Courtenay Brown

She checks in from the racing circuit:

Capping off a great summer with a trip to California for the San Francisco Triathlon at Alcatraz is my new favorite thing to do. Incidentally, if you think that Alcatraz happened months ago and I must be crazy, you are half right: Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon was in May, and it's become so successful that it now has a late-summer doppelganger in the SF Tri at Alcatraz, which I raced this past Sunday, August 29.

Everything about the race was exciting. We took a boat out to the middle of the San Francisco Bay, on the way out the whole pro field looked skeptically out the window: we were told that we'd all line up on the "ledge" of the boat, then start from a dive, and don't fall in... no one could really detect a ledge! But it was there, all 8 inches of it, and wide enough for me to get a good dive into the 58-degree salty water for the 1.2-ish mile swim into the Marina Green. There weren't any sharks, just a few big pelicans. I had a solid swim, last out of the water of the pro women but I was last by much less than I have been in the past. All my work over the summer is paying off!

The bike course was amazing, and several miles longer than the course for the May race - we rode from the Marina Green up through the Presidio, Sea Cliff, Lincoln Park, down the Great Highway to the San Francisco Zoo (but not close enough to spot any tigers), then a loop in Golden Gate Park, back over to Lincoln Park and the Legion of Honor where we were greeted with misty morning views of the TransAmerica Building and downtown San Francisco, then of the Golden Gate Bridge. Yes I did pedal hard during all my sight-seeing, my Lazer Tardiz and I made our way into 7th place by the time the bike leg was over! Then on to the run, which headed north and west along the Presidio and up the notorious Sand Ladder (where somehow I was able to have a conversation with a spectator about my nail polish! But the rest of the time I was going too hard for chit-chat). I advanced to 6th place overall with the 3rd fastest split. The women's podium at this race was legit, and I was thrilled with my performance.

This race put a huge smile on my face. For one thing it was my best result yet in a big pro race, and for another thing, the venue and support made everything really special. I can't wait for next year! In the meantime, I am getting ready for my last two triathlons of the season while immersing myself in my first semester as a PhD student at the University of Colorado at Boulder. I'd planned to race the Rev3 Iron-distance triathlon at Cedar Point in a few weeks, but plans have changed and I'll finish out the season at Scott Tinley's Triathlon and then possibly Austin 70.3.

Lazer Sport is proud to support Courtenay Brown!

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Kelly Benefit Strategies at Druivenkoers Overijse

KBS and Champion System sent a film crew to Belgium to film the classic Druivenkoers Overijse last week.

Lazer Sport is proud to sponsor the Kelly Benefit Strategies team!

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Lazer Facebook Fan Contests!

Christopher T. Smith likes

Lazer Helmets

Starting Monday August 30, Lazer Facebook Fan Contests begin! Participate and be eligible to win a Lazer helmet! Become a fan of Lazer Sport on Facebook today!

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LAZER Helmets Named Official Helmet of the US Gran Prix of Cyclocross

July 27, 2010 (Louisville, KY) -- For 90 years LAZER SPORT has been finding synergy between design, comfort and technology when manufacturing helmets for some of cycling's greatest competitors. In 2010 they are joining forces with the US Gran Prix of Cyclocross as the Official Helmet Sponsor and bringing their passion for performance to the nation's leading cyclocross series.

LAZER, head-quartered in Belgium, understands cyclocross and sponsors some of the world's top 'cross teams and athletes including the Telenet Fidea Team, Cannondale-CyclocrossWorld.com and Team Luna Chix and Jonathan Page.

"We at LAZER are very excited about our new relationship with the USGP," said Christopher Smith. "Lazer has long supported cyclocross via individual athlete and team sponsorship and now we are also excited to add event sponsorship via our support of the USGP. The Series represents the highest level of the sport in the US and affords us the opportunity to be on the ground throughout the season with the top pro athletes we sponsor and face to face with the up and coming juniors; masters; and amateur racers too. We're looking forward to telling the LAZER story at all the USGP the races this year."

USGP Series Event Director, Joan Hanscom said, "We're excited to have LAZER on board with us this year as the Official Helmet of the Series. They are a great and natural fit for the USGP with a long history of appreciation and support for the sport and culture of cyclocross while offering top-notch protection and performance."

The U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross (USGP) features the deepest and most competitive fields racing on this side of the Atlantic. The 2010 Series kicks off on September 25th and 26th with the Planet Bike Cup in Sun Prairie, WI; then races into Louisville, KY for the Derby City Cup on October 23rd and 24th; The Fort Collins Cup in Fort Collins, CO on November 13th and 14th; and concludes with the STANLEY Portland Cup in Portland, OR on December 4th and 5th.

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CONTACTS

Christopher Smith / Lazer Sport NV
+1 612.326/4204
chris@lazersport.com
www.lazersport.com

Joan Hanscom / USGP
USGP@me.com
+1 484.995/0547
www.usgpcyclocross.com

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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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