2012 Zerode G-1 Raffle To Benefit The Dirt Club

100% of profits to benefit Dirt Club of Santa Ynez!

Zerodeusa is pleased to announce the raffling of a complete 2012 Zerode G-1 Downhill Moutain Bike valued at over $7,000 to help raise funds for the Dirt Club located just North of Santa Barbara California. The Dirt Club has been putting on biking events for over a decade and is 100% maintained by a volunteer staff. Mike Hecker has kept mountain bike racing alive in Central California by offering DH, XC and Enduro events throughout the year.

Zerodeusa is offering the winner the choice of frame size and color. The tickets are being sold for only $5 each. Once our fundraising goal is reached, we will draw the winners and announce them on Facebook, the website and via email.

So if you want the chance to win a fully built $7K+ MSRP downhill bike or to help out Mike Hecker and the boys at the dirt club to continue on with a private MTB club, buy your tickets today!.

Zerode G-1 Raffle

Formula North America Exclusive Provider Of Sales And Service For North America

Formula SRL and Perigeum Development, Inc. (formerly dba "Formula Brake USA") announced their plan to restructure the sales and service responsibilities for Formula’s OEM and after-sales markets in North America. Effective September 15th, 2012, Formula SRL will be exclusively represented in the USA by Formula North America Inc. (FNA), under the leadership of Christoph Vogl, General Manager.

Formula has been supporting OEM sales and providing after sales service in North America since 2009. Moving forward, FNA will exclusively represent all facets of the Formula brand from their U.S. headquarters, based out of Fort Mill, SC.

In order to facilitate a smooth transition and continue providing exceptional support to Formula customers, FNA has ramped up its sales and service division with the addition of a West Coast service center.

Formula North America Exclusive

2012 Red Bull Rampage

Back in 2001, the Red Bull Rampage concept was conceived to serve one of the fringes of the blossoming mountain-bike movement. There were riders -- courageous, driven and a little crazy -- who were at once exploring new terrain, testing their own limitations and defining a new genre of the sport, and their riding style was not represented at all in competition. Freeride mountain biking was rapidly evolving with every insane drop and first descent, and Red Bull Rampage was on board to help push it even harder.

The inaugural event was a landmark in the sport's history and was followed by three more through 2004. If you won Red Bull Rampage -- or even survived the weekend with all your bones intact -- your reputation as a bad ass on two wheels was unassailable. Unlike events with a defined course and familiar obstacles, Red Bull Rampage let the riders determine their own route down treacherous cliffs; the more creative and risky the line, the better the score.

After 2004, the event went on hiatus, but the memories -- and the reputation -- grew in scale. The mountain-bike contest scene did evolve to address the changes in the sport, but in general it still lagged behind what the most progressive riders were capable of. As contest riders began to get pigeonholed into separate disciplines -- downhill, slopestyle, dirt jumping -- it was the freeride ethos that leveled the playing field. You needed skills in every aspect to survive a true freeride run, and the time came once again to prove who had the balls to get it done.

Red Bull Rampage made its return in 2008 with yet another epic gathering of the best mountain bike riders in the world. Anyone who believed the sport couldn’t progress further would have eaten their words on that dusty ridge near Virgin, Utah. Man-made “enhancements” graced the venue for the first time, but the main objective remained: find the most challenging lines down the mountain and ride them with style. Regardless of their background, the riders were all equal at the top of the mountain; equal in the challenge they faced to get to the bottom of it.

The next event was held in 2010, punctuated by Cameron Zink’s jaw-dropping 360 off a 40-foot drop. Every time Red Bull Rampage takes place, individuals push themselves like never before, collectively progressing the sport to a new level. The time has come again: On October 5-7, 2012, mountain biking’s best will return to southern Utah to climb the next -- or the next few -- rungs of the ladder.

Athlete selection criteria has been announced, and the aim has been to collect the best of the best, the top riders in many disciplines who own the skills to survive in the desert.

Zink and Brandon Semenuk, the 2010 and 2008 champions, will automatically be placed into the October 7 final. The top 12 finalists from 2010 are pre-qualified, excused from competing in the October 5th qualifying battle. Invites to the qualifier will go out to the top 12 ranked riders from the FMB World Tour, as well as the top two finishers at the Chatel Mountain Style in France in July. Red Bull Rampage serves as the final stop on the 2012 FMB World Tour.

More details will be available soon; outside of the actual event dates, clear some space on your calendar on Saturday, December 8 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET to watch all of the best action from Red Bull Rampage on NBC as part of the Red Bull Signature Series.

2012 Red Bull Rampage Coming Soon

Brook MacDonald Wins The Val d' Isere World Cup

It’s hard to find words for was has happened today. After the last race we needed to focus on the words “that’s racing” as the competition was clouded by some bad luck. But we knew that our luck will be back some when, but we didn’t expect it that quick . Brook won his first worldcup race here in Val d’ Isere/ France and Emmeline got 2nd again.

The race week started with a course walk, where no one seems to be too happy about the track. It’s a bit short and the village of Val d’ Isere is on a sea level of 1821 meters, which means almost no trees and no roots at all. After a few runs, most of the riders get used to it and the MS Mondraker Team had some good fun during the training days.

The qualification was a tough one as the weather changed a few times and quiet a lot of top 20 riders came down with flat tires such as Steve Smith or Sam Hill. Markus had solid run and ended up in 22nd place, Damien came in promising 7th place and Brook stand out with a 3rd place. Emmeline showed her strength again and finished in 2nd place just behind all-time competitor Rachel Atherton. Like in Windham everything seems to perfect for race day, but with outcome of this past worldcup race in mind we were a bit more nervous than at other races.

Brook MacDonald Wins The Val d' Isere World Cup

2012 Val d'Isere UCI World Cup

After a month-long break, the RockyRoads UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano resumes this weekend in the new venue of Val d'Isere, France, for the final round of the Cross-country series, and the penultimate round of the Downhill.  Fittingly, it is the site of the alpine ski run for the 1992 Winter Olympics, since this World Cup takes place on the opening weekend of competition for the London Games.

Two weeks before the Olympic cross-country, Val d'Isere will provide a final tune up for the Olympic-bound athletes.  Almost all of the Games riders have registered to compete in Val d'Isere, so this will also offer an interesting opportunity to gauge the form of the riders.  One rider who, sadly, will be missing is Maja Wloszczowska (CCC Polkwice).  The 2008 Olympic silver medalist broken her foot a week ago at a pre-Olympic training camp in Italy and will miss both this race and the Games.

The Val d'Isere course is less technical than the previous rounds in Mont Ste Anne, Canada, and Windham, New York.  Offering no major climbs, it follows a figure eight, with the first loop up the valley bottom lasting three kilometres. The second loop in 1.9 kilometres and takes the riders into the town centre over some man-made features and then up a short single track climb. It is narrow, so passing may prove tough, but it should be fast with little to separate the riders. With a lot of the course winding through the event centre and town, it should make for good spectating.

Catharine Pendrel (Luna) has already won the women's cross-country, with an insurmountable lead after back-to-back wins in the last two rounds, but look for a resumption of the ongoing battle between Pendrel and the 2011 World Cup champion Julie Bresset (BH-SR Suntour-Vallandry Peisey).  Others looking for podium spots will be Pendrel's team mates Georgia Gould and Katerina Nash, plus Pendrel's fellow Canadian Olympian, Emily Batty (Subaru-Trek).

On the men's side, the race for the title is still open.  Nino Schurter (Scott Swisspower), fresh off winning the Swiss national title, still leads the standings, despite not competing at the last round in Windham.  However, his lead has shrunk to a slim 12 points over Burry Stander (Specialized).  Stander's team mate, Jaroslav Kulhavy, also has a slight chance of over taking Schurter to defend his 2011 World Cup title.  Another rider to watch will be the great Julien Absalon (Orbea), the two time defending Olympic champion.  Absalon skipped the last two rounds of the World Cup to go into Olympic preparation, but won the fourth round, also on French soil, in La Bresse.

The Downhill is quite different from previous rounds.  At under two kilometres in length, it is a completely open, rocky alpine run, with no tree cover.  It will make for excellent TV coverage, and the whole course is visible from the finish.  The route follows the infamous Val D'Isere Olympic downhill ski route. It starts just 200 metres below the Super G start from the 1992 Albertville Winter Olympics and passes through a very famous passage called the Ancolie, a narrow, steep gulley between towering cliffs. From there the course is wide and fast, with flat corners and few man-made features. The course enters the finish below the Olympic torch monument and hits a final large wooden drop into the finish bowl. It's going to be love or hate for the riders.

Neither the men's nor women's titles are decided, so there is still a lot on the line.  Rachel Atherton (GT Factory) moved into the lead of the women's series at Windham with her third victory of the season.  Atherton is now 30 points ahead of former leader Emmeline Ragot (MS Mondraker), who will be looking to regain the lead on home soil.  Others to watch will be Australian champion Tracey Hannah (Hutchinson United Ride) and Myriam Nicole (Commencal/Riding Addiction).

The men's title may be mathematically still open, but the 295 point lead of American Aaron Gwin (Trek World Racing) means that his competitors have virtually conceded a repeat World Cup title to Gwin.  With four wins already this season in five events, the question will be whether Gwin can match last year's five wins here.  However, Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate), the only rider to beat Gwin on the World Cup circuit in the past two years, cannot be counted out by any measure.  Gee Atherton (GT Factory) and world champion Danny Hart (Giant Factory) should also be strong podium contenders.

 

2012 Val d'Isere UCI World Cup