On August 11th Kirchschlag in the Buckligen Welt was the venue of the Schlossberg XC. The traditional event was held for the 17th time this year. For Chase team rider Manfred, this race is always something special, as he comes from the town and was already at the start of the very first edition of this event in 2001, at that time still in the student class.
He won each of the last three races and was therefore again the favourite this year. The track was very deep and muddy due to heavy rainfall the night before the race, which made it extremely exhausting for all participants. Nevertheless, Manfred took the lead of the field immediately after the start and set the pace. Only one rider was able to follow him for a fairly long time, but on the ascents it quickly emerged who was the stronger of the two on this day. After 1 hour and 9 minutes Manfred crossed the finish line as the winner and thus lived up to his role as favourite.
Our opening ceremony on April 1st 2016 was a great success.
In the evening of April 1st we celebrated the opening of our new, young company in our factory.
Eröffnungsfeier Chase, handcrafted in Austria, Carbon, Felge, Grenzgasse 111 9/6/6, St. Gabriel, Felix Schneider, Peter Fröhlich, Chase
Besides to local politicians, like the mayor of Maria Enzersdorf ans DI Johann Zeiner, we also welcomed the technology and innovation representative of Lower Austria, WKO representative ING Roman Langer MSc MAS and businessman Stephan Duursma MBA.
Eröffnungsfeier, DI Johann Zeiner, handcrafted in Austria, Carbon, Felge, Grenzgasse 111 9/6/6, St. Gabriel, Felix Schneider, Peter Fröhlich, Chase
Picture: market town Maria Enzersdorf
Additionally, we could also convince notable industry agents and the local press of the great capability of carbon fiber production in a short presentation of our company.
Our guests showed great interest in the manufacturing process and in our previously produced products.
We carried really nice conversations and could even establish new, important contacts.
Eröffnungsfeier Chase, DI Johann Zeiner, handcrafted in Austria, Carbon, Felge, Grenzgasse 111 9/6/6, St. Gabriel, Felix Schneider, Peter Fröhlich, Chase
In this beautiful autumn day the conditions were perfect. Head off to a cross-race in Langenzersdorf just next to Vienna: the athletes of Team Chase all showed a very good performance at the ‘King & Queen of Seeschlacht’. Our Chase Mud-rims – available as disk version and as rim-brake version – were perfect to fight in those tough race conditions.
The specific cross-country rims give comfort in the long straight but turbulent passages and at the same time enable the cyclist to pass trough the sharp curves fast. Our athlete Manfred Zöger reached with an excellent performance the second place in the overall standing in the 60′ elite-race behind a cyclist from Hungary. Second cross-race and second position on the podium. After his disease, Felix Ritzinger showed also that he is a powerful cyclist. He showed a good performance and for the next races you can definitely count on a position on the winner’s rostrum. Felix Schneider was one of the strongest bikers in the 40′ race. After catching up from a rear starting position he reached the leading group. He finished with a good performance and finally reached the third row in the overall standings.
A great day for Team Chase.
Handcrafted Carbon Wheels applied in the tough race conditions.
/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/handcrafted-01-vergrößert-280x300.png00Caro/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/handcrafted-01-vergrößert-280x300.pngCaro2018-08-06 11:03:272018-08-06 11:03:27Team Chase with Mud-rims at Seeschlacht Langenzersdorf
/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/handcrafted-01-vergrößert-280x300.png00Caro/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/handcrafted-01-vergrößert-280x300.pngCaro2018-08-02 13:12:012018-08-02 13:12:01Positive overall result of the cross-country season 17/18 for Manfred
/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/handcrafted-01-vergrößert-280x300.png00Caro/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/handcrafted-01-vergrößert-280x300.pngCaro2018-08-02 13:10:582018-08-02 13:10:58After the positive result in the cross-country season we start in MTB season
Mid of July – Summer, Sun, Salzkammergut Trophy: For all mountain bikers, this event in Bad Goisern is an annual must. More than 5,000 participants started on one of seven possible distances in the 21st edition of this classic.
Felix was the first rider for the Chase team to enter the competition at 5.00 a.m. – insiders know what this early start time means: 210 kilometres and 7,100 metres of elevation gain, the extreme distance through Salzkammergut! Since for the experienced long-distance athlete such ultra distances are nothing completely unusual anymore, he also showed an accordingly high performance! After 13 hours and 18 minutes he reached the finish line very tired although extremely satisfied.
In the meantime Manfred had also completed his race. He started on the 55 km “All-Mountain”-distance, which contains the most difficult downhills of the region. An extremely exciting course of the race developed on this track. On the last climb, the top group of four fell apart after an attack by the German Simon Gessler, only Manfred could follow the pace. In the final descent and on the last flat kilometres towards the finish, the two rivals even worked together to maintain their advantage on the rest of the competition. The decision had to be made during the sprint and Manfred was unbeatable – he won with a 2 hours and 40 minutes race time, only 1 second ahead of Gessler.
For Austrian triathlon, the Ironman in Klagenfurt (Carinthia) is one of the biggest flagships in the scene. The race is internationally known and renowned. The long distance competition covers 3.8 km of swimming, followed by 180 km of cycling and completed by a 42 km long marathon. Each of the disciplines offers a special scenic feature. Swimming through a turquoise-blue Wörthersee with drinking water quality. The two 90 km laps of the bike course lead along the southern shore to the Fakeer See, over the Carinthian hinterland with a great panoramic view, back to Klagenfurt. Along the canal and through the heart of the city, the participants are constantly fighting against exhaustion and time.
In the short term there was the possibility to get a spot for the sold out spectacle. So it came to the Chasedebut at an Ironman event. For Felix, basically a bike specialist, this meant full concentration on a good cycling time.
The aerodynamically optimized material should form the basis for a fast wheel split. A skinsuit with an accurately pinned starting number, a disc wheel in a striking and matching design, fitting the Rams Cycling time trial bike and the newly developed Chase APS – Aero Performance System– a handlebar cockpit for time trial, track and triathlon bikes that enables an aerodynamic and at the same time power-saving posture.
Over a distance of 180 km, the management of forces as well as the fluid and energy balance is of the highest importance. Turning into the red area once too often or skipping a feed zones could affect overall performance.
The first lap was marked by many overtaking manoeuvres, but did not reduce the average speed. The Pacing was around 220-225 watts and felt good until halfway through the second round. Both the ascent to the Faker See, as well as the Rupertiberg with more than 300 watts could be attacked to immediately return to the aeroposition and to bring the bike up to speed.
After an average of 4:53 and 36.5 km/h Felix was able to park the bike in the transition zone.
At the end of June the Kitzalpbike MTB Festival took place in Kirchberg in Tyrol, for the 23rd time this year. At 9 a.m. the long distances started together, more than 1,000 participants waited for long and steep climbs, fast downhills and demanding single trails.
Chase team rider Manfred started at the Austrian National Championship on the longest distance with 90 kilometres and over 4,000 metres of altitude difference. On the first mountain he found a good rhythm and was well in the race. But already at the second long ascent up to Ehrenbachhöhe it didn’t run quite as smoothly, the legs didn’t turn really loose anymore. Already then Manfred suspected that today would be a “long” day. The route did not become any easier afterwards, it went on over the Mausefalle to the Hahnenkamm and to the Pengelstein, before after a longer descent the last ascent waited for the riders – again it went up to the Ehrenbachhöhe at 1,800 meters sea level.
At the end, after more than 4,000 meters of altitude difference, the more than 20 minutes long and demanding downhill run over the Fleckalmtrail waited for the riders. Manfred reached the finish after almost 5 ½ hours of driving time. He was exhausted and tired and at the same time disappointed about his performance – unfortunately things did not go well for him on that day. His goal was a time under 5 hours, which would definitely have been possible on a “normal” day.
At the MTB Marathon through the Pöllauertal Nature Park, Chase team rider Manfred started on the 75 kilometre classic distance. Right from the start, he was able to keep up with the enormously high pace of the overall Challenge leader Wolfgang Krenn. This pace was a bit too fast for Manfred, but he fought audaciously and bit his way into the rear wheel of his competitor. After two hours of racing, however, he was presented with the bill for his “stalling”. He lost a lot of time and when shortly before the finish line there was still competition from behind he could not oppose anything. In the end, he still managed to secure third place in the class.
