The 2010 H2O Overdrive Triple Crown presented by Specialized appears to be on the radar of some of the World’s top Mountain Bike talent, according to US Cup management.

 

“We are very excited with the feedback we have been receiving from the industry and riders about the opening round of the H2O Overdrive Triple Crown All Mountain Series stated US Cup marketing director Ty Kady. “To date, I have confirmation from some of North America’s top riders, plus 2009 women’s World Championship Bronze medalist Lene Byberg of the Factory Specialized team is set to race, along with her teammate Todd Wells.”

 

“I can confirm that a lot of top talent will be attending, including newly signed Cannondale Factory riders Jeremiah Bishop and Tinker Juarez. Team Sho-Air/Specialized will be sending five time Australian champion Sid Taberlay, along with Max Plaxton and Tad Elliot. We also expect some of the Kenda/Felt team, some of the Subaru/Gary Fisher crew, as well as a possible Geoff Kabush sighting with his Rocky Mountain/Maxxis team. All in all, we expect the field to be loaded in both the men and women’s races as they go after potentially huge prize money and media coverage!” continued Kady

 

“But let’s not forget about all the privateers, both regional and nationally that can come stake their claim” reiterated Kady. “We could be paying as deep as 30 spots, and we have a Top U23 and Top Senior (oldest) rider bonus too.”

 

“Industry feedback has been really positive on the new concept and it seems to be gaining momentum with the sponsors, teams and riders commented Kady.

 

Jon Rourke, the Subaru/Gary Fisher team manager had this to say “We look forward to having the team/riders participate in the H2O Overdrive TC events. The overall concept of the TC should prove to be interesting both from racing dynamics and strategy perspective."

Pua Sawicki, a six time national endurance champion, had this perspective as an attending rider, "I am really excited about the first race in the H2O Overdrive Triple Crown at Bonelli Park and I am excited about the new format. Not only will it be fun to race all three disciplines, but it will also highlight the best all around racer.”

 

North America’s top cross country Pro Geoff Kabush, chimed in via e-mail with his support, “I think you will get a lot of appreciation from the riders for the payouts. That is about how it was back in the day when I started… $3500 for the win….. It is nice when you can finish 5-6th and still get $500-600 bucks to break even for the weekend.”

 

The US Cup is pleased to announce that the Kenda Cup West Series, presented by Specialized will incorporate two of its rounds to create the H2O Overdrive Triple Crown All Mountain Regional Series.

 

“The response to our Triple Crown All Mountain Series has been overwhelming, comments US Cup Chairman R. Scott Tedro. “We are running a “Beta” test within the Kenda Cup West series. If all goes well, we would like to implement the regional Triple Crown concept nationally for 2011.”

 

 

However, out in the Kenda Cup West series, the Santa Ynez round scheduled for 4/10-11 and the Santa Barbara Bike Festival scheduled for 6/5-6 will now be the second and third round of the “regional Triple Crown” format.

 

“The birth of the H2O Overdrive Triple Crown all mountain Pro series was two fold, explains US Cup marketing director Ty Kady. “One, we wanted to invest our money back into the Pro field in the form of larger and deeper prize pursues so these riders could subsidize their careers. Two, we wanted to do something that the riders, industry and fans could get behind as a whole and really enjoy some great racing!” continues Kady.

 

“However, we realized there are some quality local and regional riders that due to work, family or other constraints can’t make the other two National Triple Crown events. So we wanted to experiment with a regional triple crown all mountain concept in the west and see if the increased prize pursue and media helped out some of these privateers and provided added value for our event sponsors” commented Ty Kady.

 

The regional Triple Crown pro payout has been posted on the official US Cup website. For the Santa Ynez and Santa Barbara Bike Festival rounds, there will be an influx of prize money available for the winners. Potentially up for grabs is a possible $3,000 dollar Pro pursue for both the men and women’s field, which would pay down to 30^th position if the field requirements were met.