Chris Plesko won the 2009 Tour Divide and and set a new SS record on his Jabberwocky this year. We mention this a little late because, while Chris is not on our team, we were super excited about his accomplishments and have kept him on our radar.
We recently heard through the digital grapevine that he was recently injured in an avalanche and nursing his wounds as we speak. In support of Chris and his family we want to leverage the traffic of this website to show our communal support for him.
Congratulations to everyone out at the 24 Hours in the Old Pueblo this past weekend. We heard it was a huge party full of pain, blood, sweat, and tears! I'm sure there was a little bit of beer thrown in.....
Tom Ament took home 3rd place after riding 13 laps for 22 hours.
Male Solo SingleSpeed
1st Dejay Birtch - Niner Bikes
2nd Sean Sullivan - IF
3rd Tom Ament - Vassago Cycles
24 Hour Male Solo
Congratulations to Zach Stanford who pedaled his way to 9th place in the Male Solo category!
We'd also like to congratulate our co-sponsors Ergon Corporate for taking home the win in Category 5 Person Co-ed 150-199 Combined Age. Sonya Looney, Jeff Kerkove, Yuki Saito, and Dave Weins.
As Team Manager for Vassago I would first like to express my apologies to our team riders as I have been hard to catch for the past 3 months. I would also like to express my extreme gratitude for all of their support as my daughter continues with her second year of chemotherapy for Neuroblastoma Cancer and ROHHAD Syndrome. I am extremely excited to have all of you on the team this year and am enjoying all of your stories of trails and races. Keep kickin' ass out there!
Now on to the fun stuff -- the past 2 months have not slowed down for our riders and they continue the fight on the trails.
Tom Ament place 2nd in SS Advanced Class in the MBAA first race of the series
Next, Tom hit the 12 Hours of Temecula, also first race of this series, working hard and earning a 2nd Place spot on the podium.
Sara Stanford started her season off at the MBAA series race competing in the Pro Class. Finishing in 1 hour and 49 minutes:
Sara 1st Place
Zach Stanford headed up to Temecula with Tom to take on the Solo Expert Class in the 12 hour race.
Zach 1st Place
Brad Keyes braved the cold and snow at Frozen Hog 2009.
Brad 1st place
Brian Archer just starting Mountain Bike season finished up his Cross Season on the new Fisticuff.
As our main cross race rider we sent Brian the first of the Fisticuff frames to give her a good beating and let us know what he thought. You can read about the Fisti on Brian's blog.
Zach Stilwell has taken on cross season and mountain bike season like a madman! Zach received an award for Minnesota Junior Cyclocross Rider of the Year at the Minnesota Cycling Federation awards banquet!
Congratulations Zach!
John Sanborn comes back after a small break in 2008 to take on Erwin 6 Hour Race.
We're excited to start the 2009 season and ready to whip the team in to shape!
Vassago players for 2009:
Sara Stanford Arizona Day job: Student, Substitute Teacher and Kick Ass Beotch! Rides: Bandersnatch and Optimus Ti
Tom Ament - aka The Goddess Arizona Day job: Money Man and Master Saddle Mechanic Rides: Jabberwocky, Optimus Ti, Fisticuff, and Ton-Ton
Zach Stilwell Minnesota Day job: Student and "The Messenger" Rides: Jabberwocky, Optimus Ti, Fisticuff
David Nice - aka: Fixie Dave Colorado or Utah or Nevada Day Job: Trail Navigator, Bike Shop Mechanic and Disco Lady's Man Rides: Jabberwocky EVERYWHERE
Brian Archer - aka: Duckman Tennessee Day job: Auto industry and Fit Model Rides: Jabberwocky, Optimus Ti, Fisticuff
Steve Stilwell Minnesota Day Job: Techy stuff Rides: Jabberwocky, Optimus Ti
We had a great time at the 12 Hours of Temecula. Vassago crew met up with Tom Ament and Zach Stanford who were originally just going to relax at this event but the competitive side took over and we're happy it did!
Tom Ament 1st Place SingleSpeed Overall winner of the SoCal Endurace Series
We'd also like to congratulate Tom for his 10th consecutive 1st place singlespeed win in a 12 hour solo endurance race.
A special thank you to Jason for putting on a great event, Andy from Crank Brothers for coming out and hanging with us all day, and Christopher Han from SDG USA for the awesome entertainment!
Congratulations to everyone out at the 24 Hours of Fury. Vassago Cycles sponsored the first year event with a 2009 Jabberwocky frame. We want to thank 4 Peaks Racing for putting on an excellent race and we look forward to 2009!
Adrenaline Race Team headed out to the field and made it happen!
Tom Ament raced in the 12 Hour division. Winning 1st place Overall and 1st place Singlespeed. Finishing 11 laps in 10 hours.
Evan Smith finished 3rd place Singlespeed in the 12 Hour division - completing 8 laps in 8 hours 25 mins. A huge accomplishment on his first 12 Hour solo race!
Tom Ament joined the front of the line with Eric Salstrand, racing in the Marathon class for a fast 50 miles. Darrin Austin taking on the Singlespeed class of the Marathon.
The Tumbling Creek Mountain Bike Rumble is an annual benefit race used to promote mountain biking, raise funds for the Trips For Kids program, and SORBA. The beautiful Gainesville State College campus was the venue for this past weekend's event.
On another note: Cody (Code Red) was out at the event to talk about co-owner and beloved rider, Hodge.
Cody Yancey - Owner, Racer, Rider, Neutral Support
In case you haven't heard, Scott Hodge was in a motorcycle accident Thursday, Oct. 16th. Scott suffered the following injuries from the motorcycle crash: C6 vertebrae fracture, C7 fractured in half but is not separating, C5 is also fractured and causing the most pain but it will heal on its own. Healing time for the fractures is estimated at 3 to 6 months. His lungs are bruised which has made breathing a little difficult, one broken rib and his hip is sore and bruised from hitting the pavement.
If you would like to donate to help Hodge and his family out please visit the Addictive Cycles Website for more information.
Congratulations again to Tom for his SS victory at Tour of the White Mountains in AZ. Check out his blog for all the details. 
