Guido from Free-Ride Italy just sent over these photos of their rider Claudio Perotti shredding between the tape on the Foes Hydro downhill bike. Get on it!

www.free-ride.it

Rolling into the final round of the Southridge Winter Series with some steady results and good standings in the Super D and Downhill overalls, I was pumped to spend another weekend out at Fontana racing mountain bikes. On account of the enthusiastic response from the riders, Don Jackson and Joe Lawwill decided to use the same Super D track from the previous round. With drier conditions and the overall title on the line between Eric Carter and myself, good racing was bound to happen.

After spinning out a couple practice runs on my Foes 4X bike with first-time Super D racer Craig Harvey, we made our way up the hill for race runs. I had a smooth and flowy top section into the first traverse and sprinted across the pavement up to the water tower where I crested the quick dirt climb, but I several gears lower than normal. From there on out I kept noticing that I was off pace, but made an extra focus on carrying cornering speed and hammered the last sprint across the flat fireroad before carving down the final descent down the mountain cross track.

Waylon Smith pulled out the Lycra and a fresh set of legs to set the fastest time of the day, beating out second place finisher Joe Lawwill by nearly seven seconds. Eric Carter pulled third while I came in a second behind him for fourth, and I earned second overall for the series.

Pro Super D Results:

1. Waylon Smith – 05:32.04

2. Joe Lawwill – 05:38.99

3. Eric Carter – 05:40.23

4. Jon Buckell – 05:41.19 (Foes Racing)

5. Logan Binggeli – 05:44.26

Pro Super D Winter Series Overall Results:

1. Eric Carter

2. Jon Buckell (Foes Racing)

3. Joe Lawwill

On the downhill side of things, Donny laid out another classic Fontana special, making the most out of the sandy dirt with rut/berm combos and rock sections to keep you on your toes. A straight line down a slabby chunk of rock carried a boatload of speed up a small hill midway down the track had many riders grabbing a fistful of brake going up hill – a scenario not common at Southridge. The rocks after this section led over to the waterfall portion of the track which grew several unique “line choices” throughout Saturday afternoon. Come Sunday morning the track was reverted back to the original intended line, which had most riders tip-toeing through trying to keep their bikes upright.

I had a solid race run through the top section. I let my Hydro sort out all the chatter, focused on looking through the turns and no-braked the straight section heading into the saddle. I did my best to carry speed though the waterfall section and blasted onto the first fireroad and topped out my cassette into the lower rock section. I backed off considerably through the lower rocks, hooked the right hand exit and started working through the cogs into the wall section. Saw Sniper hollering at the kink and pushed through all my gears again down the wall to the finish.

Once it was over I pedaled around and felt confident that I had posted another top ten time. But when the times were in and the announcer began reading the results, I found out that I finished second! I’d barely edged out David K. by .06 of a second and lost to EC by only .2 seconds. This is my best result yet in a pro downhill race, and I’m stoked.

Pro Downhill Results:

1. Eric Carter – 02:15.66

2. Jon Buckell – 02:15.83 (Foes Racing)

3. David Klaassen Van Oorschot – 02:15.89

4. Logan Binggeli – 02:17.50

5. Kevin Aiello – 02:18.19

6. Waylon Smith – 02:18.46

7. Jake Payne – 02:21.46

8. Brad King – 02:22.38

9. Kyle Sangers – 02:23.14

10. Jeremy Kneisly – 02:23.19

Pro Downhill Winter Series Overall:

1. Logan Binggeli

2. Waylon Smith

3. David Klaassen Van Oorschot

4. Eric Carter

5. Kevin Aiello

6. John Keep

7. Jon Buckell (Foes Racing)

Full results are up at: Southridge USA’s website: www.southridgeusa.com

Thanks again to all that continue to support my racing, including:

Foes Racing – www.foesracing.com

Azonic/O’Neal Clothing – www.azonicusa.com

Blur Optics – www.bluroptics.com

Marzocchi Suspension – www.marzocchi.com

Cane Creek Components – www.canecreek.com

Thomson Components – www.bikethomson.com

e*thirteen Components – www.e13components.com

Sunline Components – www.sixsixone.com/sunline.aspx

Remember, ride for fun!

Southridge USA’s round four of the Winter Series treated us to absolutely mint weather and riding conditions. Joe Lawwill and his crew banged out another action-packed Super D track and Don Jackson laid out one giant slalom of a downhill track which both made for some great racing over the weekend of February 19-20.

Joe and Donny agreed to have the Super D start on the north hill again, which ran down a singletrack traverse that wound around to the pavement climb to the water tower via a freshly cut slice of mulchy singletrack. A quick pedal up the road and the track dived across the south hill, lining up some small drops and berms that were ripe with moisture. A couple big g-outs were followed by another road crossing over to a rock section referred to as the “Cal-State Line” offered plenty of pin-ball moments to spectators. The rest of the course was a flat fire road haul over to and down the mountain cross track, which was right at home for me and my Foes 4X. This is a textbook example of designing a track that can be fun and challenging for a wide range of riders who enjoy riding mountain bikes on their normal trail bike – more on this format here: http://www.joelawwill.com/superd.php

Bingelli, Lawwill and I were close together on times just below six minutes, but EC showed his early season form and dropped the hammer for the win. This placed us into a tie for first place overall for the Winter Series, leaving the finals to decide the winner.

Pro Super D Results:

1. Eric Carter – 05:46.08

2. Jon Buckell – 05:54.80 (Foes Racing)

3. Joe Lawwill – 05:55.49

4. Logan Binggeli – 05:57.86

5. Stephen Smith – 06:49.43

A flowy track with ruts and berms peppered down the hill combined with hero dirt for the week’s rains added to the variety of this years’ Winter Series downhill tracks. The highlight of the track was the off-camber section in a small ravine followed by a rock drop into a right-left berm combo that shot riders out at sound barrier breaking speeds. I was so eager to get out on Sunday morning to ride this section that I left half of my race gear at home!

My race run went well – I had a blast going through the mid section of the course, but with a couple small mistakes here and there that affected my overall momentum, especially getting out of the lower rock section on to the wall, I was in for some serious Tucky lung after I crossed the finish line. Still, I was very happy to just hang on to a top ten finish as I’ve moved up another spot in the Winter Series overall to eighth!

Pro Downhill Results:

1. Eric Carter – 02:11.79

2. Waylon Smith – 02:12.20

3. Logan Binggeli – 02:13.24

4. Joe Lawwill – 02:14.12

5. JD Swanguen – 02:15.36

6. David Klaassenvanoorschot – 02:15.61

7. John Keep – 02:16.26

8. Kevin Aiello – 02:18.39

9. Blake Carney – 02:20.12

10. Jon Buckell – 02:20.30 (Foes Racing)

11. Ryan Egusquiza – 02:21.27

12. Cody Johnson – 02:21.44

13. Jeremy Kneisly – 02:21.89

14. Craig Harvey – 02:22.37

15. Michal Kollbek – 02:22.38

Full results are up at: Southridge USA’s website: www.southridgeusa.com

Big thanks to all that continue to support my racing, including:

Foes Racing – www.foesracing.com

Azonic/O’Neal Clothing – www.azonicusa.com

Marzocchi Suspension – www.marzocchi.com

Cane Creek Components – www.canecreek.com

Thomson Components www.bikethomson.com

e*thirteen Components – www.e13components.com

Sunline Components – www.sixsixone.com/sunline_bike.aspx

Italian publication Tutto MTB tests the American made Foes Hydro downhill bike in their January 2011 issue.

Check out Tutto MTB at www.tuttomtb.it/

Foes Hydro downhill bike test from the wrecking crew in the March 2011 issue of Mountain Bike Action.

www.mbaction.com

What happens when Moab local Monty Henry of Chile Pepper Bike Shop jumps on a Foes Hydro? Fellow Utah resident and photographer Nick Badovinac gets out and captures some shredding!

The second round of the Southridge Winter Series brought a return to the dry and dusty conditions that Fontana is known for. And on Sunday, the wind came back too.

Super D started up on the northern hill near the top of the steep hike-a-bike used recently in the Kenda Cup XC events. Donny marked off the upper half with a traverse from the top on over behind the water tower to just beyond the top of the downhill start. From there, Joe Lawwill etched out some good lines that rounded the southern end of the downhill tracks and included a punchy uphill sandy berm section for an extra kick in the teeth. Once the race began, I pushed a conservative pace along the upper portion of the XC singletrack into the grind up behind the water tower, where I passed Jeremy Kneisly on his long travel bike. Once it turned downhill again I was able to catch my breath for a few moments while slicing through Joe’s turns before the putting everything I had left into the flat pedaling sections on the bottom of the track. Turns out I had put down the fastest time of the day in Super D! Radness!

Pro Super D Results:

1. 08:51.61 Jon Buckell 17ZK (Foes Racing)

2. 08:54.81 Ryan Gardner 210ZK

3. 09:16.39 Logan Binggeli 14ZK

4. 09:17.42 Joe Lawwill 22ZK

5. 09:19.64 Eric Carter 7ZK

After lunch I managed to do a couple runs on the DH track which was a bit more rocky and technical than the previous race and included some of Donny’s famous tight and awkward flat turns. Returning in the morning, I was motivated to ride the track like Eli Tomac had the night before, but the wind was blowing pretty hard all directions, especially coming through the fastest section leading into the uphill saddle halfway down the hill. My Hydro’s wheels stayed on the ground during my race run and hearing people like John Canepa hollering on the wall helped me sprint out the bottom portion. I crossed the finish line and felt the familiar burn of the Tucky lung! My time wound up good enough for eighth – gotta keep pushing for a podium!

Pro Downhill Results:

1. 02:24.64 Logan Bingelli 14A

2. 02:25.91 Tyler Immer 686A

3. 02:27.41 John Keep 29A

4. 02:27.92 Rich Houseman 5A

5. 02:30.29 Kevin Aiello 28A

6. 02:30.38 David Klassen Van Oorschot 3A

7. 02:31.25 Michal Kollbek 372A

8. 02:31.41 Jon Buckell 17A (Foes Racing)

9. 02:34.51 Jeremy Kneisly 16A

10. 02:34.96 Ryan Egusquiza 12A

11. 02:35.05 Jake Payne 307A

12. 02:35.74 Craig Harvey 26A

13. 02:36.46 Spenser Mehr 145A

14. 02:36.48 Bryson Martin Jr. 350A

15. 02:36.50 Waylon Smith 8A

17. 02:37.10 Troy D’Elia 32A (Foes Racing)

Full results are up at Southridge USA. www.southridgeusa.com

Thanks to Foes Racing and all the great people that continue to help provide support! The next race will be February 5th and 6th. See you there!

www.foesracing.com

www.marzocchi.com

www.canecreek.com

www.bikethomson.com

www.e13components.com

www.sixsixone.com

For many people New Year's spells cold and snow, but in southern California it means that it's time for racing mountain bikes at Southridge USA's Winter Series. I always enjoy going to these races and this time was no different, especially with Supercross on the same weekend!

I was eager to race Super D at Southridge just as much as the downhill, and the track used for this race delivered the goods. Starting on a fireroad from the top of the major hike a bike previously used for the Fontana Pro XCT Cup races, the track quickly traversed some rolling singletrack before diving down the ridge onto the pavement shuttle road and then hooked up with the lower section of the downhill track, finishing off with a healthy sprint down the Fontucky wall to the finish line. I had a solid run in the hero dirt and edged out Lawill, but E.C. put the power down and smashed the field by a hefty margin. Afterwards I went up for a few practice runs on the DH before heading home to go watch the Supercross at Anaheim. Brap!

Super D Race Results:

1. 02:20.62 Eric Carter 748ZK

2. 02:32.13 Jon Buckell 17ZK (Foes Racing)

3. 02:33.84 Joe Lawwill 22ZK

4. 02:34.11 Ryan Gardner 210ZK

5. 02:36.43 Jeremy Kneisly 16ZK

6. 02:36.49 Luke Wronski 50ZK

7. 02:53.84 Stephan Smith 6ZK

8. 03:01.50 Joe Simpson 6ZK

Sunday morning came early and we went out for a couple runs in the morning and found the track was bedding in well with the turns flowing together and my Hydro hooking up to the moist Fontana dirt like Velcro. I kept my race run smooth and focused on carrying speed throughout the track to the wall and put down all the power I had for it. Troy's run was going similarly well, but a washout at the road crossing before the lower rock section ended up costing a bunch of time and will serve as motivation for the next race. My time was good enough for eleventh on the day and I will continue on my hunt to be on top of the box this year. See you at the Tucky!

Downhill Top 15 Results:

1. 02:03.42 Waylon Smith 8A

2. 02:05.82 John Keep 29A

3. 02:06.41 Kevin Aiello 28A

4. 02:07.28 David Klaassen Van Oorschot 3A

5. 02:08.09 Rich Houseman 5A

6. 02:09.09 Steve Wentz 800A

7. 02:09.58 Jake Payne 307A

8. 02:09.59 Preston Moore 808A

9. 02:10.57 Jeremy Kneisly 16A

10. 02:11.21 Graeme Pitts 741A

11. 02:11.32 Jon Buckell 17A (Foes Racing)

12. 02:12.07 Craig Harvey 26A

13. 02:12.52 Ryan Gardner 210A

14. 02:12.84 Adam Digby 217A

15. 02:12.95 Ryan Egusquiza 12A

Full results here on Southridge USA's website.

www.southridgeusa.com

Big thanks to the help of these companies!

www.foesracing.com

www.sixsixone.com

www.e13components.com

www.marzocchi.com

www.elkasuspension.com

www.bikethomson.com

Photo Captions:

- Race run photo of Troy D'Elia by Eric Foltz.

- Foes Racing in the pits at Southridge.

-Even though registration lines were long with many racers signing up for their annual memberships, the Southridge staff kept the lines moving and the Jasons and Evilio were pumped to be back at Southridge.

- Foes 4X - Second in Super D.

- The Shimano Kids Races are a hit with competitors and parents alike.

- Downhill race run photo by Jason Cleghorn.

Rider: Luciano Serra

From: Brazil

Location: Santa Barbara, California

Bike: Foes Racing 2:1 RS7

One rider. One bike. One big hip.

Rider: René Van Wonderen

From: New Zealand

Location: Kamloops, British Columbia Canada

Bike: Foes 2:1 DHS Mono

Rider: Yuki Abe

From: Yokohama, Japan

Location: Mt. Fujimi, Japan

Bike: 2006 Foes Racing 2:1 DHS Mono

These shots taken by photographer ho-ri.com are of Yuki racing at Mt. Fujimi on his 2006 2:1 DHS Mono that has been upgraded with a Curnutt XTD Air shock. Watch out for him on the Japanese downhill circuit this next year, as he has recently jumped on an American made 2011 Hydro frame!

Rider:  David Ferstl

From:  Richmond, VA

Riding Location: Windrock, TN

Bike:  2011 Foes Hydro DH

Dave’s comments: “The bike has been performing great.  It rides even better than I thought it would.  The handling is simply perfect.  I can manual BMX style jumps and then hammer rock sections–very versatile.”

Guido from Free-Ride Italia, our Italian Foes Racing distributor, displayed the 2011 Hydro at Eurobike and then got the bike into the hands of Italian rider Luca Masserini.

Team Foes Race report by Jon Buckell:

Mountain bike racing made its return to Fontana last weekend for Southridge USA’s Golden State Championships event and Team Foes came out to race and show our new Hydro downhill frame.

First up for me was the Super D, which for this race was essentially half of the cross country track, and it always ignites the burn in my legs and lungs. It was basically a lot of pedaling and it hurt. Being the first rider on course with Joe Simpson (Incycle) on my tail, I rode conservatively in an effort to stay on the track and have energy in reserve for the flat time trial section along the wash. When it was over, Ryan Egusqiza (Rock Gardn) put down the fastest time, with me in second and Joe in third. With this result, I squeezed into third place overall for the series as well!

Can’t wait for some more gravity oriented EC style Super D tracks this winter!

Pro Men Super D Results:

   1. 10:08.16  Ryan Egusquiza

   2. 10:16.64  Jon Buckell (Team Foes)

   3. 11:38.69  Joe Simpson

We were proud to have our Hydro frame on display with a few great parts, including Marzocchi’s Roco WC shock and e*thirteen’s new DH Crank, as well as their LG1+ guide.

Saturday’s downhill practice was typical Fontana conditions – hot, dry and dusty. Troy and I worked to get our lines dialed on Donny’s tricky turns for Sunday.

This was my first downhill race in months, so I was pumped to be second out of the start gate on my Hydro amidst the usual podium contenders. Donny stated the count down and everything else went quiet – it was time to race! I charged the course as best I could and negotiated those awkward trialsy switchback turns, then hit the road on the gas. I caught my breath coming into the lower rocks, carried speed down onto the wall and then pow, there was the wind blowing the wrong way! Knowing that everybody else was going to deal with the same thing, I stayed on the pedals and hammered through to the end of the track. Troy D’Elia ended up eighth, I clocked seventh and Tim Mangini’s third place time was only a second quicker – tight racing! Big ups to Cody Johnson for his second place and to Ian Odom for schooling us with his five second margin to take the win.

Looking forward the next race on November 13th, the Predator Night Race and the 19th Annual Challenge the week after!

Pro Men DH Results:

   1. 02:36.50  Ian Odom

   2. 02:41.57  Cody Johnson

   3. 02:42.69  Tim Mangini

   4. 02:43.18  Kevin Aiello

   5. 02:43.28  David KlassenVanOorschot

   6. 02:43.66  Michal Kollbek

   7. 02:43.68  Jon Buckell (Team Foes)

   8. 02:44.34  Troy D’Elia (Team Foes)

   9. 02:44.52  Rich Houseman

  10. 02:44.88  Jeremy Kneisly

Full results here on Southridge USA’s website.

www.southridgeusa.com

Big thank you to everyone for their help, including:

www.bikethomson.com

www.canecreek.com

www.e13components.com/

www.elkasuspension.com

www.marzocchi.com

www.sixsixone.com

Read the full post at:

http://foesracing.com/site/2010/10/18/race-report-southridge-golden-state-championships/

www.foesracing.com