[I-am-Specialized]

<p>Five seasons have passed since the World Cup Circuit has hit US soil with Windham in New York state hosting this weekends World Cup. The venue is good and the event timed very well within the calendar given that the World Championships are taking place just across the US / Canadian Border in Mont Saint Anne, next weekend.</p><p>
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Specialized had a strong showing this weekend with Specialized Czech Republic rider Jaroslav Kulhavy taking his very first world cup victory, while Christoph Sauser also featured on the podium with a fourth place position. Although rain prevailed early in the build-up week as the weekend loomed, the sun started to shine down, leaving very fast, dry conditions. </p><p>
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The course has been described as an old style course, with a long climb and long descent making up the six lap men’s event. The pace was high from the start with the usual suspects of Stander, Kulhavy, Schurter and Absalon at the front. “The race kicked off to plan with a really good start” according to Burry, while Christoph said “that I’m not good enough at an uphill start and I lost way too much and there was a crash as well with a standing queue, which did not help”. </p><p>
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On lap one Stander, Absalon and Schurter traded pace making at the front with Schurter’s team mate Vogel and Kulhavy present, who has had a good presence at the front of the World Cups this year, culminating in a third place in the overall rankings coming into this final round. Christoph and Todd were further down the field within the top 40. As seen in the women’s race where mechanicals, specifically flats, were high the same was true for the men’s event. Wells was one such victim on lap 1, and was eventually forced to run part of the way to the tech feed zone. Once Wells was back into the action he had a big chase from approximately 75th position. Placing 24th, given this mishap, was a pretty impressive ride from the US National Champion.</p><p>
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At the front as the four man group started to distance themselves from the pursuers two things happened. Double Olympic Champion Julien Absalon punctured, while Christoph Sauser quickly rode through the field and looked at ease in successfully bridging to the leaders and then taking control at the front of the field. “I felt one to one between my bike and body as we rode into the final lap” commented Sauser. As Sauser made his mark at the front, team mate Burry Stander flatted and a series of stops to re-inflate left him inside the action for top 10, but not podium positions. </p><p>
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On the final descent Sauser tried to pass Schurter, but lost control meaning a fight back to the group, while Kulhavy, who has shown big watt form on the last laps throughout the season broke clear to take a well deserved win. The sprint for second involved three Swiss riders with Schuter coming ahead of team mate Vogel and Christoph. </p><p>
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Nino Schurter was crowned the overall World Cup Champion, while Specialized Czech rider Jaroslav Kulhavy finished a very respectible third in the standings. </p><p>
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Our riders felt strong in Windham meaning that confidence is high in the team ahead of next weekend’s world championships. </p><p>
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Bike Specs:</p><p>
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Burry Stander:</p><p>
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S Works Stumpjumper Stumpjumper 29er Hard Tail</p><p>
Tire: Renegade 1.95 Front (22psi)</p><p>
Renegade 1.95 Rear (23psi)</p><p>
Weight: 8.25kg</p><p>
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Christoph Sauser:</p><p>
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S Works Epic</p><p>
Tire: Renegade 1.9 Front (27psi)</p><p>
Renegade 1.9 Rear (28psi)</p><p>
Weight: 8.7kg</p><p>
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Todd Wells:</p><p>
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S Works Epic 29er</p><p>
Tire: Renegade 1.95 Front (29psi)</p><p>
Renegade 1.95 Rear (30psi)</p><p>
Weight: 9.5kg</p><p>
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World Cup Results:</p><p>
</p><p>
1 KULHAVY Jaroslav 1:39:28 </p><p>
2 SCHURTER Nino +00:14 </p><p>
3 VOGEL Florian +00:15 </p><p>
4 SAUSER Christoph +00:17 </p><p>
5 FLÜCKIGER Lukas +00:44 </p><p>
6 ABSALON Julien +01:11 </p><p>
7 HERMIDA RAMOS José Antonio +01:19 </p><p>
8 STANDER Burry +01:57 </p><p>
9 FONTANA Marco Aurelio +02:31 </p><p>
10 MANTECON GUTIERREZ Sergio +02:41 </p><p>
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12 KILLEEN Liam +02:54 </p><p>
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24 WELLS Todd +07:05</p><p>
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World Cup Overall Final Standings:</p><p>
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1 SCHURTER Nino 1136 </p><p>
2 ABSALON Julien 1040 </p><p>
3 KULHAVY Jaroslav 1040 </p><p>
4 VOGEL Florian 795 </p><p>
5 HERMIDA RAMOS José Antonio 795 </p><p>
6 FLÜCKIGER Mathias * 710 </p><p>
7 SAUSER Christoph 590 </p><p>
8 FUMIC Manuel 570 </p><p>
9 STANDER Burry 567 </p><p>
10 RUZAFA CUETO Ruben 494 </p><p>
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19 WELLS Todd 341</p>

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