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World Championships Val di Sole, ITA |
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| Date: |
22.06.2008 |
| Description: |
XCO Race |
| More information: |
http://www.mtbvaldisole2008.it/ |
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| Diary:
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| 08.07.2008 |
A few more great pictures from xco worlds, taken by www.mtbs.cz
     
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| 26.06.2008 |
I am back at home again where everything is starting to settle down. On Sunday I had the ride of my life! It was the perfect day, with the very best leading up to it. There was that “you can do it” cloud of spirit over our team.
The new Specialized Epic was extra pressure for the whole team, especially for my mechanic Benno. I was always 100% sure that this bike will make me faster! I only rode a prototype version for two days in February in the USA and 3 times with the race version before Sunday’s race on the course. So you can imagine that Benno was on “needles” the whole race long and especially when you take into consideration that the global press launch is held next weekend at the Specialized office with 50 journalists attending! However, we did our own press launch, and I think we did a great job!!!!!
During the whole week our tire specialist Frank Stacy with his beautiful wife accompanied us with tire testing. He brought us tires with a brand new compound that performs super fast. Before and after every ride I did wattage testing on rollers with a power meter. I had a big smile on my face when I realised how fast the new rubber is rolling! The tire testing to me and the role Frank plays is on the same level as my new bike. The team have been working with Frank and the other tire engineers for three seasons now and the benefits are huge!!
It was great to share that win with the whole team! Lots of tears were crawling down the faces and then you realise this is the best team and the team is you too.
It was also great to see Liam my team mate finishing 4th. Now he knows that he has it again and I am sure there will be more to come!
“How’s the new Epic”? One of the most frequent asked question at the moment. So, read the next lines well!
It is completely different to ride than the old one. On the up hills my pedal power transfers straight into movement like on a hard tail, and in descents it feels more like a downhill bike. I love my brain suspension which is now also in the fork. In every situation I have the right adjustment and in a tenth of a second the fork makes use of it’s whole travel or completely locks out again! Coupled with this I have a clean cockpit. I hate any lockout shifters on my handle bar with extra cables.
In “picture” describing the bike feels like; it descends like a jumbo jet in the air before landing, on bumpy flat sections like a speed boat flying over waves, and in up-hills like a fighter jet taking off!
I don’t feel like I accomplished my season’s objectives with my cross country world championship title. I could not comfort myself with this world champ title after a bad result. For me the present time counts, and what is behind is past. That’s probably why I am pretty down to earth and now my head is spinning a lot about the marathon world champs in ten days time and the defence of my title!
             
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| 24.06.2008 |
Link 1: Swiss tv coverage
Link 2: results and lap analysis
Link 1: http://www.sf.tv/sfsport/artikel.php?catid=sportradartikel&docid=...
Link 2: http://www.uci.ch/UciDoc/MTB/2008/CM/XCO_ME_RACEANALYSIS.pdf
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| 22.06.2008 |
7Laps, 1.58h
First Place, 2.55min ahead Florian Vogel
(report by team manager Bobby Behan)
Today was personal for many reasons Personal for Susi’s mum, Benno, the team and I. Corina(Susi’s mum) has been there forever, Benno has been his mechanic since 2003 and Susi has been a great friend to me since 1999. We have seen the marathon world championship, two world cup overall titles, the thirteen world cup wins, but until today no world cross country win, something that has eluded Susi, but a title he truly deserved.
Susi knew it! We knew! It just had to happen. There was an extra air of nervous positivity in the team this week, from myself to Susi’s methodical mechanic Benno, to our other great mechanic Ryan and the fabulous soigneur that is Claire. Race day and it felt like a normal world cup day from the outside looking in, but from the inside we were all motivated and really believed Susi was going to win! There was that something extra within the team that was hard to describe, but even Susi knew it and after the race said how he could feel it in the team and in him. It was like “right we have lost this thing too many times, that is not going to happen anymore”.
Then there was the new cutting edge prototype Epic. That was the extra motivation. Anybody who knows Susi, knows he is driven by technological innovation and Specialized never fails to satisfy the Swissman. Dropping 700 grammas from any bike is huge but from the already great Epic, represents a huge technological advancement.
Liam had the books stacked up against him. Starting in 78th was going to be hard. A top twenty would have been awesome, given Liam’s recent form on Tuesday in the team relay where he posted the fastest lap, but to expect more would have been too much. Personally, I felt he had the form to do very well, but a positioning on the grid, which limited his chances.
The young Jakob Fungslgang took the pace out, but to me it was not as fast as expected. It was almost as if the field were too nervous to commit too soon. On lap two and the shake-up was already in session with Christoph, Florian Vogel and Frederik Kessiakoff setting the pace at the front with defending champion Julien Absalon not far behind. Further back and Liam was fighting the crowds, but making headway represented by a 50th position.
Lap two and Freddy was suffering, while the most recent world cup winner (Fortwilliam, Scotland) Vogel and Susi were sharing the lead. It was going to be a two man race, with Absalon also struggling. Meanwhile Liam Killeen had moved up to twentieth. There seemed like a jet engine was propelling Liam’s Epic.
I was busy texting a few key people including Specialized founder Mike Sinyard. Lap three and Vogel was 20’’ adrift and Susi looked smooth. The one quote nobody got, and at the time I did not want to “count my chickens before they were hatched”, so I decided not to mention it to anybody! On the slow gravel climb where I was located early on in the first lap, I had the opportunity to run beside Susi and give him key information and lots of encouragement, he turned to me and said “Bobby I am in standby mode”. There and then I just knew – nobody is going to touch Susi today. As the laps progressed the margin got bigger and bigger. Susi today was in a class of his own. It was poetry in motion. He won by nearly three minutes!
Susi had the ride of the day, but Liam Killeen had another one that had journalists and photographers “flabber gasted”. Liam was on the chase for eight and then when he rode through that group and the fight for fifth commenced. Liam was riding on another level today. I was absolutely psyched for Liam, because he pulled out such an inspirational performance. Another lap and bronze was within grasps, but fourth position from a start position of 78th – more than expected.
Liam and Susi were also a wave of team motivation. Liam said it was huge “the team support was massive – the shouting the words of encouragement, just kept driving me further. The team moral and atmosphere is super high”. Everybody’s voices were gone and the tears in Benno’s, Claire’s and my eyes just reflected how happy we were to have Susi finally attaining that title he has always deserved.
The questions at the end about the new bike were endless and everybody wanted to know more. Susi summed it up nicely … “on the climbs it’s like a fighter jet taking off and on the descents it’s like a jumbo jet landing”. Susi knows that today “I was the best rider in the world, riding the best bike in the world”!
           
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Guestbook entries:
Add your own comment to this race / event?
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| 25.06.2008 23:03:29 |
WM Titel |
| From Rupp Juerg, Melbourne, Australia |
Great effort Susi, Congratulations from a berner biker down under.
May catch up with you in Canberra. Good luck for the olympic games! Cheers, Jurg
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| 25.06.2008 06:52:42 |
grande susi |
| From bruno maggioni, vaprio d'adda(mi), italia |
io ero a Commezzadura ho visto vincere il più forte atleta del lotto . La torta non è ancora finita ad agosto ci sono le olimpiadi in bocca al lupo . ciao
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| 24.06.2008 15:35:43 |
Congratulations! |
| From Dani Griso, Verona, Italy |
Well done, Sausi...
I was there last Sunday, cheering and supporting you!
What a reamrkable win! You really made all your fans proud! See you in Niederdorf in two weeks for your the next rainbow jersey...
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| 24.06.2008 13:23:42 |
congratulation |
| From Real Alonso, Malaga, España |
Enhorabuena campeon!!! te lo mereces por tantos años en lo mas alto.
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| 24.06.2008 10:53:11 |
Congratulations |
| From Branislav Belosevic, Ruma, Serbia |
Congratulations Christophe!
Greetings from Serbia!
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| 14.06.2008 06:59:37 |
world championship |
| From emery cédric, auxerre (bourgogne), france |
hello sausi,
i'm a fan of you and specialized.
i have a epic s-works carbon
i want to wich good luck for the race,i cross the fingers for you, for the highest tittle.
bye bye
cédric
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