Off the chain, so far...

So they are doing pretty good. I mean they have a stack of great riders; they’re sitting on superb bikes and having Nigel Page as a team manager, that’s like icing on the cake.

Some people said they did not think that the big “K” had it in him anymore. Well he had a lot of problems last season. Flats (tubes not the pedals) in race runs, unable to qualify in Champery and Canada giving him the shutout did not help his standings in the points field and could not have been great for the sponsors. It was not the biggest surprise though to hear that he would be leaving the MS Racing outfit. Where would he go? What would he ride?

Teaming up with Nigel Page, an icon in modern mountain biking, would prove to be a great setup. Both long-term riders for Intense, Ringle and Manitou these brands would follow Chris and Nigel to the Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense Race Team.
With new fast kids falling out of the sky these days there can be a lot of pressure on the seasoned riders to stay in the game and continue to be competitive. Sponsors have a lot of things on the brain when it comes to slicing up the money pie these days. The team would round out with Julien Camellini, Matt Simmonds and Ruaridh (sounds like Rory not Rudy , thanks for the correction!) Cunningham who was recruited by the team fresh off his World Championship win. It’s great to see a young guy like him get picked up by a team of well-versed pros.

Kovarik has been winning all the Fontana Winter Series races in So Cal and Julien just pulled out a win in the French Regional Championships beating many of his fellow countrymen, including Fabien Barel. The Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense Team has started to show their true colors. They like to win and they intend to do it often this season.

As for Ruaridh and his recently injured knee, he’s a kid; they are made out of rubber.