Former world mountain bike champion Christophe Dupouey committed suicide Wednesday, French cycling officials confirmed.
Dupouey, 40, was reportedly despondent ever since he was sentenced to three months in jail in 2006 for his role in Belgium’s “pot belge†doping scandal. More than 40 people were arrested in 2003 as part of an alleged distribution network.
The lanky Frenchman switched from road racing into the booming mountain bike scene in the mid-1990s and quickly became a force, becoming the first French rider to win a World Cup race with a win in Houffalize, Belgium in 1996…Â More info
McKenna Murphy will spend two weeks this summer rafting and hiking in the Grand Canyon, studying ecology and Native American culture and restoring a house.
The 14-year-old is one of 10 blind or visually impaired students from the United States and Canada chosen for the “leadership adventure” excursion, offered by Global Explorers, a nonprofit organization that arranges educational and service trips for students…Â More info
remember when Andy Irons rode Arakawa boards under HIC (I remember when he had an undercut, too, the poor guy). The appearance of his now-familiar, scripted Billabong label circa 2005 was a bit confusing, since Billabong made hats and fleeces – but not surfboards. And they still don’t make surfboards, per se, but as Stab explains on its website, clothing companies like Billabong have entered the board market by contracting with independent shapers and distributing their wares among surfers both pro and public. The idea is that Mick Fanning, riding for “Rip Curl Surfboards,†can source his quiver from Rip Curl’s team of private foamsmen: Darren Handley and Wade Tokoro, for instance. Rip Curl gets to grab some more of Mick’s deck space for its name or logo, and the shapers get paid handsomely as their RC crafts jet off to a thousand global retailers. It sounds like a nice little equation… More info
Tamarindo, Costa Rica — José Ureña, President of the Federacion de Surf de Costa Rica (FSC), announced today that the fourth date of the Circuito Nacional de Surf DAYSTAR 2008-2009 presented by Coca-Cola Zero (CNS) will take place this weekend, February 7 and 8, in Playa Guiones in Nosara.
Called Copa Balance Natural, the 5-star tournament will begin Saturday and Sunday morning at 7:00 a.m. in front of Playa Guiones,      with winners in all categories receiving 2,000 points.
With a sizable lead in the rankings, Jaco’s Jason Torres moves into the Copa Balance Natural date of the CNS with the possibility of taking the National title. However, with this high-point contest at a premium wave beach, along with the opportunities afforded at the next tournaments of Santa Teresa … More info