Friday, December 21, 2007

Euro Camp kicks off for Brady and Danny

Just days after Nationals, CLIF BAR Development Team captains Brady Kappius and Danny Summerhill re-organized all their gear, got some tune-up and packing help from team mechanic Nick Legan, and headed over to Belgium for the 5th edition of the European 'Cross Camp.

Nice write-up today on VeloNews.com

And, the Euro Camp website has all the details

This will be the third time both Danny and Brady have attended the camp, and it has played a huge role in their development as top-level cyclo-cross racers.

Stay tuned for results from Belgium - race schedule below:

2007-08 Euro Cross Camp Schedule
Dec 20 - Arrival
Dec 22 - Laarne - Juniors/U-23/Elite
Dec 23 - Balegem - Juniors
Dec 23 - Zeddam C1 (Holland) U-23/Elite
Dec 26 - Hofstade WC - Juniors/U-23/Elite
Dec 27 - Tourhout C2 - Elite
Dec 28 - Loenhout GVA Series/C1 - Juniors/U-23/Elite
Dec 29 - Middlekerke C2 - Elite
Dec 30 - Diegem SuperPrestige/C1 - Juniors/U-23
Jan 1 - Baal GVA Series/C1 - Juniors/U-23
Jan 1 - Petange C2 (Luxembourg) Elite
Jan 2 - St Niklaas C2 - Juniors/U-23/Elite
Jan 3 - Departure

Thursday, December 20, 2007

Summerhill named to World Championships team

Summerhill riding the sand in New Jersey at the USGP

The US Team was named this week for the 2008 UCI Cyclo-Cross World Championships, in Treviso, Italy (Junior, U23, and Women; Men get named in January).

CLIF BAR Development Team's Danny Summerhill was selected as a coaches' pick, after finishing a strong US season in which he won two US Gran Prix races, finished 2nd overall in the USGP Series, and took 3rd at Under-23 Nationals.

Full story here.

Tuesday, December 18, 2007

US National Championships Report

It was a successful weekend across the board for the CLIF BAR Development Cyclo-Cross Team at last weekend's US National Championships, in Kansas City, KS.

Brady Kappius took home the Stars 'n Stripes as the Division II Collegiate National Champion - he rode an incredible race, was in 2nd for several laps, ended up 4th overall in a 3-up sprint, and was the first Division II rider across the line.

In the Junior 13-14 race, Zack Gould finished a tough, icy early morning race in 15th.

In the Junior 15-16 race, the brothers Eckmann took home 4th (Robin) and 6th (Yannick), while California kid Bjorn Fox ended his first ride on snow in 15th place.

In the Junior 17-18 race, Andrew Barker dealt with several crashes and a flat tire, and survived a tough day for 22nd, while Ethan Bell raced his first 17-18 event and finished 30th.

The Under-23 race was one of the marquee events of the weekend, and unfortunately a dropped chain early in lap one on some icy ruts kept Danny Summerhill from battling it out with his usual peers, Jamey Driscoll and Bjorn Selander. Those two raced off the front, and Danny went back and forth with Nick Wieghall. Despite a few spills and a flat tire, Danny won the sprint for 3rd. Brady Kappius got a great start, and rode a strong, smooth race to finish 10th place.

Congrats to CLIF BAR Development program alums on a great weekend:

- team co-founder and racer for TIAA-CREF/CLIF BAR, Brandon Dwight, scored a victory in the Masters 35+ age group.

- two year team member Troy Wells (who won the U23 National title with the team) notched the best result of his career, finishing 5th in the Elite Mens race.

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