From Downieville to Europe, Team WTB Competes across the Globe!
After taking last year off, Mark Weir made a triumphant return to the 2010 Downieville Classic Mountain Bike Race and Festival. He finished first in the longest (17-mile) downhill race in the nation with a smoking fast time of 44:01.5. This is the eighth year Weir has won first place in this event! Jason Moeschler took fifth place in the Downhill with Kenny Burt one minute behind in eighth place. Despite riding with an injured knee from the previous day’s XC race, Moeschler’s combined times in the 29-mile XC (1:58:52) and Downhill events (44:57.1) secured him a spot on the podium for third place in the All Mountain event. Ben Cruz rounded things out for the team, finishing in 13th place, one position ahead of Team Giant’s Carl Decker, who won the previous day’s XC race and the All Mountain event.
“To come back after two years and regain the Downhill title was a moment that will forever warm my soul,” Weir said, after explaining that he had literally spent about half his life in the town where he credits the race and the trails for bringing him the best things in his life—his friends and the lifestyle that makes him who he is.
Weir went on to thank everyone from his wife, parents, friends, sponsors, to the people of Yuba Expeditions and the Downieville Classic, who have become his family. He added a special thanks to his teammate Jason Moeschler, who he says is everything he inspires to be. “I am truly his biggest fan,” Weir said, explaining that without Moeschler this adventure would have ended two years ago.
Besides just being really fit, fast and exceptionally talented bike handlers, here’s what Weir and the WTB Pro team ran on race day that helped get them on (or darn near close) to the podium.
• Mark Weir – Stryker XC Wheels; Wolverine 2.2 All Mountain TCS tires; Valcon Carbon saddle
• Jason Moeschler – Stryker XC Wheels; Wolverine 2.2 All Mountain TCS tires; Silverado Carbon saddle.
• Kenny Burt – Stryker XC Wheels; Wolverine 2.2 All Mountain TCS tires; Silverado SLT saddle.
• Ben Cruz – Laser TCS XC rims laced with Laserdisc Lite hubs; WeirWolf 2.3 All Mountain TCS tire in front and Wolverine 2.2 All Mountain TCS in back; Rocket V SLT saddle.
In the Expert Master’s category, Team WTB’s Fred Falk finished strong with a second-place finish in the Down Hill (51:41.0) and All Mountain events, just 20 seconds off the leader. In the Junior Expert category, Max Houtzager (high school student and WTB intern by day) swept the field and took home first place prizes in his category in the XC, downhill (49:20.0), and all mountain events. Team WTB junior riders Thomas Ravina finished in second (52:43.7) with Chris Ravina in 9th (1:13:45.8).
All in all, it was good to be riding WTB if you were in Downieville for the race, and it is always good to be in Downieville if you are up for the challenge of all-mountain, technical riding with some of the best people around!
Speaking of best people around….so where was Bobby? That was the question the team heard all weekend in Downieville. The answer—Bobby McMullen was racing the Super Enduro in Sauze D’Oulx, Italy the weekend of July 3-4, and the Mega Avalanche in Alpe d’Huez, France last weekend. Check out some of Bobby’s Euro adventures beginning with an interview from the Super Enduro in Sauze D’Oulx, Italy.
Between the SuperEnduro, the Mega Avalanche, and the Downieville Classic, Team WTB had it covered over the last few weekends as the team divided to expand its global perimeter. Next stop: Weir and Moeschler will take a turn in France to compete in the Enduro Series in Vars on July 24 and 25, and in Valloire from July 31-August 1. Keep it here for more updates.
