Friday, July 31, 2009

Last Day To Shop!

Today is the last day to shop Freeride Foundation! You'll find even deeper discounts on this last day of retail sales. Wait to shop until tomorrow and you'll miss out!

Thursday, July 30, 2009

The Final Final Countdown

We're pulling down the retail side of Freeride Foundation in the wee morning hours of August 1st. That means you have just under 48 hours to shop for screaming deals on the site! Get after it!

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

North American Racing Roundup

Here we go. Results from the past month of US racing. There are quite a few. Don't forget, Friday is the last day you can purchase product from Freeride Foundation! If we missed any results, we'll get them up ASAP!

Gravity East Series
Attitash, NH
July 18, 2009

Downhill
Pro Women
1. Dawn Bourque
2. Karen Eagan
3. Stephanie Gubernat

Cat. 1 19-29
1. Kristine Koch
2. Hannah Trimble

Cat. 1 30-39
1. Susan DelPino

Cat. 1 40+
1. Vicki Koch

Cat. 3 19-29
1. Rebecca Bagley
2. Charlene Smith

Fluidride Cup #4
Mt. Hood, OR
July 12, 2009

Downhill
Pro Women
1. Sara Johnson
2. Amy Laird
3. Dawn Lambert
4. Britney White

Cat. 1
1. Chelsey Stevens
2. Jaime Rees
3. Cassandra Stamm
4. Jennifer Jones
5. Shelby Reilly

Cat. 2 Women
1. Hailey Southkoth
2. Jen Schenk
3. Kathy Malvern
4. Ruth Klein
5. Amanda Markell
6. Amy Torget
7. Yvonne Gillette

Cat. 3 Open
1. Ann Davis
2. Diana Miller
3. Rachel DeLateur

Cat. 3 Junior
1. Adrianna Moroz
2. Cheyenne Smith

Gravity East Series
Highland Mountain Bike Park, NH
July 12, 2009

Downhill
Pro/Cat. 1 Women
1. Dawn Bourque
2. Karen Eagan
3. Stephanie Gubernat
4. Alexis Wruble
5. Kate Parhiala
6. Kristine Koch
7. Susan DelPino
8. Vicki Koch

Cat. 2/3 Women
1. Rebecca Bagley
2. Cait Franciscovich
3. Jennifer Tammam
4. Meredith Mansfield
5. Jennifer Childress
6. Olivia Harkness

Cat. 2 Jr.
1. Taylor Allison
2. Maddie Crowley
3. Olivia Allison

Dual Slalom
Pro/Cat. 1
1. Dawn Bourque
2. Karen Eagan
3. Kate Parhiala

Junior
1. Taylor Allison
2. Olivia Allison
3. Maddie Crowley

Golden State Downhill #3
Fontana, CA
July 12, 2009

Pro Women
1. Christine Hirst
2. Jennifer Wolf
3. Joy Martin
4. Francine Johnson

Sport Women 34 & Under
1. Michelle Allen

Beginner Women 34 & Under
1. Jessee Maule

Beginner Women 35 +
1. Kim Finch
2. Traci Adams
3. Lala Mijares

Monday, July 27, 2009

Quebec Cup Results

We're still catching up on the results we've been missing lately. Here's another race from Mont Sainte Anne, Canada. The Quebec Cup downhill race was held July 22. Anne Laplante took a significant win in this lead-up to this weekend's World Cup.

We're gathering more US results and will have them posted this week. And don't forget that this is the last week to buy product from Freeride Foundation!

Elite Women
1. Anne Laplante
2. Claudia Paquin
3. Marie-Eve Marcotte
4. Caroline Milot
5. Alexandra Laacroix
6. Marie-Angelique Turpin
7. Veronique Desjardins

Sunday, July 26, 2009

MSA Mountaincross Results

The World Cup 4X race took place today at Mont Sainte Anne, Canada. Anneke Beerten held her lead from qualifying to take the win. Jill Kintner was plagued by crashes and finished 4th. Anneke's win today gives her the overall lead in the series. The next World Cup races will be held next weekend in Bromont, Canada.

4X
1. Anneke Beerten
2. Fionn Griffiths
3. Joanna Petterson
4. Jill Kintner
5. Melissa Buhl
6. Anita Molcik
7. Sarsha Huntington
8. Mio Suemasa
9. Lucia Oetjen
10. Eva Castro Fernandez
11. Neven Steinmetz
12. Anne Laplante

Mont Sainte Anne World Cup Results

Sabrina Jonnier took another World Cup downhill win at Mont Sainte Anne, Canada this weekend, and furthered her overall lead in the series. This race is her fifth World Cup downhill win in a row. The 4X finals are today, and Jill Kintner will be chasing Anneke Beerten for the #1 spot.

Downhill
1. Sabrina Jonnier
2. Emmeline Ragot
3. Tracy Moseley
4. Celine Gros
5. Floriane Pugin
6. Mio Suemasa
7. Melissa Buhl
8. Emilie Siegenthaler
9. Anita Molcik
10. Fionn Griffiths
11. Micayla Gatto
12. Kathy Pruitt
13. Claire Buchar
14. Petra Bernhard
15. Danice Uyesugi
16. Anais Pajot
17. Rebecca McQueen
18. Jessica Stone
19. Darian Harvey
20. Gabrielle Molloy

Friday, July 24, 2009

Results Galore

While we've been sorting out our Inventory Liquidation Sale, attending the US National Championships, and riding our bikes, we've been slacking on our results postings. So, in an effort to catch back up, I'd like to start with some European events. We'll do another post in a little while that rounds up some US happenings from the last few weeks.

French Mountain Bike National Championships
Oz en Oisans, FRA
July 19, 2009

Elite Women
1. Celine Gros
2. Sabrina Jonnier
3. Floriane Pugiin
4. Myriam Nicole
5. Anais Pajot
6. Fanny Lombard
7. Sophie Borderes
8. Caroline Sax
9. Sandra Reynier
10. Agnes Delest
11. Lea Fourton
12. Elodie Chesseret
13. Severine Cigana
14. Morgane Jonnier
15. Celine Tyssandier
16. Morgane Charre
17. Laura Guillaume
18. Chloe Gallean
19. Marjorie Cholez
20. Carole Armanet
21. Marlene Jugier
22. Alizee Arthus
23. Laura Lohner

British Mountain Bike National Championships
Peebles, UK
July 19, 2009

Elite Women
1. Tracy Moseley
2. Helen Gaskell
3. Jessica Stone
4. Aimee Dix
5. Sarah Newman
6. Haby-Blu Cann
7. Emma Wareham
8. Reanne Atherton

Junior Women
1. Monet Adams

Juvenile Women
1. Tahnee Seagrave

Master Women
1. Anne Langmaid

Swiss Downhill Cup #2
Wiriehorn, SUI

July 19, 2009

Elite Women
1. Miriam Ruchti
2. Martina Bruhlmann
3. Noemi Derron
4. Caro Gehrig

Junior Women
1. Carina Cappellari
2. Kim Schauff
3. Joanne Muoser
4. Lauriane Darbre

Open Women
1. Franziska Ebinger
2. Fabienne Kratzer
3. Nathalie Daeppen
4. Barbara Katz
5. Eveline Schutz
6. Claudia Von Kaenel
7. Sandra Von Allmen
8. Nicole Zuercher
9. Nadine Kaufmann
10. Caroline Fellay
11. Coraline Reber

IXS Downhill Cup
Leogang, AUS
July 12, 2009

Elite Women
1. Antia Molcik
2. Petra Bernhard
3. Emilie Siegenthaler
4. Miriam Ruchti
5. Martina Bruhlmann
6. Caroline Sax
7. Nicole Beege
8. Lene Fruhwirth

Open Women
1. Sandra von Allmen
2. Nathalie Dappen
3. Ana Raecke

Junior Women
1. Leoni Caroline Dickerhoff
2. Joanne Muoser
3. Tamara Ulrich

Megavalanche
Alpe d'Huez, FRA
July 11, 2009

1. Anne Caroline Chausson
2. Pauline Dieffenthaler
3. Birgit Braumann
4. Melanie Pugin
5. Estelle Vuillemin
6. Elisabeth Allione Barlet
7. Anka Martin
8. Angela Proctor
9. Claire Buchar
10. Amelie Berchoux
11. Caroline Millet
12. Claire Hassenfratz
13. Sandrine Francois
14. Antje Kramer
15. Leana Gerrard
16. Anne Adam
17. Stephanye Ethoin
18. Alison Campbell
19. Petra Wiltshire
20. Harriet Latchem
21. Lynda Davies
22. Caroline Mayer
23. Jeannette Muller
24. Kerry Wrigglesworth
25. Valerie Priem
26. Jo Cardwell
27. Vannina Chabaud
28. Nikki Grant
29. Caroline Terranova
30. Elodie Pradon
31. Catharine Noble
32. Barbara Bolognesi
33. Anna Walters
34. Marlen Mengeringhausen
35. Nicky Belton
36. Sandrine Charcelle
37. Sonja Granzow
38. Lara Smith Tadeusz
39. Isabelle Urner
40. Catrin Cameron
41. Coralie Rochette
42. Stacy Beneke
43. Susan Mahony
44. Lyndsey Carson
45. Katharina Lehmann
46. Gemma McHenry
47. Helen Ryan
48. Sara Burdon
49. Hannah Reynolds
50. Alison Woodham
51. Faye Stewart
52. Aurore Berruezo
53. Carlien Dawson
54. Llinos Brown
55. Christin Schubert
56. Elaine Barber

British 4X National Championships
Gloucestershire, GBR
July 5, 2009

Elite Women
1. Charlie Phillips
2. Teri Anne Busbridge
3. Katie Radcliffe
4. Suzanne Lacey

NPS #3
Fort William, Scotland
June 28, 2009

Elite Women
1. Aimee Dix
2. Haby-Blue Cann
3. Helen Gaskell
4. Emma Wareham
5. Harriet Latchem

Open Women
1. Manon Carpenter
2. Angela Coates
3. Bex Reilly

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Airing Out Sol Vista

Yeah, I know. You've already read about who won what, seen the photos, and read all about big jumps, dust, drop gates, and short courses. Over the past few days, I've been thinking about how to write this blog post, as there is actually a lot to say about what transpired at the US National Downhill Championships at Sol Vista, CO this weekend.

I think the best place to start is with a quote from Katie Holden: "We [pro female downhill racers] really progressed women's riding this weekend." While I was happy to progress my bum onto my downhill bike for three days of relaxing riding with my friends, a talented and inspiring group of pro women stepped up to the plate and rode impressively on a course that left plenty of pro men shaking their heads.

Here's the deal. The course was a short one--Melissa Buhl won the stars and bars in 2:41. The top 3/4 of the course consisted of newly-built loose sandy, rocky trail through the woods, followed by "The Three Amigos," which were three progressively larger gap jumps--the final one measuring nearly 50 feet from lip to landing, and concluding with a short woods section into a few high-speed berms with some jumps in between.

The word around the pits after the first day of practice was that anyone who didn't hit all Three Amigos would have no chance at besting someone who did, due to the nearly uphill trail required to go around the booters. Eventually, go-arounds were added so that riders could hit one or two of the jumps, even if they chose not to hit the grand finale.

To be honest, after seeing the course, I was pretty stoked to not be racing. It brought up so many interesting dilemmas that I was much more content to spectate for the weekend.

The first thing I thought of when I saw the jumps was that it was unfair to put these jumps on a National Championship course, when there are very few opportunities in the US to hit anything similar, and therefore little opportunity for someone to successfully progress onto these larger gaps. Putting them on the course with only one huge go-around seemed to be asking for riders to attempt to hit them whether they possessed the skill or not. After traveling to Colorado, spending cash on entry fees, lift tickets, housing, etc., why wouldn't you just go for it?

Then, there's the point that Littermag makes: You choose what to hit and what not to hit, and that's what makes you a skilled bike rider.

Lisa Myklak was the first girl to hit any of the jumps, and also the first to hit all three. She went for them before many of the guys did. She broke the ice, and Jackie Harmony was the only other girl to successfully hit all three. Jackie was also the only girl to hit them all in her race run (Lisa hit the first two). Most of the women's field hit at least the first jump in their qualifying and race runs.

Here's the interesting thing, though: earlier in the weekend, thoughts were that if a girl hit all three jumps, she'd have the win in the bag. The course was so short that everyone assumed there was no room to make up that time elsewhere. But Melissa and Kathy Pruitt proved that a racecourse starts at the top and ends at the finish line. Melissa came off the first jump and into the go-around unbelievably fast, and after also nailing the first jump, Kathy finished less than a second behind her. Lisa took 3rd after hitting two of the three, and Jackie took 4th after hitting them all.

The moral of the story is this: the current field of US racers is one that's full of talent. Melissa and Kathy are able to apply their World Cup experience and weed out the noise to put together blazing race runs. Lisa stole the show early in the weekend by proving that all three jumps were rideable, and made a race-day decision to go around the third. Jackie had the confidence to put all three jumps into her race run. Simply hitting or not hitting the jumps was not the deciding factor--it was putting together a fast and strategically sound race run. These girls and the rest of the women's field prove that we have some incredible riders here in 'Merica, and that we can expect women's riding here to continue to progress to meet the challenges of courses and conditions here and abroad.

Bravo, ladies, bravo!

Downhill Pro Women
1. Melissa Buhl
2. Kathy Pruitt
3. Lisa Myklak
4. Jacqueline Harmony
5. Katie Holden
6. Darian Harvey
7. Rachel Bauer
8. Jennifer Wolf
9. Jennifer Whalen
10. Stephanie Leonard
11. Julie Olsen
12. Connie Misket
13. Michelle Rivera

Cat. 1 Women 19-29
1. Alisha Gibson
2. Emma Millar
3. Johanne Tuttle
4. AnneMarie Hennes
5. Katy Monger
6. Liana Gregory
7. Christen Boyer

Cat. 1 Women 30+
1. Chelsey Stevens
2. Soraya Khalje
3. Rosie Bernhard

Cat. 2 Women 19-29
1. Melissa O'Connell
2. Jesse Kirkpatrick
3. Kyra Alexander
4. Lauren Heitzman
5. Kristin Buell
6. Christin McCurdy

Cat. 2 Women 30-39
1. Lana Lawson
2. Amber Price
3. Bonnie Miller

Cat. 3 Women 30+
1. Ann Davis
2. Rachel DeLateur
3. Jennel Ortiz

Junior Women
1. Cierra Smith
2. Maddie Crowley

Mountaincross
Pro Women
1. Jill Kintner
2. Melissa Buhl
3. Kathy Pruitt
4. Darian Harvey
5. Jacqueline Harmony
6. Rachel Bauer
7. Neven Steinmetz

Cat. 1/2/3 Women
1. Johanne Tuttle
2. Alisha Gibson
3. Catherine Cantway
4. Christen Boyer
5. Christin McCurdy
6. Brittany Jackson
7. Maddie Crowley
8. Soraya Khalje
9. Katy Monger

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

Free Shipping at $35

In order to keep the Inventory Liquidation Sale moving along, we've reduced the free shipping amount to US orders totaling $35 and more. Picking's getting slim, but there are still some great deals at FreerideFoundation.com!

Monday, July 13, 2009

Inventory Liquidation Sale

Many of you have heard the news already. We're shutting down the retail side of Freeride Foundation. It's not a decision we've taken lightly, and we appreciate all of the support we've received from our friends, fans, and customers.

We've reduced the prices of everything on the website, and the store will be offline by the end of the month. We WILL be maintaining the blog, forum, race calendar, and even more community goodies, so we're not leaving you entirely!

For the inventory sale, what's up right now is everything that we have. Once it's gone, it's gone for good! Discount coupons will no longer work on the site, but gift certificates will. Click here for more information and to shop one last time at Freeride Foundation!

Thanks again for your support!

Saturday, July 11, 2009

European and Canadian 4X Championships

The European 4X championships were held June 28 in Solvenia. Anita Molcik took the title. The Canadian 4x championships were held on July 4 in Bromont, but it doesn't look like any women raced. If we find results, we'll post them!

European 4X Championships
1. Anita Molcik
2. Rachel Seydoux
3. Lucia Oetjen
4. Anneke Beerten
5. Angelika Hohenwarter
6. Steffi Marth
7. Laura Brethauer
8. Eva Castro Fernandez
9. Stephanie Teltscher

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Gravity East Series at Windham Mountain

Last weekend the Gravity East Series continued with a downhill and dual slalom at Windham Resort, NY. Dawn Borque took the downhill win, and Karen Eagan won dual slalom. The next Gravity East Series race will be held July 11-12 at Highland Mountain Bike Park, NH. For more information, visit GravityEastSeries.com.

Downhill
Pro Women
1. Dawn Borque
2. Karen Eagan
3. Alexis Wruble
4. Lauren Daney
5. Allegra Burch
6. Vicki Koch
7. Susan DelPino
8. Kristine Koch

Cat. 1 Jr. Women
1. Taylor Allison

Cat. 2-3 Women
1. Rebecca Bagley
2. Felicia Kearsley
3. Jennel Ortiz

Dual Slalom
Open Women
1. Karen Eagan
2. Lauren Daney
3. Kate Parhiala

Jr. Women
1. Taylor Allison
2. Maddie Crowley
3. Olivia Allison

Thursday, July 2, 2009

Fluidride Cup #3 Results

The third Fluidride Cup race of the season was held this weekend at Mt. Hood, OR. Lisa Myklak traveled north to take the downhill win by 10 seconds. The next Fluidride Cup race will be held at Mt. Hood on July 11-12. For more information, visit Fluidride.com.

Downhill
Pro Women
1. Lisa Myklak
2. Katrina Strand
3. Joy Mutoli

Cat. 1 Women
1. Chelsey Stevens
2. Jaime Rees
3. Shelby Reilly
4. Cassandra Stamm
5. Kat Sweet

Cat. 2 Women
1. Jennifer Tell
2. Hailey Soukkoth
3. Kathy Malvern
4. Ruth Klein
5. Paige Norman
6. Jen Schenk
7. Ashley Smeltzer
8. Amy Torget
9. Yvonne Gillette

Cat. 3 Women
1. Ann Davis
2. Rachel DeLateur
3. Diana Miller

Cat. 3 Jr. Women
1. Burke Okrasinski
2. Adrianna Moroz
3. Cheyenne Smith