Cytomax/KHS Team captures 1st & 2nd at Rim Nordic XC

From the CrossCountry Cytomax/KHS Co-Factory, Chris Jenkins reports a "1-2-punch" win at Rim Nordic XC (a local race) August:

… We are in a bit of a lull with the racing season so not much to report. Sean Donovan and I did however give one of our local races (Rim Nordic XC) the one two punch this last weekend with a First and Second place. Sean took off on the start and made a pretty good lead on the first lap. I was also feeling good even with a full week of training under my belt and pulled to within 25 seconds at one point. I must have put the fear in my teammates legs because when he started seeing me closing in he put the hammer down on the final descent and won by exactly one minute. It was no problem though because it was however a Cyto/KHS rider in the lead.

I have a few pictures from earlier in the season (Fontana National and Ellings Park Cal State race) of Sean and I. Notice the dirt on Sean. He took a really hard digger injuring his left hand in the process. He was almost totally healed but is still running both shifters on one side so to keep the stress off his thumb.

Chuck Jenkins
Cytomax/KHS Racing

Sean Donovan (left) and Chris Jenkins (right) of Cytomax/KHS Team

2007 National Series Finals - Snowmass, CO

Aspen, Colorado, a place for the rich and famous at the best of times. Twenty million dollar homes carved into the mountain side on the same slopes that a group of rowdy adrenaline seeking junkies blaze down for the fastest times, cleanest runs but more importantly the gravity titles this race determines. Yes it’s true, lunch in the Village can cost you an arm and a leg, and getting a pro teams laundry done might warrant an equity line of credit, but all said and done, we are so spoiled as racers to be dueling it out at a venue like this!

Racing at Snowmass got off to a great start with the 4X qualifying Friday evening. Dale, Melissa and Caroline all took the top qualifying spots in the men’s and women’s Pro 4X (below is a shot of KHS racer Dale Holmes "getting it done" in the finals after taking the number one qualifying spot amongst the best Pro Men 4X racers in the world). Dale looked superb throughout the evening placing 1st in every heat up until the final. He really came into his own at Snowmass, displaying to everybody around him that he was definitely the guy to beat. Dale raced extremely well in the final and placed 2nd overall, a fantastic result considering 3 out of the 4 racers in the final heat all hailed from the Factory Yeti Team. Yeti’s Jared Graves took the win after a great gate start, and Dale did his best to chase him down but could not get by him… what a great race!

Dale pulling ahead - by Quinton Spaulding

Melissa Buhl was on top form as usual… riding like a women possessed! She went on to take the top qualifying spot for KHS in the Women’s Pro 4X. She continued that form all the way to the final heat Saturday evening, going on to win by beating her KHS team mate and Australian 4X National Champion Caroline Buchanan, who qualified 2nd for KHS. This had the entire event talking about Team KHS and solidified our image as "The KHS Army". This win also secured the championship for Melissa and crowned her 4X National Series Champion.

Melissa on course - by Chuck Valenzuela

Everything came to a head on Sunday… it was time for some high speed "moto" style Downhill. This course was fast and choppy with some of the most high speed sections we have seen all season. To win this one was going to take some fearless braking.

Melissa Buhl did not disappoint, after taking another 1st qualifying spot early Sunday morning. She came down to the finish line during the final, powering through a rough finish line straight away to take top honors. Luna’s Marla Strebb placed a close second but it was to be Melissa’s day… and season. She closed everybody out and took the National Series DH Title with this win. Talk about taking care of business!

Women’s 4X Podium - by Chuck Valenzuela

Snowmass treated KHS and its "army" very well. We came home with two Major Championship Titles, three individual gravity event wins and a total of eight podiums!!! I stand back now and realize that all our hard work has paid off, the training, injuries, hardship’s, excitement and the desire to win are all pieces to this great puzzle that make a successful race season.

Men’s 4X Podium - by Chuck Valenzuela

We all race because we love to, but without the help from our sponsors, the racing scene would be completely different. KHS would like to extend a VERY BIG thanks to all of our esteemed co sponsors for helping us make this dream season a reality.

We still have some racing to take care of in 2007, Melissa Buhl and Dale Holmes will both be attending the Jeep King of the Mountain series this coming weekend in Colorado and we wish them the best of luck. The KHS Factory Team will be in Keystone Colorado for the 2007 Keystone Climax - MSC series finals September 1-3.

Very best regards,
Q

Kyle Bennett 2007 UCI BMX World Champion

Free Agent Bikes Kyle Bennett on the top step of the 2007 UCI/NBL World Championship podium. Kyle earned his THIRD World Championship jersey, joining Gary Ellis as the only 2 racers with 3 World Championships. Khalen Young (AUS) and Randy Stumpfhauser (USA) places 2nd and 3rd.

Kyle will be representing the USA and Free Agent at the 2008 Olympics in Bejing. Continue reading Kyle Bennett 2007 UCI BMX World Champion…

Dealer Locator

For the past month, I have been working hard to get a program that allows you to search our dealers by zip code. Finally, it’s working well. Check it out!

On all the pages, you’ll find a search box on the upper right hand corner (including this page). Simply type in your zip code and press "Go!" If you want a more exact search where you can type in your full address, click on the link below it.

The dealer locator is also available for FreeAgent Website.

Continue reading Dealer Locator…

BikeCommuters reviews the KHS Green

Our friend, Moe, at the Bike Commuters has completed his review of the KHS Green. Here is a short quote from his posting.

Overview: When KHS unveiled the Green, I knew I had to test one. The KHS Green is a no frills, no thrills bicycle that will basically haul you and your stuff from point A to Point B. What is the major point of this bike? Price. I’ve seen the KHS Green sell for below $275 at bike shops. It is very hard to find a bicycle under $300 that comes with all the goodies for bike commuting. I used the KHS Green for my 4.6 mile one way commute…

Read the full review with this link

KHS VP WayneD test riding the Green

2007 US National Championships – Mount Snow, Vermont

Vermont is absolutely beautiful! It is so green and has such a great variety of foliage… it is "picture perfect"! This is where the US National Championships were held this year and our team was so happy to be there. This event drew a good amount of participants and it also gave the East Coast racers a chance to attend the Nationals in their neck of the woods, as this event is normally held somewhere on the West Coast.

Photo: Gavin Spaulding

Upon arrival at Mount Snow on Wednesday, it was the usual story… already raining and with continued rainfall, it was going to make for a tough weekend on what is a very high speed scary Downhill course.

Practice was treacherous throughout the week but as the weekend came to a close, the sun was out in full force and the course did dry up enough to set us up for a fantastic race day. Our team did more laundry this week than we have ever done at all the other events throughout the season combined, and with a jersey as bright as ours it was quite a task keeping them clean.

Dual Slalom qualifying went down on Friday evening, and Melissa Buhl came out firing on all cylinders. Melissa managed to take the number one qualifying spot which would put her in a position to ease her way into the finals. The finals were held under the lights Saturday night on a course which afforded us some really exciting racing. Melissa kept focused through-out the evening and went on to meet Kathy Pruitt in the final, where winning became a reality with her final run on the blue course, snapping Kathy out of the gate and never looking back… taking the win for KHS!

Top 5 Pro Wome’s Dual Slalom Results

Continue reading 2007 US National Championships – Mount Snow, Vermont…

Melissa Buhl Crowned U.S. National Champion

Melissa enjoying the moment

KHS Racer Melissa Buhl won the U.S. National Women’s Pro Dual Slalom Championship held in Mount Snow, Vermont.

Melissa will get to wear the Stars & Stripes at every DS event for the next 12 months.

Way to Go, Melissa!  

Melissa Buhl Doubles at the Cougar Mountain Classic

Melissa dominating the field in Women’s Pro Super D

Melissa holding up the Big Check

Melissa Buhl took home 1st in the Women’s Pro Super D and 1st in the Women’s Pro Downhill held at Infineon Raceway in Sonoma California, keeping KHS in the limelight throughout the weekend. Melissa looks to be on form for the rest of the racing season.

The KHS Army will be in Brian Head Utah this weekend for the Flyin’ Brian (race # 4 of the Utah State Downhill Series) and then next week we are off to the US Nationals in Vermont …we hope to see you there!

Photos: Monique Spaulding