8-24-07 // News: March Wins 2nd Master's DH WC

The podium including Shaums' newest fan, Glyn O'Brien (2nd on left) and Alex Balaud (3rd on right)

Shaums March is one busy guy. The Marin team member and former pro downhiller is busy raising his son Isaac with his wife Aleisha as well as being the founder and head coach of Mad March Racing, an organization that offers downhill mountain bike instruction and coaching for aspiring riders and racers. Last weekend, he also found the time to successfully defend his Master’s World Downhill Championship title in Pra Loup, France.

On the day of the finals, March sat in third place after his seeding run before the final event. The theme of the course was speed, with a mix of technical root and off camber sections filtering into a big finish line jump. Competing in the Men’s 30-34 category, March raced against a field of 101 riders and edged out his victory by just .36 seconds, posting the fastest time in all categories in the process. In contrast to winning his first title last year on his home turf at Sun Peaks resort in Canada, March was elated to win on a course where he had never raced before. "It was kind of confusing because the course was super dusty and looked the same in so many sections", stated March. He decided to practice what he preaches and, just as he instructs his MMR team of young racers, he drew the course out on a piece of paper and studied it every night.

While his 2006 victory came aboard the Quake 7.2, March’s recent win came aboard Marin’s new downhill prototype. Although the new bike shares Marin’s highly effective Quad Link suspension system with the freeride-oriented Quake, the new bike features 9” of travel and is specifically designed for downhill competition. Both March and Marin were pleased with the bike’s prowess in its developmental stages. “This is a great first test of a completely new frame design. For a prototype to win a race like this on its first time out is exciting” said Jason Faircloth, Product Manager for Marin Bikes.

After the race, Shaums gave away his gloves and goggles to young fans and signed autographs for over an hour. In the middle of the melee, he noticed a boy propped on crutches watching with excitement. After learning that this young man had been fighting and winning a battle with cancer, Shaums quickly arranged to give the boy the only thing he had left - his MMR jersey.

For further information on March’s win visit the Marin Bike’s blogspot at www.marinbikes.com/blog/.

Marin's new DH prototype bike