Urge has finally confirmed the entire rider lineup for the 2011 event in Cabo Verde. Among the names are Fabian Barel and Rene Wildhaber, so expect to see some of the newest bikes and fastest riders at the event...
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Source: URGE
The final two pro riders for the Cabo Verde event will be:
René Wildhaber (Trek - Dakine) - Switzerland
Fabien Barel (Mondraker) - France
Rene Wildhaber:
René, you'll be present for Urge Cabo Verde. Why are the Urge Adventures important to you?
R.W : I like the Urge events, especially because of the humanitarian purpose. Nepal and Kenya were a big adventure and I had a lot of fun with the other riders.
Kenya : Trek Remedy! Nepal : Trek Remedy! Cabo Verde : ?
R.W : So far I have no information about the track. I will talk to Fabien and then choose the right bike. Both the Trek Remedy and Trek Scratch are nice bikes. It is really cool to choose between the different Trek bikes, because they have the right bike for every situation.
With the other riders, you've made great progress for humanitarian actions in Kenya and Nepal, are you proud of this?
R.W : Personally I like to help other people. I also have to say thanks to my sponsors Trek, Red Bull and Dakine, who support me and also these humanitarian actions.
You're a great traveller, did you know about this little country, Cabo Verde, and do you think it will be a great place to ride?
R.W : No, I was never there, but it was a place which I wanted to visit once in my life. I only heard about the really nice landscape, but I know few about the people there. I will try to inform myself before the trip and then get in touch with the local people on the island.
This year, two non-pro riders will take part in the adventure, do you think that's a good step for the Urge events?
R.W : As far as I know Fabien took this decision, so I think he will have his reasons. I hope to spend a nice time together with the riders and share the same spirit.
Fabien Barel:
So Fab, did you hesitate to say yes to Fabien Barels invitation for this Urge Cabo Verde? Haha.
F.B : Yes, I know. I always find really hard to say "No" to my own invitation. The adventure is always calling me...
Photos by Seb Boue.
More seriously, everybody was happy to see you on the bike again at the Reunion Megavalanche. Do you feel ready to ride to Capverdian Volcanos ?
F.B : I will definitively work hard to be fit for it. It is a lots of pleasure for me to be back on the bike. The year has been long and riding again is like a victory for me. The Urge Event will be the beginning of a long season and I'm sincerely looking forward to it.
Lets talk a bit to Fabien Barel the organizer, are you satisfied with the riders coming to this Urge Event?
F.B : there is definitively a big satisfaction for me as an organizer. Everyone who's been invited has been keen to come back. We have some new faces like the adventure man Hans Rey and Rowan Sorell who is going to bring lots of style to the event and many more... We had the disappointment that Darren Berrecloth could not fit the event in his schedule, but it is always hard to find a date to work for everyone. The racing side of the adventure will be just unreal with Nico Vouilloz, René Wildhaber, and Jey Clementz who are the fastest enduro racers on the planet...
This year there's more women also and what women!! All that is going to put on a good show but over that it will bring some amazing characters together to create a real adventure to the top of those islands...
This year, you changed the idea behind the race a little, why's that?
F.B : The goal for us was mainly to increase the riding on site. Linking all the event to reach one top makes it amazing but you know that we always want to do more. The opportunity in Cabo Verde was too good to go from one island to the other to discover all of the country. The exact racing format will be announced very soon.
Were sure that organizing an Urge Event is a lot of work. So, when youre finally on the plane with the others, does the organizer go and the rider come back?
F.B : I can't really say that. Even if we set everything up, it stays a challenge where we go in countries that are fair to be very organized. I do have a lots of YES to your questions but you never really know if it will really happen. Once we are there, we need to be reactive and flexible on the organization. It is part of it...after all, we will be in Africa
Do you already know what bike youll take?
F.B : I will probably use my DUNE to ride all the paved trails and rocky section we have there. The Island is all volcano with a lot of rough terrain. Good suspension will be a big help!!
The complete Rider List for this Urge Cabo Verde is:
Fabien Barel (Mondraker) - France
Jérôme Clementz (Cannondale - Mavic) - France
Greg Doucende (Performance Parts - Trek) - France
Sabrina Jonnier (Groupama - Punch Power) - France
Dorothea Lindtke (Rocky Mountain - Brake Authority) - Switzerland (non-pro)
Anka Martin (Santa Cruz - Sram) - RSO/USA
Tracy Moseley (Trek World Racing) - UK
Marco Nicoletti (Niner) - Italy
Samuel Normand (Lol Racing - Yeti) - France (non-pro)
Sam Peridy (Scott) - France
Hans Rey (GT Bicycles - Adidas) - USA
Rowan Sorrell (Orange - Mojo) - Whales/UK
Nicolas Vouilloz (Lapierre) - France
Mark Weir (WTB - Fox Racing Shox) - USA
René Wildhaber (Trek - Dakine) - Switzerland
