- Bikes Help Support Workers Of River Project And Foster Healthier Communities -

KONAWORLD (September 2, 2008) - Since 2005, Kona has been providing AfricaBikes to thousands of healthcare workers in Africa. In September, Kona will be donating 100 AfricaBikes to one of the World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) water projects in Tanzania, Africa.

The Great Ruaha River is one of the most important sources of freshwater in Tanzania. Since 1993, research records show  that sections of this massive river in the Rufiji River Basin have run completely dry for atypical periods of time. This wasn’t due to global warming or climatic variation, but rather uncontrolled and poor water management.

Since 2003, the WWF has implemented a sustainable water management program to help better the lives of more than 6.35 million people living in the region. By establishing the Water Users Associations - groups whose members are trained in water irrigation, law, policy and conservation - the program saw great success in 2006 when the Great Ruaha flowed throughout the year for the first time in five years.

But, the river is big and to monitor its status members of the Water Users Associations need bikes to cover the long distances. By having access to 100 Kona AfricaBikes, workers will be able to cover more ground; ultimately resulting in a healthier river and healthier communities.

 Workers who receive AfricaBikes will play an important role of not only helping support a better way of life for numerous communities in the Great Ruaha River area, but also remedy an important water source that will impact future generations. Without the AfricaBikes, chances are the successes of bringing the river back might begin to fade.

For more information about the Kona Bicycle Co. and the World Wildlife Fund check www.konaworld.com and www.worldwildlife.org. For more on Kona’s Biketown Africa program check www.konabiketown.com.

 About the Kona Bicycle Company:
The Kona Bicycle Company designs, manufacturers and distributes more than 60 models of purpose-built, high-performance mountain, road and urban bicycles. Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Ferndale, Washington, USA, Kona bicycles are distributed worldwide in more than 60 countries through independent specialty bicycle dealers. Kona funds several professional road, mountain and cyclo-cross racing teams that include World Cup Champions, World Champions and National Champions. For more information check www.konaworld.com or contact Keith Cozzens at Base Camp Communications, kcozzens@basecampcomm.com or 307.734.7575.
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- 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. 

- Moseley, Simms And Sneddon Find Podium At British Columbia Races -

KONAWORLD (August 20, 2008) – A trio of Kona Factory Team riders reached the podium last weekend at two races in British Columbia – Kokanee Crankworx and the seven-stage TransRockies Challenge race.

Racing in the pro women’s Canadian Open Downhill race at Kokanee Crankworx in Whistler, B.C., DH specialist Tracy  Moseley took second place in the 17-racer field. Moseley finished the burly, technical course with a time of 3 minutes, 47 seconds – a mere two seconds off winner Rachel Atherton who Moseley has been battling with all season.

In the multi-stage TransRockies Challenge mountain bike race from Panorama to Fernie, B.C., Wendy Simms and husband Norm Thibault defended their mixed team title by winning all seven stages and crossing the finish more than an hour ahead of the second-place team. Kris Sneddon and training partner Max Plaxton finished the race second overall in the men’s team category – 25 minutes off the winning team. The pair won stage five of the race. The course featured roughly 360 miles of riding.

- Double-Back Flip During Prestigious Event In Whistler Dazzles Crowd; Earns $15,000 Prize -

KONAWORLD (August 18, 2008) – Kona Clump Team rider Andreu Lacondeguy was on a mission to win – it’s that simple. Last Saturday, during the high-profile Monster Energy Slopestyle event at Kokanee Crankworx in Whistler, B.C., the fearless Spanish rider did something no other rider has ever done during Slopestyle competition: successfully landing a double-back flip.

In the days leading up to the Slopestyle event (which was witnessed by more than 20,000 spectators worldwide),  Lacondeguy spent hours practicing on the Boneyard Slopestyle course with friends and Kona teammates John Cowan (who designed the course), Grant “Chopper” Fielder and younger brother Lluis. With a long list of who’s who in the world of mountain biking competing in the event, Andreu knew he had to bring his A-game to take home the top spot. And he did.

With the top eight riders qualifying for the finals out of 34 participants, Andreu’s first run (in the two-run format) in the main event scored the lowest out of the finalists after failing to land a double-back flip. He registered a score of 30.8 points; while Brandon Semenuk of Whistler had the best first run score of 86.8.The course featured huge tables, dirt jumps, wooden spins, the Giro box and the always insane Kokanee drop as the final hit.

Since he produced the lowest score during the first run, Andreu was up first for the second and final runs. With nothing to hold back, Andreu’s historic first-place run of impressive tricks went something like this:

He started out with a double-back flip off the first table, followed by a foot plant off the Monster Snake, a back flip X-up, flat spin 360, topside nac-nac, can-can step-down, Superman, and finished off with a back flip onto the final Kokanee feature and Superman off into Whistler village.

 With the crowd growing louder and louder as he made his way down the course, Andreu’s epic second run and successful double-back flip scored 94.3 points and set the bar for the rest of the riders final runs.

Lance McDermott of Manchester, UK took second place with 91.5 points, while Semenuk took third with 89.8. In the qualifying rounds Kona riders Fielder and Lluis Lacondeguy missed the finals finishing 14th and 15th, respectively.    

“I just kept trying the double-back flip,” says Andreu of his feat during one the world’s biggest mountain bike competition. “It was that trick that did the job, it was gnarly you know.”

Andreu took home $15,000 for the win.

For more info about the event check www.crankworx.com.

- Factory Team Riders Race Through Tough, Messy Courses In Quebec -

KONAWORLD (August 4, 2008) – Plowing through pools of mud and sliding down slippery singletrack last weekend, Kona Factory Team rider’s Tracy Moseley, Wendy Simms, Barry Wicks and Kris Sneddon made the best of tough course conditions during the MTB World Cup races in Bromont, Quebec, Canada.

Leading the way for the team was downhill specialist Moseley who has been charging through the World Cup series this  season and currently sits in third overall in the women’s elite downhill standings. With light rain falling during the finals and adding an extra layer of slickness to the course, Moseley bombed through the race finishing third in the 19-rider race. Moseley finished with a time of 3 minutes, 17 seconds – a mere three seconds behind the winner.

“I had a pretty good top section in the final,” says Moseley, “but then lost some valuable speed in the last flat turns.”

In the women’s elite cross-country race, where riders battled a wet course littered with roots and rocks, Simms finished 20th with a time of 1 hour, 55 minutes in the 41-racer field. In the men’s elite cross-country event, Wicks finished the six-lap course in 32nd, while Sneddon took 33rd in the 66-rider race.

Wicks added: “It was like racing the muddiest, nastiest cyclocross race multiplied by four.” 

- From The U.S To Europe And Australia, Clump Team Riders Threw Down Last Month -

KONAWORLD (July 30, 2008) – Over the last month, members of Kona’s freeride Clump Team hit the dirt and air hard on U.S soil and across the Atlantic and Pacific.

Taking it to the competitive European scene, John “JC” Cowan made a guest appearance at the Nissan Outdoor Games in Interlaken, Switzerland before heading over to the Mega Avalanche event in Alp de Heuz, France – an 1,800 rider mass start enduro DH race. Taking his dirt jump background to the DH scene on a Coilair Supreme, Cowan rallied in the final to finish 142nd with a time of 1 hour, 5 minutes.

“That was way hardier than I ever imagined,” says Cowan. “Man I should have trained. I’m just glad to have finished further up than I started.”

Back in the states, Paul “Bass” Basagoitia was riding and filming for NWD 9 in the Badlands of South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming for a few weeks before heading home to sculpt new dirt jumps in his backyard. Then, it was onto Australia to continuing filming at the famous Red Bull Dirt Pipe. Sneaking in sessions between rain storms, Bass suffered a broken collar bone after hitting a jump and smashing into a wall. He will be out for 6-8 weeks.

As for the Spanish brothers Luis and Andreu Lacondeguy, they’ve been filming for the upcoming NWD 9 film on the jumps they built in their parents backyard in Barcelona.

Upcoming events for the Kona Clump include both Crankworx events in Winter Park, Colorado and Whistler, British Columbia, as well as the Adidas Slopestyle in Salbach, Austria where Grant “Chopper” Fielder will compete.  

About the Kona Bicycle Company:
The Kona Bicycle Company designs, manufacturers and distributes more than 60 models of purpose-built, high-performance mountain, road and urban bicycles. Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Ferndale, Washington, USA, Kona bicycles are distributed worldwide in more than 60 countries through independent specialty bicycle dealers. Kona funds several professional road, mountain and cyclo-cross racing teams that include World Cup Champions, World Champions and National Champions. For more information check www.konaworld.com or contact Keith Cozzens at Base Camp Communications, kcozzens@basecampcomm.com or 307.734.7575.
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 - Bas Out 6-8 Weeks After Crash In Australia; Will Attend Kokanee Crankworx In Whistler -

KONAWORLD (July 30, 2008) – For the first time in his high-flying, competitive biking career Kona Clump Team’s Paul Basagoitia has broken a bone. His right collar bone to be exact.

The injury, which Bas sustained while riding and jumping in Australia, is the first major set-back of the young riders’  career and will sideline him for 6-8 weeks, according to physicians.

“I was super bummed and disappointed of myself,” says Bas of his collar-bone- breaking crash. “After a few days at home, I finally calmed down and realized that this is all part of the game.”

Bas’s accident occurred in Australia while filming for NWD 9. The crew was filming at the famous dirt pipe Down Under – which is one of the most insane dirt pipes in the world. It’s basically a ski/snowboard halfpipe littered with hips and wall rides. With a few days of intermittent rain showers dampening the crew’s hopes of filming, the sun finally reared its head and it was on. But the dirt pipe was still slippery.

“It was supposed to be the only sunny day for the next week,” says Bas. “I felt a little uncomfortable riding the pipe in that condition, but I had to get something done. After a few runs I felt pretty dialed on the pipe and I started unleashing some of my bigger tricks.”

 After multiple sessions of hitting one of the hip features, it began to develop some ruts on the lip.

“I tried to hit the hip one more time before we took off, but it was the biggest mistake of my career so far,” says Bas. “The lip shot me sideways and right over the landing to flat. It wasn’t the hardest crash I have ever taken, but it gave me my first broken bone – I knew I was in trouble when I couldn’t lift my right arm.”

Although Bas will not compete in his favorite contest – the Kokanee Crankworx in Whistler Aug. 9-17 – he will be on-hand signing autographs at the Kona tent and cheering on his compadres.

About the Kona Bicycle Company:
The Kona Bicycle Company designs, manufacturers and distributes more than 60 models of purpose-built, high-performance mountain, road and urban bicycles. Founded in 1988 and headquartered in Ferndale, Washington, USA, Kona bicycles are distributed worldwide in more than 60 countries through independent specialty bicycle dealers. Kona funds several professional road, mountain and cyclo-cross racing teams that include World Cup Champions, World Champions and National Champions. For more information check www.konaworld.com or contact Keith Cozzens at Base Camp Communications, kcozzens@basecampcomm.com or 307.734.7575.
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