Posted 2008-05-13 - By Admin

Sam Hill Takes Win Number 1 at World Cup # 1

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Posted 2008-05-07 - By Admin

Sam Hill Set For World Cup After Strong Win On Worlds Course

Tomorrow sees the official opening of the 2008 World Cup season for the gravity riders, and reigning World Cup and World Champion, Sam Hill of Team Monster Energy Iron Horse, has also already demonstrated excellent form as his European campaign gets into full swing.

This past Sunday saw the UCI mandated test event on the 2008 World Championships course in Val Di Sole, Italy. The downhill course is essentially new but loosely based on previous European Championship courses and this test event gave the world's top riders their first look at the three and half minute length of terrain that will decide the 2008 World Champion next month.

Sam took the win in the final with more than a five second margin over Steve Peat, a result that had many in the race paddock returning to their team areas scratching their heads, trying to figure out what needs to be done to beat the 4 time World Champ.

Both Sam and his team mate Brendan Fairclough commented on the event shortly afterwards:

Sam Hill: "My run in the final was OK. The track has lots of line choices, it's technical and a lot of fun, but this can make it really hard to get a perfect run on it. I thought it was cool to have this warm up race to see where my race speed is before heading into World Cup 1."

Brendan Fairclough: "The track was rough, fast, and had some similarities to the track I rode here a couple years ago for the Euros...I loved it! This was also my first chance to get my new products set-up on a real DH track and I left Italy feeling really good about my bike set-up for 2008".

Both riders are settling into Maribor today and tomorrow will walk the course that Sam won on last year, and get ready for official practice starting Friday.

Sam: "I'm definitely looking for a clean run in Maribor this coming weekend. I'm really looking forward to the start of the World Cup season in Slovenia...it's an awesome track, and hopefully I can go there and start the season off with a win!"

Brendan: "My aim for Maribor is top 5, and this past week in Italy left me feeling confident that I'm ready for it!"

The Semi Finals get underway at 10h30 CET on Sunday, and the Finals at 14h30, with the last of the top men riders on course a little after 16h00.

Live web coverage here: http://www.uci.ch/templates/UCI/UCI2/layout.asp?MenuId=MTU0MzA

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Posted 2008-04-14 - By Admin

Sea Otter News!

Team Monster Energy Iron Horse Set For Sea Otter

This coming weekend sees the unofficial season opener for the North American mountain bike race season, and Team Monster Energy Iron Horse will be in attendance yet again, but this year with a new line up.

20 year old Brendan Fairclough (UK) joins 4 time World Champion Sam Hill (AUS), to form an all male line up contesting the full World Cup series as well as other key events throughout the season.

The team will get into Monterey Tuesday night and be on site from Wednesday, stretching legs on a XC ride after the long haul flights from London and Perth. Both riders will compete in the Downhill and Dual Slalom, and use the events as an opportunity to check out the 2008 bikes and set-up in race conditions. The event is mainly used by the team to launch the new gear, rider clothing and of course to interact with the fans. The actual Downhill race is not high on the list of target races for the season, but a good opportunity for early season press images and to put on a show for the race fans.

Sam Hill: "Haven't been doing a huge amount of DH racing or riding in the off season, just trying to keep things fresh for the international season. I had a pretty solid off-season training schedule though, riding XC, riding and racing motocross. I just started doing a little bit of DH recently... I'm pretty motivated about this coming season, and I'd like to start off in Maribor right where I left off in Maribor at the finals last year."

Brendan Fairclough: "I haven't been to Sea Otter before so I'm keen to see what's going on, and to be at our first event as a team. My goals are for a bit later in the season, but it will be a good hit out either way. Really happy with the new bike, and after my first couple of races on it, I've got a good feeling about season '08".

Team Manager Sean Heimdal: "Looking forward to getting Sam and Brendan together and getting a race under our belts. The results aren't a high priority for us here...a good result would just be a bonus. It's awesome for the crowd if the riders want to throw some whips in their DH race runs and get some great photos! We'll be doing a product test/set-ups in the days leading into the event at undisclosed locations...so people may stumble across the team training at a trail near them in SoCal!"

Team Monster Energy Iron Horse is also sponsored by: Mad Catz, Game Shark, Air Drives, RockShox, SRAM, Avid, FUNN, Maxxis, DT Swiss, FSA, Crank Brothers, WTB, e.thirteen, DW Link, Troy Lee Designs, Minoura, Maxima, Obtainium Performance Products, Five-Ten, Freeestyle Watches, THE, Alligator, Yamaha of Troy, KMC and Kicker.

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Posted 2007-11-26 - By Admin

Brendan Fairclough Signs With Team Monster Energy/Iron Horse

19-year-old British downhill star Brendan Fairclough announced today that he has just signed a two-year deal with one of the most successful teams on the International Mountain Bike circuit, Team Monster Energy/Iron Horse. The signing of the former Honda Team G Cross rider will see Brendan lining up alongside four time World Champion and defending World Cup Series Champion, Australian Sam Hill.

The team will have Brendan competing in all the World Cup races, as well as key major events such as Sea Otter Classic, US Open, Crankworx, and selected British NPS events. Brendan will be racing the dw-link equipped Iron Horse Sunday for all of his downhill competitions.

Brendan flew to the US over the Thanksgiving holiday to meet with the team and had this to say:

“Joining Team Monster Energy/Iron Horse is a major deal for me. I'm super excited to be racing on a team that has a great image in the sport and is known for supporting its’ riders. I've been lucky to have had excellent team mates like Steve Peat, Greg Minnaar, and Matti Lehikoinen throughout my young career, and being part of Team Monster Energy/Iron Horse is a continuation of that. Next year I have some pretty specific goals, not the least of which is grabbing some crystal at the end of the World Cup season when the series finishes on a track that Sam and I love, Schladming. I can't wait to get racing next year!”

Iron Horse Marketing Manager Todd Seplavy was equally enthused:

“We’re excited to have Brendan come fly the Monster Energy/Iron Horse colors for us and we’re really looking forward to having him grow with our program. We’ve been impressed with Brendan’s riding skills, professionalism, and personality from the first time he blasted onto the World Cup scene. He’ll be a perfect fit onto our program and a valuable asset to all of our sponsors.”

Team Director Sean Heimdal added:

“This was a logical step for us in 2008. I wanted to put together a leading two-man team and when thinking of a rider that could come into our program and compliment Sam, as well as learn and grow, well Brendan was my first choice. Having him here over the past few days has been excellent and we can’t wait to get him on a bike for testing.”

Brendan’s first race with Team Monster Energy/Iron Horse will be the Sea Otter Classic in April of 2008.

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Posted 2007-11-05 - By Admin

1:04 Video

DIRT Magazine video of Sam Hill attempting the 1:04

http://www.dirtmag.co.uk/news/category/videos/sam-hill-104-video/dirt-123750.html

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2007.04.27 - Sean Heimdal

Random info and short updates can be posted in this blog. Each member of the team will have access to it, and all the text posted in here will be included in a iframe with a scrollbar on the right hand side, so when the content stretches longer than the news content, the blog won't force the home page to stretch longer uselessly...

2007.04.27 - Sean Heimdal

Random info and short updates can be posted in this blog. Each member of the team will have access to it, and all the text posted in here

2007.04.27 - Sean Heimdal

Random info and short updates can be posted in this blog. Each member of the team will have access to it, and all the text posted in here will be included in a iframe with a scrollbar on the right hand side, so when the content stretches longer than the news content, the blog won't force the home page to stretch longer uselessly...