Subaru/Gary Fisher Mountain Bike Team News
05/08/2007 Team
Saturdays 7-mile long cross country competition was contested on a course situated at the foot hills adjacent to a city park and house. The Fontana course has an urban flair, yet still technical terrain with steep short climbs and loose dusty soil.
Smarting from being out sprinted at the previous cross-country race, JHK was determined to try and capture his first victory of the season. He had 4 laps in which to prove his point. Unfortunately Fontanas course did not play to JHKs strong suits. Despite a crash on the first lap, he still rode at the front most of the day with the lead group of five riders. However, once again he was the brides-maid and not the bride as he finished second, just 8 seconds back from the winner, Geoff Kabush. In the post-race interview, JHK stated that he preferred climbs that lasted longer than two minutes, and looks forward to the next NMBS stop at Deer Valley with its high-altitude climbs.
Fellow Subaru-Gary Fisher teammate Sam Schultz was moving up towards fifth place, when he crashed on a descent and broke his rear shifter on the end of the third lap. The current under-23 champion soldiered on for the last lap with just a high & low gear by shifting his front derailleur. Despite the crash and limited gearing he still managed an 11th place finish.
On the womens side both Willow Koerber and Heather Irmiger had a strong opening lap riding third and fourth, before Heather managed to break her rear shifter which forced her to take a tumble over the handlebars. After dusting herself off, she found herself in about 25th place. With fire in her eyes she attacked the course and moved up quickly through the field, seven or eight competitors per lap. She even recorded one of the fastest lap times on her final lap. With Heathers crash Willow found herself riding alone most of the race book ended by two groups of riders. She went on to finish third for the day, and was very pleased with her performance despite feeling a bit lethargic prior to the start.
Sundays short-track competition as always is like a day at the Derby, with jockeys and their steeds nervously awaiting the starters pistol. And when the gun does go off, look out, because the horses are off to the races. Of course with everyone jockeying for the best position going into the first turn and Jeremy had a fellow rider crash in front of him forcing him to loose valuable time and places as the rider raced by him. He got restarted, albeit in about mid-pack, and had to charge feverously to regain his lost spots. With teammate Sam helping to pull JHK back up, they quickly were in the mix of the lead group of riders. On the second to last lap, up one of the critical climbs JHK dropped his chain, but managed to pedal it back on, unfortunately losing precious momentum and had to settle for fourth. Sam faded in the final laps to finish eighth.
Willow and Heather both posted strong short-track performances with a fifth and 11th, place respectively.
Not a bad weekends performance by the Subaru-Gary Fisher squad with both JHK and Willow making podium appearances in both events. On the bike side of things, both JHK and Sam raced on their Gary Fisher 29er hardtails with 2x9 drivetrains for both the cross-country and short-track races. Heather raced her 29er for the cross-country. The riders and staff now enjoy about 3 weeks off before heading to Europe for the two rounds of the World Cup circuit in Germany and Switzerland.
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.
JHK, Willow Koerber Ride to Top Three Finish at Fontana NMBS Race
Following the teams strong performance at the Firestone/Santa Ynez Valley Classic the riders enjoyed a few days of relaxation and training in Santa Barbara. Everyone then headed to Fontana, California, just east of LA, for the third round of the National Mountain Bike Series.Saturdays 7-mile long cross country competition was contested on a course situated at the foot hills adjacent to a city park and house. The Fontana course has an urban flair, yet still technical terrain with steep short climbs and loose dusty soil.
Smarting from being out sprinted at the previous cross-country race, JHK was determined to try and capture his first victory of the season. He had 4 laps in which to prove his point. Unfortunately Fontanas course did not play to JHKs strong suits. Despite a crash on the first lap, he still rode at the front most of the day with the lead group of five riders. However, once again he was the brides-maid and not the bride as he finished second, just 8 seconds back from the winner, Geoff Kabush. In the post-race interview, JHK stated that he preferred climbs that lasted longer than two minutes, and looks forward to the next NMBS stop at Deer Valley with its high-altitude climbs.
Fellow Subaru-Gary Fisher teammate Sam Schultz was moving up towards fifth place, when he crashed on a descent and broke his rear shifter on the end of the third lap. The current under-23 champion soldiered on for the last lap with just a high & low gear by shifting his front derailleur. Despite the crash and limited gearing he still managed an 11th place finish.
On the womens side both Willow Koerber and Heather Irmiger had a strong opening lap riding third and fourth, before Heather managed to break her rear shifter which forced her to take a tumble over the handlebars. After dusting herself off, she found herself in about 25th place. With fire in her eyes she attacked the course and moved up quickly through the field, seven or eight competitors per lap. She even recorded one of the fastest lap times on her final lap. With Heathers crash Willow found herself riding alone most of the race book ended by two groups of riders. She went on to finish third for the day, and was very pleased with her performance despite feeling a bit lethargic prior to the start.
Sundays short-track competition as always is like a day at the Derby, with jockeys and their steeds nervously awaiting the starters pistol. And when the gun does go off, look out, because the horses are off to the races. Of course with everyone jockeying for the best position going into the first turn and Jeremy had a fellow rider crash in front of him forcing him to loose valuable time and places as the rider raced by him. He got restarted, albeit in about mid-pack, and had to charge feverously to regain his lost spots. With teammate Sam helping to pull JHK back up, they quickly were in the mix of the lead group of riders. On the second to last lap, up one of the critical climbs JHK dropped his chain, but managed to pedal it back on, unfortunately losing precious momentum and had to settle for fourth. Sam faded in the final laps to finish eighth.
Willow and Heather both posted strong short-track performances with a fifth and 11th, place respectively.
Not a bad weekends performance by the Subaru-Gary Fisher squad with both JHK and Willow making podium appearances in both events. On the bike side of things, both JHK and Sam raced on their Gary Fisher 29er hardtails with 2x9 drivetrains for both the cross-country and short-track races. Heather raced her 29er for the cross-country. The riders and staff now enjoy about 3 weeks off before heading to Europe for the two rounds of the World Cup circuit in Germany and Switzerland.
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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