SCOTT

McKenzie Sets Ironman China Record

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 10:43:53 -0600

TORTURE! That's what the race at Ironman China was!

I had a really good start to the day leading the swim by a minute or so on the next group. The swim was pure chaos with the four lap design. From the time I jumped in for the second loop I was swimming through and over the top of poor age group athletes (sorry!)

The first 10km of the bike were into a vicious headwind followed by a 30km stretch of tough crosswind. I rode well over the first 90km and established a 5 minute lead on Chris McCormack and Markus Fachbach (Commerzbank) going into lap two. The second 90km seemed a lot tougher than the first as I think the wind picked up even more? I was definitely happy to get off the bike!

I knew we were in for a tough one when I started the run into the blast furnace headwind for the first 5km. I had a 12 minute lead starting the marathon on Jozsef Major of Hungary. Jozsef is known for his fast run splits and I knew no lead was safe as long as he was behind me.

I was ticking over really well and then all of a sudden I was on the verge of bonking. With a bit over 8km to go I got a slight cramp in my hammy and I had to walk for about 50m. Walking was going to kill my lead and I had to try and get to the next aid station and down some fluid, salt and coke. I had lead from the gun, I wasn't going to lose this in the last few kilometers again, like I did in Louisville. Luckily I got back into a shuffle, and once the kilometers started ticking by and I was finally within reach of the line, I felt I had it. I finished in 8:41:15. A new Ironman China course record.

Thank you for all the messages of support. Now I am off for a beer in the bar with some mates.
Cheers
Luke
www.lukemckenzie.com

Becoming a Superman....

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 4:25:44 -0600

....with a little help from my friends!

It all started with a question that had settled itself in the back of my head. What would it take for me to get serious about triathlon for – if nothing else – just one season?

The answer was simple: responsibility and peer pressure. If I wanted to get the best out of myself the stakes had to go up. Rather than being content with a 10:15 after 5-week training period, I needed to commit. Start training in November and stày dedicated until October the next year. To be able to do that I needed two things: a goal and people that would motivate me push me and challenge me all through the year. The Challenge was quickly found: “As a middle-aged age grouper, get as close to the pros as you can by the end of the season”. And leave at least some of the pros behind me in some of the races. The people wanting to motivate, challenged and encourage me surfaced almost immediately: former elite cyclist Dave Bruylants and just about everyone at Scott Sports in Fribourg. Amazingly they all thought my challenge was a great idea. The thought of combining the heart and soul that defines most age groupers with the ambition and sheer commitment of a pro-athlete really appealed to them. Or as Florian Brugger of Scott-Sports said it: “If you really think of it, an age grouper pushing himself and doing punishing work-outs in spite of a 45 hour/week job is closer to our core audience than those few, almost unique athletes who are the pros of our brand. The elite athletes are our Formula-1 drivers. But the age-groupers are the people we produce bikes for”.

Photo by Tony Mussche

And so Scott offered me a contract as a ‘goodwill ambassador’ and an ‘opinion leader’. And they gave me their amazing Scott Plasma 10. The Plasma that I ride is not the most expensive triathlon bike in the market. It’s not even the most expensive triathlon bike from Scott. But it is a very, very fast yet affordable bike accessible to most age groupers. And that goes for all my gear and equipment. I will be going head-on with some very serious athletes, with nothing but gear that you can buy off the shelf.

In the 10 months to come, I’m hoping to prove that with the right spirit and commitment and quite a bit of encouragement from the right people anything is possible for any age grouper. And all of the wisdom and the knowledge, all of the tips and tricks that I gather throughout this year, I’ll be only too glad to share with all of you guys. Here at www.scott-sports.com as well as on www.projectsuperman.be.

Various websites and magazines are on board to bring regular updates about this unique project:
-triathlete-europe: http://triathlete-europe.competitor.com/2010/03/11/blog-project-superman-average-age-grouper-elite-athlete-1103/
- 247 Triathlon: http://www.tri247.com/
- Transition Times: http://www.youtube.com/Triathlon
- Humo (Belgium Lifestyle Magazine): http://www.humo.be/ will bring a story at the end of this year
- etc. brought and will bring interesting aspects about a not too easy undertaking.

Wish me luck …

Peter Lissens

Maremma-Cup - The Equipment!

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 2:02:13 -0700

The MTB racing season has started! The riders of Scott-Swisspower MTB Racing Team already showed up with outstanding results. A new racing season means, starting relaxed and with good performance the first races. But a new season also means, that new, lots of new material is waiting to the riders. So also the team Scott-Swisspower stays ready in a complete new team outfit! New team clothing, new bike frame, new helmets, gloves and further accessories. René Krattinger from Scott and the co-sponsors DT Swiss, Ritchey and sponsor SRAM were taking care, that all bike components found the right way in the right time to its place. Chef team mechanic Erwin Wildhaber does know exactly what this mean. All day long and at nights are going to be invested, that the racing machines of the athletes will be prepared and tuned in its best way. „It's a huge quantity of material, but because everything came very early all fits the time schedule perfectly“ his comment!

The athlete’s further trust on the SCALE and SPARK, which will be used to the specific characteristics of different courses . Especially for World Champion Nino Schurter the frame comes in a special World Champion design. Credit where credit is due or even more important, „ride in style!“, Nino’s comment! In the same way also the FUGA RC helmet comes up in special colors, as Swiss and World Champion version. What stands as working tool to our World Champion, this also should be available to everybody of course. Therefore the team replicas SCALE, SPARK and FUGA RC helmet are available in standard team colors at your next Scott bike dealer, racing proven! Search your Scott shop here >

Nino's beauty! Scott Scale, DT Swiss Suspension, Ritchey Wheels and components, SRAM XX

Scott Spark featuring TwinLoc, DT Swiss Suspension, Ritchey Wheels and components, SRAM XX

Maremma-Cup - The Riders!

Tue, 09 Mar 2010 3:47:40 -0700

Maremma-Cup, Massa Marittima, Italy. „This Tiramisu was just awesome“, the two guys at the table in front of me are still swarming, Nino Schurter and Florian Vogel. To the two athletes and the entire Scott-Swisspower MTB Racing Team Massa Marittima always is a beautiful destination with lots of comfort to start their racing season. Along the trainings camp the first race of the season, the Maremma-Cup is taking place here. Ernesto Hutmacher and Thomas Frischknecht also because of the technique and epic racing course got a field of riders together which is outstanding. Almost all top athletes throughout the whole world came by to compete here.

Guys, what’s the benefit of Massa Vecchia and the Maremma-Cup? The Maremma-Cup offers a very technique and epic course. In the past these days were dedicated for training needs only. In the mean while the two weeks here in Tuscany we spend for training, racing and collaboration with media people. Actually a very good opportunity combining all these three issues together at the same time.

Honestly, you already showed an incredible pace at the race. Already in best shape? No not really, currently it would be ways too early being in best shape already. It’s even more important competing not at the limit yet. It still takes two months until the first Worldcup race starts. So that means in end of April we have to be fast, not before. The Maremma-Cup shows a first tendency about the personal performance shape.

What goals do you set for the upcoming season? Patrick Gallati: Finishing with constant results at the Worldcup races, further beeing part of the European and World Championships of course. Florian: Finishing the overall Worldcup in top three would just be awesome, and of course the Worldchampionships will be important to me. The Swiss Championships in my hometown will be truely a very nice event to me.

At the worlds you showed a perfect team work. Is this strategy a part of your success? It’s not like in the road racing that a team strategy already can be set before the race. As the past Worlds showed a strategy comes up during the race. Of course we always try to do good team work, but this we decide case by case after the race started.

But anyway there exists kind of rivalry in between of you, even you are good team mates? This for sure yes. If we lead the race together both of us try to finish the race as the winner! But if we lead the race together and one of us gets some seconds behind because of a small technical problem we don’t attack, we even more are slowing down the pace a bit. As soon the team mate comes back we push hard together that the following group won't catch us anymore.

Well, where do you go after Tuscany and what are the plans for the near future?
I guess we’ll do a short stop at Finale Ligure. Afterwards we’ll do the Cape Epic race. This for sure will be an adventure and something complete different to us. Finally, in end of April, the season starts definitely with the first Wolrd Cup in Dalby Forest, UK.

Further news and updates about the Scott-Swisspower MTB Racing Team you always can get on www.scott-sports.com or on the team website www.scott-swisspower.com. Have fun!

Maremma-Cup - The Race!

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 3:30:10 -0700

The SRAM XX Maremma Cup had with its second weekend of racing a successful continuation. The same is for the SCOTT-Swisspower Mountain Bike Team who started of the season with a strong showing. With Florian Vogel in second and Nino Schurter in third we had two guys on the podium, tough the victory went to the Italian champion Marco Aurelio Fontana (Cannondale). With Patrik Gallati in the U23 and Roger Walder in the junior’s race we still had two wins to celebrate.

With 17 nations at the start the Sundays XC race saw a mini edition of a world cup race. The first row at the start line look like the “who is who” of mountain bike racing. Italian champion Marco Aurelio Fontana – European champion Ralph Näf – Olympic champion Julien Absalon – Spanish champion Jose Antonio Hermida – Moritz Milatz (who crashed badly and ended up in the hospital with a broken nose) – and Swiss champion Florian Vogel – all lined up in front of another 100 riders including the two Olympic champions Bart Brentjens and Miguel Martinez.

A trio with Fontana-Vogel and Näf escaped already in first lap. Followed by the Orbea Team with Absalon and the two Spaniards Ruzafa and Lejaretta. Nino Schurter who had not the best start also jumped on the Orbea train.

Half way trough Näf dropped back. The battle between Fontana and Vogel had to decide about the winner. In second last lap Florian dropped his chain, which Fontana right away turned into a 15 second, lead that he kept to the finish line.

Still, Flo can be proud of his second place. With his strong performance he let his rivals know they can count on him in 2010. A bit more than just a fight for the third podium spot was the duel of Schurter and Absalon. Like at last year’s worlds, they where battling head to head the last lap. And again it was Nino who had the better end. Just a little taste of what is to come in 2010.

We also saw a great race of Patrik Gallati. In the middle of world-class riders he finished in 9^th and won the U23 race. Roger Walder had to battle it out with two other competitors on last lap and also was in front at the end. Not enough, Marcel Wildhaber in 26^th and Matthias Rupp in 34^th made up for a great team performance.

Next week we head to South Africa for the 8-day Cape Epic. Nino Schurter and Florian Vogel jump into this adventure for the first time.

Ranking

FONTANA Marco Aurelio (CANNONDALE FACTORY RACING) 1.43.35
VOGEL Florian (SCOTT-SWISSPOWER MTB-Racing) 1.44.04
SCHURTER Nino (SCOTT-SWISSPOWER MTB-Racing) 1.44.37
ABSALON Julien (ORBEA) 1.44.48
LONGO Tony (TEAM FULL-DYNAMIX) 1.45.13.1
RUZAFA Ruben (ORBEA)
LEJARETTA Inaki (ORBEA)
MARTINEZ Miguel (G-SKIN)
GALLATI Patrik (SCOTT-SWISSPOWER MTB-Racing)
NÄF Ralph (MERIDA) EL

Rabon Wins Vuelta a Murcia

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 3:09:58 -0700

Columbia-HTC rider Frantisek Rabon has clinched the overall victory of the Tour of Murcia, Spain, following a trouble-free final stage on Sunday.

Rabon had taken the lead thanks to his spectacular time trial victory on Saturday. HTC-Columbia then kept the race well under control in Sunday's 121.1 kilometre stage from Redyser to Murcia, won by Holland's Theo Bos.

The five-day Tour of Murcia is Rabon's first ever stage race victory as a professional, and the 26-year-old took it with a 38 second advantage over Russia's Denis Menchov, second overall, and a 53 second on third-placed British rider Bradley Wiggins.

"The first 40 kilometres of the final stage, before the one big climb of the day, were a bit crazy with attacks going everywhere. But afterwards we kept it all under control," said HTC-Columbia's sports director for the race, Tristan Hoffman.

"At one point there was a break of nine riders, with one of them a potential threat because he was less than three minutes behind Frankie [Rabon] on the overall. Fortunately, he dropped out of the break and we combined with the sprinters' teams to close things down."

"Frankie's always been a great time triallist, but now he's getting much better on the climbs, too, so we weren't too worried."

The HTC-Columbia director singled out "all the young guys on our team, who were really nervous but also really motivated about keeping the breaks under control. What we had to do we did well."

Vanhoenacker dominates IM Malaysia

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 0:07:13 -0700

Today Marino Vanhoenacker started into the new season with a bang: He dominated Ironman Malaysia and passed the finish line almost half an hour ahead of the second placed Hiroyuki Nishiuchi from Japan and Romain Guillaume from France.

In spite of tropical conditions the Belgian athlete showed a phenomenal race in 8:22:31 hours and qualified for the World Championship on Hawaii in October. Furthermore the Commerzbank athlete set a new bike record in 4:21:01 hours.

“This was a perfect start into the season”, overwhelmed Vanhoenacker said after the race. “Facing really brutal conditions with extremely high humidity, it is just fantastic to perform like that.” Titleholder Luke McKenzie from Australia had to give up on the bike course due to stomach problems.

For more information on the team please visit triathlon.commerzbank.com

Urge Népal, une épreuve pas comme les autres

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 2:51:43 -0700

Il y a trois ans, Fabien Barel et Fred Glo allaient lancer une idée un peu folle, inviter une poignée de riders venus de tous les horizons et de la terre entière, pour les emmener vers une destination inconnue. Le but, dévaler les plus belles montagnes du monde sans aucune reconnaissance au préalable. Ainsi l’an passé, le premier « Fabien Barel Invitational » allait voir le jour via « Urge Kenya ».

Bien entendu, quand j’ai vu cette épreuve apparaître dans la presse et autre moyens de communication, je n’avais qu’une idée en tête, y participer. Malheureusement pour moi, seulement dix places étaient prévues pour cette première, et je voyais mal comment je pouvais y rentrer parmi l’élite mondiale. Et pourtant, un beau matin de novembre 2008, la nouvelle allait tomber. J’étais officiellement invité sur cette épreuve. À partir de ce moment-là, tout allait s’enchaîner très vite. Il me fallait des moyens financiers pour y participer, tout comme du matériel à la hauteur de cet événement.

Il faut savoir que cette épreuve est à but humanitaire. Chaque rider doit, pour y participer, apporter dont, via une somme d’argent. Apporter de l’argent, c’est bien, mais j’ai pensé que je pouvais faire encore plus pour aider ces populations défavorisées.

C’est alors que m’est venu cette idée, créer un bike spécifique pour l’épreuve, pour le vendre ensuite et donner les dons récoltés aux associations concernées.

J’allais faire part de cette idée à Pascal Ducros, Boss de chez Scott qui l’approuva dans son intégralité. Il alla même plus loin en me disant : OK, mais on va lui faire une peinture spécifique, histoire de faire les choses comme il se doit. C’est comme ça qu’allait naître le Ransom ou plutôt le « Ransam Urge Kenya ».

Pour la petite histoire, j’allais terminer quatrième de l’épreuve, et récolter plus de trois milles euros via la vente de mon bike, l’histoire était en marche.

Pour cette deuxième édition, du « Fabien Barel Invitational », nous allons nous rendre au Népal au mois de mars prochain. Bon nombre d’entre nous ont déjà entendu parler de ce pays et ses montagnes gigantesques.

Toit du monde avec l’Everest, chaîne Himalayenne, un véritable sanctuaire pour alpinistes et bientôt pour Vététistes, enfin je l’espère. Mais c’est aussi ici, où se trouve l’un des pays les plus pauvres au monde. La misère y est omniprésente, et je sais de quoi le parle, car c’est là-bas au Népal que j’ai adopté mon petit garçon Tony, il y a trois ans.

Vous imaginez bien, que pour cette deuxième édition, je me sens terriblement concerné.
Une fois encore, mes partenaires de toujours ont véritablement joué le jeu. Sram, Mavic et surtout Scott ont créé un véritable chef d’œuvre sur la base d’un Scott Genius. La peinture dédicacée à mon Fils Tony, ou plutôt Aassish son prénom d’origine, est tout simplement magnifique. Comme l’an passé, mon bike sera vendu aux enchères suite à l’épreuve. Et comme l’an passé, tout l’argent récolté fera bénéficier des œuvres humanitaires.

Et pour clore le tout, une partie des fonds retournera à l’orphelinat de Tony, là même où nous l’avons rencontré pour la première fois, il y a trois ans à Katmandu.

Scott-Swisspower MTB Racing Team starts season!

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 0:20:31 -0700

World Champion Nino Schurter starts his 2010 campaign in style by winning the SRAM XX Maremma Cup in Massa Marittima, Tuscany. Florian Vogel in 5th, Patrik Gallati in 6th (winner of the under 23 category) and Roger Walder as second in the junior’s race made the SCOTT-Swisspower day a very good one.

The day before at the short track race on the „piazza“ of Massa Marittima the weekend did not start that well. Both Florian and Nino got eliminated already in the first round. Only Patrik Gallati made it till the semi final. A technical problem unfortunately stopped him from entering the final. By winning the small final he at least secured a fifth place.
Sunday’s cross-country was a different story. From the beginning last year’s winner Florian Vogel and Nino Schurter set the pace. Only Italian champion Marco Aurelio Fontana (Cannondale) was able to follow. While Vogel dropped back a bit, European champion Ralp Näf installed himself in third. Tough the gap was already too big to close. The winner had to be Schurter or Fontana. And it was the world champion himself who made it clear with a strong attack that he rides his jersey in pride. The 20 seconds he gained on Fontana stayed the same for the last two laps to secure his first win of the season.

With Vogel in 5^th and Gallati winning the Under 23 in 6^th SCOTT-Swisspower had 3 riders in top 6.

A great way to start out the season! Matthias Rupp DNF with a mechanical issue. Marcel Wildhaber and Andri Frischknecht did not start their racing yet. The SRAM XX Maremma Cup continues Tuesday with a short track race in Porto San Stefano.

SRAM XX Maremma Cup 2010, February 28^th
Cross Country Massa Marittima, Tuscany

1. Nino Schurter (SUI) 1:48:29 

2. Marco Fontana (ITA) 1:48:50 

3. Ralph Näf (SUI) 1:50:44 

4. Tony Longo (ITA) 1:51:08 

5. Florian Vogel (SUI) 1:52:17 

6. Patrik Gallati (SUI) 1:53:10 

7. Guiseppe Lamastra (ITA) 1:53:21 

8. Rudi van Houts (NED) 1:53:46 

9. Andreas Kugler (SUI) 1:53:51 

10. Marek Konwa (POL) 1:54:03

Spaniard David Cachon goes big

Thu, 25 Feb 2010 4:06:45 -0700

Some changes will come to David Cachon´s sporting life, as David has signed a contract with Scott Spain for the next three years of his career.

(Rider: David Cachon // Foto: Ismael Ibáñez)

(Rider: David Cachon // Foto: Ismael Ibáñez)

David will defend the colors of the brand in all shows, TV and competitions. David´s styles are Dirt/Street/Freeride and BMX.

(Rider: David Cachon // Foto: Ismael Ibáñez)

Some new projects, photo trips and many hours of video recording are what David promises. In a few days we will know the other sponsors for David´s 2010 season.

The real protagonist will nothing else use but the Voltage YZ Limited // Voltage FR 10 // Gambler 10

Don´t hesitate to contact David personally for any question: info@davidcachon.com