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The Internet's Official BMX Magazine. |
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. . . Go Back to Press Releases (06.25.01) UCI World Champion Wade Bootes-Trek/Volkswagen proved he is worth his weight in Gold, as well as why he wears the rainbow Jersey on Saturday night, as he was the winner of the Dual Slalom at Round #2 of the Norba Series at Snowshoe, West Virginia. The slalom race was once again was held up to weather. Last weeks UCI Dual race in Vars, France was eventually canceled due to bad weather conditions. On Saturday morning, when the riders finally got to compete, things got off to a wet start in the qualifying round. A light rain and a soggy, muddy course made for slow times and Wade qualified 10th overall. With the results in hand, Wade commented that he would have one of the toughest brackets ever to make it into the finals. Wade also was still battling a slight injury he sustained in Slovenia at Round one of the UCI tour, when he crashed and separated his shoulder. Without the help of the Trek staff and Wades determination, he may have not even been in Snowshoe to compete. When the riders walked the course for the final, they found a completely new course, as it was totally dried out and race ready. Wade was very excited, as he liked the layout, and felt good. In Wade's first two rounds he met up with young riders Scott Ybara and Chuck Pitts. and had some easy runs. This was the end of that as he was next up against past Norba National Dual Champion Eric Carter - Mongoose/ Huyandui/Speed Stick in the quarterfinals. Carter won the first round with .56 second lead but Wade powered back in the second, taking .77 seconds from Eric and the overall quarterfinal round win. In the semis, Wade went up against Steve Peat, who he has had some great battles with in the past, but Bootes would prove to be too strong willed to be beaten this time around. This would put Wade into the Final with none other that current Norba Champion Brian Lopes - Fox Racing/GT Bicycles. In the first round, it was a classic back and forth battle among the sports top 2 riders, with Wade taking the advantage at the finish by a .43 second advantage. In the second round, Brian was on the faster course and had an excellent run, but was unable to beat the time difference, giving Wade his First Norba National win of the 2001 season. The win also put Wade into the overall leaders position in the series. Wade's next race will be this upcoming weekend in Park City, Utah for Norba Round #3. Wade's sponsors include Trek, Volkswagen, Powerbar, JBL, Rock Shox, Shimano, Azonic, THE, Oakley, Vans, O'Neal, CTI 2, Marwi Spokes, ATI Grips, Toolshed undergarments, Fox racing Shox, Selle San Marco, E-Caps, Sockguy, Revenge, Champion Nutrition, Bontrager, Nike, DeMarchi, IRC, Pedros, IMBA, Wrench Force, www.wadebootes.com, and King Cage. BMX Sponsors include AC, Bombshell, ATI, Vans, O'Neal, Marwi, THE, Oakley, Head Lock, Azonic, and BMXpros.com. Pro Men's Dual Slalom Pro Women's Dual Slalom Copyright 2001. All rights reserved. |
