A few minutes ago we put a call out on our Twitter account to have you, the customer, email us images of Ergon grips installed on your bikes. We’ll the call has been answered and the images are showing up in our inbox. As we get the images we will post them here. Below is the early sampling.
Stay tuned, more to come!
Two riders, 693km, 63 laps, 6930 meters of climbing and all in 24 hours. These are the statistics from the Munich 24 hour race, where and Benjamin Brochhagen represented Team Topeak Ergon this last weekend.
The race takes place in the Olympic Park and is one of the best known of its type in Germany. The course is 11km long, demanding a lot of power. 2500 riders took part in the race, which goes through the Olympic stadium to the cheers of thousands of spectators.
Following the start, which took place at 12noon on Saturday, (Director of Research and Development for Ergon) lead the field of 49 two man teams. With a small gap over the second placed team, it was then a question of defence. The gap of two minutes was constant… for the moment.
At one in the morning, it was Benny’s time to suffer. Unable to keep the lap times constant and match the previous three laps, the lead was soon lost and the chase team overtook. For Tofaute it was a similar story. The lap times were increasing and the Moooove racing team were pulling away. It was then a question of ability, with Team Topeak Ergon simply at the end of their power reserves, however the will to finish was still there, and they weren’t going to give in that easily.
With 63 laps under their belts and 693km between them, the final lap fell to Benjamin. The hour before dawn is always the darkest, and the final lap appeared to take forever. With 1.5km to go, Tofaute joined Brochhagen on the course to allow them to cross the finish line together. They had held second place.
“It was a team effort. Not just Benny and I, but the support team too. If it wasn’t for them, I think I would have dropped out” Tofaute said following the event “I was pleased when the sun finally rose though. It meant that the hardest part was behind us.”
(images coming soon)
Topeak-Ergon team rider, Yuki Saito, trains at Hartman Rocks outside Gunnison, CO with a group of friends. Yuki has the cam mounted to his Cratoni helmet. Enjoy!
KENDA-TOMAC racer, Danielle Musto, checks in after her 3rd place effort in the Lumberjack 100…
Race #3 of the National Ultra Endurance Series, The Lumberjack 100, happened this past weekend in Manistee, Michigan. It was really nice being able to race a National race right in my home state!
Two things separate the Lumberjack 100 from the rest of the races in the NUE series. First, the Lumberjack is 99% single-track, comprised of short, steep climbs, a few switch-back sections, and lots and lots of Michigan sand. Secondly, the race has a lap format, meaning that we had to do 4 loops of the 25-mile course. As a result, the Lumberjack is known for being the most mentally challenging of all the races.
After the first 25 miles I came through the pit area in 3rd place, minutes behind Betsy Shogren (Cannondale) and Karen Potter. I grabbed a fresh hydrapak and tried to make up time on the 2nd lap. Things went “downhill” for me quickly when I hit some wet roots at the bottom of one of the fast downhills. My bike stem slammed into my knee-cap, taking me out of the race for a good 5 minutes.
Eventually I was able to get back on my bike and start pedaling again. The women’s field was pretty stacked with about 25 racers, and I wasn’t sure how far back everyone else was. I knew that I was going to have to hurry if I wanted to hold on to my position. It was pretty obvious that I needed stitches, but I figured that I could finish the remaining 65 miles of the race first!
After 8 hours and 46 minutes of riding I crossed the finish line as the 3rd place female, and placed 31st overall out of 280 racers! More coverage and pictures can be found at www.mtbracenews.com
Click the image below to check out all the photos from this shrine that resides in Crested Butte, CO
Recently we made the trip to meet with and tour the facility at Competitive Cyclist (CC). CC is one of our top retailers. This online company based out of Little Rock, AR is your one stop shop for everything mountain bike and road bike. Not only are they an online retailer, you can also stop by in person to get your bike and a custom bike fit. So, if you are needing any Ergon products.…or any cycling products…..we highly suggest checking them out! Below is a quick photo tour of their new facilities which just opened up a few months ago.
We had a great turnout for das Goldschprintz on a Monday night at Sweetwater Brewery in Atlanta, GA. A bunch of shop folks from REI, Performance Bike, Outspokin Bicycles, AVX Bikes, and more were up for the free beer, food, and goldsprinting.
Also in for the party was Tyler from bikerumor.com, IMBA-SORBA, event announcer Bruce Dickman, and many other local mountain bikers and Atlanta bike commuters. Congrats to Lam Huynh from REI for winning the overall in the goldsprints! He walked away with a nice REI giftcard and a sweet set of Ergon GX2 grips.
Thanks to Ergon USA, REI, and Faster Mustache for donating the prizes and thanks to everyone that participated!
What can we say….but Team 2-Epic is sick and twisted in more ways than one. For example, their recent adventure was a 200 mile race in the State of Arizona. You must read the recap on the adventure to fully appreciate it. For the record, Dave and Lynda race on a selection of Ergon grips: GA1, GE1, and GX2.
