Australian National Downhill and 4X Championships

The Australian National Mountain Bike Championship races were held in Canberra January 23-26. Emmeline Ragot won the downhill race, but Julia Boer takes the title of the 2009 Australian National Downhill Champion since Ragot is French. Caroline Buchanan won her fourth Australian National 4X Champion title on the same track where she took her first World Cup win.

We found these results on the Australian National Series website.

Downhill
Elite Women
1. Emmeline Ragot
2. Julia Boer
3. Claire Whateman
4. Leigh Douglas
5. Cara Smith
6. Sarah Booth
7. Sarsha Huntington
8. Joanne Fox
9. Shannon Chugg
10. Emma Lewis

Women Under 19
1. Holly Baarspul
2. Natasha Bonney

Women Under 15
1. Danielle Beecroft
2. Harriet Burbidge-Smith
3. Tegan Molloy

Women Under 17
1. Alice Minahan
2. Em Hockey
3. Katelyn Humphris
4. Bec Kirss
5. Jasmin Rosa
6. Danielle Acunzo
7. Christie Batt

Sport Women
1. Petra Tesarova

Masters Women
1. Jillian Brady

4X
Open Women
1. Caroline Buchanan
2. Lauren Reynolds
3. Rachel Bracken
4. Sarsha Huntington
5. Cherie Simpson
6. Shannon Jobson
7. Julia Boer
8. Vanessa Thompson

Under 19 Women
1. Harriet Burbidge-Smith
2. Natasha Bonney
3. Paige Barcroft
4. Danielle Beecroft

February's Featured Rider: Claire Buchar

Claire Buchar is Canada's fastest female downhiller. Claire consistently places in the top ten at World Cup downhill races, and she finished 8th overall in the series in 2008. She's part of the Canadian DH Girls with Katrina Strand, and has spent this winter training and racing in Australia. But Claire is more than just an incredible athlete--she's a talented artist and is super smart about marketing herself within the bike industry. Read on for proof. --FF

Name: Claire Buchar (soon to be Kovarik!)
Home: Whistler, Canada and North Brisbane, Australia
Age: 30
Favorite type of riding: DH, dirt jumping, XC
Why you ride: Fun, traveling, challenge, fun, adventure, fun
Sponsors: ChainReactionCycles.com/Intense, Sombrio, Maxxis, Smith, Crank Brothers, Dakine, Evolution Bike Shop, Whistler Mountain Bike Park
Website: CanadianDHGirls.com

Both my parents were athletes, my dad especially. He used to race motocross and was on the Czech National Alpine Ski Team. He is now 72 and still rips on his moto in the backcountry of Squamish, BC. I guess I got his blood. As lanky as I was (still am!), I was always good at sports. As a kid, I dreamed of being an athlete. I didn’t care what kind. I used to pretend I was winning races of all sorts and even clothes-lined myself on my homemade backyard finish line!

However, I didn’t pick up a mountain bike until I was about 20 years old. And naturally, I had to try racing. I finished 2nd at my first National Champs in 2002 and was selected for the Canadian National Team which, at the time, I didn’t even know existed! I’ve never looked back.

My bike has taken me all over the globe, from Chile and Peru to Croatia and Slovenia, from Scotland and Ireland to New Zealand and Australia. I’ve been on the craziest adventures with all
sorts of crazy people and even met my very near future husband, fellow racer and rider Chris Kovarik, through one of those adventures! It’s been really cool and I feel privileged to be able to live this lifestyle. However, it absolutely did not come without serious hard work, determination, passion, drive and sacrifice. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I genuinely enjoy riding my bike. I am currently spending my winter in summer! Chris and I are in Australia for the off season and the riding here is pretty sick. The XC is flowy and addicting and there are some world-class DH tracks to get going fast on. It’s quite different from the riding we have back in BC or in Europe, in addition to the fact that you have to dodge extremely venomous snakes. I like riding different styles of terrain. I think it helps you become adaptive to any situation. The area we are in is a bit lacking of my favorite thing--dirt jumps, but our buddy has a pumptrack in his back yard and sometimes we hit up the skatepark for a little play.

Besides all of that, I decided to go back to my roots……art! I’m getting smart at graphic design school. It’s pretty full on, but I’m stoked.

Southridge USA Winter Series #2 Results

Local pro Laura Noonan won the second race of the 2009 Southridge USA Winter Downhill Series. Kayla Meadows won the 4X race. After two races, Joy Martin leads the series in both disciplines. The next race in the series will be held in Fontana, CA on February 7 and 8.

Downhill
Pro Women
1. Laura Noonan
2. Joy Martin
3. Christine Hirst
4. Gretchen Sylvestre

Open Women
1. Rosie Bernhard
2. Kelly Moore
3. Francine Johnson
4. Nancy Harris
5. Laura Drexler
6. Erica Phillips
7. Amy Cone

Beginner Women 34 & Under
1. Julia Zavala

Beginner Women 35+
1. Kim Finch
2. Lala Mijares

4X
Pro Women
1. Kayla Meadows
2. Joy Martin

Open Women
1. Brittany Jackson
2. Nancy Harris
3. Julia Zavala
4. Lala Mijares

DirtRag Women's Weekend at Ray's

Mmmm...Chipotle, PBR, Red Bull, and loads of indoor riding. This weekend (Feb. 20-22) is not to be missed!

Get Well Soon, Rachel and Sheryl!

Current DH World Champion Rachel Atherton was injured this weekend when she collided with a pickup truck while training on her new road bike in California. She dislocated her shoulder, and may need surgery, but should recover just fine.

Several weeks ago, Sheryl MacLeod suffered more severe injuries while training in New Zealand. She broke her neck in addition to other injuries but is also expected to recover. We send our best wishes out to both girls!

For more information, visit MarthaHucker.com.

North Island Downhill #2 Results

Emmeline Ragot continues to dominate in New Zealand, with her second win in as many races at the North Island Downhill series. This weekend's race took place in Rotorua and Emmeline took the win by nearly 15 seconds.

Elite Women
1. Emmeline Ragot
2. Harriet Harper
3. Rita Langley

Open Women
1. Madeline Taylor
2. Sophie Tyas
3. SophieMarie Bethell
4. Alice Kevern
5. Annika Smail
6. Veronique Sandler
7. Sarah Atkin
8. Kaytee Campbell
9. Noemi Derron
10. Baylee Jackson
11. Chelsea Munro

We found these results on CyclingNews.com.

SlopeSistair III Is in the Works!

Stephanie Nychka is working on making SlopeSistair III a reality! The SlopeSistair events are women's-only slopestyle contests that parallel the men's events. The event ran in 2005 and 2006 and will return for 2009. Add it to the now-established Whistler WomenzWorx, and we could see some incredible women's slopestyle talent emerging. The 2009 event will hopefully be held at the Kamloops Bike Ranch in September.

Here's a link to video of the 2006 event.

We're Having a Party!

Join us in Park City, UT on February 3 at the Sidecar Bar for a night of GoldSprints racing from the Salt City Sprints! Freeride Foundation and Defiant Sports Management are hosting a party to celebrate our business adventures.

We've compiled a list of prizes that should make you drool, including a WTB LaserDisc FR wheelset, Smith goggles and glasses, massages, and pizza! It's just $5 to race! Freeride Foundation will be raffling some of our awesome products too. DJ Ishvari will spin while you pin it to win it!

Thanks to WTB, Giant Bikes, Crank Brothers, Smith Optics, Knead a Massage, and Maxwell's East Coast Eatery for our super sweet prize list!

Southridge USA Winter Series #1 Results

SouthridgeUSA held their first Winter Series race in Fontana, CA this weekend. Lisa Myklak took the downhill win by less than a second over Joy Martin, who recently turned Pro. Martha Saldana took the first mountaincross win of the year. The next Winter Series race is two weeks away on January 24-25.

Downhill
Pro Women
1. Lisa Myklak
2. Joy Martin
3. Darian Harvey
4. Laura Noonan
5. Carol Gibbs
6. Gretchen Sylvestre
7. Christine Hirst

Open Women
1. Laura Drexler
2. Erica Phillips
3. Nancy Harris
4. Kelly Moore

Sport Women 35+
1. Naoko Fujimaki

Beginner Women 35+
1. Tara Alcantara
2. Kim Finch
3. Lala Mijares

Mountaincross
Pro Women
1. Martha Saldana
2. Joy Martin
3. Leslie Slagle
4. Kayla Meadows

Open Women
1. Nancy Harris
2. Julia Zouala
3. Lala Mijares

The US Gravity Racing Season Starts This Weekend!

Unless I missed something last weekend, January 10-11 represents the first weekend of gravity racing in the US this year. Woohoo! The Southridge Winter Series is held in Fontana, CA and kicks off on Saturday with cross country, Super D, and 4x races. Sunday is downhill!

And the East Coast isn't lacking in racing either. I ran across the Blue Mountain Snow 4x Biker Cross (yes, that's what they call it) race while surfing DeclineMagazine.com. Blue Mountain is in PA, and the name of the race completely defines it. The race will be held on Saturday. Yeehah!

North Island Cup Downhill #1 Results

Here's your first race result of 2009! France's Emmeline Ragot won the first round of New Zealand's North Island Cup downhill series in Rotorua this weekend. The next race of the series will also be held in Rotorua on January 16-17.

Elite Women
1. Emmeline Ragot
2. Gabrielle Molloy
3. Harriet Harper
4. Rita Langely

Open Women
1. Madeline Taylor
2. Sophie Tyas
3. SohphieMarie Bethell
4. Veronique Sandler
5. Alice Kevern
6. Sarah Atkin
7. Baylee Jackson
8. Kaytee Campbell
9. Chelsea Munro

We found these results on CyclingNews.com.