Dean Racing Development & X-Fusion Race Teams Merge in 2011!

(October 11, 2010) Escondido, California – Dean Racing Development (DRD) is proud to announce the alliance of it’s professional mountain bike team with the factory X-Fusion race team for the 2011 season! Two of the nation’s elite mountain race programs have dedicated their resources to produce a domestic cycling powerhouse.

“I’m ecstatic to have the opportunity to work with an emerging company like X-Fusion,” said Dylan Dean, DRD owner. “X-Fusion’s dedication to their race program and to US racing is second to none. Judging by the efforts to develop their products and produce top of the line suspension, along with the support they offer to their race team, can only be described as inspiring. I look forward towards developing a highly successful race program with X-Fusion this next season. Based on the response from potential team riders and sponsors, the team will be one to watch in 2011!”

The race program will focus its efforts in the United States by competing in the nation’s premier cycling events, including the Professional Gravity Tour (Pro GRT), Sea Otter Classic, & US Open. In addition, the team will compete in several World Cups within North American & Europe, along with Crankworx, and select regional events & festivals.

“Joining forces with Dean Racing Development for 2011 has been a collaboration of both parties experience and vision for US racing. Dylan Dean has been at the front of reigniting gravity racing in America and is the perfect fit for this type of race program. The combination of both program’s resources and Dylan’s complete dedication to US racing will position the team to benefit greatly. At X-Fusion we are also excited to work with a few new rider faces, some familiar ones and even a talented young junior. 2011 aspires to be a great year for American racing and the X-Fusion/DRD partnership.” - John Hauer, X-Fusion Marketing Coordinator

Committed to continue the concept of supporting both professional and developmental riders, the DRD X-Fusion program will announce it’s factory team roster in the weeks to come.

Interested partners should contact Dylan Dean at jdd@dylan-dean.com or call 760-443-3344 for further information.

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About Dean Racing Development: Dean Racing Development (DRD) is a organization founded in 2010, by industry veteran Dylan Dean, committed to develop and promote the sport of mountain bike racing within the United States. DRD’s goal is to establish an elevated atmosphere for top cycling athletes, while guiding young talented riders for future cycling careers. Working with USA Cycling, DRD also directs the Professional Gravity Tour (Pro GRT) – the nation’s premier gravity mountain bike race series. Further information about DRD, or other assets owned &r operated by Dylan Dean, can be obtained by visiting www.dylan-dean.com

About X-Fusion Suspension: X-Fusion was established in 1999 as a bicycle suspension manufacture. Over the last decade, we at X-Fusion have built and supported our brand globally by establishing Distributors and Service Centers all over the world. The focus has not just been to create amazing suspension products for consumers, but to stand behind our products and build strong relationships with customers. For additional information, please visit www.x-fusion-shox.com

BRAD KING 4th Place at Pro GRT #4 - Winter Park, CO Report

This Past weekend in Winter Park, Colorado we had round 4 of the Pro GRT. It was a long 20 hour drive to the resort from San Diego but it was worth it when we got there. We stayed at our friend Price's house just down the road from the resort so it was nice not having to drive too far each morning. Once we got in to Winter Park we relaxed the rest of the day at the house and got some sleep that we needed, waking up the next morning and going to practice that afternoon. Kieran and I did some runs on the race course and were surprised of how long the course ran down the mountain, it was really steep and fun up in the top half but flattened out a lot in the lower half. It was definantly one of the most tireing courses I've done. I was enjoying myself though because it was fun up top and it was a lot of fun following Kieran learning the good lines and keeping up with him. Later that day on our last run it started pouring rain once we got to the top. It was one of the most fun runs I've done in a while and there was a river running down the entire course. On the next day of practice in stayed sunny all day and the course seemed to dry up a lot but some of the sections were still slippery and the roots were like ice. But other then that, we had a good next 2 days of practice as the course got dryer and dryer. On Saturday, Jake Payne and I did the Alpine Slide they have there at the resort, it is the 2nd longest in the world. That thing is so fun I didnt want to stop doing it but it was really expensive. You got going so fast on it, it got scary after a while. I heard stories of people going over the sides and getting hurt and I didnt want that to happen the day before my race. I was going to film it on the Go Pro camera but it ran out of batteries once I got to the top. The slide was definantly an experience though!

On Sunday we didnt have a qualifier like the pros did. We just went straight into the race after the pros did their qualifying run. I was kind of nervous at the top thinking about how long the course is and how tired I will be at the end. But I got on the spin bike and started to warm up losing all the gitters and getting my head into it. About 5 minutes from my start time it started to sprinkle rain a little bit. I got into the start gate and started my race run. I took the few first corners conservative trying to get into the groove and put together a fast race run. I felt good for a while and started to get going fast but soon I was making mistakes. During the top half I came to a stop 5 times trying to save myself from crashing and then had a good one were my feet blew off the pedals and I almost went over the bars. I was pretty mad after that so I turned up the heat on the lower half and carried my speed awesome through the flat bits. Went into the lower high speed stuff and felt really good and crossed the finish line into 2nd just less then a second off Jake Payne. I was pretty gutted and knew that I couldve been in contention to win if not for those mistakes. But only 2 people crossed the finish line faster then me and jake putting us in 4th and 3rd, i got 4th. Bryson Martin took the win and Sam Powers in 2nd. Kierans race was up next and it poured rain for him and he came down in 4th place in the pro's class. It was deffinantly a good weekend, both of us finishing in the top 5 and had some fun outside the race lighting fireworks and having a bit of fun on Sunday night celebrating. Thanks to Jeremiah for all the hard work through the weekend and Steve for making our bikes dialed and making sure we had the best equipment all weekend, people dont know how much that helps. Thanks to all the Sponsors who help us out and make us do what we do. We have a bit of a break and then its off to the World Cup finals were I hope to race and the World Championships the weekend after were I hope to represent the USA for my last year in juniors.

photo: Long Nguyen

Brad King's 'Sea Otter' & 'Pro GRT' Port Angeles Race Report

The official beginning of the season has started off with the trip up to the annual Sea Otter Classic, I was excited to be there with my new team and have our pits set up so everyone can check it out. The Otter is the same thing every year pretty much but it's fun to go check things out, see everyone, and race a fun slalom and downhill. I raced my first slalom race at the otter and ended up doing poorly due to a mechanical in qualifying. After that, I was motivated to do well in the downhill and practiced all my lines through the mud pots and ruts trying to keep my speed. On Sunday, I started out in the beginning of the field and wanted to come down into the hot seat and thats what I did. I held it for a while until three guys came down to beat me and the end of the race so I ended up 4th out of about 60 guys. I was pretty happy with that because thats the first time I had a good result there. The first race with the whole team (minus Kieran Bennett) was a big success and I had a lot of fun.

The next weekend was the first Pro Gravity Tour in Port Angeles, Washington. This was the 2nd time Ive been here and it's awesome. Just a really fun, high speed track with your good dirt and some roots. Practice was really good all through the week and I was feeling really good. The team worked really well together all weekend and our mechanic Steve killed it making sure the bikes were dialed all weekend. In qualifying on Saturday I was on a good run hitting all my lines then at the bottom I got off line and hit a tree stump and went over the bars. I got shaken up a bit and pulled my calf muscle in my right leg and it never seemed to strech out again till I got home. On Sunday however I pulled out a good run but could have carried more speed in the tight corners but overall I was happy with it. I came down into the hot seat which I wanted to do after my bad qualifier the day before and ended up holding it until I got beat by two canadians. Overall good weekend with the team and results. Next up is the U.S. Open. See you guys there!

KIERAN BENNETT's Moto Report from NZ!

More two wheel racing, this time with a motor.

While everyone was at sea otter enjoying the awesome downhill track they have there every year I was stuck at home racing motor cross, poor me!

My race of choice for the sea otter weekend was the 2nd round of Suzuki New Zealand National cross country series which doubled as round one of the Nelson club series and was held about an hour from home so after some scrambling I got the top end rebuilt in my 08 RMZ250 and did a couple of motos the weekend before to get prepared having not ridden my moto since the start of january!

With over 100 people on the start a le mans start was hectic but spread the field out a bit over the long start straight, I got a horrible start and finally got off the line about half way through the pack but straight away started putting in passes to try make my way through everyone, that was until about 5 minutes in I got collected by a guy cutting from one side of the track to the other and thrown over the bars onto my head which left me sitting on the side of the track for a bit working what had happened and getting passed by about 40 people!

After getting myself back on track I tried to settle into a good pace that I could run for the next 3 hours of the race, I started making passes and was running a good pace until about the 2 hour when I got forced off the track again by a lapper who couldnt hold his line, this time though I stayed on but came out of it was a flat rear tire. To put it lightly I was pretty gutted especially after how good I had been feeling up until that point even though it was without a doubt a big bike track with huge 5th gear straights that lasted close to 5 minutes at least!

I got the flat fixed back in the pits but by that point I was out of the running for a good result so it was just back out on the track for a couple of fun laps.

Looking at the lap times after the race was good and bad, my lap times were under 2 minutes slower than the leaders which was cool to see considering the bulk of them were on bigger bikes. The gutting thing was realising if it hadnt been for the flat I would of podiumed for the club round and been top 20 for the national! But theres allways next time so hopefully ill be around next year to race it again and be a bit better prepared for it!

KB

BRAD KING: Calif Gold Cup Rd.1 Report

The first round of the California State series was a good one for me and my new Tomac Primer downhill bike. The course was a lot more technical then the past Winter Series races and the dirt was back to its normal dry and sandy ways.

On Saturday there was super high winds which made it hard to practice all day so John Keep and I only got a few practice runs in while almost getting blown off the mountain each one. The wind finally died down when the sun went down and it looked like it was going to be a good day on Sunday.

Sundays practice was early at eight o clock. The wind had died down all the way by the morning and it was an awesome but hot day at the races. Morning practice went really well and the bike was running perfect after my mechanic Steve wrenched on it Saturday night.

We had a really long wait after practice for our race runs, almost 5 hours. After all that time passed, I got up to the top for the race run and was in the gate feeling good. I had a really good run, only making one or two small mistakes. I was the second to last guy in my class and when I came across the finish line I was in 2nd place, about half a second down from Jake Payne in first and about two seconds up on 3rd place Adam Digby.

My Tomac Primer ran really well the whole way down and I couldnt be more happy with it. I was really stoked to have a good race run on a new bike without being completely used to it yet. I am looking forward to getting on some more technical courses and getting some more time on the bike. Thank you to Steve for getting my bike dialed and Jeremiah for helping us out all weekend and thanks to John Keep for getting the lines on the course dialed in. Looking forward to our next race at Sea Otter and Port Angeles. Also thanks to Tomac, Bike Vault, and all our other sponsors!

Brad

ROBIN BALOOCHI: NW Cup Round 1 Race-recap

This last weekend was the first round of the NW Cup in Port Angeles, WA. After the Fontana winter series race a couple weeks back I spent a good bit of time getting my bike setup and testing out our new Intense tires. Practice started on friday at 1pm and I decided to wait till friday morning to make the 6 hour drive up to WA. I wanted to get as much time on my bike during my break from school before the race.

After arriving on friday I was eager to get some runs in. It had just rained so I figured it was a good time to try out the mud tire for a couple runs even though it was drying up. The Intruder tire was great, it's a perfect tire for semi-muddy conditions. After about an hour it was back to the Edge tires and it didn't take long to get comfortable on the track. It was a great course with some tight corners, one steep bit and a lot of rough braking bumps and banked corners, it was definitely a proper DH course. Sat practice was also dry and everyone was pinning it, the dirt was real grippy and the Primer was glued to the ground. It looked like everyone was having fun and the PA shuttle crew was killing it with efficient non-stop shuttles with no lines. I did a timed run at the end of practice so I could have a good idea about my capabilities on race day.

I woke up pretty early on race day and was excited to get on with the race. It rained through the night but surprisingly the track didn't change much. After one practice run I felt good about my lines and was ready for my seeding run. With a few small errors I made it down the hill and qualified in 16th, I was off the pace in comparison to my timed practice run the day before. I ended up making a couple of adjustments to my bike and relaxing a bit before the final race run. In my race run I hit all my lines clean and rode well within my limits. I ended up 14th and improved on my qualifying time by 8 secs. Bryn Atkinson ended up taking the win and got me by 14 sec. Eventhough that's a big chunk of time it was a big jump from the 25 sec gap he had on me in qualifying! It was good to get a mud race in and see where I'm at right now in comparison to guys like Bryn Atkinson who won and Curtis Keene who ended up taking 4th. Bryn had a good gap on 2nd place so overall I wasn't that far of the podium. This race was a huge improvement on the fontana race a couple weeks back so I'm gonna use this moment to push forward to the start of the season. With 4 weeks to go till the first GRT at Port Angeles I'm gonna be here in Eugene working hard both on and off my bike to be ready. I'll also be heading down to the Sea Otter Classic to kick off the season and hang with the team.

Big props to the NW Cup crew; the race was a lot of fun with a great course, efficient shuttles, great food and flawless logistics, great job guys! Last but not least a big thanks to DRD Tomac and all my sponsors for making this season a reality!

Robin

Kieran Bennett Back on Track at Oceanias! Podiums twice – 3rd in 4X and 4th in Downhill!

(March 21, 2010) Dunedin, New Zealand – DRD Team rider Kieran Bennett takes home two stellar results from one of the most prestigious cycling events in the south pacific! The Oceania Mountain Bike Championships, held in Dunedin, New Zealand, showcases the best mountain bike racers from Australia, New Zealand and the region all battling it out to win the title of Oceania Champion.

Following a streak of problematic races, Kieran seems to have gotten his rhythm back as he has finished his second race aboard his new DRD Tomac Primer... and with just as many podiums! With a new bike & a new team, Kieran is quick to prove just why he’s one of the quickest Kiwis on the circuit!

After a last minute decision to race 4X, Kieran promptly proved that his decision would be fruitful. Within a few practice runs, Kieran had the course dialled and had some big inside lines ready on the turns.

Going into qualifying, Kieran was pleasantly surprised to find himself in 6th position after a fairly average run.

During the race, Kieran’s inside lines paid off, as he was still getting accustomed with gated racing. Getting pushed to the back, he had to dig deep and make a move for advancement. The next round once again required Kieran to make a move against some veteran 4X riders. After a few strong passes in the first two corners, Kieran found himself in the lead & holding on until the finish.

In the finals, Kieran would find himself next to strong competition in Wyn Masters and Daniel Franks

“I definitely wasn’t expecting to be in the finals that when I decided to race, but I was stoked knowing I had made it that far,” said Kieran

Wyn Masters and Daniel Franks would take the top two spots at the finish, while Kieran was all smiles with his strong 3rd place performance.

Kieran’s main focus this weekend would undoubtedly be in the Downhill. The track suited Kieran well as it varied in terrain & was a lot of fun to ride. Kieran had to hold himself back from riding, so he wouldn’t exert himself doing too many practice runs, and remain fresh for race day.

Kieran was feeling confident and knew he could pull a good result. However, qualifying would prove to be bittersweet as a mechanical would cause a bit of a dampener in his plans, as he wanted to leave the start gate hard and see how he ranked against his competition.

“I sprinted hard out of the start and into the first few turns,” explained Kieran. “As I was pedalling out of the 3rd turn on the track, my chain dropped and got jammed out in my guide! I was pretty gutted so I just tried to carry as much speed as possible for the rest of the run. I somehow still managed to come in 12th, so I felt good going into the finals.”

Kieran’s confidence going into his race run would prove essential as there were a number of elite world cup level racers in attendance.

“Straight away I was feeling good on my DRD Tomac Primer and hardly felt like any time had passed by entering the final wooded section,” said Kieran. “Knowing all I had to do was make it out of the trees and through the 4x section clean, I started to ramp it up a little more, until I hit the finish and into the lead!”
In the end, Kieran’s time would be good enough for 4th place behind fellow countrymen Cam Cole, Nathan Rankin and Wyn Masters who have all been at the top of their game as of late.

All-in-all, an extremely successful weekend for Kieran, as he makes another big step towards the top of the podium! His confidence is on the rise & he’s getting comfortable on his new DRD Tomac!

Next up on the agenda, team DRD Tomac will be competing simultaneously in two different states. While Robin Baloochi will be attending the first round of the NWCup in Port Angeles, Washington; John Keep & Brad King will race the first round of the California Gold Cup in Fontana, California.

Photo credit: Max Carter-Smith

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