FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 22, 2007
Contact: Chris Scott
Shenandoah Mountain Touring
Phone: 540.434.2087
Email: chris@mountaintouring.com
2006 Tour de France Winner, Floyd Landis to Contest Shenandoah Mountain 100
Harrisonburg, VA - Chris Scott and Shenandoah Mountain Touring are pleased to
announce 2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis will be on hand to race the
Shenandoah Mountain 100. "I am honored to be invited to be part of the
Shenandoah
Mountain 100 event. I look forward to racing on the challenging course they
have put
together since it includes the kind of technical trail riding that first got
me hooked on
mountain bike racing," said 2006 Tour de France Champion Floyd Landis.
The event,
to be held Sunday September 2nd, 2007, is a 100-mile single-day mountain bike
race
in the George Washington National Forest outside of Harrisonburg, VA. With 14,000
feet of climbing - and descending - the SM100 is the premier endurance event
on the East
Coast and is the final event in the NEU
MTB Series. Six time 24 HR Solo World Champion
Chris Eatough (Trek/
Volkswagen) has chosen this event over the 24 HR Worlds in 2007,
"because he wants to be where the competition is" said Eatough from
Utah as he finalized
his preperation for this weekends Endurance
100 event in Park City. Eatough is trying
to take the Series Championship from his friend, last years series Champion,
Harlan Price (Independent
Fabrication).
Chris Scott, promoter of the event and owner of Shenandoah Mountain Touring,
said
'I'm pretty stoked that Floyd Landis has decided to return to his mountain biking
roots and show up for the SM100. I've been dogging him for close to a year.
All of
the competitors will welcome Floyd with open arms.' It was was very unfortunate
that
Floyd could not represent with the #1 plate in the Tour this year. We are really
excited that he will have the chance to sport the #1 in the Shenandoah.
Floyd will have to contend with hours of climbing on steep dirt trails, narrow
30
mph descents and stream crossings, all while staying on his bike and watching
his
nutrition. Chris Scott expects the 100 miles will take Floyd around 7 1/2 hours.
The 9th running of the event should see a full field of 450 mountain bikers
set out
from Stokesville, Virginia at dawn to complete 100 miles of gravel roads and
narrow,
rocky single track. 'If he's really on his game, he could beat the course record
set by
Jeremiah Bishop last year of 7 hours 15 minutes,' says Scott.
'It's great that Floyd Landis will be here to race in Harrisonburg,' says event
sponsor and Harrisonburg local Thomas Jenkins from Shenandoah Bicycle Company.
'I
haven't raced against Floyd for 10 years and I ride these trails all the time.
Riding
with Floyd will be something special, and I'll be gunning for him.'
'It's such a great event, I'm not surprised that Floyd decided to race the
SM100 after
Scott Scudamore and I put the heat on him,' said Michael Klasmeier from event
sponsor
City Bikes in Washington, DC. 'Klasmeier gave Landis the invitation at The National
Bike Summit in Washington, DC. Floyd was a keynote speaker giving a talk to
bicycle
advocacy leaders on Capital Hill. Floyd considered attending the event, but
joked that
he would attend only if the promoters guaranteed it would not rain. Scott Scudamore,
the
Washington DC Area IMBA rep and long time MORE member had previously put
the screws to Floyd about attending the event in January while being the MC
at the first
Floyd Fairness Fund City Hall style gathering at the Arlington Cinema N' Draft
House.
Now it looks like he has a clear slate for the weekend and he is stepping up.
For more details on the Shenandoah Mountain 100 or Shenandoah Mountain Touring,
check out www.mountaintouring.com.