Welcome Adrenaline Race Team

Vassago Cycles is excited to announce the co-sponsor partnership with Adrenaline Race Team based out of Arizona. Darrin Austin has built a team that has a wide range of riders from beginner to Pro. Tom Ament joined Adrenaline Race Team at the beginning of 2008. These guys love to race and love to have fun.

2008 MBAA Race Series

Left to Right: Chris Latham, Tom Ament, Deejay Birtch, Darrin Austin

Currently the team is racing this weekend at the MBAA Final Race in the series. Current standings for the team at the MBAA Series, as of race #6:

1st place Adrenaline Race Team - sponsored by Coyotes Athletic Centers

2nd place Swiss American Racing - sponsored by Swiss American Bicycle

3rd place Primus Cycling - sponsored by Fetish Cycles

Good luck out there guys!

Suzuki 24 Hours of Conyers

With the original race course redesigned and rerouted with 9 miles per lap we're excited to have Eddie O'Dea and Namrita O'Dea out there racing this weekend. Eddie, who took 3rd, and Namrita, who took 1st in Vail , we're sure will have a good race in Conyers. We'll be watching the live results back at the ranch. We would also like to thank Team Addictive for taking care of Eddie and Namrita through the 24 hour event.

There is a good line up going in the Men's Solo category but if you haven't read it - Namrita is asking for more women to come out and compete! Don't let her down - we need the women out there racing!

Namrita and Eddie recently spoke with CyclingNews about the upcoming race. "You always feel a little extra pressure racing on your home course," said Eddie O'Dea. "I set this out as the race I wanted to win at the start of my 24 [hour] career, and I haven't done that yet." MORE:

Minnesota State Championship Series #1

Congratulations to Steve and Zach Stilwell. They started their race season this past weekend, hitting the Minnesota State Championship series. Steve riding the Optimus Ti and Zach riding a Jabberwocky. With the threat of canceling the race and 40 degree start weather they were ready to get out there and ride! Riders rode out in waves of 4 - Zach above headed out in the 1st wave.

Race results:

Steve: 1st place overall, 1st place age group, 1st place gender

Zach: 3rd place overall, 1st place age group, 3rd place gender

Vassago Welcomes Brad and Tasha Keyes

Coming from the great state of Utah, Brad and Tasha contacted Vassago Cycles about a team sponsorship and great things happened from there. We usually do not add to a team in the middle of the season but the email request and dedication to 29ers caught our attention.

Brad started out with a Karate Monkey when it first hit the market (we all love the KM) and moved on to other 29ers from there. When his 29er died he jumped back on his 26 and it just wasn't working for him. What was his intrigue with Vassago? Wet Cat Geometry!

In 2007 Brad competed in the Intermountain Cup Series, Single Speed Class
1st place 5-mile Pass
1st place Evanston Wolverine Ridge
1st place Frozen Hog
2nd place Cholla Challenge
2nd place Soldier Hollow
2nd place Draper Challenge
2nd place Sundance Spin
2nd place Snowbird Mountainbout
3rd place Deer Valley

Tasha has been racing for a majority of the past 10 years off and on, with the past couple years dedicating herself to racing. In 2007, she competed in the Park City E50, a tough 50 mile course with 10,000 feet of climbing and 100% technical single track.

In 2007, Tasha took on quite a few races - a few below:
3rd place Women's 35+ Draper, Intermountain Cup Series
4th place Park City E100/50 women's
1st place women's relay team LOTOJA

For 2008, she has already raced in the Desert Rampage Intermountain Cup Series and finished 2nd place.

When not racing Brad and Tasha are running their own business making an endurance sports drink called CarboRocket and are also developing their private land in Gooseberry Mesa, where they held the first Gooseberry Mesa 100 this year.

We're excited to have these two on board.

Three Races - One Weekend

Known as PMBAR and stated to be one of the toughest races around...something to challenge everyone. Jeremy Arnold, out of North Carolina, teamed up with Luis Calderon, out of Florida, in the suffering. Ron Bennett, out of Florida, is riding the Optimus Ti (to the left of Jeremy). Thanks Ron! Hitting four checkpoints in 7 hours and 47 minutes they were 19th out of 72 finishing teams. Photos below - courtesy of Brado. Thanks Brado!

Dirt, Sweat, and Gears and the SSUSA - Were you able to make it. We hear this was an awesome weekend event. We were unable to attend this event, however, we had quite a few frames given away at this race. Let us hear from you if you won one...we'd like to congratulate you! Check out the DirtRag Gallery.

Dirty Spokes - If you weren't at the other two then we know you had to be at this one. We found Cody Yancey, among some of the riders from Team Addictive at Dirty Spokes, racing in the 6 hour Solo Expert. Congrats!! Photos can be viewed at Mesta Photos!

Congratulations to everyone...next races for Vassago Riders include:

24 Hours of Conyers Granny Gear
12 Hours of Tsali
Xbar Shootout
BURN 24 Hour Challenge

24 Hours of Vail Lake

Congratulations to Namrita O'Dea and Eddie O'Dea on their survival and victory at the 24 Hours of Vail Lake this weekend in Temecula, California. Armed to the teeth with their new OptimusTi, titanium bikes, they endured 100 degree temps and relentless competition to take home 1st and 3rd in Women's Solo and Men's Solo class respectively. This is the first race in the Granny Gear national series for these two.

Namrita wins 1st place
Fastest lap time for Women's Solo: 1:15:34

Namrita took on the Women's Solo class and had some great competition out there. Namrita completed her 11th lap of the course at 9:02 am with 112 miles and 16,478 feet elevation gain. She was pretty far ahead at that point and didn't need to continue. A beautiful ending to a long journey. Did we mention she does this all in a single speed?

Scores for all racers in Women's solo can be seen HERE and read about the Women's Solo riders on the Vail Lake WebCast!

Eddie wins 3rd place

Eddie raced in the Men's Solo class. Competition in the Men's was extreme. Eddie didn't let that start playing on his mind. He stayed focused and kept his finish in sight. Eddie completed his 13th and final lap at 7:33 am with almost 133 miles and 19,474 feet elevation gain. Scores for all Men's Solo can be seen HERE and read the Post Race Report.

VeloNews - O'Dea and Wheeler take solo honors at 24 Hours of Vail Lake
CyclingNews - Wheeler and O'Dea win 24-hour NPS opener

24hpassion.it - 24hpassion in pillole: 12 ore Lunigiana, foto di Eddie e Namrita

Suzuki 24 Hour Series Opener - Won by Wheeler, O'Dea: Lichtenwalner, other O'Dea in close contention

Wishing Vassago riders Eddie O'Dea and Namrita O'Dea the best of luck at the Granny Gear Vail Lake 24 hour race this weekend. Racing in Men's Solo and Women's Solo these two are set to take on the National race. Riding the Optimus Ti as their main bike with the BanderSnatch and JabberWocky ready for back up. We sent them out early to pre-ride the course for a few days and get a feel for what equipment is needed for the day of the race. Both riders having just raced the Cohutta in Tennessee are warmed up and ready to go. Look for a full race report from both riders on their blog sites next week and we'll be sure to share the highlights and photos. Good luck to all racers heading out there.

Kick Ass Eddie and Nam!