I know probably no one will care, but on the chance that someone out there follows women Pro XC - this is odd.
Arizona-based mountain-biker Dara Marks-Marino will not appear on the Ford Cycling team roster in 2006, riding instead as a solo competitor sponsored by Titus bicycles and Kenda tires.
Marks-Marino ended the 2005 NORBA season as Ford's top-ranked rider, finishing No. 4 in both cross-country and short-track standings. A perennial podium finisher in both events, Marks-Marino scored a breakthrough result in 2005, winning the short-track at the NORBA No. 5 in Snowmass, Colorado.
Marks-Marino finished second in the short track and seventh in the cross-country at the 2005 national mountain-bike championships in Mammoth Lakes, California.
According to Marks-Marino, her relationship with the Ford team ended abruptly in mid-November.
"It's a bad story there... with a good ending," Marks-Marino said of the relationship. "I'm excited about being back with a grassroots program. My relationship with the girls on the Ford team is really good and there's no tension there. I'm really going to miss traveling with Kelli [Emmett] and Sara [Bresnick-Zocchi]."
As to her chances at scoring more top cross-country finishes in 2006, Marks-Marino said she is confident going into the new season.
"I would say I'm extremely motivated to do well this year," she said. "I expect to do better in part because I get to pick and choose what kind of gear I'm riding on."
Replacing Marks-Marino on the Ford Cycling team is fourth-year pro Kathy Sherwin, who finished the 2005 season ranked No. 10 and No. 11 in NORBA short-track and cross-country. Kelli Emmett, a consistent top-10 finisher, and Sarah Bresnick-Zocchi will return to the team for 2006. First-year pro Melanie Meyers of Flagstaff, Arizona, rounds out the roster.
Arizona-based mountain-biker Dara Marks-Marino will not appear on the Ford Cycling team roster in 2006, riding instead as a solo competitor sponsored by Titus bicycles and Kenda tires.
Marks-Marino ended the 2005 NORBA season as Ford's top-ranked rider, finishing No. 4 in both cross-country and short-track standings. A perennial podium finisher in both events, Marks-Marino scored a breakthrough result in 2005, winning the short-track at the NORBA No. 5 in Snowmass, Colorado.
Marks-Marino finished second in the short track and seventh in the cross-country at the 2005 national mountain-bike championships in Mammoth Lakes, California.
According to Marks-Marino, her relationship with the Ford team ended abruptly in mid-November.
"It's a bad story there... with a good ending," Marks-Marino said of the relationship. "I'm excited about being back with a grassroots program. My relationship with the girls on the Ford team is really good and there's no tension there. I'm really going to miss traveling with Kelli [Emmett] and Sara [Bresnick-Zocchi]."
As to her chances at scoring more top cross-country finishes in 2006, Marks-Marino said she is confident going into the new season.
"I would say I'm extremely motivated to do well this year," she said. "I expect to do better in part because I get to pick and choose what kind of gear I'm riding on."
Replacing Marks-Marino on the Ford Cycling team is fourth-year pro Kathy Sherwin, who finished the 2005 season ranked No. 10 and No. 11 in NORBA short-track and cross-country. Kelli Emmett, a consistent top-10 finisher, and Sarah Bresnick-Zocchi will return to the team for 2006. First-year pro Melanie Meyers of Flagstaff, Arizona, rounds out the roster.
