SCOTT

X-Fighters Déjà Vu

Thu, 24 Jul 2008 14:31:48 -0600

For Mat Rebeaud, the RedBull X-Fighters circuit is becoming redundant; show up, unleash a series of polished, technically difficult tricks and then smile for the camera surrounded by RedBull’s podium girls while hoisting the winner’s trophy.
Well, the pattern repeated itself at the X-Fighters round held in Madrid’s historical Plaza de Toros de Ventanas bullfighting stadium last weekend. The Swiss freestyle star held off all comers during the preliminary rounds and then bested Norwegian freestyle phenom Andre Villa to win another X-Fighters round. At this point Mat Rebeaud looks to be a shoe-in for the overall title with only one round remaining.

Rest assured that Rebeaud will show up for the final round in Poland with the same energy and style that has earned him three victories this season. For his competitors it must seem like a bad case of déjà vu.

Beth Parson reaches the podium

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 16:09:25 -0600

In her first race since turning pro, SCOTT rider Beth Parson reached the podium at Psychosis in Golden, British Columbia, “the most demanding downhill mountain bike race in the world.” Here is a view of the race from Beth’s window…

Beth on the 3rd place stump...

It was a long overnight drive from Whistler and we arrived about 5 am and crashed with the boys from Cove Bikes at the hostel on the river.

Around 4 pm on Thursday, we finally got to the very top of Dead Dog, the first section of the trail that is pretty much a dusty chute that is steeper than anything I've ever seen, with some even scarier loose corners and roots that make you pick up more speed than you can handle.

Beth in action

I was so scared and excited and kept looking over the edge. "This isn't even the steep part," said my friend Jeff, "but it won't be any less scary next time." So, I just went for it.

I'm glad I rode it then, because it was my only time down Dead Dog before my race run. The next day rain and thunder came rolling in and made "Nutella" (or goose snot) out of the trail so it was impossible to ride. There was lots of talk of how the race wouldn't be run from the top in wet conditions. There were a few injuries, a life flight and a 12-man rescue carrying one guy with a leg injury up Dead Dog.

Hanging out with friends (Beth is in the middle)

I knew that on my race run, I'd have to focus on getting through Dead Dog in one piece, and past the dreaded hike-a-bike without suffering a heart attack. The rest of the trail was fast and really exciting.

My race lap was so much fun. Lucky for us the weather held out and we rode from the top. I crashed twice but loved every dusty minute of it. I also crashed once after the hike-a-bike because my arms were so tired I actually couldn't squeeze the brake levers! I crashed into a tree and went over my bars.

I loved this race because it really pushed my skills and my enthusiasm. I've never had such gnarly crashes, ridden such steep terrain or ridden so hard for so long. I'm sad this was the last year for Psychosis.

I'm looking forward to competing at CrankWorx. Thanks so much to the Evolution team for keeping my SCOTT bike so pimp and race-ready, and to GLC Restaurant for supporting my racing.

See you on the dirt!

Sponsorship Decision: SAUNIER DUVAL - SCOTT

Wed, 23 Jul 2008 10:04:45 -0600

Scott as bike and co-sponsor of the Saunier Duval-Scott team will remain sponsor of the team directed by Mauro Gianetti. Scott has evidence that the latest events which have hit the team during the Tour de France have been caused by individuals and that the team and its management have done the utmost to avoid this situation.

“It would be easy to just walk away and to forget about this team in order to search for new sponsorship opportunities. However, we believe in all the young riders in this team, and in the staff. They all would have to pay a heavy price for something which has been caused by individuals and not by the team. So, we are not walking away. We will support this team in order to continue the season and to continue racing. We see this as a chance to make new efforts to battle against doping and therefore we will demand even stricter controls carried out by outside institutes in the future. The fact that all remaining riders have committed to the “passeport biologique” is another step in the right direction. We will not let this team go, as we believe that all the people we have worked together with in the past years have done a great job and that the young riders in this team should get their chance.”

Pascal Ducrot
Vice President, Scott Sports SA

Christian Brader at the Ironman USA

Tue, 22 Jul 2008 5:52:06 -0600

Christian Brader, member of the international SCOTT TRIATHLON Team, finished a sensational fourth place at IRONMAN USA/ Lake Placid on Sunday July 20.

Besides the challenging race course, the athletes had to fight the entire day against the rain. Brader came out of the water in 85th position. Then he boosted on his new PLASMA 2s and in Transition Two he was already ninth overall. But not enough! With his MAKANI running shoes he finished just off the podium and was more than happy with his first IRONMAN result at pro level. You can see the young German triathlete participate in Kona on Oct 11 at the IRONMAN World Championships.

Christian Brader

Click here for more info or visit the website of Christian Brader.

Barragan again!

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 6:47:32 -0600

The Motocross World Championship made the long journey from Europe to South Africa last weekend for the 10th round of the series. The South African track was the best track of the season according to the riders. In the MX1 class, the two KTM/Scott riders, Jonathan Barragan (3/1) and Max Nagl (4/2), took first and second, while last year’s World Champion Steve Ramon took third. Seb Pourcel and Josh Coppins both struggled with crashes and had to press hard just to maintain top-ten finishes.

In the MX2 class, KTM riders Searle and Rattray filled the top spots on the podium. Scott rider Nicolas Aubin (2/5) showed real speed and took third place overall.

For the next round the series visits the feared Lommel track in Belgium.

Gold medals for Vogel and Schurter

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 5:42:36 -0600

Swiss Olympic riders Florian Vogel (Elite Men) and Nino Schurter (U-23 men) stood up to their competitors and won the Swiss Championships this weekend.

The riders of the Swisspowerteam, including Florian Vogel, Thomas Frischnknecht, Jürg Graf and Till Marx, set the pace together with the Athleticum-Team from the beginning of the race. By the third lap, Florian Vogel was in the lead with Graf and Martin Gujan. Just before the halfway point, Vogel succeeded to distance himself from the rest of the field despite the heavy rain. He increased his lead and celebrated victory, his first championship in the Elite category.

“The race went according to the tactics, I am more than happy, and it has boosted my motivation for Beijing,” Vogel said after the race. Also, dethroned champion Jürg Graf was happy with his achievement and his third podium.

Flückiger, Vogel, Graf

Nino Schurter and Mathias Flückiger dueled for a long time in the U-23 race. In the middle of the race, Flückiger had a lead of 25 seconds. “I started with dry tires and when it started to rain I had to change to rain tires, which took me one lap to catch up Mathias,” said Schurter, who celebrated his fourth title in the U-23 category. The riders in the U-23 race started 5 minutes after the elite category but Nino Schurter caught up to most of the elite riders - only Florian Vogel was faster than Nino. Patrik Gallati had a flat tire in the first lap but thanks to a great final lap, he punched beyond his weight and earned the bronze medal.

Flückiger, Schurter, Gallati

Only Mathias Rupp couldn’t live up to the high expectations. He didn’t excel and settled for a disappointing sixth place.

Click here for more information about the Swisspowerteam.

Official Statement - SAUNIER-DUVAL SCOTT

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 3:59:40 -0600

Saunier-Duval SCOTT Professional Cycling Team

In professional cycling, we all live with the fact that at this point in time there is no guarantee that the sport is clean. Nevertheless, the recent news surrounding the Saunier Duval - SCOTT team and their decision to withdraw from the 2008 Tour de France came as a complete shock to all of us. Everyone at Scott, along with the contributing sponsors, feels deeply disappointed.

Scott does not tolerate this kind of behavior. Scott is asking the team for complete transparency in this case. Only a team structure that does the utmost to battle against drugs fits with our brand strategy. As soon as we have enough information, we will decide on future possible sponsorship of the team.

Competition is an important element of our brand, and the competitive environment helps us create the best products we can. We are proud to be able to develop the world’s best and lightest bikes and so it must also be our goal that those products compete on the World-Class level that professional cycling provides.

Sibylle Matter holt Schweizer Ironman-Krone

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 7:14:20 -0600

Die Eidgenössin Sibylle Matter beendete ihr bestes Karriere-Rennen mit dem ersten Sieg ihrer Laufbahn bei der 12. Auflage des Ironman Switzerland bei denkbar widrigen Wetterbedingungen mit strömendem Regen und bis zu 15° Celsius Lufttemperatur.

Sybille Matter

Die 35-Jährige aus Plaffeien im Kanton Fribourg war nach dem Schwimmen mit dem SCOTT Contessa Plasma den vergleichsweise kraulschwachen Konkurrentinnen in 51:57 weit enteilt - zumal die Vorjahressiegerin Rebecca Preston ausstieg hatte Matter freie Fahrt.

SCOTT Contessa Plasma

Die stark radelnde und später auf Rang zwei vorlaufende Kathrin Pätzold war nach dem Schwimmen in 1:04:55 einfach zu weit weg, um Matter richtig gefährlich werden zu können. Matter gewann in 9:30:12 Stunden mit knapp fünf Minuten Vorsprung auf Pätzold (9:35:05) und sicherte sich somit den einzigen Frauen-Profi-Platz für Hawaii.

Ergebnisse
Frauen
1. Sibylle Matter (SUI) 9:30:12
2. Kathrin Pätzold (GER) 9:35:05
3. Caroline Steffen (SUI) 9:37:24
4. Tara Norton (CAN) 9:43:46
5. Monika Lehmann (GER) 9:45:11
6. Andrea Noack-Burri (SUI) 9:46:03
7. Monika Zihlman (SUI) 9:54:26
8. Beatrix Blattmann (SUI) 10:00:10
9. Simone Benz (SUI) 10:04:08
10. Violeta Tatay Vivó (ESP) 10:06:00

Sibylle Matter holt Schweizer Ironman-Krone

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 7:24:14 -0600

Downieville Classic

Thu, 17 Jul 2008 8:41:07 -0600

Yes, we were there… the Downieville Classic is an All-Mountain event, which means when you go out there to race your bike, you have to pick and choose your equipment wisely to endure the varied elements that this race throws at you.

A mountain biker's view of Downieville

The Downieville Classic takes place every year during the second weekend of July. Registration for this race opens on a Monday at 8 am and by about 8:07 am, all of the 1000 available spots for racers are sold out.

The quiet before the storm

When the demand is so high and many of our bikes are the perfect choice for this event, we decided to sponsor it and bring some of our athletes to the race. While we were there we also did some product testing to see which of our models would be good choices.

Singlespeed Pro XC winner Conrad Snover (right)

Conclusion… The Spark took the overall title in the XC race won by Justin Thomas (Cyclepath / Wild Cherries). Conrad Snover (Cyclepath/Wild Cherries) won the Singlespeed XC Pro category on a Scale that was built up into a singlespeed. The Ransom lived up to expectations and proved itself on the XC and downhill courses and last but not least, the new Genius was an excellent all-rounder, with its 150mm of travel and weight of just 25 lbs… the conclusion was that all our models can live up to the task when put to challenge.

Administering a little TLC before the next epic ride

At the bike expo, we set up our Ransom All-Mountain demo fleet and sent people off to experience TracLoc, Equalizer and our carbon frame technologies. Also, the traditional SCOTT Hot Sauce was a hit and many of the guests did come back to look for more of this delicious item.

The famous SCOTT Hot Sauce (only available at Downieville)

Next year we recommend that you wake up early to register for this great experience.
We’ll see you there…