Early AM with Brian Lopes

MTB Urban Downhill Jump

You have to get up pretty early in the morning to pull one over on the local authorities. So that's just what Brian Lopes and his good friend Troy Lee did. Get sneaky with this crew as they set up for an insane bicycle jump in the middle of a public street!

But watch out for Johnny Law... He's on the AM beat and he's already had plenty of coffee!

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Trek World Racing Take 3 Podium Places and Retain Leader Jersey After Challenging Weekend At Champery

This weekend in Champery, Switzerland, saw the fourth rounds of both the XC and DH UCI Mountain Bike World Cups. Star of the weekend was XC rider, Mathias Flueckiger (SUI), who had an outstanding ride in his home country securing 4th place on the podium in the Men's Elite, and in so doing, also taking 1st place in the Under 23 category and retaining the Under 23 Leader's Jersey for the 4th consecutive race. Mathias, who's not let go of the jersey since the start of the series, rode sensationally, locked in a tough battle with current World Champion and fellow Swiss, Nino Schurter, for most of the race, and finishing ahead of multi-World and Olympic Champion, Julien Absalon (FRA).

Last year Mathias finished 5th on this course and with the World Championships set for Champery in 2011, things are looking good for the young Swiss.

Fortune didn't shine on older brother, Lukas, whose rear derailleur was damaged beyond repair when a wayward tree branch was flung into his drive train as another rider innocently ran over it. The damage was severe and as it happened in the start loop, Luk found himself in last place (175th) and a long way from the Tech Zone. He decided to retire, hand over to younger brother Mathias, and save his legs for next week.

In the Women's Elite race, Emily Batty (CAN) rode strong and hard to secure a fantastic 3rd place on the podium in the Under 23 title race. Fighting hard from her starting position of 28, Emily moved up 8 places in the start loop dropping only slightly to finish 23rd by the end of the 5 lap race, out of a field of 120 elite women.

Mathias said: "The start was very important and I had to get to the front quickly – it was so important to stick to the front. The start loop was very difficult with lots of mud and lots of riders walking which cost me time. Then many others crashed and I was very worried but I managed to fight up to the top and find a good rhythm. I rode the technical parts well but the steep uphill was hard which showed in the last lap but I'm very, very happy with this result and to podium again at home is brilliant!" Emily said: "The second half was much better than the first – I finally turned it on and managed to catch a couple of girls. I was riding well on the descents and my Elite Hard Tail made for quick, fast running when I had to get off, which there was quite a lot of today. I'm really pleased I found it at the end and snuck in third!"

Lazer Sport is proud to support the Trek World Racing team!

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Mornings With Molly – June in Portland

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Helmeteer Courtenay Brown

Checks in...

Last weekend, I traveled to Bend, Oregon to race the Pacific Crest Long Course Triathlon. I had a great time, finishing 3rd female and showing improvements in all three legs of the sport since racing here in 2008.

While in Bend, I visited my cousin and his family. He has two kids, 11-year-old Madison and 8-year-old Colin, and they are excellent unicyclists. They ride up and down trails and do intricate routines together that look like a square dance! They are incredible. They tried to teach me how... I really wanted to unicycle around the neighborhood in my Lazer Tardiz TT helmet, but it was kind of an unspectacular failure. Colin, who had been eying my Tardiz all weekend, happily enacted this scene for me. He did it with a little more panache than I could have managed - he grabbed the helmet, put it on, and adjusted it all while riding in circles around me (the Rollsys retention system is especially great when you are balancing on a unicycle!).

Colin then confided that he really didn't like the color scheme on his old helmet because he's had it since he was five, so, if I have any extra Lazer helmets, he would be happy to help get them off my hands. He really "likes their look". I thanked him for being so thoughtful, but my Tardiz has some racing yet to do! For the second half of my season, I'll be preparing for the Rev3 Full Triathlon in Sandusky, Ohio on September 13. It will be my first ironman, I'm excited!

Unicycle time trial helmets, maybe a new market for us?

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Setting up your helmet

We see riders all the time with their helmets set up incorrectly.

Straps too loose, the helmet shell positioned incorrectly on the riders head, sometimes on backwards. It's crazy, but understandable. If no one ever demonstrates the proper way to set up a helmet then it's no wonder that an individual might make a mistake when they are trying to figure it out for themselves. And once the initial adjustment is made it's pretty unlikely that a rider is going to bother making a correction.

However, a helmet that is not set up correctly on the riders head can be just as bad as wearing no helmet at all. It only takes a few minutes to set the helmet up correctly the first time and we make it even easier at Lazer thanks to our patented Rollsys® retention system.

Here's a quick video to demonstrate how easy it can be to get a new helmet set up correctly the first time.

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Trek World Racing’s Emily Batty

Congratulations to Emily for her recent victory in the Hardwood Canada Cup MTB race!

Lazer Sport is proud to support Emily Batty and the Trek World Racing team.

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Lazer Sport supports Rachel Neylan

Just over 2.5 years ago Rachel Neylan competed in her first cycling race – Green & gold, stage races, the European peloton and world cups and were only a distant vision…

The late transition from elite runner to international cyclist was sparked by will, spirit and a few remarkable life changes in late 2007 – Sydney to Adelaide, full time profession turned to hours in the saddle and running shoes to pedals…

I couldn't dull my ambition – I simply had to see what passion, dedication and sheer hard work could achieve.

2009 saw Rachel competing in world class cycling races in the USA, Italy, The Netherlands and Germany – including the opportunity to compete in the green and gold as a guest rider in the Australian women’s cycling squad. In 2010 Rachel’s international program will include seven months based in Tuscany racing with the Italian ‘Team System Data’, and the Australian National team based in Varese, Italy.

“Don’t die with the music in you” and “No regrets” are themes that have been and always will be pivotal in my life and have been the driving force behind my decision to embark upon becoming a world class cyclist.

I am a passionate about elite competition, and all that it entails: the daily physical challenges, the technical ability, the mental discipline, and the camaraderie with other elite athletes.

I enjoy the ability to share my journey with others, engaging people along the way. Through the medium of my website I hope to take my family, friends and sponsors around the world with me from ambition to accomplishment in the exhilarating sport of world class cycling. This is a gesture of my appreciation for all your support along the way!

Follow Rachel's progress on her website: www.rachelneylan.com

Lazer Sport is proud to support Rachel Neylan!

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Women’s Helmets

"Does Lazer make women's helmets?"

Lazer Helium LDY - Team Pink-Black-Mat

We get asked that question a lot. The short answer is: Yes.

The long answer is: Why are you asking?

We manufacture helmets in a variety of models and styles to fit an riders purpose. We also offer lots of different color and cosmetic options which allows riders to creatively express themselves while on the bike. We offer helmet sizing to fit riders heads as small as 50cm circumference.

But are any of these features women's specific? Not really.

There is one issue that a number of women face when trying to fit a helmet however. Where to put the hair.

Almost all modern day bicycle helmet retention systems have an adjustment strap or webbing system across the back of the head. These kind of systems make it nearly impossible for women to be able to fit the helmet correctly if they ride with their hair in a pony tail.

Unfortunately, what this forces women to do is create absurd and convoluted hair routing in order to accommodate the helmet, or make drastic modifications to the helmet that results in a poor fitting and possibly dangerous helmet.

So what is the solution?

Lazer's patented Rollsys® Retention System.

In addition to being very easy to adjust and incredibly comfortable, Rollsys® creates an open area in the back of the head. This is the perfect position to route hair in a pony tail!

No more fumbling around trying to figure out how much hair to pull through the helmet vents. Just pull the hair back, fix in place, put on the helmet and ride. It works perfectly! Just ask the LUNA Chix Professional MTB Racing Team. They ride with our Tardiz and Helium helmets, both equipped with Rollsys®!

We have seven models of helmets in our selection for 2010 that come equipped with the Rollsys® System: Tardiz, Helium, Genesis, O2, Nirvana, Urbanize and Krux. It's easy to find a Lazer helmet to fit the type of riding and personal style of any and all women cyclists.

Come to think of it, maybe ponytails are not women's specific either?

Krux for this dude. Seriously.

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Trek World Racing in Offenburg Germany, MTB World Cup #3

21 year old Trek World Racing's Mathias Flueckiger came out of a difficult week of studying and exams, with little preparation for the race, and surprised everyone, including himself, with an impressive 6th place at Round 3 of the World Cup, and 1st place in Under 23. He is now 6th overall in the ranking, a career best. Brother Lukas was with Math for most of the race until tire trouble forced him to lose valuable time. In Women's XC Emily Batty (CAN) survived a serious crash to finish just outside the top 50.

The stand out ride for the team was Mathias who as recently as a 5 days ago wasn't sure he'd be in the shape needed for a World Cup race. His exam schedule has been super tough these past 2 weeks, and he wasn't expected to be ready for a full on race until Round 4, when he becomes a "full time" pro. But this week he showed that his legs still have the power, riding a smart race with the chase group that had him as high as 3rd place at one point.

Lukas was with Math while they rode together in the chase group, in what was a fine and sunny day, the first 'hot' race of the 2010 season. While eventual race winner Julien Absalon (FRA) and Nino Schurter (SUI) were fighting it out up front, the chase group of 8 that included Math and Luk, was where the action was. Unfortunately Luk lost pressure in his rear tire on lap 4 of 7, after it burped on one of the descents, and he lost 1 minute to the group as he came in for the tire change. He never recovered from that stop.

The drama for the team came early with Emily crashing out after her front tire punctured just before a steep drop. She had no chance but to continue riding the drop, but her deflated front tire skewed sideways, hooked on a root, folded, and sent Emily flying over the bars and her bike into the crowd. Emily then had to run 1000m to the next technical zone where mechanic Sander Gijs fitted a front wheel and she rode on tenaciously to pull back another 30 places.

Emily Batty said: "It's a real shame because I love the Offenburg course, but I guess today just wasn't my day. I didn't have the best start and then lost too much time when I crashed on lap one, but I didn't stop racing and gave it my best shot to fight back".

Mathias said: "I was a bit worried as I had exams this week and my preparation wasn't perfect. But I got a good start and although I had a few problems with my legs in the first lap I managed to find my rhythm and caught up with Luk and the others in the main chase group. I held my position and I'm really happy - it's a perfect position to be in going into June". Lukas said: "The first half of the race was good, not perfect, but my legs were good and I felt fine. Then I got a flat in my rear wheel and at Dual Speed and it lost a lot of air. I changed my rear wheel but found it really tough after this, because I didn't find my rhythm and just wasn't able to fight back".

Follow the team on Twitter: www.twitter.com/trekworldracing

Lazer Sport is proud to support the Trek World Racing MTB team with Genesis and Nirvana helmets!

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Emily Batty at Dalby

Trek World Racing's Emily Batty interviewed following the Dalby Forest World Cup.

Lazer Sport is proud to support Emily Batty and the Trek World Racing MTB team!

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