IF Racing's 19 year old phenom, Emerson Oronte finished 9th in the U23 National Road Race. He was in the breakaway for the entire 100 mile race in 100 degree heat of Bend, Oregon. Emerson was one of only 3 amateurs in the 12 man break which included a lot of Garmin and Livestrong Riders. Outnumbered and without a teammate he had to follow the attacks alone and eventually had to pull 3 of them, Guy East and Bjorn Selander (Trek-Livestrong), and last years champ Kirk Carlson(Garmin), and Bjorn Selander for the last 30 k. They then dumped their victim in the last three k to rob him of his rightfull 6th placing. Still, 9th is awesome and Emerson was so excited he zipped his jersey and crossed the finish line pumping his fist in the air.

He says he is coming back to take it all next year. He is only 19 and has 3 more chances for U23 glory. We are proud.

And so it goes, if you race bicycles you will have flats and break things. Even on the days that you feel like you'll rip the legs off the competition. One flat (1000 yards in to the start of the race) and two broken saddle rails. I could have avoided the flat if I were patient, which I am not. I did however take the opportunity to not quit. After riding sans seat and post for 5ish miles I found poor Martin Kell. He is a local who was about 4th overall when the derailure monster got him. His seat was just fine though. Thanks MK! It was a beautiful day in the woods no matter.

Umm,
Despite fracturing my wrist last weekend, I can still ride and train, and the heal time will be about perfect.

So I'm going to Graz, Austria and racing the Marathon World Championships on August 23rd!
It'll probably be the hardest race I ever do, but I can't pass up the opportunity to wear the ol red,white and blue atop my Ti Deluxe.

Watch for regular updates. If you want to help support the trip and the IFRacing MTB team, please contact me for donations or buy some raffle tickets!

Many people go on and on in blogs, talking about all sorts of stuff that very few people are interested in. I prefer to tell our story with photos.
Thanks to all our sponsors

Hello All,

On August 2^nd, my wife Samantha and I will be participating in the Pennsylvania Perimeter Ride for Cancer (http://pprac.net), a 500 mile ride from Burlington, VT to Palmerton, PA. The Perimeter ride (PPRAC) is a biennial event, and this year’s ride will be the 14^th edition. All proceeds from the ride benefit the American Cancer Society.

As some of you are aware, Samantha is a two-time ovarian cancer survivor. Samantha finished chemo treatments in March of this year and began training for the PPRAC shortly afterwards. So in addition to supporting a cause that is near and dear to us, the Perimeter Ride will hold special meaning for Samantha and I. One of the most important lessons I’ve learned over the past five years is that survivorship means more that just overcoming the illness.

Given the current state of the economy, Samantha and I set a modest fundraising goal for the PPRAC. With race season in full swing, I recognize that budgets may be tight, but I’d appreciate if you’d give some consideration to supporting our fundraising efforts. No amount is too small and every bit will help. You can access our fundraising page here: http://main.acsevents.org/site/TR/CommunityFundraisingPages/CFPFY09Pennsylvania?team_id=392731&pg=team&fr_id=19121

I hope everyone is having a great season. Thanks again for your consideration!

Best regards,

Mark

If you don't know who Katie Compton is, then shame on you for only following the top Pro Men of the Sport.

Katie happens to be the only American to have a Paris-Roubaix Cobblestone trophy. She got that from winning the Paris Roubaix Cyclocross World Cup.

She Just got 3rd at the XC National Championships and has repeatedly won the National Cyclocross Champinships.

IF is proud to now be Katie's frame sponsor for the 2009 mtb and cyclocross season.

Keep track of her at her Web SITE!

Good times Good times. Cheeper than living for sure.

Thank You to our equipment sponsors:
Independent Fabrication builds the best bikes
MAVIC makes super awesome wheels, shoes and pedals
prologo makes comfortable and bombing saddles
Deda bars stems and posts to die for
Michelin. I wouldn't want to ride any other tires.

I'll be brief.

This was the hardest Pro 1, Fitchburg ever. We'll at least in the last 10 years.
Of the 180 starters, only 113 finished. We were 4 of those finishers.

Robbie was 11th on Friday's Circuit Race and Saturday's Road Race. Both were oh so hard. Really.

Good job Robbie.

Here are some photos:

Thursday, July 2, marks the start of the 50th Fitchburg Longsjo Classic. It is the longest running race in North America and is also an NRC calendar race. Everyone who is anyone has won or raced this New England Classic, Lemond, Tyler Hamilton, Lance Armstrong, and Robbie King.

The first stage of this four day stage race is an Individual Time Trial (ITT.) To prepare for this time trial I borrowed both a disc wheel and an aero helmet from Craig Gaulzetti at International Bicycle Centers (IBC.) I have used the wheel in the past and it is fffffffffast! I was not sure if I wanted to use an aero helmet but Craig assured me that the benefits would be apparent in my ITT times. I was not convinced so we set up and experiment.

In the photo below you will see me crossing in front of the front register at IBC Boston. This served as the finish line.


The next photo shows me crossing "the finish" with the aero helmet.




True to Craig's insistence, the aero helmet allowed me to run around the store faster. I did a loop of the first floor space 0.2 seconds faster with the helmet than without it. That means I can save over 10 seconds during the 14k TT. Irrefutable proof that technology like rounded plastics can save our lives. Now I know Andy Jacques-Maynes won't pass me until late in the TT.

Thanks Craig and IBC.