Auch wenn das letzte Rennen nicht nach Wunsch verlaufen ist, beende ich die Querfeldein-Saison 2017/18 insgesamt dennoch…
Gepostet von Manfred Zöger – Radsport am Mittwoch, 10. Januar 2018
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On Thursday, February 1st a vernissage with Chase participation took place in Vienna in the Taborstraße near the Augarten.
Christoph Buchegger and Rüdiger Suppin had designed an ingenious bicycle frame out of paper and old surfboard masts and built it completely by themselves.
The result was a carbon bike with one gear, a single speed that weighs exactly 6.66kg. To top it off, they equipped the bike with our Chase wheels. It was a great evening with many interested visitors who had come to the project presentation full of anticipation.
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.
Chase GmbH: In the heart of Maria Enzersdorf directly on the border to Mödling, our workshop is located with our own carbon part production. In Laut + Luisa’s great Magazin, which introduces the living worlds of the St. Gabriel site, you can get a nice impression of the small colorful world behind the beautiful brick walls of the monastery – including some insights into the company Chase!
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 Chase debut 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.
The great magazine”Terra Mater” brings impressive reports from all over the world. Die FFG (Forschungs Förderungs Gesellschaft) advertises the student internships. The innovative young company Chase is also there.
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.
