These are the profiles of the teams competing for the coveted Race Face sponsorship opportunity. Click on a thumbnail to see the full team image.

>OFFICIAL WINNERS Jennifer Hanks and her husband Shannon Boffeli are both off to compete in the Trans Alp! These US cross country pros are looking to make a big impact on the Trans Alp this year. Team Shannifer, in the tradition of Hollywood legends Bennifer and Brangelina, want to race the Trans Alp calling it a once in a lifetime opportunity. Both riders have a string of top finishes in their race history and are committed to putting Race Face onto the podium. Tenacious and determined, Shannifer will succeed where Hollywood has failed – to make Lycra cool again!

>We must give an honourable mention to the Bettys! This team lost by the smallest of margins staying neck and neck with Team Shannifer for the past two weeks. A glorious battle and a valiant effort! The Bavarian Bettys are Andrea Kraft and Carmen Turner, two good friends from North Vancouver, BC. Andrea has represented Canada at numerous Canada Cup, Norba and World Cup races at a variety of riding levels. An ex-varsity National Team soccer player, Carmen's long list of athletic accomplishments most recently includes qualifying for the Boston marathon. As you can tell from their video, the girls are anxious to become fully immersed in the European culture. Their post ride strategy includes copious amounts of wine and cheese!

Team Raven will be the first Canadian women’s team to podium at Trans Alp!” says Marg Fedyna. Along with Nikki Kassel, the two riders have a diverse athletic background including Canada Cup races, winning 2006 La Ruta and the 2005 World Solo 24-hour Champs, winning the Cheakamus Challenge and racing TransRockies/TransAlps 8 times amongst them. Both cite riding as the ultimate challenge and lifestyle. Team Raven feels their passion and drive for XC racing will win the day and ultimately place them in contention for a podium spot.

Guy Swolfs and Philip Vandeput feel that the Trans Alp is the ultimate stage race in Europe and are passionate about placing well in this year’s race. Citing fantastic motivation and team spirit as their keys to success, Team Salzkopf is confident that their attitude and good humour will carry them through this grueling event. They feel their biggest obstacle will be deciding who gets to cross the finish line first!

Holger and Jan-frederik, the Bavarian Brezel Brothers, grew up in a pretzel factory in Germany (brezel is German for pretzel). Both have extensive riding experience and have 8 top ten Trans Alp finishes between the two of them. Their racing mantra is simple – “Success is nothing, Image is everything” and the only things they fear are broken frames and lack of pretzels. The boys have trusted in Race Face for the last decade of racing, now they’re hoping Race Face will trust in them!