Shane Cuthbertson to ride Red Bull Romaniacs

[onthemain]

TEAM UPDATE
September 16, 2008
Hi everyone,
Everyone’s been very busy keeping with chasing Shane around the mountains to various service
points and spectator areas, plus bike and rider maintenance so sleep has been a very valuable, but
rare, commodity this week. Let’s get down to business.
It was another early morning, but quite pleasant. Day 2 results were up and Shane started day 3 in
14th place after finishing 10th on day 2. His racing partner, Miha Spindler, was right behind Moose in
15th place overall, 11th on day 2. Shane is steadily climbing up the results board as he figures out
Romaniacs style racing. It poured rain again last night but as day broke it was cold and cloudy with
no more rain. The strategy for the day was to pin it early on in order to get into the lead group of
Pros as there is usually more help at the tough spectator sections and this would get them ahead of
the Hobby and Expert riders on the combined trail sections. By the 2nd checkpoint Moose and Miha
had climbed up to around 6th and 7th. When the duo arrived at the service point halfway through
the day they were cold and wet but otherwise in good spirits, sitting inside the top 10. Moose’s 2009
Husaberg FE450 (the MOOSaberg) was running like a champ so we spent the 20 minute service
period getting more food in Shane and draining the water out of his boots. I guess the creek
crossings were a little deep!
Immediately leaving the service area was a short, but very steep climb that made for great
spectating, but was very dangerous for the riders. After watching young Greg Evans’ bike tumble
the 50 feet back down the vertical wall (completely destroying the subframe), Moose used his years
of experience in Canada to safely climb the obstacle, preserving body and bike. A few kilometers
later there was one very difficult section that was making for some interesting stories. Shane
described it as the hill from hell. The first kilometer of the hill was fine, but as the hill progressed, it
got steeper and more technical until it eventually became impassable. The soil around the
Carpathian mountains has a lot of clay in it, and the mountains tend to be rounded and covered in
trees. The combination of clay soil, tree roots and the rain we’ve had has made all of the hill climbs
extremely difficult. Moose and Miha worked together and were eventually joined by more riders until
eventually 6 of them managed to lift the bikes up the hill, one at a time. Shane described it as
exhausting work, literally lifting (not dragging) the big bikes one foot at a time up the mountain!
Talking with all of the top pros, all of them, even the competitive leaders battling for seconds, had to
help each other get the bikes up this hill. Offroad racers truly are a rare breed to battle tooth and
nail for 5 days, yet still help each other when needed.
After the hell of a hillclimb, the riders continued to ride high into the mountains up to altitudes of
2200m. Moose said it was very cold up there and they were riding along narrow sidehills completely
in the fog. Navigation was very difficult as the fatigued Husaberg duo pushed through the clouds to
the end of the day, but eventually they made it inside the top ten.
The clutch in the Shane’s 2009 Husaberg FE450 needed replacing after the hillclimb from hell, but
otherwise the only maintenance being done is oil changes and fresh tires. Very impressive
considering the abuse the bikes are taking here in Romania.
Well, that’s it for this update. Moose is tired and sore, but still going strong and happy to almost be
finished this edition of the Red Bull Romaniacs. For more on Shane’s progress including results,
check out http://www.redbullromaniacs.com" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.
Steve Shannon

[DIRTTV]

giver shane, you can do it!!!!

[onthemain]

double post

[onthemain]

TEAM UPDATE
September 17, 2008
Hi everyone,
Well, the 2008 Red Bull Romaniacs is in the books. It’s been a tough 5 days of racing in the home of
Dracula, and I think all of the racers are relieved to be finished.
The morning started out much the same as on day 3, with some good news to wake us up. Shane
and Miha finished 10th and 9th on Day 3, and Shane moved into 9th overall! It rained last night and
the riders were treated to a cold drizzle on the liason section to the start. If the light rain on the ride
to the racing start didn’t make the riders cold and wet, the course immediately dropped 5 feet into a
creek off the start. Again, Moose teamed up with Miha Spindler (Slovenia) to tackle the last day of
the Romaniacs.
The day was filled with mostly rideable terrain which was a pleasant surprise for the racers. That
doesn’t mean it was an easy day, just that the best riders could actually stay on their bike on most of
the obstacles instead of pushing the bike over them. There was one exception to this - a hill called
K2. This climb started at a road and climbed over loose dirt and rocks up a spine until it steepened
on a rocky outcrop at the top. ALL of the pros had to push their bikes up this section, expending a
lot of energy. Moose and Miha arrived near the front of the pack and with a little help from some
photographers (including yours truly) the Husaberg duo made short work of the hill and continued
on with their day.
The rest of the day was difficult, but it doesn’t sound like there was anything particularly interesting
and instead it was just more tough trail riding in the Carpathian mountains. The weather was very
cold and wet making racing down right miserable.
Shane and Miha made it to the finish out in the woods in good time, though official results have not
yet been posted. Unofficial results show Moose in 12th position on the day, maintaining his 9th in
the overall results. For a final spectacular end to the Romaniacs, the racers had to ride to the top of
the ‘Crazy Biker House’ to hand in their GPS units. This involved riding up 5 stories in an
abandonned building that was never completed. The course was routed directly up the stairwell.
Riding this was not an easy task after 4 days of hard racing but all of the pros persevered to the top.
Moose is tired, sore, but extremely happy to have finished the Romaniacs inside the top 10. This is
by far the toughest offroad race in the world so just finishing the race is amazing. Compared to
other extreme races like the Erzbergrodeo and Last Man Standing, the Red Bull Romaniacs is on a
different level, pushing racers past their limits like no other event can.
Shane would like to thank all of his sponsors who helped him come to the Romaniacs. He couldn’t
have done without his family’s support, Cornergrass Racing team and service crew, and Husaberg
and Mototech Racing for getting him a bike and parts.
That’s about it for all of us in Romania. Thanks again for the support and see ya at the races!
Steve Shannon


Nice Work Guys!!!!! RC

[Spinalguy]

Congratulations

[DirtGirl]

F'ing EH, Shane!!!!!!!
Way to make us all proud!!!!

[fryguy]

Geez, the boys look and exhausted and SHane looks like he wants more!!!

Notice the buy behind Jay, with the Ski Doo gear on.....any indication about ambient temps!!!

Nice ride Shane, how to take it to the end!!! It seems to me, more than any other race on the planet, finishing this race is rewarding enough, finishing high in the Pro class indicates another. Shane you have helped many of us realize that Canadians have the potential to be the best in the world. With the doors you have openned, we will be able to obtain more support for our younger riders to push to yet higher levels. THere is a tear in my beer dudes, great work. And as Steven mentioned, this entire effort would not be possible with out sponsors and great guys like Shane, Nick and Jay!!!

Long live Corner Grass!!!!!!

[Moose]

Hey Everyone,

Just wanted to let you know that I was following the blog daily while in Romania and really appreciate all your words of encouragement! The race was extremely difficult mentally and physically and knowing that I could not let down my Corner Grass teammates nor the local off-road community gave me that little extra to battle through the tough times. Anyway, we made it through and I am extremely proud of our accomplishments this year. Thanks again to those RMDRA member who follow along on our adventures. More than anything, this is why we do what we do - which is bringing a greater awareness to the sport that unites us.

Later,
Moose

[trailguy]

Great job Shane & the Corner Grass crew. That thing looked downright gnarly, congrats.
Dylan

[crazy2wheeler]

Great job Shane & the Corner Grass crew. That thing looked downright gnarly, congrats.
Dylan

x2

I (for one!) am glad you were there!!

Congrats.

["THE PARTY"]

Ya Moosie Nice work on Kicken a$$ The world is going to know that Canadian rides are not to be taken lightly. That Berg looks kinda mean too.Way to represent us all Moose.