Team World Bicycle Relief-Siren Bicycles is shaping up to be a force to be reckoned with in 2009, adding the powerhouse duo of Lynda Wallenfels and Dave Harris to its already strong roster of endurance mountain bike pros.“Lynda and Dave represent what endurance mountain bike racing is all about,” according to Siren Bicycles founder Brendan Collier. “Their accomplishments on the dirt are only eclipsed by their considerable support of the sport and its athletes. We are very excited to welcome them to the team.”
“Coach Lynda” recently won the 24 Hours of the Old Pueblo, completing 16 laps on a single-speed, a result that put her on equal laps with the 4th-placed solo man. Together with Harris, in 2008 they became the first-ever open mixed team to finish Trans Rockies on single-speeds while riding to an astonishing 3rd place overall on GC.
“I’ve been riding a Siren for about a year,” Harris said, “so to be part of all this is pretty exciting. We’ve more or less taken the stance lately that we’d rather not actively pursue sponsorship because we just don’t like to promote stuff we don’t love.”
Their support of the endurance community extends beyond the race course, as Wallenfels is a premier endurance coach and owner of LWCoaching.com. The pair is passionate about self-supported endurance events, promoting the annual 370-mile Trans-Utah and holding men’s and women’s current course records for both single-speed and geared for the 142-mile Kokopelli Trail. Harris also holds the record for the 342-mile Grand Loop race (geared) and the Kaibab Monster Cross (both geared and single-speed).
Their activities will now also extend to include World Bicycle Relief, the non-profit founded by SRAM 4 years ago that provides bicycles in support of healthcare, education and economic development opportunities in underdeveloped regions of the world. The WBR-Siren Bicycles team is part of the organization’s “Grassroots” campaign, in which athletes and teams support its work by serving as ambassadors.
Wallenfels and Harris join Pro endurance racers Dan Brennan, Todd Carpenter, Brad Majors and Chris Strout, and amateurs Craig DeAmbrose and Stephen Janes on the team. For 2009, they will focus on the 24-Hour National Championships in Moab, Utah, in addition to several other geared and single-speed races throughout the year.
Photo by: specimage.com
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
U.S. mountain biking legend Tinker Juarez will be competing in the upcoming Absa Cape-Epic in South Africa. Juarez will be competing on a composite team that will pair him with a South African rider. This will be the first time at Cape-Epic for the Monavie-cannondale.com rider although he is no stranger to endurance racing. Juarez has competed in just about every major endurance race in North America. In 2008, he tackled ultra-endurance events like the Dirt, Sweat, and Gears, 24 Hours of Moab, and BC Bike Race.
Cape-Epic is billed as a magical and untamed African mountain bike race. The race begins on March 21st in Cape Town South Africa and ends 8 days later in Lourensford. The Cape Epic is the world's largest mountain bike stage race with 1,200 racers rolling off the start line each morning. The route features 425 miles of off-road riding. Other mountain biking greats scheduled to take the start of this year's Cape Epic include World Champion Chritoph Sauser and Burry Stander (Specialized) as well as fellow mountain bike legend Tom Ritchey.
You can follow Tinker's progress and all 8 days of the Cape Epic right here on MTBracenews.com March 21-28.
Cape-Epic is billed as a magical and untamed African mountain bike race. The race begins on March 21st in Cape Town South Africa and ends 8 days later in Lourensford. The Cape Epic is the world's largest mountain bike stage race with 1,200 racers rolling off the start line each morning. The route features 425 miles of off-road riding. Other mountain biking greats scheduled to take the start of this year's Cape Epic include World Champion Chritoph Sauser and Burry Stander (Specialized) as well as fellow mountain bike legend Tom Ritchey.
You can follow Tinker's progress and all 8 days of the Cape Epic right here on MTBracenews.com March 21-28.
