Nature Valley Grand Prix on OLN Saturday, Almost Showtime for Interbike 5 days and counting, 24 Hours of Moab Celebrates 10 years, Tour of Hope News Rubiera, Padrnos, Cruz and Kluck to ride. 23 degrees News, Oakley announces the THUMP?!?

Nature Valley Grand Prix Featured on OLN

The Nature Valley Grand Prix stage race will be featured in a TV program that is set to air on the Outdoor Life Network at 5:30 pm Eastern Time on Saturday, October 2.  The program will be rebroadcast on Tuesday, October 5.  Check local listings.

The Nature Valley Grand Prix men’s race saw an epic battle between Tour de France veteran Henk Vogels (Navigators Insurance) and youngster Ben Jacques-Maynes (Sierra Nevada).  Although John Lieswyn (HealthNet p/b Maxxis) won the brutal Stillwater Criterium in impressive style on the last day, Jacques-Maynes was able to come from behind to take the overall title, notching the biggest win of his career.  McGuire Real Estates’s Dave McCook won three consecutive stages of the Nature Valley Grand Prix and the Salsa Cycles Sprint competition after a four-year draught without a major win, adding to the drama.

In the women’s race, it was a tour de force for Lynn Bessette of Quark Cycling.  Bessette claimed the leaders jersey at the Mesabi Trail prologue time trial, then she and her teammates defended it successfully through the Stillwater Criterium.  Gina Grain (Victory Brewing) claimed the women’s Salsa Cycles Sprint competition.

The Nature Valley Grand Prix is part of the Great River Energy Bicycle Festival and is one of the top four stage races on USA Cycling’s National Racing Calendar.  For more information, visit:
http://www.MinnBikeFestival.com

ALMOST SHOWTIME - INTERBIKE PRIMED FOR VEGAS
Only 5 days to the biggest Bike Show in North America

Expo Floor To Be Jam-Packed With Best Cycling Products From Around The World
Excitement High As Industry Prepares For OutDoor Demo And InterBash

As Interbike prepares to open its doors next week, all things bicycling are feverishly being primped and pressed for the limelight that awaits. Featuring a larger-than-ever OutDoor Demo, an Interbike Expo that covers more than 15 acres of floor space, and a battle-of-the-bands contest at InterBash, the bicycle industry is eagerly making final preparations for its annual trade event.

Set to begin Monday, October 4th, Interbike organizers are putting the final touches on the OutDoor Demo, the 2-day pre-show testing event held at nearby Bootleg Canyon in Boulder City. With an expected record 6,000+ in attendance, the OutDoor Demo has grown to be one of the most popular and productive industry events of the year.

New this year, Interbike enhances the OutDoor Demo with the addition of the Kona Dirt-Jump Demo and the Redline Cyclocross Course. These new features complement the OutDoor Demo’s first rate testing arena, which includes a Haro sponsored BMX track, multiple DH and XC trails, paved road loops and an exhibit area that hosts nearly 150 exhibitors.

After two days of hands-on testing, the action moves indoors to the Sands Expo on Wednesday, October 6th – where the top brands in cycling will launch their newest innovations, retailers from around the globe will write next season’s orders, and cycling’s biggest stars will be seen. Featuring numerous educational seminars, tech clinics, workshops, awards ceremonies, and after-hours events, Interbike is the ideal venue for building business relationships, celebrating the sport of cycling, and gaining valuable knowledge on how to grow the bike business.

Beyond all of the activity on the expo floor, one highlight at the show is sure to be InterBash – a fresh spin on the industry party. Presented by Shimano, InterBash is an all-invite party that gives attendees the chance to network with each other, while taking in a Fender sponsored battle-of-the-bands contest, free beer, food, a silent auction, raffles and several other special attractions – with proceeds to benefit bicycle advocacy.
 
Over 15,000 retailers have already registered to attend the five-day trade event featuring the latest in bicycles, apparel, and accessories. These retailers will be the first to see and try the latest products from over 1,000 exhibiting brands.

“We’ve had a tremendous amount of support from the entire bicycle industry preparing for this year’s show. It’s been a collaborative effort on behalf of so many companies,” said Lance Camisasca, Interbike Show Director. “All signs from the industry indicate that Interbike 2004 is poised to be one of the best in the history of the show,” said Camisasca.

With the whole world of bicycles under one roof, Interbike again promises to be THE meeting place for the bicycle industry. For up to the minute information on Interbike 2004, please visit www.interbike.com .

Interbike, a division of VNU Expositions, is a full service trade show company whose goal is to create, market and produce high quality expos and educational conferences.  Interbike is the leading bicycle industry business-to-business event, bringing together top manufacturers, retailers, industry advocates and media to conduct the business of cycling.  Now in its 23rd successful year, Interbike gathers over 1000 cycling related brands and approximately 21,000 attendees annually.
The next chance to see the future of the bicycle industry will be at the Interbike OutDoor Demo in Bootleg Canyon, Nevada October 4-5, 2004 and the Interbike Expo in Las Vegas, Nevada October 6-8, 2004.
For more information, please visit www.interbike.com .

Largest Mountain Bike Race in the West Celebrates Ten Years
10th Annual 24 Hours of Moab Welcomes Back Over 4,500 mountain bike enthusiasts

MOAB, Utah The official grand finale to the 24-hour race season begins October 15 when more than 4,500 dedicated mountain bike racers and thrill-seeking support crew descend on mountain biking’s most revered destination in Moab, Utah, for a legendary celebration of cycling. The 24 Hours of Moab hosts an international field of racers who will compete for bragging rights and $63,000 in cash and prizes.

"It's hard to believe that it has been ten years,” said Laird Knight, race promoter and creator of the 24-hour racing format that is taking the mountain bike world by storm. "Moab has been an incredible event right from the start. We've seen record attendance each year and this year it looks like we're going to fill our 500 team limit earlier than ever before. But the real measure of success for this event is how important it has become both socially and culturally. It is a real gathering-of-the-tribes."

Cyclists of all types who step up to the start line at noon on the 16th will spend the next 24 hours racing, eating or sleeping while their support crews race to keep bikes tuned, muscles massaged, stomachs fed, and insure that weary bodies are scheduled for precious sleep. The majority of 24-hour racers ride on relay teams of four or five people. The objective is to complete as many laps as possible on the 15-mile course from noon on Saturday to noon on Sunday. The course has a reputation as one of the longest, fastest, most challenging courses in the world. It is also one of the most scenic as it winds its way through the red-rock, high-desert, south of Moab. Three-time mountain bike world champion, Alison Sydor, remarked that, "This is the most exciting and most difficult race I've ever done," after winning a hard fought victory as part of the TREK/VW Coed Pro/Am team in 2002.

One-of-a-kind, ultra-endurance Pro/Solo racers arrive at 24 Hours of Moab to do battle against one of the largest and most elite fields in the world. Many solo racers best more than half the teams. Even more impressive than that, some will log as many as 17 laps, more than 250 miles and 18,700 feet of climbing on some of the most rugged terrain around!

 The 10th Annual 24 Hours of Moab marks Keith Bontrager's fiftieth 24-hour race since 1994. The venerable pioneer of mountain biking (and designer of Lance Armstrong's winning wheels) turns 50 in December and, in a Darwinian effort to outpace his competition, Bontrager is in the best shape of his racing career and will likely prove a threat to racers half his age.

Granny Gear Productions’ unprecedented, state-of-the-art, RealTime™ electronic scoring system uses radio frequency ID (RFID) cards and a satellite internet connection to broadcast real-time results on grannygear.com. Meanwhile back in at the race venue, a wireless network broadcasts the results to race participants. Racers eager to size up returning competitors can research previous years’ lap times for each racer from each team for every race since 2001, visit: http://grannygear.com/Races/history _results.shtml.

Twenty-four hours and many memorable laps later, weary racers cross the Start/Finish line and log their team's final lap. Racers from fifteen different classes will climb the podium at the awards ceremony, which starts promptly at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Prizes up for grabs include Shimano 965 Wheelsets and NiteRider HID Storm lighting systems.

The largest mountain bike race west of the Mississippi, a weekend of world-class competition and fat tire camaraderie, and an opportunity to race on some of the most stunning terrain in the U.S. earns The 24 Hours of Moab its status as one of the most celebrated mountain bike races in the world. Supporting Sponsors include NiteRider Technical Lighting Systems, BIKE Magazine, VeloWear.com, and The American Lung Association. Contributing sponsors include Shimano USA and East-West Printing.

Granny Gear Productions, a sports marketing and event production company, has earned a reputation as the industry's most innovative and successful event organizer. With more than 22 years as a mountain bike race organizer, Granny Gear President and CEO, Laird Knight, created the 24-hour racing format in 1991. In 2001, Knight became West Virginia Tourism’s Person-of-the-Year and in 2002, Knight was inducted into The Mountain Bike Hall of Fame.
For more information, visit: www.grannygear.com

FOUR U.S. POSTAL SERVICE CYCLISTS TO RIDE IN FUNDRAISER

October 1 Is Last Day to Register

Four professional cyclists from the United States Postal Service Professional Cycling team -- teammates of Lance Armstrong -- will ride into Washington, D.C. alongside hundreds of amateur cyclists, in the October 9 recreational fundraising ride that’s part of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope.

Postal team members recently confirmed to ride the 27-mile route include Tour de France veterans Jose Luis Rubiera and Pavel Padrnos, along with teammates Antonio Cruz and Damon Kluck. 

Rubiera has raced alongside and in support of Armstrong in the last four Tours de France, while Padrnos has competed with the USPS team in the last three Tours.  Riding in a support role for Armstrong in the mountains, Rubiera has managed to finish in the top 20 in the last two Tours, while Padrnos, a two-time Olympian for the Czech Republic, has also provided domestique work for Armstrong during his winning efforts in France.  Cruz, of Long Beach, Calif., is a seasoned Classic and World Cup rider and recently completed his second Tour of Spain last month.  Kluck, a young rider from Santa Cruz, Calif., is an up and coming all around rider.

Cancer survivor Armstrong, who won his record sixth consecutive Tour de France this summer, will kick off the event and ride part of the way, until leaving to join the 20-person Tour of Hope Team as they enter D.C.  In the week before the D.C. event, the Tour of Hope Team will relay around the clock, from Los Angeles to D.C. to raise awareness of the importance of cancer research. 

The recreational ride will finish at the Washington DC Ellipse.  There, riders can join Armstrong, the Tour of Hope Team and special guests for the grand finale event, open to the public.

Only 1,500 slots are available for the fundraiser.  All funds raised during the Bristol-Myers Squibb Tour of Hope will benefit cancer research and clinical trials through the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

All fundraising riders must pre-register.  The deadline to register and raise the $500 minimum to ride is 11:59 PM ET on Friday, October 1.
For details about registration or to learn more about the Tour of Hope, visit www.tourofhope.org.

The latest from 23 Degrees' athletes and their weekend
 KYLE STRAIT: Finally he does it! In his first fully fledged Free Ride win against some of the best in the World, Kyle has achieved yet another of his 2004 goals. "This year my two main goals were to medal at the Junior Worlds Downhill and to win a Freeride comp, so I'm pretty stoked. I guess the other goal was to get my driver's licence, but there's still a few months for that!", said a cold Kyle who rode the event in the rain and low temperatures. The event was shown on TV around Europe last night and gave the youngster from California a huge boost to his European freeride profile. See the attached official press release and results from the organisers....

GREG MINNAAR and DAVID VAZQUEZ: The season didn't end at the World Cup Finals in Livigno, Italy, for these two world class downhillers. Straight after Livigno they flew off to Mexico as invited riders to contest a round of the Mexican National Series, which had a $25,000 prize purse, in the town of Queretaro which is not far from the country's capital. This is Greg's second visit for this event and he noticed a large growth in public awareness and spectator involvement this time round. "It so great here, the hospitality is brilliant, the public love the sport, and the course is cool. The only thing old school here is the prize money, it's like the good old days!", said Greg shortly after making off with the winner's check for $7,000.00. The race is run in a two race format, best run counting. The top five results were:

1.Greg Minnaar ( Team G Cross Honda)  1st run( 2:30.84)  2nd run(2:26.79)  Best run (2:26.79)

2.David Vazquez Lopez (Maxxis-MSC)  1st run(2:33.91)  2nd run(2:28.87) Best run (2:28.87)

3.Himar Sanchez Salminen (ESP)   1st run(2:37.77)  2nd run(2:30.82) Best run (2:30.82)

4.Jose Luis Perez Tejeda (MEX) 1st run(2:35.99) 2nd run(2:32.73) Best run (2:32.73)

5. Guillermo de Uslar Gongora (MEX) 1st run(2:44.53) 2nd run(2:34.98) Best run (2:34.98) 

"I had such a good time at this race, the people are so warm and friendly, and the event so well organised. It was the perfect way to finish off my 2004 race season, and I look forward to going back again", said David shortly after his return home to Barcelona.

Greg Minnaar is now en-route to Japan to race a round of their National Series, then do some testing on the new 2005 Honda bike. For Greg racing in three different continents in three weekends is a pretty amazing experience. "I'm really looking forward to racing in Japan again, I have such great memories of the spectators and their knowledge of the sport from Arai races. My main role this weekend is to support Naoki Idegawa and Tadashi Takahashi who race on the Japanese Honda Team, but I'm also looking forward to setting a fast time on the Sena course".

GEE ATHERTON: Originally Gee had enterred for the RIDE TO THE LAKE event in Meersburg, bought himself a non-refundable air ticket between the UK and Germany and was all set to go. Then he went and injured his back on the mini bike at home. He's been suffering from a twisted pelvis most of the season, but this only added to that problem. It was clear he wasn't going to be able to fully extend himself at the Meersburg event, so he had to regrettably cancel early on. His back got a little better later in the week and so he opted for an easy run at the British National Points Series race because if he failed to start, he'd lose all the points he'd acrued throughout the season in the overall. His main challenger, his brother Dan, punctured in the final run, so Gee's "easy" run became a race and series winner. "I really took it easy, not using my back at all. It felt better than earlier in the week but I didn't want to re-injure it. I'm taking next week off the bike, and see how it goes in readiness for the Red Bull Rampage in 4 weeks. Should be fine. I'm just glad to win the series even though I was lucky, but next year I'd like to give the RIDE TO THE LAKE a real go. It looked very cool".
 c. Martin Whiteley CEO/Director 23 Degrees Sports Management S.L.

Oakley and Circuit City Announce Holiday Ship Date For Oakley Thump

World's First Digital Audio Eyewear

FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif., Sept. 29, 2004 (PRIMEZONE) -- Oakley, Inc. (NYSE:OO) and Circuit City Stores, Inc. (NYSE:CC) today announced that beginning October 1st each will accept online orders for OAKLEY THUMP(tm), the world's first digital audio eyewear, for shipment November 20th. The new invention is also expected to be available at retail stores on November 20th, in time for the holidays. Launch events will be held at participating Oakley O Stores(r) and Circuit City retail locations.

A photo accompanying this release is available at: http://www.primezone.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=1228
OAKLEY THUMP(tm) reinvents the concept of portable music players by integrating a state-of-the-art digital audio system into the lightweight architecture of Oakley's premium performance eyewear. This unique design innovation offers unprecedented freedom to the listener. With no cords or bulky player to get in the way, OAKLEY THUMP(tm) frees people to enjoy their music in places where tethered players can be cumbersome or even dangerous. "This is a revolution in music freedom," said Oakley founder and CEO Jim Jannard. "OAKLEY THUMP(tm) follows our core design philosophy -- seek out problems, create solutions and wrap those solutions in art."

Online orders will be accepted on both the Oakley website (www.oakley.com) and Circuit City website (www.circuitcity.com). Customers can choose from two versions: a 128 MB model that holds more than two hours of music, and a 256 MB model with a capacity greater than four hours. Seven lens and frame color combinations will be available for order, including a limited edition model in Red Camo - from the musician Lil Jon - known as "The King of Crunk" and the producer of number 1 hits Usher's "Yeah", Ciara's "Goodies" and Petey Pablo's "freakaleak".

Oakley expects the product will be available for purchase at retail stores on November 20th on a first-come, first-served basis. Launch events at participating Oakley O Stores(r) and Circuit City stores will include product unveiling and hands-on demonstrations. The events will allow customers to experience first-hand the Oakley Thump(tm) revolution in music listening.

As previously announced, Oakley has entered into an exclusive distribution arrangement with Circuit City for the consumer electronics channel in the U.S. Circuit City CEO Alan McCollough noted, "We couldn't be more excited to be the primary dealer for the launch of OAKLEY THUMP(tm). This product is revolutionary and we expect OAKLEY THUMP(tm) to be one of the hottest gifts this holiday season."

The world's first digital audio eyewear, OAKLEY THUMP(tm) introduces several innovations from the company. The integrated audio system is optimized for acoustically precise playback of digitally compressed files. The entire product is extremely lightweight, weighing less than an empty CD case. Oakley designed the earphones and lenses to flip up and down, making it practical to carry on a conversation or listen to music indoors. Positioned with three directions of movement, the Mylar speakers are custom engineered to offer a wide range of frequency response, up to the 20 kHz limit of human hearing. Patented optics provide unsurpassed clarity, UV protection and impact resistance. Oakley's premium polarization technology is standard on all 256 MB models.

Oakley is planning launch events through its O Stores(r) in the following locations: Hollywood, CA; Oahu, HI; Scottsdale, AZ; Austin, TX; Houston, TX; Dallas, TX; Denver, CO; Chicago, IL; Orlando, FL and Annapolis, MD.

Got an announcement, Company news, Wedding, Anniversary? Send it along for inclusion in the Cycling Roundups.