ziehier het verslag van Susan en vooral klik door naar de foto's op "cyclingnews" en aanschouw Filip's nieuwe Worldchamp tenue en Barbara Blatter's new Specialized team outfit, smashing !!!
Filip Meirhaeghe won the Hyundai Sea Otter Classic overall on Sunday! Here is the race report from the Hyundai Sea Otter Classic, held April 14-18 in Monterey, California.
Filip Meirhaeghe and Barbara Blatter both raced all four stages on their Specialized dual-suspension Epic bikes, with RockShox BlackBox front-suspension forks, SRAM drivetrain, and Crank Brothers pedals. Both Barbara and Filip were using custom lighter-weight rear Brain shocks from Fox Shocks, two of the only three in existence. The world cup riders joined up with the US Hillebrand Specialized XC team, including Frank Mapel, Jimi Mortenson, Jay Henry, Derek Wilkerson, Troy Wells, and Kelli Emmett.
Specialized's new downhill/4X contingent was also at the race, including Kyle Strait (who wasn't racing due to an injury), Jordie Lunn, Chris Powell, Darren Berrecloth, and Brett Tippie.
For photos and more race stories, see:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/mtb/2004/apr ... eaotter043
http://www.cyclingnews.com/mtb/2004/apr ... eaotter044
http://www.cyclingnews.com/mtb/2004/apr ... ?id=photos
www.specialized.com (homepage photo of Filip)
Thursday, April 15, XC Stage 1, Super XC
The newly created Super XC event opened this year's Sea Otter Classic. Designed to mimic some of the motorcycle racing events, the five-mile course was half-asphalt and half-off-road. Many of the riders chose to use skinny tires to gain an advantage on the paved sections. The women's race was 75 minutes and the men's race was 90 minutes, opening the four-stage race with a very hard effort.
Barbara rode with her Epic with the Mt. Baldy 2.0 tires (4.0 bar). Filip rode with his Epic with the Fat Boy tires (slicks) pumped up to 100 p.s.i. (7.0 bar). The slick tire choice for Filip was a bit risky because it was slippery, but it was a risk that he thought would be an advantage.
The women's race started at 9:00 in the morning, and had a very fast start. The front of the women's group took off quickly and the pack stayed together for the race. Barbara was feeling really good on the climbs and stayed at the front for the duration, but none of the other riders were ready to ride away with her to get ahead of the pack. In the end, it was a sprint finish and Kelli Emmett was fifth, and Barbara was in the group that finished in 6th place.
The men's race began at 11:00 and also set off to a quick start. There were a few riders who pulled away on their own, but were later caught by the group. Roland Green rode away alone halfway into the race but could not sustain his advantage. Filip with his fat-boy tires was able to make time on the asphalt sections, but had to work to hard when the other riders attacked on the dirt. His tire choice left him with a disadvantage but he was able to stay at the front. He finished third. Derek finished in 13th position, staying in the front group during the race. Jay Henry was 22nd, Frank Mapel was 28th, Jimi Mortenson was 44th, and Troy Wells was 73rd. Specialized employee and cyclocross racer Andy Jacques-Maynes, doing his first mountain bike race in a year-and-a-half, finished 34th.
Friday, April 16, XC Stage 2, Time Trial
The time trial course was changed since last year's course, with 6-miles of terrain including a steep climb. Both the men's and women's starts were early in the morning, beginning at 9:00.
Barbara raced with her Epic and with the prototype FastTrak 2.0 (single compound) tubeless tire in the front (1.8 bar) and the FastTrak 1.9 (dual compound) tubeless tire in the back (2.0 bar). Filip rode his Epic with the prototype FastTrak 1.9 (dual compound) tires (3.0 bar) front and back.
Barbara did not have a great time trial and was not so happy with her results, and the same applies for Filip. Both riders were disappointed with their time trial rides, not being able to get into the effort as they had hoped. Filip came to Sea Otter with the idea to win the race and, after the time trial, he started to think it would be out of his grasp being 1:01 behind the race leader. Kelli had a strong ride, catching Barbara at the finish line and taking ninth place, and Barbara finished in 17th place. For the men, Jay Henry finished 20th, (24:11.2), Filip finished 23rd (24:17.9), Derek was 29th (24:34.7), Frank was 31st (24:48.9), Jimi was 34th (24:49.3), and Troy was 56th (25:55.1).
Saturday, April 17, Stage 3, Short Track
This event is one of the favorites of the four-stages for spectators, as the racers do an all-out effort over a short two-mile course where they can be seen every two minutes. There were three races, including the women's short track and two heats for the men's field. The top half of the men's field participated in the second men's heat and the racing began at 12:30 in the afternoon.
Barbara raced with her Epic and with the prototype FastTrak 2.0 (single compound) tubeless tire in the front (1.8 bar) and the FastTrak 1.9 (dual compound) tubeless tire in the back (2.0 bar). Filip rode his Epic with the prototype FastTrak 2.0 (dual compound) tires (2.0 bar) front and back.
The women's race started fast and quickly broke apart into a few small groups, with four women at the front. Alison Dunlap worked with her teammate to set the pace, and attacked on the last lap and rode away by herself to win the event. Barbara and Kelli did their best to chase and hang on, and Barbara finished in 16th position and Kelli finished in 23rd place.
The men's field also broke apart early in the 20-minute race, with different riders taking a turn at the front and setting the pace. Race leader Frischknecht fell on the first lap and worked his way back throughout the race, but lost his leader's jersey. Filip had an amazing ride and, after an attack from Todd Wells, pulled ahead of the pack and rode away. The atmosphere was electric as Filip powered away. Filip was a vision in his white uniform and the rainbow stripes, and he finished 16 seconds ahead of the peloton, and he gained a 20-second time bonus for winning the stage. This important win put Filip back in the running to win the overall race, placing him 14 seconds behind the leader Seamus McGrath.
Derek was 25th (23:23.0), Jay finished 26th (23:26.0), Jimi was 35th (23:58.0), and Frank was 52nd (24:42.0).
Sunday, April 18, Stage 4, Cross-Country Race
Both the men and the women did two laps on the 18-mile course, with a lot of single track and sandy dry roads. The organizers cut out the "hike-a-bike" section but then added a mile more of terrain, finishing on the racetrack after 36 miles.
Barbara raced with her Epic and with the prototype FastTrak 2.0 (single compound) tubeless tire in the front (1.8 bar) and the FastTrak 1.9 (dual compound) tubeless tire in the back (2.0 bar). Filip rode his Epic with the prototype FastTrak 2.0 (dual compound) tires (2.0 bar) front and back.
Barbara had a great race and felt really good on the climbs. She stayed at the front with Alison Dunlap and Chrissy Redden, and was smiling as she passed in the feedzone. The flat sections were harder for Barbara and she didn't have the power she wanted, but she stayed on. In the end, five women sprinted for first place, and Barbara finished fourth. Hanusova from the Luna team won the stage, and Alison Dunlap won the overall.
The men's race began with some pressure on the top five riders who were all vying to outdo race leader Seamus McGrath. Filip had to beat Seamus McGrath by 14 seconds to win the overall, and Geoff Kabush needed a 16-second gap to win the overall. At the beginning of the race, three riders took off including Geoff Kabush, Liam Killeen, and Jeremy Horgan-Kobelski, with Filip following closely on their tails. Following Filip were Roland Green and Thomas Frischknecht. Filip couldn't close the gap worked with Roland and Thomas, and then attacked in the feedzone and got away and caught the riders at the front, including Kabush. Later in the race, Filip and Geoff were riding alone at the front, both working hard to wear the other out. As they neared the finish, Geoff attacked on one of the climbs in an attempt to go for the overall win and the stage win, but he could not sustain it. Filip attacked and rode away, winning the stage and taking the overall win.
voilà
