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Flying Sauser Wins Worlds!

posted by id* at 04:13 PM on June 30, 2008

Christoph Sauser (Specialized Factory Racing) positively flew to victory in Sunday's mountain bike cross country world championships in Val di Sole, Italy. Aboard a prototype S-Works Epic XC race bike, "Susi" took the lead on the first lap and never looked back.

The win by Christoph (Switzerland) marked the third world championship for Team Specialized this weekend, following stellar rides from Peter Sagan (Slovakia) in the Junior XC race and Rafa Alvarez (Spain) in 4x (four cross). Sauser's teammate, Liam Killeen, put on an amazing display by advancing from 70-something place to finish the day in fourth.

Despite winning the World Cup title multiple times, this was the first cross country world champ title for Christoph. It places him in the unique position of having both the XC and XC Marathon rainbow jerseys at the same time.

It also reconfirmed the Epic as the only dual suspension bike to win XC world's. Sauser debuted a very special bike for this most prestigious race, an advanced prototype 2009 S-Works Epic. "It flew like a fighter jet and descended like a 747...always on the line," Christoph said of his new race bike. "Today, I was the best rider in the world riding the best bike in the world!" Details of Christoph's pre-production bike were scarce, but a limited number will be available at Specialized S-Works dealers before the end of the year.

The all-new S-Works Epic will feature:

Total Suspension Integration. The frame design, suspension telemetry, front fork and rear shock were designed from inception to complement one another for peak performance and minimum weight.
Flow Control Brain technology in both front and rear shocks for boosted efficiency and control.
Specialized AFR rear shock with Brain technology controls patented FSR rear suspension
Specialized FutureShock E100 fork with 1.5" – 1 1/8" steerer, Brain technology, and category leading rigidity at under 3 pounds.
Integrated FACT carbon cranks
Full FACT carbon frame (including chainstays and seat stays)

Christoph will line up again on his new Epic in about two weeks to defend his XC Marathon title then turn his focus 100% to the Olympic games in Beijing in late August.

For a first-hand account of the day's events, check out the Specialized Factory Racing blog.

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