Posts Tagged ‘Burry stander’
Sea Otter Cycling Classic- Specialized dominates the Short track
Bobby Behan, car fanatic and Specialized Factory Racing team manager with Mike Sinyards’ Mini Cooper Works.
Todd Wells won today’s Sea Otter Short Track on his new Specialized 29er hard tail (20lbs)- Burry Stander got 2nd, Lene Byberg got 2nd in the ladies and Sam Hill won the Down Hill.
In the short trak the guys dominated, turned the screws and about halfway into the race, Susi, Burry and Todd had broken away, but Susi burped a tire and the other two painted the podium red. Quite a day for Specialized and I was really proud to be part of the team.
I really enjoyed my 2nd short track (the other was 5 years ago and had about 25 riders!) and was in about 13th place out of 130 starters when our little group got pulled off the course with 1 lap to go. Once I caught my breath though, it felt like someone poured gasoline into my lungs! With a bit more sprint and AT training I’ll be able to hang in and hopefully get to do a few more of these races.
Burry (in the green Oakleys) & Todd pre-riding the XC course. The leg and arm warmers are not so much for the bite in the air as the bite in the Poison Oak!
Specialized tire testing video on i-am-specialized
Specialized tire specialist Frank Stacey and I talking tires at the Stellenbosch testing in January 09.
Photo by Gary Perkin.
I have been incredibly busy since my arrival in the US 2 weeks ago. Moved to Reno NV from Bend OR, did 3 days’ tire testing with Specialized and I bought a car. (yes, the legendary Red Rocket fizzled and died, now I have a 95 Toyota Previa- I like last centuries’ cars)
Of course there is training too.
And the 112 unread emails! As I plowed through most of them this morning I bumped into this great video for our Specialized Tire testing camp in Stellenbosch, South Africa earlier this ye
Sani2C Mountain bike race.
Spot the Caveman? (In Specialized’s all red.) Nervously peering around the pack on the far left. Typical triathlete, I distrust all forms of pack riding. I like to blaze the open road/trail, pick my own lines, and set my own pace. Here, (on the 1st few kms of open roads) busy little 18 year olds jump on the brakes for no reason and overlap wheels, darting around the pack in a flurry of short lasting energy.
Specialized Factory rider Burry Stander and I was lucky enough to get an entry into the 3 day Sani2C MTB race. (The race has a 3 year waiting list)
Sani2C Mountain bike race. (read: Sani to sea)
My bags are packed and I’m ready to go… my last day in Stellenbosch for 2009. Scary thought. I’m leaving for Durban in the morning for the start of the Sani2C mountain bike race.Its probably the most stage race I have done in South Africa. I did the Cape Epic in 2005 and 2006 with my mate Barry Pauw and I did the 2007 Sani2C with Down Hill ace Greg Minnaar.
Specialized tire testing camp in Stellenbosch
Burry Stander doing rolling resistance testing on the rollers. He rode at 25km/h and at 35km/h with about 20 different tires and measured the wattage needed to hold those speeds for each tire. On the right (reading the power tap numbers) is Benno Willeit, our Specialized mechanic, and on the left is Tire Specialist Frank Stacey.
