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Welcome to the website of Team Saab Salomon |
2007 was another great year for Team Saab Salomon both on the adventure racing front and also for the running team. In July the Adventure Race team won the inaugural Mountain x race in France and on the running side Angela Mudge retained her Buff Skyrunning World title.
Angela had another fantastic season in 2007 and was crowned the ‘World Sky Running Champion’ for the second year running. She also won the Mont Blanc ½ Marathon and the Everest Marathon in record time. For 2008 Angela plans to continue with her mountain adventures but is also looking for new challenges. This year she is considering taking up ultra-running, in which races are held over distances of up to 100 miles. She also intends to take up the international Ironman competitions when she is 40.
Rob Jebb continues to be a legend in the world of mountain sports. His running continues at the very top of the tree, and to add to his very impressive CV, in 2007 he was selected as one of only two athletes to represent GB at the World Cyclo-Cross Championships. His 2007 results include second places in both the British and English Mountain Running Championships and second in the Mt. Blanc Marathon.
The highlight of Nick Sharp’s year, other than the birth of his 2nd baby, was undoubtedly his win at the Mt. Blanc marathon in a new race record. 2007 was slightly disjointed with the new arrival in his family, however his results are still impressive and included first places at Loughrigg Silver Howe, Lakeland Country Fair and the Southern Hellrunner. In 2008 Nick is stepping up to the multi sport scene where he will compete as a full member of the Saab Salomon Adventure race team. He is already well proven in multi sport with podium finishes in International AR events under his belt. He is a perfect candidate as he has the all round skills needed for AR at the highest level.
Ben Bardsley has raced with the Saab Salomon team since its inception 7 years ago. In 2002 Ben became the European 24hr Mountain Bike Record holder, a record he set at the Red Bull mountain mayhem where a completed a never to be repeated 29 solo laps. He continues to go from strength to strength, in 2007 he made selection for the England team who raced at the World Mountain Running Championships. He also represented GB at the classic Morbegno race in Italy. His 2007 results include firsts at the Borrowdale Fell Race, Dockray-Hartside and Latrigg as well as an impressive third at the Snowdon International Race in July. Ben is a very strong cyclist and is a regular podium finisher in Trail Quests, Polaris Challenges and Enduro MTB events.
Natalie White was new to the team in 2007. She did suffer with some injury problems through the year, but she is young and has high hopes and heaps of potential. Some her 2007 results include first places at Kentmere, Helvellyn and Ingleborough as well as a 3rd place in the Snowdon race. Natalie was the 2006 British Mountain Running champion and over the last few months has focussed more on mountain biking in order to give her the flexibility to branch out into the AR squad when needed. She has won a number of AR races in the North of England over the Autumn and Winter months and is showing serious potential as a multi sport athlete.
Andy Symonds is our newest acquisition. He is young and very talented. His CV makes very impressive reading across a wide range of adventure sports, these include a second place in the European Duathlon Championships 2004, 2nd open man in the Karapoti Classic (NZ’s premier mtb race), New Zealand 2006 and first in the Scottish Islands Peaks Race (fastest runners + in boat class) . In 2007 Andy went on to win one of the World Sky Running championship races and in his first year racing in the series he was awarded a world ranking of 4th.
Another new member of the Team is the experienced fell runner, Rob Hope. Rob was the 2007 British Fell Running Champion after coming first in the Donard Commedagh Race and the Carneddau race. He also won the English Championship counter at Fairfield and went on to represent England at the World Mountain Running Trophy at Ovronnaz, Switzerland where he managed 30th position in the Senior Mens Race.
Team Saab Salomon are looking to the future by bringing Tom Owens into the Team. Tom is young and has lots of potential and was placed third in the British Championship last year. He will be racing at home and in Europe in 2008 and is hoping to build on his successes to become one of GB’s top endurance athletes.
2007 was a transition year for the Saab Salomon AR team with a new and exciting race – ‘The Mountain X Race’ being created in the French Alps. Amazingly, the Saab Salomon team stormed their way to victory against all of the World’s top AR teams. This was quite possibly the greatest achievement for the Saab Salomon AR team in their entire 7 years together.
For 2008 the team will focus on retaining their MXR title and will also be racing in domestic and other World Series AR races, the full programme is yet to be confirmed. In addition, members of the Saab Salomon team will compete in GB mountain bike races which will include events such as Trail Quests and Enduros.
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