Sporting his familiar muttonchops and earring, Mountain Bike Hall of Famer Travis Brown was in Vail, Colorado, for the 2007 Teva Mountain Games. The May 31-June 3 event is an annual gathering of mountain sports, and features competitions for rock climbing, cycling, fly fishing, running, kayaking and even dog jumping.The 38-year-old Brown competed in the 21-mile cross-country race on June 2, where he squared off against a field of Colorado’s best off-road talent. Also present was embattled Tour de France champion Floyd Landis, who made his return to cycling since testing positive for a skewed testosterone-epitestosterone ratio during the Tour. The race, which was not sanctioned by the UCI or USA Cycling, offered a $2500 cash prize to the winner. VeloNews caught up with Brown after he finished in fourth place, six minutes behind winner Jay Henry (Tokyo Joe’s), and almost 20 minutes ahead of Landis.

VeloNews: The Teva Games isn’t a sanctioned race, but there seems to be a lot of cross-country talent here. What are your thoughts on the event?

Travis Brown: The money in mountain-bike racing is so pathetic now, it’s to the point if you put on a race and have enough prize money you’re going to get the numbers. Plus, I think bringing together like-minded outdoors sports people is a fantastic idea. I love this event. If it means doing festivals like this for growth, obviously we’re struggling right now, then we should do it.

VN: What is the sentiment in the mountain-bike-racing community toward Floyd Landis racing at the Teva Games?

TB: Well, the general sentiment in my social circle is disappointment that he’s here racing. Myself included. I think it’s inappropriate to have him racing. But he was definitely ready to go for it from the start. He went for it up that first climb but then it didn’t last very long.

VN: What do you remember about racing against Floyd?

TB: Yeah, I was racing with him before he went to the road. I remember he was really skilled. I remember him training an insane amount, and I think that may have been what held him back as a mountain-bike racer. I mean, that’s just my personal opinion, but I don’t see how anyone could train that much and still be fresh.

VN: What are your thoughts on road pros like Michael Rasmussen and Gilberto Simoni saying they want to race mountain bikes for the 2008 Olympics?

TB: Well, it gives the sport some credibility because they’re top-level athletes, but I think they’re going to get smoked. Michael has a background in racing mountain bikes so he might be an exception. But the type of fitness required to race mountain bikes is different. You have to build the fitness to take the abuse of the terrain; it’s not just pure legs. I don’t see someone with a lucrative road contract having the time to get into that kind of shape. You know, if Michael actually starts riding his mountain bike and racing a ton, well, I’m sure he can do it. But it’s just a matter of personal resources, and you can’t just jump over and do it. I mean, Simoni is one of the most talented climbers in the ProTour and he wasn’t even on the podium in that first marathon World Cup where he thought he was going to blow people’s doors off. I think it’s a tough transition to make, especially since globally those athletes are so well known. But it will get mountain-bike racing some good attention. Obviously when Lance did some mountain-bike races back in the day he got the sport some attention.

VN: Have you been following the World Cup campaigns of the American Olympic hopefuls so far?

TB: Yeah, a little bit. I always look to see what Jeremy [Horgan-Kobelski]’s results are. I’m sure interested in that because I’m a good friend of his. I don’t envy those guys at all — having to kill themselves for UCI points and travel that much is tough. I know it’s just unbelievably taxing. I’m interested to see who sticks it out. If they get three spots it will all be justified.

Reigning World Cup champ to miss Champéry World Cup
The Multivan-Merida professional mountain-bike team is reporting that its marquee cross-country rider, Norwegian Gunn-Rita Dahle-Flesjå, will miss the June 9 World Cup cross-country race in Champéry, Switzerland. The reigning World Cup, world and Olympic champion will return to her hometown of Stavanger, Norway, to undergo medical tests to determine the cause of stomach problems that have ailed her for several weeks.

“This decision to pause in the middle of the season has been very hard to take for me,” Dahle-Flesjå said in a press release. “But I know from experience that my health is the most important element on the road to success.”

Dahle-Flesjå, who has 25 career World Cup victories, has all but owned the international cross-country circuit since 2004. She has four world cross-country championships and three marathon world titles to her name, and claimed the World Cup series overall from 2003-2006. She won the 2006 world mountain-bike championships in Rotorua, New Zealand, by a whopping three-minute margin.

But Dahle-Flesjaa has struggled in 2007 — she lost the first World Cup race on April 21 in Houffalize, Belgium, to Chinese national-team rider Chengyuan Ren. At the second World Cup round May 26 in Offenburg, Germany, Dahle-Flesjå faded to a distant third behind Russian Irina Kalentieva and Canadian Marie-Héléne Prémont.

Eatough wins second 100-mile race
Chris Eatough (Trek-Volkswagen) claimed Ohio’s Mohican 100 on June 2, the second event of the National Ultra Endurance series. Eatough completed the 100-mile journey in 7:08:57, six minutes up on second-place finisher Harlan Price (Independent Fabrications).

Eatough also won the Cohutta 100 on April 21.

Next up for Eatough is the third race of the series, the June 16 Lumberjack 100. Then the six-time world 24-hour solo champ will attempt Canada’s seven-day BC Bike Race alongside Trek-Volkswagen teammate Jeff Schalk.

Hill climb kicks off Winter Park series June 9
Colorado’s Winter Park resort will open its 2007 cross-country series this weekend with a 5.3-mile fire-road hill climb from the resort’s base area to the summit of adjacent Mary Jane ski hill. The course climbs 2062 feet and finishes at 11,142 feet.

For more information, see the series website.

2007 Winter Park Cross-country Series
June 9 - Hill Climb Kick-off
June 16 - Mountain Circuit
July 7 - Cross Country Super Loop
July 21 - Valley Point to Point
August 4 - Cross Country
August 25 - Tipperary Creek Point to Point, King of the Rockies Grand Finale