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Specialized Team Roster for 2004 |
OFF TO THE RACES
Fresh faces, new places, and more from the leader in high-performance bicycles.
January 27, 2004 – Morgan Hill, CA - Here at Specialized, we continually
strive to be the best cycling brand in the world. By partnering with the best
athletes in the world, we move ever closer to our goal. We proudly announce
our 2004 Global Athlete roster.
See ‘ya at the races.
Freeride & Downhill Mountain Bike
The Specialized Lunatic Fringe are the newest and most visually
stimulating members of the Specialized family. Consisting of eight riders from
around the world, the Lunatic Fringe is poised to unleash fury
upon road gaps, chutes, ladders, and DH runs from Lake Geneva to the Finland
Station. Joining Godfather of Freeride Brett Tippie (CAN)
are:
Darren Berrecloth (CAN)
Jordie Lunn (CAN)
Matt Hunter (CAN)
Steve Romaniuk (CAN)
Chris Powell (USA)
Vic Marlow (USA)
Anneke Beerten (DE)
Riding the stout new Specialized Demo 9, the Lunatics will embark upon a frenzied
global tour in early March. Stay tuned to specialized.com
for further developments.
But wait, there’s more…
BMX
The goal of our Factory BMX team program is to proactively promote the Specialized
BMX brand at all levels, in all disciplines. Our complete BMX athlete sponsorship
program does all that and more with: Dirt, Street, Vert, and Racing. Track their
season at specializedbmx.com.
Rider Bios:
Brandon Meadows
BMX Racing
Two time X-Games Downhill BMX Gold Medalist, 2001/2003
Age: 22
Resides: Sacramento, CA
After two serious injuries following his 2001 Gold Medal, Brandon made a miraculous
recovery and won X-Games Gold for a second time on Woodward West’s scary-sick
Downhill BMX course in August. Several top pros wouldn’t even ride the
course, but Brandon not only rode it, he nailed it.
Thomas Hancock
BMX Racing, Dirt Jumping, Street
Age: 16
Resides: Phoenix, AZ
Our newest team member, Thomas is ready to give Allan Cooke a run for his money
in the Dirt Jumping comps this year. Thomas hates to lose and at 16 years old,
he’s fearless and ready to become one of the youngest champion freestylers
ever. You’ll see him competing at the ABA and NBL BMX races when he’s
not at a freestyle comp.
Allan Cooke
BMX Dirt Jumping, Vert
X- Games Gold and Silver Medalist
Age: 22
Resides: Greenville, NC
Allan Cooke has been with Specialized since he was Thomas Hancock’s age
and has become a superstar in his own right. Even after serious knee damage
at the 2003 L.A. X-Games, Allan rallied and finished in the top 10 anyway. After
surgery, Allan made a quick recovery and is now back in training for the 2004
season. Catch him on MTV’s “Made”, where he helps teach the
high school prom queen how to do a backflip – on the rezzie.
Jeremy Fanberg
Street, Vert
Age: 25
Resides: Greenville, NC
Jeremy is a crowd-pleasing favorite, leaving his mark on demos all over the
USA. He rubbed shoulders with Mickey Mouse this summer at Disney’s California
Adventure, pulling jumps with Specialized teammate Chad Kagy.
Chad Kagy
Street, Vert
2003 Latin X-Games Gold Medalist, top five finisher
Age: 25
Resides: State College, PA
After breaking his neck(!) at Gravity Games in ’03, Chad Kagy has been
recuperating this winter. But he’s already back on the bike and ready
to go, in time for the ’04 X-Games, Gravity Games, CFB, etc. This guy
is one tough SOB, and he’s also a hometown kid from Gilroy, CA…just
down the road from Specialized HQ in Morgan Hill.
Cory Coffey
BMX Street, Vert
Age: 20
Resides: Oakley, CA
Cory is currently our only girl freestyler, just returning from an all-girl
BMX tour in the US. Look for more to come from this fearless female flyer.
Specialized Motocross (yes, we said Motocross!)
Current AMA 250 Supercross and National 250 Motocross Champion Ricky Carmichael
(Honda) and 2003 US Open of Motocross Champion Chad Reed (Yamaha) will exclusively
ride & train aboard Specialized bicycles and equipment in 2004, the one
brand they both agree on. Both racers have embraced cycling as a primary training
method, and have selected Specialized road & mountain bikes as their cycling
brand of choice for the competitive edge in the hyper-physical sport of professional
motocross.
Both Ricky and Chad are riding daily. Their S-Works E5 road bikes will play
a pivotal role in their fitness training as they ramp up for the 2004 Supercross
and Outdoor National season which kicked off January 3, 2004 in Anaheim, CA
(which Chad won, by the way).
Cross Country Mountain Bike Racing
International – Current UCI XC mountain bike World Champion, Filip
Meirhaeghe and Olympic Silver medalist Barbara Blatter
return to Specialized to contest the 2004 UCI World Cup. And of course, they’ll
be headed to Athens in August in search of gold at the 2004 Summer Olympic Games.
Two time Olympic gold medalist Paola Pezzo will race exclusively
for Specialized in 2004! Paola has been training intensely aboard her S-Works
Epic this w inter and Specialized is proud to support her momentous return to
the sport. Forza Paola!
Paola, Filip, and Barbara will all be depending on and racing with Specialized
equipment (including helmets, shoes, gloves and apparel) on their road to Athens.
Domestic - Stateside, the Specialized USA Factory Team continues
to grow. Kelli Emmett and Derek Wilkerson
will be joining the veteran members of the team, Frank Mapel,
Jimi Mortenson, and Jay Henry. All five Colorado
natives will be contesting the NORBA NCS, select 24 Hour events, and even a
marathon event or two. They’ll be hard to miss racing aboard Specialized
S-Works Epic mountain bikes, and using (and in some cases, abusing) Specialized
helmets, shoes, gloves and other select equipment. Their debut will be at the
Sea Otter Classic in historic Monterey, California.
Ned Overend – The Lung, Deadly Nedly, End-Over-End…call
him what you will. We call him our hero. Year after year, Ned just keeps on
going and we’re stoked to have him back with Specialized again in 2004.
Ned will be competing selectively and spending time mentoring the younger riders
on the team. In his free time, he’ll be learning more about this Freeride
thing with his son, Ryler Overend.
For more juice hit specialized.com
