Whistler Canada’s Crankworx–the biggest mountain bike event in the world–is wrapping up and we’re proud to state that WTB-sponsored rider Brian Lopes was far and away the most dominant competitor in the history of the event. The 37-year-old rider won three of the four races in which he competed, including the Air DH, the Giant Slalom and the Enduro Downhill. In the one event he didn’t win, the Dual Slalom, Lopes placed second to Kyle Strait. Talk about a successful week of racing! Next up on Lopes’ schedule is the Downhill World Championships in Canberra, Australia.

Legendary mountain bike racer Brian Lopes designed this signature, limited edition Silverado saddle with the help of his friend, renowned artist Paul Meraz. “I wanted to incorporate a clock into the graphic,” Lopes stated. “My career—actually, my whole life—has revolved around the stop watch.” Lopes’ meticulous attention to detail shows in these saddles, the white version of the SL55 even has a white Flex-Tuned shell. The Silverado SL55 is available in black or white.

We are proud to announce a new partnership with legendary mountain bike racer Brian Lopes.

Lopes will be riding and racing exclusively on WTB’s high-end saddles. Each of Lopes’ team-issue Ibis race bikes will be outfitted with WTB’s Silverado SLT saddles.

“I am stoked to ride WTB for a couple of reasons,” Lopes stated. “First, the Silverado is the most comfortable saddle I’ve ever used: It felt great straight away and I haven’t had a single issue. I’m also excited to work with such a great company,” he added. “The folks at WTB are not only cool guys, they’re bad-ass cyclists.”

Lopes is the most successful mountain bike racer in world. The 37-year-old American has four world championship and nine national championship titles to his name and has won 25 world cups in a range of disciplines including four-cross, dual slalom, downhill and BMX. Lopes has been inducted into both the Mountain Bike Hall of Fame as well as the BMX Hall of Fame.

And the fiercely competitive athlete still has something to prove. Lopes’ goals this upcoming season are to win more races in a wider range of disciplines. “I want to show everyone how well-rounded I am,” he stated. “I like to do it all.” In just the past three weeks—the off-season for most pros—Lopes has raced elite-level BMX and cyclocross.

Welcome to the team Lopes!

From a story on mbaction.com:

“WTB’s Mark Weir, the seven-time champion of the Downieville Downhill and the godfather of the pump track, reports that the miniature mountain park courses that he helped popularize are going mainstream, with at least three municipalities taking steps to add them to their public park systems.

“Pump tracks are tiny mountain bike trail systems that are commonly built in mountain biker’s backyards. They can be built in an area as small as 10 feet by 30 feet, on level ground, using nothing more than shovels. The pump tracks offer steeply banked turns and small roller jumps that riders can use to generate speed by “pumping” their bikes with their arms and legs, alternately pulling up and pushing down on the handlebars (as dictated by the terrain), rather than pedaling. Top riders, such as Brian Lopes, the reigning world 4X mountain bike champion, can reportedly accelerate to speeds in excess of 25 mph by doing repeated laps on a pump track, without any pedaling. Riders like Weir, Lopes and others have found that riding pump tracks helps them to improve their bike-handling skills, get a good full-body workout and have fun all at the same time.”

Read the rest of John Ker’s story on mbaction.com.

A note from the web editor: Mark Weir is meeting with the Novato City Council / Parks and Recreation tonight (November 1, 2007) to discuss three potential sites for public pump tracks in Novato, California.