On newsstands now, the teams wheel company, DT Swiss, features Inland-BTD Racing’s Charlie Pendry in a full-page ad in the April issues of Mountain bike Action and Mountain biking Magazine.

The team rode DT Swiss XR 1540 wheels to three National Mountain Bike Series podiums in 2004. New for 2005 will be the upgraded and faster, XR 1480 wheel set with the worlds fastest rolling hubs, the 240s and DT’s top end aerolite bladed spokes. Inland-BTD’s road team will also be competing on the new RR 1450 Wheel set.

Both DT Swiss wheel sets will be available at the team’s shops soon:

Frank’s Cyclery

Fit To Be Tried

DT Swiss

Official Results from NORBA National series #1:

MEN XC

34. Charlie Storm

WOMEN XC

21. Laura Bowles

Upcoming Inland-BTD Events:

Mar 18-20 NORBA NMBS #2, Phoenix, AZ

Apr 1-3 Rock Hill, SC road race, TT and Crit

NORBA NMBS #1, San Antonio, TX: Charlie Pendry and Charlie Storm have a combined 18 years of experience mountain bike racing in muddy conditions, but the best muddy move by the Inland-BTD racing team this year was the last minute January acquisition of new pro Laura Bowles to the team. Bowles, riding in her first pro NORBA event ever and only her 5th ever mountain bike race, powered through the soggy Texas slop to an unbelievable 24th place finish in the Pro Women’s field.

Official results are yet unavailable. Charlie Pendry suffered through the weekend’s stage race format, covered head to toe, with road rash from the prior week’s meeting with the pavement in a Greenville, SC road race. Pendry was 50th of 75 riders in the Friday time trial and 50th in Saturday’s Short Track race. Pendry was hanging around the same position in the XC race, trying to salvage some series points. Several crashes due to his injuries forced him to abandon after the 2nd of three 60 minute laps.

The champion of last year’s first two NORBA Marathon races, Charlie Storm, competed in the XC stage race this time around. Storm is on a new low mileage bike shop owner’s training program and plans to target the later season marathon events. Storm placed 44th in the TT event and 43rd in the Short Track. In the XC Race, Storm was not far from the front, around 20th position near the end of lap one when his old grip shifters when awry. Charlie salvaged what he could, washing his drive train frequently with water bottles, to finish around 40th in the men’s pro XC.

Bowles, Pendry and Team Mechanic Frank Jones will make the trip to the march 18-20 Phoenix NORBA stage race. Look for Bowles to continue to improve with her experience and Pendry to be all healed up for Phoenix.

Upcoming Inland-BTD Events:

Mar 18-20 NORBA NMBS #2, Phoenix, AZ

Apr 1-3 Rock Hill, SC road race, TT and Crit

The new look INLAND-BTD Racing team is right back to it’s winning ways. The team’s new pro mountain bike team member, Laura Bowles, won the women’s Cat 3-4 race on Sunday at the Sun Devil Criterium in Tempe AZ. Laura has replaced the retired Dan Doub’s spot on the 3-person mountain bike squad. She recently completed her internship as a nutritionist with CTS in Colorado and has spent the winter training in Tucson, AZ under the guidance of Storm Endurance Sports.

Laura will be in her first year competing at the professional level. She raced two expert women’s NORBA national events last season on a borrowed mountain bike, where she placed 2nd and 3rd respectively. Laura was an accomplished multisport athlete in college with a 2nd at the national duathlon championships, a 6th place at the national triathlon championships and she raced for Fuji SE in the road scene.

Also new to INLAND-BTD this season will be the addition of a SE regional master/pro 1-2 road team that will compete regionally and try to get someone to the podium at this summer’s Masters National Championships in Deer Valley UT. Rob Moran, Steven Wright, John Degele, Peter Hymas, Charlie Storm, And Charlie Pendry will make up the squad. This year’s team will once again be riding Fuji Bikes, Hutchinson Tires, DT Swiss Wheels, Shimano components, Hincapie clothing, and fueled by Gu Sports on both the road and mountain bike.

Says team manager, Jimmy Bruner, “with this year’s additional financial commitment from several local organizations (Inland Construction, Moran & Brooks, Larry Moray & Assoc., Smithfield’s B-B-Q, DT-Swiss, Storm Endurance Sports, Franks Cyclery, and Orthopedic and Sports Medicine), our guys will be very well supported and we expect even better results than we saw from last season’s squad which produced the East Coast’s top mountain bike program.

Upcoming Inland-BTD Events:

Mar 4-6 NORBA NMBS #1, Boerne, TX

March 5 Avalon Park Crit. (Orlando, FL)

March 6 Orlando Cup Crit.

Mar 18-20 NORBA NMBS #2, Phoenix, AZ