BikeRumor.com

Oli Pepper of Morvélo, an up-and-coming clothing company in Brighton, UK, tells Bikerumor.com about how the brand sprang from a love of all the different disciplines of cycling, about the Brighton Big Dog mountain bike race, which last year had Magnus Backstedt as a surprise entrant, and big plans for 2010.

How and why did you set the Morvélo up?

At the start of 2009 we just couldn’t get excited about any of the existing casual clothing brands aimed at cyclists. Or we could, but they were too limited to one area, like Fox for example. We still love the Fox stuff but it doesn’t speak to the road, track and cyclocross side in us. Morvélo first and foremost is about all bikes and was set up to help try and create a certain unity between the different factions and all through the humble T-shirt. It’s tricky prospect as some disciplines don’t identify with others, even though they are still riding, in essence, the same thing. Two wheels good.

Morvélo - more bikes, right? How does the name reflect your philosophy?

Yeah, that’s pretty much it. We ride and race all sorts of bikes and felt that there was too much perceived segregation in the different disciplines of cycling, in terms of brands. Most people ride several different types of bike and go on to ride even more. I started out riding, like most people over the age of 30, on BMXs, then onto MTBs. I stuck with them for a decade or so until a friend lent one me a road bike. The speed was awesome and it suddenly opened my eyes to this whole other world of bikes. From there came cyclocross, more recently track and now thinking about getting back into BMX racing again.

It seems to us this progression and crossover is becoming more common, and we want Morvélo to be a symbol of this. We not just about freeride MTB, we’re not just about fixed, we not just about the cols of the Tour de France. We love all of it. The bicycle is such a wonderfully simple invention that can be used in such a diverse way, it deserves to be celebrated.

Click ‘more’ to read about the tees, the Lycra and Marcus Backstedt riding MTB and plans for a partnership with Kinesis… And more pics!

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Extreme Sports website Mpora.com has announced a free of charge iPhone application, which when downloaded gives the user access to over 25,000 videos from several extreme sports.

Mountain biking and BMX are covered thoroughly on Mpora and the site’s editors are frequently updating content too, much of which is generated through Factory Media’s magazines - Dirt, Ride UK and Dig BMX.

The application has both a filter and a search option, which the former allowing the user to block content from sports that don’t interest them.

To find out more and download the application, click here.

If BMX is your thing, chances are you’ve heard of a website called The Come Up. Adam Grandmaison, or Adam22 as he’s known to many is the mind behind the site, which, almost by accident, has become perhaps the largest BMX website on the web.

Here for the first time, Adam sheds light on how The Come Up blew the competition out of the water and lets BikeRumor in on a new components brand dubbed OSS that he’s set to drop in just a few months time…

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Last year at Sea Otter, we saw the end-stage prototype of the 2010 Rocky Mountain Altitude 29er and went ahead and put in our request for a review.  At Interbike, we demo’d it, and for the past couple of months we’ve had one to ride.  And ride it we have…in Florida, North Carolina and Virginia.  So, while we’re waiting for the trails to dry out just enough to get back on them, we figured we’d talk to the folks behind this bike to get a little info on how and why they developed a 5″ travel 29er mountain bike for their first big-wheeled full suspension effort.

The following answers are from Rocky Mountain’s designer Alex Cogger:

BIKERUMOR: What were the design considerations and goals when creating the Altitude 29er?

ALEX: Several. We had already received wide praise for our SmoothLink suspension and Straight Up geometry that we launched with the Altitude (26″) last year. We wanted to bring the same level of performance to the big wheel crowd.

We had a blank sheet of paper for our first 29″ dually, and chose to not chase the racers, but instead we decided to go after the Every Man. The Altitude is a do-everything bike: climbs brilliantly, rails downhills, and is acknowledged as being clearly superior to the ETS-X, it’s predecessor. We wanted the same type of capabilities in a 29′er. While it’s not specifically a race bike, with a quick tire swap, you could enter a Marathon, or even a Super D. I’m itching to take one to Downieville!

We wanted an extremely linear rising supension rate, which gives the Altitudes such a smooth, bottomless feel, paired with an RP23 Boost Valve shock for pedalling efficiency.

We used many features found in the Altitude (direct mount FD, pierced ST pivot, large bearings, FORM tubing) and added a few twists. We are running a tapered headtube, with a 1-1/8″  steerer and an internal cup on the lower, which allows us to keep the bars super low on a 120mm front end.

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Sometime last year we got the bug to start dirt jumping.  Maybe it was the incessant replaying of Red Bull Rampage highlights or the constant video streams of sweet looking tricks.  That, and we have a freakin’ sweet DJ park here in Greensboro that’s filled with tabletops, doubles, log bridges, berms, chutes and more.

But where to begin?  Rather than risk immediate injury, wasting money or, worse, looking like a fool, we turned to the folks that make a living at this.  We hit up two riders each from Kona and Scott -the guys that routinely tear it up at the Rampage, Air King and star in DJ and Freeride videos like Kranked -looking for advice. Here’s who we interviewed:

	Graham “Aggy” Agassiz (19, Kamloops, BC) SPONSORS: Kona, Monster energy, Sombrio Cartel, Smith optics, Nike 6.0, Giro, Coors Light EDUCATION: (left blank)
	Paul Basagoitia, AKA Paul Bass (22, Minden, NV) SPONSORS:Kona, Raceface, Red Bull, Giro, Skullcandy, DVS EDUCATION:High School
	Dylan Dunkerton (19, Roberts Creek, BC) SPONSORS: Scott Bikes, SRAM, Chromag & Lavan Apparel EDUCATION: High School
	Kyle Jameson (21, Aptos, CA) SPONSORS: Scott USA, Republic apparel, Sram, EDUCATION: High School, Capilano University MTB operations program

Peep the pics after the break and there’s no denyin’ it, DJ looks like fun, and it’s a great way to add to your skill set.  Hit ‘more’ to see what the pros had to say…

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BIKERUMOR EXCLUSIVE! Team SaxoBank recently held their kickoff training camp in the Canary Islands, and our buddy Nic Sims, Specialized’s global brand manager, was there talking with the athletes and helping to introduce them to the 2010 gear.

We spoke with Nic about the camp, the tech and some of the riders to learn a little more about Specialized’s involvement with the team and what goes on besides the riding.  And, we’ve got lots of great pics to share, too, starting with the team SL3 above (yep, it’s relatively tame looking compared to some other team bikes, but Fabian Cancellara seems to like it)!

Let’s get started…

BIKERUMOR: Nic, you went to the first official 2010 Team SaxoBank training camp before Christmas, where was it and how did it go?
NIC: The first camp was in Fuerteventura which is one of the Canary Islands and it is a small island close to the coast of Africa. The week before we arrive the team did their usual survival training which they do every year, although one year it was not held in Denmark in the wet and cold, more of a desert environment. I know that Andy Schleck had blogged about it.

BR: We spoke on the phone and you mentioned that most of the team chose to ride the new Romin saddle versus the lighter Toupe that they’d been on previously…why do you think they made the switch?
NIC: The team had previously been sponsored by Prologo, so this was the first chance for them to try out our range of saddles, we took pretty much everything we have: Phenom’s, Toupe, Romin, Tritip’s etc. It turns out that most of the guys liked the Romin saddle. The little turn up at the back allows you to push off it and get good power to the pedals. There are some guys that wanted the Toupe just because it is a light saddle but as we also do three different widths (the Romin) allows us to really get a good fit for each rider. I believe you have tried the Romin and commented on how comfy it felt too, so you are in good company. Getting pro’s to switch saddles is a tough job as they tend to stick with saddles that they like and that they’ve had never had issues with. Getting these guys on our saddles is a big step for us.  (Editor’s note: We did get a Romin saddle in to test in early December and first impressions are very positive)

LEFT: Lining up cleats with last year’s shoes. RIGHT: Jens Voigt checks out the Shiv.

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The following is an interview by BikePure with Award Winning Renal Specialist Dr. John Harty about EPO.  Dr. Harty is a Consultant nephrologist at Daisy Hill Hospital in Ireland. He is a renal (Kidney) specialist, Consultant of the year in 2008 and himself a cyclist. Bike Pure asked Dr. Harty to clarify the unfortunately common, illegal doping abuse of Erythropoietin (EPO).

Bike Pure: What is EPO?
Dr. Harty: EPO is a naturally occurring hormone that the body produces to control the amount of blood cells and hemoglobin present in the body.

BP: You’re a renal consultant (Kidney specialist), why do you administer EPO to patients in your care?
Dr: EPO is produced in the kidneys in response to stress factors including oxygen levels, this in turn goes to the bone marrow and ‘notifies’ the bone marrow to produce additional blood cells. I use it daily with patients suffering with kidney failure. Their kidneys no longer produces this vital hormone so we have to administer it synthetically to the patient to offset this hormone imbalance and regulate their blood to a normal, healthy level.

BP: When did you first begin to administer EPO?
Dr: It came into clinical practice around 1989, when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the hormone and I first administered it to my patient’s in 1990. It was pioneered to deal with the problem of anemia or low blood count in patients with kidney failure who have a blood count of 6 or 7, where a normal, healthy adult would have a blood count of 12 or 14.

BP: Is it essentially the same product that you began using in 1990 or has it evolved and improved over time?
Dr: Over the last 20 years, scientists have improved and evolved the synthetic nature of the drug. About 10 or 11 years ago ‘Aranesp’ became available, and in the last few years CERA also came into the market. EPO, Aranesp and CERA are all the same basic structure of the EPO molecule; they just have variants added in to produce a longer lasting effect. When EPO was first introduced it was required to be injected usually three times a week. When Aranesp came out this was reduced to once a week and a single injection of CERA would maintain a patient’s hemo level for up to a month.

BP: Are all these EPO derivatives made by the same people?
Dr: There are a number of companies making these syntethic EPOs. They are all modifications of the basic naturally occurring hormone. Initially it was only one company, but now there are many variants and low cost drugs available from countries such as China and Russia.

BP: We have heard of athletes being caught because the manufactures have installed ‘indicators’ or ‘markers’ into the drugs to illuminate their use in drug tests and indicate that the hemo level was achieved artificially. Could all manufacturers do this?
Dr: As synthetic drugs like Aranesp and CERA are not identical to the natural hormone, it should alone be traceable.
{BP:‘Amgen’ provide a marker within its own synthetic EPO-CREA to enable its detection in drug tests}

BP: Are there other drugs available that renal patients utilize, which cheats in sport may be using to gain an unfair advantage?
Dr: The best way to get a response from EPO is to have a lot of Iron in your system to help the body make a lot of red cells, so we found out quite early on in kidney medicine that people would become iron deficient which would blunt the effect of EPO. So with our patients we give them iron, orally or intravenously. The higher your iron stores are, the better effect the drug will have. So I imagine the dopers would artificially take iron and B12 and any other compounds, which are crucial in the production of blood.

Read the rest on BikePure.org. Big thanks to Myles for letting us share!

Photo: James Thomas.

We recently asked you to submit a few questions you’d like to ask George Hincapie, and we combined those with our own questions for The Man.  Following are the answers about what it’s like to be George, how he feels about racing and some of the rules and some very specific hints as to how much longer he’ll be racing.

Here’s how George Hincapie rolls…

BIKERUMOR: In a nutshell, what’s it like being George Hincapie?
George Hincapie: Things are going really well for me right now and I’m thankful that I still love racing my bike.

BIKERUMOR: If you averaged it out, in a given day (when you’re not racing), what percentage of your time is spent:
- riding
- managing your businesses
- working with your sponsors
- eating
- sleeping
- other
GH: It’s hard to answer this question because my days can be different.  I ride about 4-5 hours a day.  I try to sleep 9-10 hours a day (if I’m lucky).  And I like to spend as much time with my family as I can.

BIKERUMOR: How involved are you in the day-to-day operations of your various businesses?
GH: I don’t have any specific day-to-day responsibilities at Hincapie Sportswear, but I definitely stay involved by communicating with my brother Rich several times a day.  When I’m in Greenville I stop by the office several times a week.  I help when it’s needed.

BIKERUMOR: Besides maintaining a stellar reputation in the peloton, you’ve built a brand around your name with a diversified product line (denim, cycling clothing, compression wear, accessories and even sunscreen) which, in theory, gives you a second life when your professional cycling career ends.  What advice would you give young riders in terms of personal and professional development that could help them avoid a troubled career like Pantani or Frank Vandenbroucke?
GH: You can’t predict what happens in the future, but you can plan for what you want to happen in the future.  The only advice would be to remember that you can’t race your bike forever, so plan for the day when you will not get paid to ride your bike.

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We’re working on an interview with The Man (aka: George Hincapie) and we’d like to include some of your questions. Here’s your chance to find out what you want to know.  We’ll pick the best ones and include them in our interview.

Just leave you question in the comments section on this post on or before November 20.

We did this previously with Specialized’s marketing guy Nic Sims…click here to read that interview.

I spoke with 24hr Solo Champion Josh Tostado about the race, his training tactics, and how free-style skiing helps prepare him for the racing season. Here’s what he had to say:

How long have you been mountain bike racing? I know you were a free-skier huckin 90 foot tables and hitting 55 degrees slopes only a few years ago. You won the 2004 US Free skiing open. Nice.
I raced my first 24 in 2002 and that was my first mountain bike race. and at that point I was really into the free-skiing but I didn’t win the 2004 us open, the best I ever did was 8Th in an X game qualifier.

Ha! Then the internet lies!
How does free skiing transcend into Mountain bike racing, specifically 24s?
The sports of skiing and mountain biking are very similar. You just get that feeling of flow with both and they are lifestyle sports as well, but as far as the the competition side free-skiing and 24 hour racing couldn’t be more different.

Click ‘more’ to read on…

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(UPDATED: Fixed initial video to the right one…)

Bob Babbit interviews three-time consecutive Ironman winner Chrissie Wellington about her record breaking performance at this year’s Ironman World Championships in Kona, HI.  Part One above, Parts Two, Three, Four and Five (make some popcorn) after the break…

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I caught up with Lynda Wallenfels and Dave Harris after the 24 Hrs of Moab Championship Race.  One word for two people: Crushers.

Check out Lynda’s and Dave’s results, then see how they did it:

How do you control the monkey mind and not go out hard if you have the legs?
Lynda: I wanted the National title bad enough to control the crazy side of me. I kept a lid on it.

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What does a girl have to do if she wants marriage proposals, arm wrestling contests, shock and awe accolades, and (sadly) trail blocking and really strange behavior?

Simple: Pass a guy on the trail or in a race.

If you’re the dude and we pass you, you just got chicked…and I chicked a few guys while racing on a co-ed duo team with my race partner, Mario Correa this summer at the inaugural Breck Epic.  I had some pretty colorful comments and antics and figured there had to be something to this.  So, I asked a few VERY fast women about what happens when when they take the lead in a ride or a race, and I asked some men what is was like to ride co-ed when their partner passes a guy.

Here’s what they all had to say:

Dave Harris couldn’t ask for a better partner is his epic escapades: He races with the formidable Lynda Wallenfels who chicked the entire men’s single speed solo class of 30 riders at the 24 hrs of Old Pueblo this year.  Here’s what Dave had to say about racing with Lynda Wallenfels:

DAVE: When she passes guys in races (and often riding at/near the front of the race) she seems to be asked if she’s single. A lot!

In TransRockies last year we rode SS. There are a lot of flats in TR but you really have to gear for the climbs so we’d find ourselves working through the field after the spun out flats. Sometimes we went by big groups of guys like they were motionless…on day 2 as I go by a team on a fireroad climb one guy whispers to his teammate “we just got passed by a dude on a SS!”, LW right behind me heard the exchange and says “wait, it gets better!”. All I recall from that guy was a groan after that…

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Ty Kady, former Supercross Pro and Semi-Pro mountain biker, has been the Marketing Director for the US CUP National Mountain bike series this year. He tells us how he got there and what’s it like to be on the admin side of racing…

You were a privateer Suzuki Pro Circuit rider and ripped it up right here in CA back in the day, how did you get into mountain biking?

I got into Mountain Biking as a way to regain some fitness I had lost after retiring from racing. I was also was looking for a healthy athletic outlet that wasn’t as high risk as Supercross, and something I could enjoy without alot of pressure.

You were a a pro athlete at a very young age, what did you miss out on growing up? When did you start racing moto and when did you quit?

I guess I “missed” out on a lot of the normal teen social events-Friday Night Football, School Dances, Date night, Spin the bottle and all that stuff that goes along with being a teen ager coming of age. But at the time, I was so dedicated and focused on being the best racer I could, I didn’t really feel like I was missing out. I was willing to sacrifice those experiences, because I believed so much in what I was trying to accomplish, I didn’t need to be like everyone else.

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James Herrera is the founder and CEO of Performance Driven, an elite coaching program for athletes and executives based in Colorado Springs. He has served as the Director of Coaching/Premier Coach for Carmichael Training Systems and a coach/consultant with the U.S. BMX program and the Center for Creative Leadership. Herrera competes in road and mountain cycling and trail running, holds a black belt in several martial arts, and is an avid snowboarder.

I was lucky enough to get coached by Herrera and can say first-hand that he has a way of understanding his athletes; what will make them faster, and how to get them stronger. I caught up with him after he rode the Leadville 100 and ran the Leadville Marathon to talk about being a vegan (he offered up some recipes!), training and his own background.

You’re a vegan, right? How do you fuel your training? 

A good friend of mine says “vegetarian” is an old Indian word that translates to “bad hunter.” I get a lot of shit from my friends for my vegan diet. But what can I say? It just works for me. Bottom line is, we could all do better to make a shift towards a more plant-based eating strategy. All the peer-reviewed research out there says it’s the best way to prevent all the major diseases, so why wouldn’t it be a great way to fuel athletic performance? The bulk of my diet is built on vegetables, fruit, legumes, nuts, seeds, and whole grains. I can pretty much eat as much as I want and still maintain a healthy weight. Since I started eating this way, I’ve never felt better, stronger, or had more energy throughout the day. Here are some of my recipes:

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