Rider Profile: Jake Ferguson
Jake joined us this year and is currently on our support programme, he has improved all season, had a great race at Chesterfield (5th) in a very tough age group (13-14) and was robbed of a position in the main at the Brits. He has just built up his 2007 Supercross iS Pro frame and is getting used to 1.5 wheels for the first time. His brother Lewis also races for us. How long have you been racing?I have been racing for two seasons.
What is the one thing, training-wise, that you think is of most benefit to you?I play football so stamina is a good use for me, also sprints on a bike.My dad bought us an exercise bike so we train on that too.
What's your favourite track and why?My favorite track is Harworth because of its big and smooth jumps.Also i like Sheffield indoor track because its technical.
Who are your favourite riders?Mike Pardon because he is a good friend and always gives me tips.Shanaze of course!!!
Do you do any other sports, if so what and do you think they help you with BMX?Yes, i play football, it is good for stamina with all the running about.
Favourite pre-race food?Mum's pasta night before and apple GO bars.
Check out my blogspot for the latest news on training and events
Hi check out my blogspotcheers Mike
Arran at the ABA Grands - UPDATE 26/11/06
28/11/06
On Sunday Arran got third in his last moto, so out of the competition (Matt went out in his quarters).
Arran thoroughly enjoyed the experience, and managed to meet up with Avent double A pro Tyler Brown.
The young man is currently on the plane home!26/11/06
From what I understand it is a winner only transfer from the motos. First two motos were Saturday: Matt Allen with a 2nd and a 1st so he’s through. Arran’s had a 5th and a 2nd, so everything to go for in the third moto Sunday.
Chas23/11/06
Heard from a very excited Arran, who was stood in the middle of the nearly completed ABA Grands track. The words awesome, wicked, fantastic amongst may other were uttered as he tried to describe it – he’s particularly excited about the large technical third straight (dog-leg).
He and Matt are off to the local Sand Springs BMX club for some more practice.22/11/06
Arran, Matt and veteran Grands photographer Billy Wright have been sight-seeing. They went to the Dallas Cowboy’s stadium and took the tour, which included a ball throwing session on the pitch.
Have meet up with "A" Pro rider Sean McLaskey, at Metroplex gate practice session.
Found a wicked skate park – full of concrete bowls, which Arran thoroughly enjoyed thanks to Sean who lent him his bike.
The trio are travelling to Tulsa, Okalahoma Tuesday – venue for the Grands21/11/06
Alan
Had an email from Arran. Been to Metroplex and Cowtown BMX clubs to participate in club nights. A bit of gate practise and racing in the lovely Texas sun. Making plenty of new friends - they seem to love the English accent.
Tracks are mint and thoroughly enjoying himself. He doesn't want to come home
Regards
Chas
Arran Shrosbree, who is a fouding rider of our team since it formed in 2003, will be racing the ABA Grands event 20-23 November. Despite flying out this week and racing Metroplex BMX tonight (Saturday) he still managed get us this info:
How long have you been racing?Six years.
What single training excersie works best for you?Sprints - so you can spin to win.
Fav. track?Valkenwaard, Holland - a smooth fun track with a bit of everything.
Fav riders?Lewis Lacey, Mike Day, Liam Philips
Other sports?Any cycling - it all helps.
Pre-race food?Jam sandwiches
You can watch the ABA Grands live here:
More breaking news as we get it...
Team training session December
Hi all,
well we are really getting somewhere now. We have the major players onboard sponsorship wise its now a case of confirming the other smaller sponsors.We have
Tioga tyres confirmed today which is a welcome addition.
We have agreed a date for a team
meeting,training session. The date is Sunday December 10th at Sheffield indoor it opens at 1pm so we would like
ALL team members there at 2pm. This is a chance for us to meet before the new year and gauge your progress and explain what we require from you in the 07 season and for us to let you know, exactly what to expect support wise (from us) during 07.
We can also do a fitting of the riding gear to make sure everyone has the correct size. We recieved a shipment of the THOR regal race gear and its awesome. Its also going to cost an arm and a leg to have printed so we want to make sure the core team has all the right sizes.
Any questions dont hesitate to mail or call me
looking forward to seeing you all then
best wishes Mike
Welcome aboard... Charlotte Green!
I'd like to welcome our newest team member, Charlotte Green from Cornwall. She is the 2006 10-12 Girls National #1 and British Champion and is moving up to 13-15 Girls for 2007. I think you'll all agree there hasn't been a more exciting time to join the team, so please all give her a warm welcome.
How long have you been racing?I am 12 now and I have been racing 8 years.
What is the one thing, training-wise, that you think is of most benefit to you? I will benefit most from stamina training.
I am riding on the road twice a week with my dad.
What's your favourite track and why?I love Chesterfield because the first straight is so near the edge ..What a buzz
Who are your favourite riders?Shanaze and Wazza Bancroft both fantastic riders
Do you do any other sports, if so what and do you think they help you with BMX?I do; Hockey ,Netball, Long jump and Swimming. I am good at Long jump because of my BMX racing but hockey and netball should help with stamina and general fitness.
Favourite pre-race food?Spaghetti Bolognaise the night before a race and Jam sandwiches Bananas and Jelly on race day.
Thanks Charlotte!
Its official
PRESS RELEASE
ALANS/SHIMANO DXR
Alansbmx.com are pleased to announce a sponsorship agreement with Madison cycles for the 2007 BMX race season for their brands Shimano, Thor and Giro.
Shimano through Madison will be supplying the all-new DXR groupsets to the BCF’s number one team for 2007. The Team riders will be running full DXR groupsets on their machines which comprise hubs, brakes and cranks. A display bike will be present at all BCF National BMX events showcasing the SHIMANO DXR range. To reflect this partnership the team will be known as ALANS/SHIMANO DXR.
The Team
The Alansbmx.com race team – #1 ranked team in the British Cycling Federation National series this year – consisting of 10 factory riders, male & female aged between 6 and 40, riders will all use Supercross and Avent frames and wear Thor clothing and Giro helmets. For 2007, they will compete in the British Cycling National series, plus selected UCI European events and the UCI World Championships to be held in Vancouver, Canada in July.
Alans BMX
Alans BMX, founded in 1981, celebrated 25 years in business this year and is one of the founders of the UK and European BMX scene. With two retail stores in Wigan, Lancashire, Alans has one of the most popular websites in BMX, currently employs 10 staff and has major expansion plans for 2007.
Alan Woods, founder of Alans BMX said “This a very exciting deal, we are honoured to be working with Madison and hope this relationship – aside from promoting our respective businesses & brands – will help generate interest in BMX in general. This is big news and goes to show how BMX Racing is making people sit up and take notice – especially with the introduction of BMX Racing in the Olympics starting in 2008. I have to congratulate all our riders on their achievements this year winning the team title and have to thank Mike Pardon for his help securing this deal. Our aim has been to be the most professional team in BMX and we look forward to stepping up our game even further next season”.
Madison
Madison Cycles is the UK’s largest distributor of cycle parts & accessories whose product portfolio includes such brands as Shimano, Giro and Bell. It also owns the Ridgeback cycle brand and has recently expanded into the powersports business. Madison Cycles is also the home of Ultimate Pursuits, a nationwide network of independent dealers in the cycle and powersports businesses.
Matt Rushton from Madison commented “We are delighted to hook up with Alans BMX team, they are the number 1 team in the UK so where better to promote Shimano’s new BMX group ahead of the Olympics? I’m really looking forward to working with a team as professional as Alans and think that working together in this way we can go a long way in promoting BMX racing to a wider cycling audience.”
PRODUCT INFORMATION
SHIMANO DXR: Dedicated to BMX racing
Shimano is introducing completely new and innovative components specifically for BMX racing, which will be an Olympic sport as from the Olympics of 2008 in Bejing, China. Shimano DXR cranksets, hubs, brake levers and brakes have been developed in co-operation with experienced BMX racers to offer superior performance for this demanding sport.
Probably the most important component of a BMX racing bike is the crankset. Especially at the start, riders put excessive force on the crank. Therefore the crankset should be very rigid and reliable to transfer the power of the riders directly into speed. Keeping this in mind, Shimano developed the FC-MX70 crankset which is based on the Saint cranks that are being used a lot at this moment by the pro riders. This lightweight BMX crankset has been developed with Shimano’s HOLLOWTECH II technology and integrates the bottom bracket to create a super stiff construction for optimal power transfer. This crankset has a 4-arm spider and a reinforced pedal/crank interface by using a steel t-nut threaded bushing. It has a single front chainring (34/38/41/42/43/44/46T) that’s compatible with Shimano’s 9-speed HG chains. This crankset will be available in following crank lengths: 165, 170, 175 and 180mm.
The hubs HB-MX70 and FH-MX70 have been developed with super smooth angular contact bearings. The freehub features a super quick engagement for fast power transfer which is of vital importance in this sport where winning or loosing is being decided in a matter of seconds. The hubs will be available in 32 and 36 spoke hole versions. The freehub carries single sprockets with 14, 15, 16 or 18 teeth.
Finally a DXR rear V-Brake and a 2-finger left and right hand side brake lever will be available (for rear brake only). The brake features cartridge brake shoe holders and offers powerful and reliable stopping power in all conditions.
These specific Shimano BMX racing components provides for a worry-free and reliable set-up, for racing to the max.
Pretzels anyone?
In Mike's TT report he neglected to mention his little freestyle excursion, momentarily forgetting he wasn't running Skyway Tuff Wheels anymore (one blue, one white of course)...
Talent Team camp in Wales
here is a couple of shots of the Talent team training (check Jez going BURLY!!!) in Wales yesterday. I will write a full report later.. see ya Mike
ok heres a quick lowdown on the Talent team lost in Wales.. I unfortunately missed a day on Saturday with other commitments but by Jez's accounts the riders where put through there paces.
The mountain bike trails around North Wales are great fun, challenging on the climbs and as hairy as you want on the downhill. Stuff like this has what i call the "the mummy factor" if you dont pull your brakes well you cry for your momma but she aint going to come!!! I attended the camp on the sunday morning and we all set off to some fresh tracks near the hostel. After changing we where straight into an uphill section that really tested the thighs early on a sunday. It was a light drizzle but nice and fresh. Then we followed the track into single file downhill tracks that are great, slippy, fast and in places not very forgiving.. The guys had all done nearly three hours the day before but they all worked really hard. Some of the uphill stuff is lactic acid country..On one section you are going so fast you darent pull your brakes to hard and your arms are cramping from holding the bars to tight. A fine line. Alex "mountain Goat" Deakin showed what he is made of and is a superb climber and fearless on the downhill. He had everyone roaring in laughter after some excursions off the beaten track.. We all arrived back in one piece and fuelled up and drove to Wrexham bmx track. This a great small facility only room enough for two riders max and thats a squeeze but its got quite a few doubles triples and concrete berms its fast and makes you think quickly!!
Tired legs where the order of the day but we all had fun jumping as you can see by the pics. Mr Lacey was flying. Alex was crossing up, Arran was doing it smooth (go professor) I tried to bring it back to the old school and put my foot through my front wheel destroying it. First time i rode my new 20" DOH.
Thanks to the local Welsh crew for being so friendly.
A great camp was had. The point of all this is to build up the core endurance fitness,the stamina and bike handling skills and to give the riders a taste of the commitment they will need should they make it onto the Podium program. Its an ongoing thing and believe me its going to get tougher for all. Many thanks to Jez for all his effort in making another successful camp and showing us he can still bust it out with the best of them.
Roll on December and the next camp in Newport.. see you trackside Mike
Joey's bike
Joey Gough just sent us pictures of her new set up, she'll be running our Supercross tyres and Bombshell rims - she also has our limited 25yr Turquoise hubs on there. I think you'll be seeing more of Joey on the BMX race scene in 07 ;)
Check out her website here.
