The Chris Thater Memorial Criterium

Last weekend, The Chris Thater Memorial reached a historic milestone in Binghamton, New York. Not only was the event commemorating it's 25th anniversary, but many of the strongest pro cyclists and teams were there to help support the Broome County STOP DWI program, and to compete for a total purse of $70,000.

We want to congratulate Laura Van Gilder, Anne Samplonius, and Kelly Benjamin, all of team Cheerwine, for their awesome placement in the Women's Pro 1 2 race!

Women PRO 1 2

1 Tina Pic (Colavita/Sutter Home) 40.19

2 Laura Van Gilder (Cheerwine Cycling)

3 Kacey Manderfield (Verducci/Breakaway) 0.07

4 Nichole Wangsgard (Colavita/Sutter Home)

5 Anne Samplonius (Cheerwine Cycling) 0.08

6 Laura McCaughey (Juice Plus) 0.10

7 Anna McLoon (Colavita/Sutter Home) 0.11

8 Theresa Cliff-Ryan (Verducci/Breakaway) 0.54

9 Kelly Benjamin (Cheerwine Cycling) 0.55

10 Lorena Candrian (HPC p/by Altarum)

Congrats to Team BMW-Bianchi

Taken from the official BMW-Bianchi website-

Weislo Captures State Title in Individual Pursuit

The sunny, clear blue skies that shone on Asheville over the weekend of August 16th and 17th proved a perfect backdrop for the North Carolina State Track Championship events. In preparation for the Masters National Championships in San Jose, CA September 2 - 7, Laura Weislo brought her A game, securing multiple podium spots and clinching the gold in the 3000 meter individual pursuit event.

The following weekend, August 23 & 24, Cora Olson and Jen Petosa travelled to Chattanooga, TN to compete in the challenging River Gorge Omnium, hotly contested by many of the Southeast's top riders. Both women rode their tails off as they raced in and around the scenic mountain town. Solid top 10 finishes of 8^th, 9^th and 7^th in the road race, criterium and time trial, respectively helped place Olson in 9^th in the omnium, with Petosa in 12th after 17^th in the road race and 7^th in the criterium.

The BMW-Bianchi team will continue its road racing campaign over the next few weekends, traveling to Walnut Grove, SC for the SC State Road Race Championships on August 30 and Atlanta, GA for the National Race Calendar US 10k Classic on Labor Day. More racing in the Carolinas will follow as September progresses!

BMW-Bianchi Dominates Crossroads Classic with Victories at Lenoir, Morganton and Harrisburg

On Saturday, July 26, pursuant to the Team's 2009 recruiting efforts, the squad welcomed Carla Swart, Lees McRae collegiate cyclist, as a guest rider for the weekend. The criterium in Lenoir was a fast, short 0.5-mile circuit, suiting the strengths of the BMW-Bianchi team. Christy Blakely followed a first-lap attack by Forest Acres' Casey Gale to attempt a breakaway and pressure opponents in the field to work hard early to bring the move back. Once the break was caught, Swart counter-attacked, taking advantage of the competition's distress from chasing the early break. Faithful teammates Tonya Lail, Cora Olson and Melinda Presson patrolled the field, blocking and covering moves that tried in vain to ride across to Swart or to bridge the field up to her. The Team was effective at holding back the field and Swart road away to a solo victory. Lail joined Swart on the podium for 3rd, with Olson 5th, Blakely 10th and Presson 15th on the night.

The Team returned the following afternoon, July 27^th, determined to have a repeat performance. Although the Morganton course was twice as long and more technical than the night previous' effort, the BMW-Bianchi women found themselves to be equally effective by riding aggressively and as a disciplined, cohesive squad. Several opponents launched attacks early in the race causing the field to splinter several times. Finally, a strong attack and quick organization gave way to the successful break of BMW-Bianchi guest rider Carla Swart, Tanya Nestvogal of Vantaggio-Specialized and Forest Acres' Casey Gale. At the instance of seeing the quality of the break, Olson, Lail and Blakely immediately defended all attempts that the field made to bring the break back. The persistence of Swart powering the break and the relentless defensiveness of Olson, Lail and Blakely continued to wear down the Team's opponents. With five (5) laps to go, Lail launched a series of crippling attacks in effort to further diminish the top-10 contestants in the remaining field. At the finish, Swart won the sprint of her breakaway group, making it her, and BMW-Bianchi's, second victory in as many days. Blakely won the field sprint for 4th place, with Lail not far behind in 6th and Olson 9th to take top-10 honors. Melinda Presson represented BMW-Bianchi on the Women's Category 4 podium with a strong 3rd-place finish.

The week passed giving many riders a chance to rest, and at the August 2 Harrisburg Criterium the Team came out with guns a'blazing. Laura Weislo attacked when the flag was dropped, and soon after being brought back to the field Amy Slater countered and stayed away. Despite repeated attempts, the strength of the team effort neutralized the field and allowed Slater to remain off the front.

After thirty minutes of solid effort, Slater worked her way to the back of the field, eventually gaining a lap and effectively securing her win. At that point Weislo attacked, and thanks to the effective blocking by Lail, Slater, and Olson, was able to stay away to claim the second step on the podium. After all the hard work
patrolling the field Lail was able to take 3^rd in the field sprint for 5th place.

Michellie Jones @ Santa Barbara Tri

Michellie Jones sets New Record at Santa Barbara Triathlon. Saturday August 23rd, 2008 over 1000 competitors competed in the Santa Barbara Long Course Triathlon. The event consisted of a One mile swim , 34 mile cycle and a 10 mile run.

Michellie Jones dominated the women's competition leading from the swim. She continued to gain momentum on her competitors during the cycle and run legs. In crossing the finish line in just over 3hrs 1mins 09secs Michellie took almost 5mins off the previous course records she set in 2006. The same year she won the grueling Hawaiian Ironman World Championships.

Michellie was extremely please with her performance as she been battling an ankle injury over the last few weeks. The next stop for Michellie Jones is the Ironman 70.3 in Cancun.

Hansen Dam Tri Expo

This past weekend, MOTOR TABS had a booth at the Hansen Dam Tri Expo in Los Angeles, CA. This was an awesome event where many nutrition and tri specific brands showcased their products and gear.

The Race Director for the tri was none other than Mark Tipton, who is also the outside salesman for MOTOR TABS, Fluid Recovery, Bonk Breakers, 2XU, Ryders Eyewear, and Marin Bikes.

Adrian & Sacch discussing nutrition.

Saach from MOTOR TABS and Adrian from Fluid

Saach and Greg from MOTOR TABS

Team Running Warriors Highlight

Team Running Warriors Profile:

Each member of Team Running Warriors is or has been in the military at one point in time. Our competitive disciplines vary from 5K’s to marathons, there are even a few Warriors training to compete in an ultra marathon. Some also compete in duathlons and triathlons and yes, a couple of our Warriors would one day like to compete in an Ironman triathlon. Our training and competitiveness doesn’t just stop there, we are in the military and by that right we are constantly being put through mental and physical challenges everyday. Whether it’s the occasional 3-10 mile formation run up through the hills of Camp Pendleton or the insane endurance courses where we sprint from station to station, flip tractor size tires, practice engaging bad guys, or ground fight each other just for fun.

We are Warriors at heart and never back down from any challenge. Our biggest challenge as of late is not one that anyone would think we would be accustomed to. Most would think we are constantly training and competing to be ready for combat. This may be true as we do have to be prepared for combat at all times but whole “competition” side of our training is to help raise money for the Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society. This non-profit charitable organization is dedicated to supporting Marines, Sailors and their families that may have fallen into a financial hardship. They also offer financial work shops and counseling to help better prepare military personnel and their loved ones for dealing with their finances. We hope to raise money for the NMCRS and have fun doing it along the way. We would like thank everyone for their patriotism and their everlasting support for all the men and women that protect our way of life, our freedom and the United States of America.

Semper Fi,
Team Running Warriors

Upgrade Bikes @ the London Triathlon Expo

Upgrade Bikes, Ltd., MOTOR TABS’ distributor in the UK, attended the London Triathlon Expo last weekend. With over 13,000 racers over the two-day race, it’s a marquee event for the British multi-sport scene. They did a fine job of promoting MOTOR TABS to the consumers, and we continue to grain traction with each passing week. “MOTOR TABS was the only truly unique hydration product at the expo,” said MOTOR TABS brand manager Ian Harris. “There were many nutrition companies at the expo, but MOTOR TABS was the crowd favorite to be sure.”

Busy week!

We over here at MOTOR TABS had a very busy and eventful week! Thursday was the US Cycling U23 Championship Criterium Race, Saturday was the Run Through the Pines run, and Sunday was the Ladera Ranch Grand Prix of Cycling. All of these events were a huge sucess for us, as we were able to attract more athletes to our booth, and inform many of them who have not heard of MOTOR TABS. Here are some pictures from these events:

MT's Assistant Manager of Sales & Marketing Chris Mathis
at the Road Nationals at Anaheim Stadium last week

Outsideallday.com founder Andy "Crash" Brazelton at the Road Nationals

American road legend and MT outside sales representative Scott Fortner
stopped by the MT booth at the Ladera GP

ROAD Magazine editor Neil Brown came by to add much needed flair
to the MT booth at the Road Nationals

USA Cycling Road National Championships

The USA Cycling Road National Championships hosted by Jet Cycling is from August 6th to the 10th in Orange County, CA. The 2008 USA Cycling U.S. Elite, U-23, and Junior National Championships of Road Cycling will host over 1,800 participants in the disciplines of the Time Trial, Road Cycling and the Criterium.

Team MOTOR TABS will have a booth set up for the Criterium, which is held on August 7th at the Angels Stadium in Anaheim, CA. Come stop by and check us out!

Here is the Crit schedule:

9:00 am U23 women 35k
10:15 am 10-12 women 15k
11:00 am 10-12 men 15k
11:45 am 13-14 women 20k
12:30 pm 13-14 men 20k
1:15 pm 15-16 women 20k
2:00 pm 15-16 men 25k
3:00 pm 17-18 women 20k
3:45 pm 17-18 men 50k Final
5:15 pm U23 men 60k Final


And every night there is an awards ceremony which is held at the ESPN Zone in Downtown Disney from 4 - 6pm.


This is one event that should not be missed! So come down and join us for a full day of pure racing!