Photos by: Monique & Brittany Spaulding

Report by: Quinton Spaulding

This  past weekend brought us back to Fontana, CA for the “Finals” of the SHIMANO Winter Series. Farmer Boys restaurant had their mobile kitchen out there and served up arguably the best food ever enjoyed at a Fontana race.

Joining us this weekend and participating in the 4x, was our very own Free Agent BMX Team Manager, Dale Holmes,(who had a weekend off from his busy schedule ). Holmes is a feature on the KHS Factory Team roster and joins us when he can. He was also getting warmed up for the US Cup Mountain Bike Series National presented by SHO-AIR that will be held in Fontana this coming weekend.

Here’s a couple of shots of Dale getting some practice Saturday morning.

This is Holmes during one of his heat races …out in the front like he so often is!

Dale had a stellar performance and was the first one to dethrone GT Factory rider Eric Carter off the top spot of the podium this entire Winter Series.

Left to right: Blake Carney(Yeti), Dale Holmes (KHS), Eric Carter (GT)

PRO MEN 4X RESULTS

Left to right: Evelio Suarez(KHS/NEMA), Jake Kinney(AVENT), Eric Carter(GT), Blake Carney(YETI)

KHS sponsored rider, Evelio Suarez took 4th place in the overall 4X results for the Winter Series.

More kids on KHS bikes.

Factory SHIMANO kids racer!

Future World Champion.

Naish Ulmer getting ready for some Saturday DH practice runs.

Naish Ulmer took a 5th place in the Super D Saturday. Ulmer will contest a number of Super D events for KHS this season.

DH Practice Saturday was dry and dusty.

However, everything changed Sunday … it rained all morning with  intensity and was gone by noon.

Waiting in shuttle lines, in the rain, not fun… but it has to be done!

The sun came out for a brief moment before the race start on Sunday.

Naish Ulmer keeps building on his DH finishes at Fontana taking 16th place on the day. Fontana is a difficult place to do well, the sprint down the wall is where this race is won!

Photo courtesy of: Eric Foltz

I had a small bobble in the lower rocks (that cost me a couple seconds), but completing a perfect race run in the Downhill discipline is a very rare occurrence. I finished 12th on the day, and took 9th place in the overall standings for the series.

PRO MEN DH RESULTS

We ended the weekend at a well known food joint. Trying to eat healthy on the road is an overwhelming task at times, so we only had a few tacos(quite a few)!

KHS would like to give a “shout out” to our sponsors!

The KHS Factory Team will be in Fontana,  CA  March 25th – 29th for the 2nd round of the US Cup Mountain Bike Series. If you happen to be there, drop in and say Hi.

Please stay tuned for more updates and photos as they become available.

All the best!

Q.

Photos by: Monique & Brittany Spaulding

Report by: Quinton Spaulding

Crash Innovations held their 3rd Annual St. Patty’s Day Feast at Bootleg Canyon in Boulder City, NV this past weekend. This race is a favorite for us as we do a lot of off-season training and testing there.

Brent Thomson (“The Trail Master”) who built a network of trails at Bootleg Canyon, recently succumbed to complications from Bypass surgery. He will be  sadly missed by all in the Mountain Bike community as well as all of those who knew and loved him. On the Saturday of the event, he was honored with a memorial ride along with a bonfire and a toast from all his friends.

Early Saturday morning getting ready for some DH practice.

The shuttles at a Bootleg race are usually packed to the gills and sometimes it can take a while to get your turn…

… and then there are those racers who prefer to shuttle themselves in style to avoid those long lines!

Binggeli, Ulmer, Buhl and myself  during one of our practice sessions… there is no “I” in team right??

We practiced as a group the entire weekend, sporting our new gear and bikes

Binggeli was looking really solid during practice, and was a definite favorite to win.

He rode smoothly all weekend.

Unfortunately Binggeli crashed hard in his race run on Sunday (just 2 turns from the finish line) and he was on a good time too!

He broke his arm just before the wrist (there is an upside to this, if there is such a thing)… none of the bones in the hand or wrist were damaged!

The bones  were set in his arm at the Emergency Room of the Boulder City Hospital, and Binggeli will most likely have surgery in his hometown of St. George, UT – later on this week.

His bike did sustain some damage in the crash… high speed crashes are always the worst!

New KHS rider and “Pro Rookie” Naish Ulmer also looked fast in practice.

Ulmer, who has “Styles for Miles”, had the best result of his pro career thus far and took a 2nd place finish on the podium for KHS… well done Naish!

Melissa Buhl rolling fast during practice.

Buhl was unstoppable in the woman’s field and took the overall win Sunday morning in the finals!

I was hungry for the win on Sunday, wanting to defend my 2008 title.  I felt confident in the start gate that I was going to do well and knew that if I wanted to win… I would have to “let it all hang out“!

Photo courtesy of: Ian Hylands

I gave it my all and with a clean run, I laid down the fastest time of the day (besting Naish Ulmer by hundredths of a second for the overall win).

PRO MEN TOP 15 DH RESULTS

Left to Right – Tasa Herndon, Melissa Buhl(KHS) and Jackie Harmony(All Mountain Cyclery)

KHS’s Melissa Buhl on top of the podium!

Left to right – Scott Johnson(KHS “B TEAM”), Quinton Spaulding(KHS), Naish Ulmer(KHS) and John Keep (T.L.D)

KHS almost swept the mens podium. Had it not been for Binggeli’s injury… I am sure we would have!

Everything ran efficiently at this event. The timing was done by Team Big Bear, the race scheduling was on time, generally speaking …there were ZERO complaints!

A great product raffle followed the awards and all was over by  3.30pm.

I would like say a big Thank You to Matt over at HAYES, who took care of our teams suspension, wheels and brakes throughout the weekend.

The Official sponsors of the 2009 KHS Factory Team.

The KHS Factory Team will be in Fontana,  CA  March 21st – 22nd for the Final Round of the SHIMANO Winter Series. If you happen to be there drop in and say Hi.

Please stay tuned for more updates and photos as they become available.

All the best!

Q.

Photos by: Monique & Brittany Spaulding

Report by: Quinton Spaulding

The SHIMANO Winter Series is coming down to the wire, we were back in Fontana last weekend for round number 5. The finals (which are a National) are just a couple of weeks down the road and everybody is rallying for points.

The week before the race turned out to be a real downer, some low life scum broke into our trailer in storage and got away with many key items.

They moved cameras, cut alarms, and then savaged our trailer… they deserve to be punished to the fullist extent of the law!

We have patched all the holes and moved forward though. Racing is what we have to take care of, and we choose not to dwell on the misery that others try to enforce.

Our good friends, Mike and Rod (over at GATORWRAPS ) will cover the damage next week with their expertise, when they are done no one will ever know it was there! “SKIN FOR YOUR RIDE”. If you ever need anything professionally wrapped these are the go-to guys!

Melissa Buhl and myself getting in some early practice runs Saturday morning.

Logan Binggeli had a solid finish – taking 6th place. He wants to be number 1 on top of the podium, but this is a good result never the less.

I finished 11th in a group of  36 fast pro’s, and was relatively pleased with my result. if I could just shave a couple of seconds I could get on the podium… more work to do! “INTERVALS”

Picture courtesy of: www.bluefirepictures.com

The latest addition to the KHS squad – Nash Ulmer finished 20th. This was an improvement on his last Fontana race, Nash is a rookie in the pro field for 2009. He is a little more comfortable in the Pro class now,  and feels the need to go faster. Nash also raced the Super D discipline Saturday morning and had a strong 6th place finish right behind Rich Houseman (Intense Cycles).

PRO MEN DH RESULTS

Picture courtesy of: www.bluefirepictures.com

Melissa had a blistering run in Sundays final, taking the win with time to spare.

PRO WOMEN DH RESULTS

David Lee and Clayton Goldsmith over at MANITOU Suspension have really gone the extra mile for us this year. They had custom decals made for our DORADO forks that match the KHS Factory Team jerseys… we couldn’t be more proud.

Hey look here… honestly this could happen to anyone of us! Dylan Dean (Senior Editor) of PinnedMTB was caught on film posing in a ladies bra… just blame it on the COORS JDD! !

“WE LOVE OUR SPONSORS!!”

Win a trip for two to Whistler, BC -  along with two bikes!! Just click on the KHS web-site link below.

KHS Bicycles wants someone to Live the Ride…and Ride the dream in Whistler, BC with a place to stay and a pair of Brand New bikes to ride!

The KHS Factory Team will be at Bootleg Canyon in Boulder City, NV  March 13th – 15th for the “St. Patty’s Day Feast”. We LOVE racing at Bootleg, and plan on getting the KHS logo all over the podium this weekend.

Please stay tuned for more updates and photos as they become available.

All the best!

Q.