January 17/01 5:56 am - Norco Team 2001, Tour Down Under

Posted by Editor on 01/17/01
 

2001 Norco Factory Racing Team
(courtesy Peter Stace-Smith)

The 2001 Norco Factory Team delivers in every aspect of the sport; Freeride, Cross-Country, Downhill, Dual Slalom, R&D, Trials and BMX. Norco manufactures a line-up of bikes that gives us a competitive advantage in every discipline, while breaking new ground in the process. Our riders have been signed to show and test the bikes to their limits. We are very excited about this coming season.

During the 2001 season, our Norco Factory Downhill, Dual Slalom and Cross-Country teams will be focusing on the Canada Cup Series, as well as select Norba and World Cup events. Several of our freeriders are currently working on major video and film projects that will launch during the spring/summer 2001 season (we presently have 9 film projects on the go with team riders so far). The infamous Norco Factory Trials Team will also be doing some 150+ shows nationwide (estimated exposure - 300,000+ spectators live), appearing everywhere from race venues to shopping malls.

Canada's top trials rider and returning team member for 2001, Ryan Leech, is an integral part of the Norco Factory Team. Ryan's bike handling skills are unique and innovative - he mixes trials with a touch of freestyle BMX and mountain biking, thereby creating a style that he invents daily. When not filming, riding or giving technical feedback, Ryan can be found maintaining his web site (www.ryanleech.com), organizing trips and shows, or dreaming up another next-to-impossible feat.

A new addition to this year's team is current Canadian National Downhill Champion, Barb Haley. Barb lives at the base of the North Shore mountains in Vancouver and will undoubtedly be a valuable resource for results and bike feedback for the designers here at Norco.

Returning hot-shot cross-country rider, Ruedi Schynder, will be pairing up with Neil Grover and Clare Hall-Patch to shake up the top ten and make a habit out of podium finishes on the cross-country circuit. Clare placed third in the junior World Road Race Championships in France during the 2000 season, proving that she has the right motor to rip the legs off of her competitors...as mellow as she may seem.

And of course there's our unicycle rider, Kris Holm...some call him crazy, we call him talented beyond belief... Kris has had featured appearances in New World Disorder and Kranked 3, not to mention several national television appearances (Canada AM and Ripley's Believe It or Not) and countless print stories in and outside of the industry. Seeing is believing----

And the rest of the Norco Factory Team:

Freeride/Filming / Hails from....

Darryl Steane / Vancouver, BC
Darren Butler / Invermere, BC
Mike Kinraid / Nelson, BC
Kenny Maude / North Vancouver, BC

Downhill/Dual Slalom

Brian Eller / Coquitlam, BC
Barb Haley / North Vancouver, BC
Deb Mackillop / Nelson, BC
Cecile Gambin / Toronto, Ont

Cross-Country

Ruedi Schynder / Roberts Creek, BC
Clare Hall-Patch / Victoria, BC
Neil Grover / Winnipeg, MAN

Trials Team

Ryan Leech / Vancouver, BC
Robin Coope / Vancouver, BC
Greg Forrest / Vancouver, BC
Ryan Senechal / Toronto, ONT
Kris Holm / Vancouver, BC
Nelson Papel / Bradford, ONT
Shawn Denny / Nelson, BC

BMX Team

Richard Humphries / Maple Ridge, BC
Tyler McGill / Port Coquitlam, BC

And R&D Team

Len Hornidge / Vancouver, BC
Rich Prorok / Maple Ridge, BC
Travis Bailey / Vancouver, BC
Jay Krantz / North Vancouver, BC


Tour Down Under, Australia

Stage 2 - Norwood to Murray Bridge 142 km

1 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Saeco Macchine Per Caffe 3:26:34
2 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Credit Agricole
3 Kai Hundertmark (Ger) Telekom
4 Nick Gates (Aus) Sunsmart-Mitsubishi
5 Glenn D'Hollander (Bel) Lotto Adecco
6 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Ag2R Decathlon
7 Cadel Evans (Aus) Sunsmart-Mitsubishi
8 Benoit Poilvet (Fra) Credit Agricole
9 Jorg Ludewig (Ger) Saeco Macchine Per Caffe
10 Nicolaj Bo Larsen (Den) CSC-World Online all s.t.

36 Bobby Julich (USA) Credit Agricole at 27:09

GC

1 Fabio Sacchi (Ita) Saeco Macchine Per Caffe 4:26:30
2 Jorg Ludewig (Ger) Saeco Macchine Per Caffe s.t.
3 Stuart O'Grady (Aus) Credit Agricole at 0:02
4 Kai Hundertmark (Ger) Telekom 0:04
5 Daniele Nardello (Ita) Mapei-Quick Step s.t.
6 Nick Gates (Aus) Sunsmart-Mitsubishi 0:06
7 Glenn D'Hollander (Bel) Lotto Adecco
8 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Ag2R Decathlon
9 Cadel Evans (Aus) Sunsmart-Mitsubishi
10 Benoit Poilvet (Fra) Credit Agricole all s.t.

36 Bobby Julich (USA) Credit Agricole 27:15