E_News

KONA LES GETS TEAM RIDERS BARRY WICKS 3RD XC & 4TH STX, RYAN TREBON 2ND STX - NMBS #2 FIRESONE, CA

Kona Les Gets Factory Team Riders Barry Wicks and Ryan Trebon stacked the podium at the second round of the US National Mountain Bike Series held at Santa Ynez Valley, CA. Between the two they racked up three podium spots in one weekend and fellow rider Kris Sneddon narrowly missed joining them.

Barry Wicks is showing that he is on form this year and will be a podium threat from here on out. Wicks equaled his best NMBS finish with 3rd place but was disappointed he didn’t better it. Wicks said, “I was for sure the strongest of the group and I’m not used to being in the lead group and being one of the strongest. It’s easier for me to ride at the front at my own
tempo and I probably should have attacked but I was a bit afraid of blowing up. So instead I ended up towing the group around for most the race only to get jumped on the final lap.”

Teammate Kris Sneddon battled the whole race in the heat and the wind in solo fashion but was never quite able to close the gap to 5th place and wound up 6th. Trebon had a tough race. “I felt really crappy for the first 20 minutes and wondered if I’d finish, then after next 45 minutes I felt pretty good, then the heat started to get me. It wasn’t a great race for me but I was happy to stay in the top ten,” remarked Trebon. Trebon finished 8th.

Ryan Trebon and Barry Wicks played tag team on the field in the Short Track and ended up 2nd and 4th respectively. Again the Twin Timbers underestimated how well they were riding and waited for the rest of the group to reel in eventual winner Max Plaxton but no one made the move. “I didn’t want to chase and pull the whole group with me. When I finally did decide to go for the win, I realized the rest of the group couldn’t go with me but I just ran out of real estate,” said Trebon. Wicks concurred and made a small tactical error and slid back to 5th wheel just as teammate Trebon was ready to attack. As a result he missed Trebon’s launch and it turned out to be every man for himself instead of the Twin Timbers laying the wood. Teammate Kris Sneddon finished in 6th place, again narrowly missing joining his teammates on the podium.

Wendy Simms had a rough weekend. The European World Cup travel and an illness picked up along the way did not bode well. Simms gave it a good go and took 10th in the Short Track but knew that it was not going to be her day. It also turned out to not be her weekend and she had the first did not start of her career. She pulled out of the Cross Country Event. “I just knew it would be better to rest up and try to get better for the Fontana race next weekend,” said an obviously disappointed Simms.

Finish Recap:
Short Track
2nd Place Ryan Trebon
4th Place Barry Wicks
6th Place Kris Sneddon
10th Place Wendy Simms Women’s Short Track

Cross Country
3rd Place Barry Wicks
6th Place Kris Sneddon
8th Place Ryan Trebon

Up Next The National Mountain Bike Series #3 in Fontana, CA May 5th-6th,
2007.

Till Next Time,

Marko

ALL PHOTOS BRIAN DALLAS/RIDEVENTURA.COM

www