loosing a chance at the podium. In the end he was pleased with his fourth place finish. For Schultz he was forced to abandon the race after flatting two more times on the back side of the course and far away from mechanical support.
Stay tuned for more tales from the trails.
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.
Subaru-Gary Fisher Team visit the Arizona desert for NOVA Classic
The 2007 racing season got fully under way for the Subaru-Gary Fisher squad as the riders assembled in sunny Scottsdale Arizona for team camp and opening round of the National Mountain Bike Series. (Hey, major league baseball, isnt the only one in town for training and team camp.)After a day of sunning themselves like lizards while posing for pictures with the saguaro cactus, the team got underway with the other task at hand, racing. For Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski this was the first race as series champion. And he proudly displayed the 1 plate as he began his title defense. New team member Sam Schultz, who finished 10th last season, told team mechanic Matt Opperman, to just go ahead and remove the 0 from his plate. Nothing like some good intra-team rivalry between the seasoned pro and young gun.
The event weekend began with the optional time trial race, a 5-mile loop covering half of the cross-country course. The race was a great opportunity for the competitors to survey the course at race pace. The ride was not with out incident for some riders, including JHK who clipped a cactus on the final turn and received an ankle fun of needles from it.
Despite this brush with the indigenous plant life, Jeremy was able to record the fastest lap time (19:44) and secure the stage win, just 9 seconds over second place. Trailing just :45 seconds behind in fourth place was Sam Schultz. For Schultz this was his first podium appearance in the NMBS series. Both Jeremy and Sam raced aboard their 29 wheeled race bikes, which they both felt helped to give them and edge on the rolling dessert terrain. During the awards ceremony, Jeremy returned the favor for Sams plate number comment earlier by dousing him with champagne.
While the Subaru-Gary Fisher ladies opted out of the time trial, they did make their presence know during Saturday nights short track race. Contested in a rocky dirt lot in downtown Fountain Hills under portable stadium lights, the dusty conditions and fast paced action was fueled by lap cash bonuses and an excited crowd. After racing for 25 minutes, Willow managed to grab the last podium spot and Heather was nipped at the line to finish seventh.
And two familiar faces re-emerged on the mens side as Horgan-Kobelski and Schultz were part of the lead group for most of the race. In the end JHK edged out Sam for third place.
Sunday's cross-country was going to be a grueling early season test with the women racing three 10-mile laps and the mens doing four, all under the high desert sun. Heather and Willow were both part of the lead group that charged from the gun to try and position themselves in the tight single track. This strategy seemed to be working as both riders were in the top-10 at the end of the first lap. A heat exhausted Irmiger crossed the line in eighth place. Koerber was crashed out in the second lap as she tried to pass another rider and was forced off-course into a ditch and cactus.
The strategy for the mens race was similar, especially with over 100 starters. The first lap saw both JHK and Sam enter the tech zone with flat tires. Where team mechanic Matt Opperman was able to swap out wheels for both and get them back into action with minimal lose of time and distance from the leaders. JHK was able to surge back up to the lead three riders, however this strong effort forced him to ease of the pace on the final lap to prevent from loosing a chance at the podium. In the end he was pleased with his fourth place finish. For Schultz he was forced to abandon the race after flatting two more times on the back side of the course and far away from mechanical support.
Stay tuned for more tales from the trails.
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.
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