2003 Maxxis Factory Team Lineup Is Announced

After celebrating an incredible 2002 season, the Maxxis Factory Team is kicking off 2003 with even more vigor and excitement! The 2003 team lineup consists of some of the world’s best mountain bikers. Maxxis is welcoming back its 2002 team members, two-time NORBA NCS Overall Champion John Kirkcaldie, No. 7 NORBA Downhill Racer April Lawyer and the young up-and-coming Colin Bailey, who was a contender for the U.S. Downhill title last year. However, the team has gone one step farther this year, adding a cross-country racer to the roster for the first time since 1999. To compliment the podium finishes of its gravity racers, Maxxis has brought Kashi Leuchs on board, the 2000 Olympic mountain biker from New Zealand, to secure some top finishes in the endurance discipline.With the return of such firepower, and with the addition of Leuchs for the season, expectations are only rising for this team. Perhaps there are no greater expectations than those Kirkcaldie is placing on himself. In addition to defending his NORBA Title, Kirkcaldie is on a mission this year for his first World Championship. However, the expectations he places on himself do not end on the pro circuit. In addition to being one of the world’s best mountain bikers and a major asset to the Maxxis team, he also actively promotes the sport from the ground up by organizing races for riders of all levels. Kirkcaldie is a true role model, which is probably why he is such a crowd-pleaser, especially in his native New Zealand, where he is extremely popular. If Kirkcaldie’s success on the mountain bike rises to the level of his love and passion for the sport, then a rainbow jersey should be hanging in his closet very shortly.

While Kirkcaldie has the rainbow in his sights, Colin Bailey has the stars and stripes in his. Bailey is beginning to mature into one of the top downhill racers in the U.S. and is looking to take the next step up on the NORBA podiums this year, going for the U.S. Downhill Title. Bailey also brings the passion he races with to the R&D table. Drawing on his years of riding experience and his design skills, Bailey teamed up with Maxxis engineers to design the Minion DHF, Maxxis’ best new downhill tire. This year Maxxis hopes to have Bailey—and his tire design—on the top of U.S. Downhill podium, along with the rest of his teammates.

Fortunately for Bailey, he has one of the best teammates a guy could ask for: April Lawyer. A fan favorite, Lawyer is recognized around the sport as a leader. Not only is she an action sports spokesperson and a role model for female athletes all around, she is also an entrepreneur with her own clothing line, Mavenn. However, Mavenn is only off-season entertainment, because Lawyer’s full attention is on her downhill racing career. Ranked 7th in NORBA Downhill and 6th in the UCI Mountain Cross for 2002, she’s on track to claim her own stars and stripes jersey in 2003.

While Kirkcaldie, Bailey and Lawyer are screaming down the mountain, their newest teammate, Kashi Leuchs, will be chasing down his own championships on the cross-country circuit. Leuchs, who comes to Maxxis from Volvo-Cannondale, has a resume that reads like the rest of Team Maxxis’: impressive. In 2001 he won a round of the European Cup and followed it up in 2002 with an overall win in the XC events at Telluride 360 World Cup event held in Colorado and ranked 7th for the World Cup Season overall in Cross Country. Like Kirkcaldie, Leuchs hails from New Zealand and brings his Kiwi passion to the team.

In order to keep these four hard-charging athletes on their bikes, Maxxis has hired a new mechanic for the season. Chris “Monkey” Vasquez, formerly of Global Racing and long time Missy Giove wrench, will be keeping the Turner downhill and four cross bikes running for Team Maxxis and assisting with Kashi’s Trek cross-country rides. Vasquez also has an equally accomplished resume, having been a part of multiple NORBA downhill championship teams throughout the last ten years.

The Maxxis Factory Team is set for competition and stronger than ever for 2003. Chance Regina, the leader of the Maxxis bicycle division said, “We have been known for sometime as one of the best tires in downhill, by adding one of the best cross-country racers in the world to our team we hope that people will begin to realize the pedigree we also have in the endurance world. Jeana Norman, our sponsorship coordinator, has worked very hard this off-season. By re-signing our current riders and adding big time pieces, like Kashi and Monkey, Jeanna has shown that Maxxis is committed to winning and providing the best products we can for riders of all variety. Because ultimately we want people to know that the best riders in the world not only develop and test our tires, but they also choose to ride Maxxis.”

For more information on Maxxis tires and other sponsored riders, check out www.Maxxis.com.