Ross Milan Victorious at Fontana MTX; It’s Called ‘Podium’ for a Reason!
San Marcos, California (April 6, 2008) Riders from around the globe descended to the metropolitan suburb of Fontana, California for the first round of the 2008 National Mountain Bike Series! Even with an early calendar date, Nema International could not have had asked for a more exciting kickoff to the official mountain bike season!
Nema presented the newest members of our factory team, Team Yeti / Fox Shox, with custom edition white & black ‘Podium’ shorts… with turquoise Nema patches to match. It couldn't have been better timing, as the ‘Podium’ shorts lived up to their name! Factory Nema rider Ross Milan, took a decisive victory as he battled round after action packed round in the Pro Men’s MountainCross race. 
Ross Milan said…
“I felt super strong. I got out & got through all the heats with pretty much ease... & really put the hammer down when I needed to! In the finals, it was pretty stacked heat. I just really had a perfect gate…. Rallied all the way around the first berm & the line opened up... & ran away with it after that. It's great to have the first win, first race. Get the old confidence going before stepping into the world arena! We brought the ‘Podium’ [short] to the ‘Podium!’”
In the Pro Men’s Downhill, factory Nema riders had an incredible showing against a stacked field of world caliber riders. On a surprisingly difficult track, Justin Leov (Yeti / Fox Shox) proved that he’s had a great off-season training regimen, as he placed 3rd in the finals. Meanwhile, after qualifying 2nd, Sam Blenkinsop (Yeti / Fox Shox) followed up his incredible seeding run by placing 4th amongst the elite men!
Nema, along with their factory team & riders will be attending the Sea Otter Classic in Monterey, California in less than 2 weeks!
Nema Notes…
- Factory riders Ryan Condrashoff & Brad Benedict are representing in a RED special edition color of the Podium Jersey!
- Numerous Yeti / Fox Shox team riders attested that the Podium shorts were “mint” and the Breather gloves were some of the best fitting gloves they’ve ever used!
- Nema Jr X riders had a great start to the season as gravity phenom Kevin Aiello (Yeti So Cal) won in the downhill and placed 2nd in the MTX. Another rising star, Joey Schusler (Fox Shox / Yeti), had yet another great outing as he placed 3rd in the downhill and 5th in MTX.
For a more in-depth report & photos, visit http://www.pinnedmtb.com/fontana_nmbs08.htm
Photo credit: Dylan-Dean.com
MTX – Pro Men
1. Ross Milan [NEMA]
2. Erik Nelson
3. Dale Holmes
4. Peter Hanak
5. Eric Carter
9. Chris Boice [NEMA]
11. Mike Haderer [NEMA]
12. Ryan Condrashoff [NEMA]
18. John Hauer [NEMA]
25. Rudy Unrau [NEMA]
27. Evelio Suarez [NEMA]
DH – Pro Men
1. Chris Kovarik
2. Nathan Rennie
3. Justin Leov [NEMA]
4. Sam Blenkinsop [NEMA]
5. Cameron Cole
11. Ryan Condrashoff [NEMA]
12. Brad Benedict [NEMA]
13. Aaron Gwin [NEMA]
15. Mike Haderer [NEMA]
33. Chris Boice [NEMA]
38. John Hauer [NEMA]
53. Evelio Suarez [NEMA]