Our ambassador and part of the Blue family, Periklis Panousis, having a great day out on the Chinook G2!
We received the below email from Periklis about his experience on the Chinook. It’s great to hear it in his own words how much he is enjoying riding the Chinook G2.
“Just a word to tell you how grateful I am for getting me such an amazing bike. I love climbing hills on it!
All the best and with appreciation,
Periklis”
Our champ Liza!
Out in beautiful Boise rocking the new Crew SL, our super light hardtail! Boise is a great play ground for it. Thanks Liza for sharing the photos with us.
Our athlete Caroline Mani is looking forward to a few races this season on board the new Crew XC. This is super light, 23 lb complete build, as shown in the photo. A cross country dream bike! Stay tuned for more from Caroline and the Crew XC.
Memorial Day Austin Texas at the Cap Tex Tri Michael took first place in his age group posting a super fast bike leg on the Triad Elite. In Michael’s words:
Blue,
Thank you again for all your help. I had my first race on the new frame yesterday here in Austin at the Cap Tex Tri and got 1st in my age group! Got compliments on the bike and crushed the urban technical bike leg at 22.7 mph average. Y’all are awesome and I love riding your bikes.
Thanks Michael for sending the photos! Glad to have you as part of the family.
As I followed the wheels of my teammates blindly through the Zolder pre-ride, I nearly
rode into the drop-in of the sand hill with a nasty unpredictable rut. My teammates rode down it
unstably and blindly, just managing to stay upright. Locking sight with the descent from the back
of the group took me by surprise. I stopped just in time to catch myself, just before I would have
to commit. I moved to the side thinking I was lucky to have caught myself. My coach and
teammates looked for me at the bottom, but I was still stuck at the top. I told myself I was ready
and everything would be fine, but my body was frozen. I was scared of it, the possibility of a bad
wreck, the rut, the crowd judging me. “I can’t do it,” I motioned down to my coach.
Having no choice but to ride it, I blinked away nervous tears. I heard a voice next to me,
“it's okay to be scared, you can do it.” I looked over to see a stern looking spectator motioning to
me. “But you have to commit from back there,” he pointed up the hill. “Once you get your wheel
over the edge, you commit.” I looked at him with a nervous expression. “You just have to get
your wheel over the edge,” he said gently to me. “Now go.” I thanked him and walked my bike
up the hill. Taking a deep breath, I knew I had to accept the fear and then let it go. Taking a deep
breath, I clipped in, and approached the long, steep rut. I Inhaled. I peered over the edge from my
bike. I Exhaled. I decided to commit. “Now let go,” the spectator whispered to me as I crossed
the edge. With one foot out, I made it. Though it wasn't the smoothest, I laughed it off and took a
deep breath. “That wasn't so bad.”
Experiencing the kerstperiode was just like hitting the rut, committing and letting go of
your fear. We raced many technical courses all of which had extremes. Some courses you dove
headfirst into deep sand and others you trudged through thick cowfield mud. At Mol, our sand
skills were put to the test. Just trying to keep your momentum was a challenge in itself, though
being hunted down by Lucinda Brand was terrifying. Then we had Loenhout, which was the
exact opposite of Mol, racing through knee deep mud and running about half of the course. After
that came Hulst, again, completely different. Sharp, steep downhills. I remember wrecking into a
post so hard I almost broke a few fingers and landed myself in a Belgian hospital for hours. We
ended the block with Baal, a sketchy, rutted permanent course. After each race I took away the
same thing, you need to commit. Whether it was sand hills, mud bogs, or steep descents, you
needed to commit and ride it like you owned it.
Seven races, fourteen days. Ten athletes in one house. One washer and dryer machine.
Racing everyday or every other day was completely mind bending. I was told to keep everything
organized and in order. I quickly realized my coach was right. This made racing seem like “the
easy part.” After racing and organizing over and over again, I established and perfected my pre
and post race routine which was half the battle of having a successful race. Walking away from
this block, I subconsciously created many healthy habits that I continue to keep doing even after
this racing block ended. The kerstperiode was fast and furious. Just like riding the rut, you didn’t
have time to think. You were already committed, looked forward, and rolled from race to race,
doing what needed to get done with the least amount of stress possible.
Overall, if I had to describe the racing during the kerstperiode I would say it was gnarly,
humbling, inspiring, and just plain out hard. While reflecting on this block, I realized what it
takes to be a cyclocross racer: having courage, having a willingness to suffer, having a curious
and open mindset, being organized, being humble and having gratitude. I've realized that
European racing is just like riding a rut, picking the line, hitting it with confidence that it will
take you where you need, and exiting with more speed and a smooth line. Even though this kind
of racing was extremely difficult and taxing, its true to say that I miss it already. I am eagerly
looking forward to the next season of cyclocross.
The new Norcross is ready for UCI sanctioned events.
Maddie had an impressive showing in the Cx European campaign. We are so proud of Maddie for representing the US National team and showing the Blue colors all over Europe.
The team was amazing - 3 riders driving the Cat 2/3 races & 1 winning Cat 3/4 both days. Lots of Blue's on the Podium this weekend!!
Cat 2/3 - Hadley (16) won Saturday in a 3 way podium battle with Masters Pro Jane Burlew & team mate Camille (14). They book-ended Jane much of the race, pushing pace to keep her in check & matched each move she made. Great team effort results with Hadley P1, Camille P3. On day 2, another top US Jr rider, Ada Watson (16), joined the field & we had 5 strong riders at the front. Ada managed to get a gap off the front late in Lap 2 and it stuck. Ava Shipman (15/MidWest Devo) was having an inspired day - that left 4 (Hadley, Camille, Jane, Ava) slugging it out over 5 laps for 2nd & 3rd. Hadley broke away and built about a10s gap late in the race to claim 2nd. Camille lost contact with Jane and Ava on the last lap as they kept attacking, eventually the 3rd podium spot came down to sprint and bike throw for Jane at the line, Camille 4th. Super exciting racing both days.
Hazel (15) had her best weekend in her first year of focused racing, winning Cat 3/4 both days against a solid field. She is ready to cat-up IMO!
We are stoked for Nationals...not far away!
Seems normal that the Norcross continues taking the podium in the cross races. Caroline and Lauren taking first and third at the North Carolina CX yesterday.
Thanks Anne for sending the photos.
