Sam Hill of the Monster Energy/Iron Horse/Mad Catz Racing team couldn’t have picked a better North American event to shine in, this past weekend taking 1st place overall in the men’s pro-elite category in the Garbanzo Enduro Dowhnill at Whistler’s (B.C.) Crankworx Festival, co-sponsored by Monster Energy.
“Coming into the weekend I was just hoping to maybe get on the podium, but even then I wasn’t sure if I could do that,” said Hill, who’d never raced the Garbanzo Enduro – which snakes through a sometimes fast, sometimes highly technical 1,300 vertical feet up in Whistler, British Columbia. “It was excellent to not only win, but win in front of a great crowd at an event sponsored by Monster Energy.”
Hill continued: “And I’d definitely like to thank Monster Energy’s Joe Parsons, who picked up the tab on that steak dinner the night before the race!”
Hill took to the course with some 250 other competitors on Saturday morning and got a couple practice runs in on the dew-covered course. By the afternoon the course had quickly morphed from wet to dry and dusty. Drawing plate No. 7, and with the field running in an inverse order, by the time Hill got to run the course was battered.
“The course got pretty beat before I even started my run, but my ’07 Iron Horse ran flawlessly and I was able to pull off the win. It was definitely one of the hardest races I’ve ever done,” said Hill.
A number of the sections on the highly technical track took their toll on the riders. In fact, Hill and current UCI World Cup points leader Steve Peat both went down on the same wooded bridge, although Hill was able to right himself, gather his faculties and eventually beat Peat by three seconds (15:14.0 to 15:17.0). Rounding out the podium was fellow Australian Chris Kovarik (15:17.6). Noteworthy: A typical UCI World Cup downhill event is 3-5 minutes, making the 15-plus minute Garbanzo Downhill that much more burly!
“I definitely want to thank Team Monster Energy/Iron Horse/Mad Catz Racing and Sam Hill for doing such a gnarly race and helping out this event – it was a great success,” said Joe Parsons, Senior Sports Marketing Manager for Monster Energy. Noteworthy: The Monster Energy Sample Team gave out more than 28,000 cans of Monster Original, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault and Monster Khaos during the week-long event!
Sam Hill and the Monster Energy/Iron Horse/Mad Catz Racing team – including Sabrina Jonnier and Justin Havukainen - return to action this weekend (Aug. 5-6) for the Round Six of the NORBA National Mt. Bike Series at Brian Head, Utah. The following weekend the series wraps up in Snowmass, Colo. (Aug. 12-13). Havukainen is currently 3rd overall in the men’s division points, Hill is 5th (having raced only a partial schedule). This should favor Hill as the racers are allowed to take the best five-of-seven scores from the seven-race series and Hill plans on finishing out the last two events.
“Both Sam and Justin have the Monster Energy/Iron Horse/Mad Catz Racing team in a position to make the overall podium at Nationals this year,” said Sean Heimdal, Team Manager for Monster Energy/Iron Horse/Mad Catz Racing. “And Sabrina is in sixth place overall in the women’s class, having only made three of the first five events. So she’s in a position as well to make the overall Nationals podium.”
Lending a hand to the Monster Energy/Iron Horse/Mad Catz racing team are sponsors: Alligator Cables (shifter cables), Avid (brakes), Crank Brother (pedals), DT Swiss (wheels, rims, hubs, and spokes), E13 (chainguides), Five Ten (shoes), FSA- Cranks (bottom brackets, seatposts, headsets), FUNN (handlebars and stems), Maxima (lubes), Maxxis (tires), Minoura (trainers), Rock Shox (suspension), Selle Italia (saddles), SRAM (drivetrain), THE (chainstay protectors) and Troy Lee Designs (ride gear).
About Team Monster Energy/Iron Horse/Mad CatzFormed in 2003, the Iron Horse/Mad Catz Team has quickly become one of the world’s elite professional mountain bike programs. Focusing on the disciplines of downhill and four cross racing, the team has been a breeding ground for champions and stars of the sport. Over the past three seasons, Team riders have won the Jr. World Championship, World Cup Overall, three US Open Championships, two Australian National Championships, and Canadian National Championship. Team Sponsors for the 2006 season include: Alligator Cables, Avid, Crank Brother, DT Swiss, E13, Five Ten, FSA, FUNN, Maxima, Maxxis, Minoura, Rock Shox, Selle Italia, SRAM, THE and Troy Lee Designs. You can keep up with the latest Iron Horse/Mad Catz team news at www.madcatzracing.com.
About Monster Energy DrinkMonster Energy supports the sport. Be it mt. bike, motocross, surf, skate, snow, BMX – name it – the athletes are rockin’ Monster Energy more than anything these days. Check out all the flavors – Original Monster Energy, Monster Lo-Carb, Monster Assault and the new Monster/fruit juice hybrid called “Khaos.” Sam Hill digs it – so will you. On the ‘Net at www.monsterenergy.com.
About Iron Horse Bicycle Co., LLCIron Horse Bicycle Company, LLC (www.ironhorsebikes.com) is a bicycle manufacturer based on Long Island, New York. Iron Horse has built a name for itself with a combination of innovative bicycle designs, aggressive pricing, and a top-notch racing program. The line has grown to over 50 models of mountain bikes, road bikes, comfort bikes, juvenile bikes, and hybrids.
Iron Horse's use of top frame designs has set it apart from others in the cycling industry. Workings with engineer Dave Weagle, Iron Horse’s line of dual suspension models are at the cutting edge of bicycle frame design. Iron Horse’s dw-link and single pivot dual suspension bikes have received acclaim from riders for their handling and top shelf components.
About Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. Mad Catz Interactive, Inc (www.madcatz.com), designs, manufactures and markets a full range of accessories for the video game console and hand held markets. The only "pure play" in the fast growing video game accessory segment, Mad Catz Interactive, Inc. is publicly held and trades on the American Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol MCZ. Founded in 1989, Mad Catz employs 100 people and is the leading third party video game accessories company in the world with fiscal year 2002 sales of $83.3 million. Mad Catz' corporate headquarters are in Toronto, Ontario, with operations headquartered in San Diego, California, where design, engineering, sales, marketing, and finance functions are based. Mad Catz' Hong Kong and China-based staff supervise all manufacturing, which the Company outsources to contract factories in Southern China. Mad Catz' products are sold and distributed globally under the Mad Catz brand. The company maintains a 95,000 square foot distribution facility in Mira Loma, California and supplies its products to over 12,000 domestic and international retail locations including, AAFES, Babbages, Best Buy, Blockbuster, CompUSA, Electronics Boutique, FuncoLand, Future Shop, GameStop, KB Toys, K-Mart, Musicland, Sam's Club, Target, and Wal-Mart. In early 2002, Mad Catz opened a London office and warehouse to help service the quickly growing European market while also developing additional retail distribution. The Company's UK operations supply retailers including ASDA, Currys, Dixons, Game, HMV, PC World, and Toys-R-Us. Mad Catz has distributors in every other significant market in the world, including South America, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, the Middle East, and Japan.
For more information on the Iron Horse/Mad Catz Racing Team please contact Team Manager Sean Heimdal at sean@madcatzracing.com.
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