Our friends over at Trek sent us an update on how their pro race team is doing. The title of the release says it all…”Seven wins and counting” Trek put together an extremely strong program for 2009 with some of the best riders in the industry sporting new Top Fuel and Session 88 mountain bikes. It is going to be an exciting year for Trek on the circuit as well as the retail side of the industry. Anyways…thought you guys would like to see this so here is the press release.
Trek Racing Team Update
“Trek Racing Season So Far … Seven Wins and Counting!”
(Waterloo, WI)
Trek’s racing programs and its flagship models, the Top Fuel and the Session 88, are having a bang-up season so far. Just six weeks since Rene Wildhaber took the Trek Remedy to a definitive win at the Urge Kenya enduro downhill, Trek has captured a U23 Pan-Am title, a stage win at Cape Epic, and two consecutive wins at the Maxxis Cup.
Mathias and Lukas Flückiger win Stage 7 photo: Gary Perkin
1st Place Absa Cape Epic Stage 7; 8th Overall
Trek World Racing’s cross country brothers Mathias and Lukas Flückiger rode their team-edition Top Fuel 9.9 SSLs to victory during Stage 7 of South Africa’s Cape Epic. After finishing second place in Stage 3, the Flu brothers rode hard despite mechanical setbacks to finish a respectable 8th place overall. Not bad for a first ride on not just the Top Fuel 9.9 SSL, but also their first full suspension experience, during a race that was deemed their “training ride” from the start.
Bart Brentjens and Chris Jongewaard take 2nd Overall
1st Place Absa Cape Epic Stage 6; 2nd Overall
Claiming what could be considered the “most consistent” ride of Cape Epic, the Trek – Bart Brentjens Mountain Bike Racing Team claimed second place overall aboard Trek’s OCLV Carbon Elite 9.9 hardtail. At a feathery 1100 grams, the frame with the world’s first no-cut seatmast was the right tool for Dutch marathon legend Bart Brentjens and Chris Jongewaard. Trek – Brentjens also claimed second place in Stage 5 and victory in Stage 6.
Emily Batty is U23 Pan-Am Champion
1st Place U23 Pan Am Games
Emily Batty can claim to be the most photographed athlete in Trek’s arsenal, but now the 21 year-old Canadian of the Trek Store Toronto Team also has a prestigious title — that of U23 Pan American Champion. Emily finished a solid seven minutes ahead of the competition aboard her Top Fuel WSD.
1st Place Maxxis Cup #1 and #2
Trek World Racing’s Tracy Moseley hasn’t missed a beat with her Session 88. Her pre-season race wins prove that aboard a new platform with world-class geometry and suspension, she will be the one to watch this coming season. In Vaigo and Gouveia, Tracy smashed the field and put in times that would put many an elite male rider to shame.
1st Place New Zealand National Championships
Trek World Racing’s Justin Leov nailed it on his home turf to overcome former teammate Sam Blenkinsop and claim the New Zealand National Champion title aboard his Session 88. In what is fast becoming a winter training grounds for the world’s fastest downhillers, Justin ruled the roost. Regarding his race bike — “My Session never missed a beat all weekend, and with the weight being so low, it helped me carry speed through the slower sections.”
René Wildhaber wins Urge Kenya
1st Place Urge Kenya
In the fast-evolving category of enduro downhill, Rene Wildhaber of the Trek Racing Cooperative took first place aboard his Remedy. Known as “Mr. Mega Avalanche” for his consistent and dominating performance in the popular mass-start European downhill events that often take hours to complete, Rene rocked the “ultimate gravity adventure” on an unknown course. Of his Remedy, “I am convinced of the high quality…”
About Trek World Racing:
Driven by the belief that the crucible of competition is the ultimate proving-ground for its bikes, Trek is proud to be the title-sponsor of the Trek World Racing team, helping fuel the team’s ambition as it pursues victory in both gravity and cross country events. Owned and managed by 23 Degrees Sports Management, the team and its six riders will be officially launched in South Africa on April 8th. At that time, a team website will go live.
About Trek – Brentjens:
Trek and Bart Brentjens have had a long-standing relationship. When Team Dolphin dissolved at the end of 2008, Bart proved he’s not only one of the world’s most prominent marathon racers, but he’s also a great organizer. Consisting of five riders, the team will take its Elite 9.9 OCLV hardtails to World Cups and Benelux races.
About Trek Racing Cooperative:
With support from JBL, Fox and Shimano, the Trek Racing Cooperative exists to focus individual athletes both international and domestic on their respective disciplines that don’t require a team structure. Also called the “Co-Op,” the program supports racers of all disciplines—from Enduro DH to Ultra Endurance. The roster consists of Rene Wildhaber, Chris Eatough, Jeff Schalk, Ross Schnell, Brian Smith and Jenny Smith, as well as a host of 25+ athletes who race at the top of their regional class across the United States.
About Trek Store Toronto:
Team Director Steve Neal knows that Canada has immense talent when it comes to mountain biking. Together with Trek Store Toronto owner Barry Near, the two have pulled together a group of athletes that will race Trek Top Fuels across Canada and at World Cups. With Emily Batty posting the first win, expect more from teammates Pete Glassford, Mical Dyck, Eric Batty, and Adam Morka.
About Trek Bicycles:
Headquartered in Waterloo, Wisconsin, Trek Bicycle Corporation is a global leader in bicycle design and manufacturing. From its first mountain bike in 1983 to the introduction of the world’s first concentric-pivot full suspension system—the patent-pending ABP suspension design—Trek continues to pioneer mountain bike technology that is simple, robust, and efficient.