- Factory Team Racers Show Dominance On World Cup And NMBS Circuits -

KONAWORLD (September 2, 2008) “ Racing in the elite women’s downhill event in Canberra, Australia at the second-to-last stage of the World Cup racing circuit, Kona Factory Team rider Tracy Moseley helped her cause of making a run for the overall title by winning the race by four seconds.

Charging a technical course that had been peppered by intermittent rain and wind the entire weekend, Moseley finished her semi-final run in first place “ which set her up to race last during the finals. In the finals, Moseley swapped out her normal DH racing kit for a skinsuit which, although sparked some criticism, ultimately helped her win the race.

“Wearing a skinsuit makes a difference, but is a bit controversial,” Moseley explained. “Most of the riders don’t like wearing them, but I know that it is an advantage and I am prepared to take the slack to win a World Cup race. The others don’t wear them because it isn’t cool. Mountain biking is very image driven. I make that choice and I get shit for it for the rest of the year but…”

Moseley pedaled hard through the final flat section of the course to take the win in the 19-racer event, while Rachael Atherton finished second and Sabrina Jonnier third. The final World Cup downhill event takes place in two weeks in Schladming, Austria.

Although he finished 15th in Brian Head, Utah at the final Short Track cross-country race of the National Mountain Bike Series circuit, Kona rider Barry Wicks sealed the overall season title with a total of 739 points. Teammate Ryan Trebon, who finished seventh in the Short Track race, took second overall “ falling short of Wicks by one point with 738. Wendy Simms took 17th overall in the elite women’s Short Track series standing.

“I only went as hard as I had to. We were racing at 10,000 feet and nobody did well except J.B. (Jeremiah Bishop) and the guys from Colorado,” said Wicks after the race, who was also the 2006 overall Short Track series winner.

In the cross-country race in Brian Head, Trebon took ninth, Wicks 13th, Erik Tonkin 18th and Kris Sneddon 19th.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, September 2nd, 2008 at 4:35 pm and is filed under Client News, Kona. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.