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2012 Red Bull Rampage,

Freeride,

Red Bull Rampage,

Slopestyle |

Thursday

Aug232012

Projekt Roam Virgin Utah

Pulling the RV in late on a moonless night, it wasn't until morning that we took in the gargantuan masses striated dirt and rock, compressed and shaped by eons of time, looming against the horizon.

It seems nearly impossible to attempt to capture the essence of the riding terrain found in Virgin, UT with mere words. Little forgiveness is to be found in this harsh landscape; there is a reason this site calls to extreme mountain bikers from all around the world.

We met up with Will White, Kyle Madden, Nick Simcik, and their fearless overseer, Gypsie, for a week long trip to explore this rugged landscape and for the guys to train for their upcoming competitions.

The weather seemed to be as unforgiving as the landscape itself, with endless wind and frequent storms. A fair amount of time was spent huddled in our shelters, passing time swapping stories between the more violent bouts of Mother Nature's springtime wrath.

The downhill trails this particular domain provides are full of chunk and rock, strewn with off camber and technical sections, overlooking the vast desert landscape below.

There is also no shortage of exposure or steep vertical drop-offs. Talk about a pucker factor in some places! I was even nervous filming the crew as they navigated their way down the rugged trails.

The main attraction, the freeride area, was nothing short of a virtual, outdoor playground. It seems as if big hits and crazy lines are nestled in every nook and cranny of this robust riding region.

Standing at the bottom, gazing upwards, it can be difficult to delineate where many of the freeride lines even begin.

Just outside your camp door, endless riding opportunities await, beckoning to be explored and test any rider's mettle.

Right down to the flickering flames of a sparking campfire, Virgin is an experience to be had.

Projekt Roam was founded by husband and wife, Colt and Jessee Maule in 2010. It has been their mission to travel North America in search of places that celebrate the unparalleled beauty and freedom of not only the bike, but the terrain we ride as well. Plan your own trip to Virgin, UT and check out more photos, film, and riding locations throughout North America at www.gravityrideguide.com

Thanks to our sponsors for some great product and to all of our new friends who have helped us out along the way, ride on.
Words: Colt & Jessee Maule Photos/Film: Colt & Jessee Maule

For more work by Projekt Roam:
projektroam.pinkbike.com
http://www.projektroam.com/
http://www.gravityrideguide.com/
http://www.facebook.com/projektroam

Editor |

tagged

Freeride,

Red Bull Rampage |

Sunday

Aug052012

2012 Northstar Pro GRT

The Pro GRT entered Tahoe this week on the slopes of Northstar. Trails there are somewhat rocky and have that fine dust in most corners that when pushed hard enough will give way to the harder ground below. This dust also hides sharp rocks and a number of riders crossed the line with flat tires.

Boondocks was the trail being raced on. It has it share of turns, rocks and smaller jumps as it winds down the moutainside. Fast times for the day were in the low 4 minute range and being at decent elevation around 7000 feet, conditioning could make a difference.

Riders started out facing straight down the mountain and faded left over scattered rocks, drops and smaller jumps into the trees. The trail is slightly off-camber and wound it's way back and forth a few times before riders came to the first big feature. It is a rock about 5 feet tall that sends riders onto pavers that feed into a washed out right hander. People are given the option of a go around or just send the drop. SOme of the faster riders were going out about 15 feet off of it.

After the drop the trail continues left through over rocks and some turns. Once through the turn riders go between two boulders. The next feature of note is a large boulder that sends riders down a wooden ramp. There were two routes here and although the boulder was funner to ride it makes you enter the trail again at a harsh 90 degree angle. The faster way to go was the alternate route that turned right before the boulder and fed riders into an s-turn and allow a bunsh more exit speed.

Again riders are fed left along Boondocks over soft soil and rock. It fades right and opens up a bit sending you over a small rock section. Once through that the trail goes through some turns and across one that is built out of wood. The trail is wide here and offers many line choices. Here the trail heads right and opens to full fireroad width. I happened to grab an image of Mikey Haderer here as it turns out they would not allow him to race for points because he had only one practice run in.

Once riders left this section the return to the tress and hit a few jumps they are smaller and most riders stayed low over these. Here Boondocks crooses another trail and riders are sent between two trees with a paver take-off. Once you drop between the trees it is almost entirely turns and high speed pedalling to the finish. At the finish there were two wooden ramps the one on the left was about ten feet high and launched riders into the sky while the other kept you low and was about half as tall. You heard amny a bike rub the rear tire when hitting the large sender on the way up the ramp.

Overall the Northstar Pro GRT offered riders a very fun course. It was not the most technical but had a few sections to give riders pause while still allowing amateurs and pro riders alike the exact same course to race. Turnout was lower than expected but two other events were happening the same weekend. We will post results once they become available and with also proved a link to images shot at the event later this week.

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tagged

2012 Northstar Pro Grt,

2012 Pro Grt,

Downhill,

Downhill Racing,

Northstar |

Monday

Jul302012

2012 Val d'Isere UCI World Cup Round 6

Round six of the Downhill at the Rockyroads.net UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano in Val d'Isere, France, turned out to be a much more difficult course than anyone anticipated, with many top riders crashing and performing below expectations. Rachel Atherton (GT Factory) took her fourth win of the season to extend her lead in the women's standings, while Brook MacDonald (MS Mondraker) took his first ever World Cup win in the men's race. Aaron Gwin (Trek World Racing), despite finishing fifth, locked up the men's overall title with one round remaining.

The rocky, open, alpine run was very different from most that the racers face on the World Cup circuit, and more than a few riders crashed in both training and qualifying.

In the women's race, Petra Bernhard (Alpine Commencal Austria) was the first to record a sub-2:50 run, but Myriam Nicole (Commencal / Riding Addiction) immediately took nearly seven seconds off the leading time, good enough to eventually finish fourth. Floriane Pugin (Scott 11) then knocked a further second off, but the final two riders were in a class of their own.

World champion Emmeline Ragot (MS Mondraker) was 1.6 seconds faster than Pugin, but Atherton, the fastest qualifier, once again showed that her return this season, after struggling with injury, is complete - finishing a second and a half ahead of Ragot and recording the only sub-2:40 time of the day.

"I am so happy," stated Atherton. "I think this is the most nervous I have been all year. This track is very, very difficult. One day it's dry and then it's really, really wet, so tire and suspension changes are so important, and you don't know how it's gonna be on your race run. Everyone was just playing it like a guessing game.

"I almost crashed today [in training]; I landed on my seat. My stomach was hurting really bad, but I thought, this is like Fort William: I need to just switch off and then switch back on for the race. I have learned that from racing and crashing."

Atherton now holds an 80 point lead over Ragot, with Nicole a distant third at 892 points.

The men's competition for the last two seasons has been completely dominated by World Cup leader Aaron Gwin and his usual rival, Greg Minnaar (Santa Cruz Syndicate). Between the two of them, they have won every single World Cup in last season and this, until Val d'Isere. Every rider struggled on the fast, rough and rocky terrain, which was completely unforgiving of mistakes. Gwin crashed in qualifying, injuring his hand and finishing well back.

In the Final, Thibaut Ruffin (Commencal / Riding Addiction) set the early best time, which stood for 16 riders until Matt Simmonds (Chain Reaction Cycles.Com / Nukeproof) bumped him by an infinitesimal six-thousandths of a second. Simmonds in turn was displaced by Andrew Neethling (Giant Factory), who barely finished before Mick Hannah (Hutchinson United Ride) took the lead. Gwin took the lead next by half a second, but Minnaar surpassed his rival by that same amount. Gee Atherton (GT Factory) then recorded the first sub-2:20 time, but it wasn't quite enough, as MacDonald knocked a final half second off the lead to record his first victory.

"I can't even explain how I feel," exclaimed MacDonald. "I had a solid run, no mistakes , it was one of those runs I was just pumped for. I am over the moon about this one. My early season has been a big struggle. I was at a point where I was hating riding. So I changed a few things on my bike, and it has all paid off."

"This track was hard. With the altitude, and being only two and a half minutes, you are just pushing the whole way. If you make a mistake you lose time and you can't really lose time on this kind of track. I put together a good run and I'm happy."

Despite having his consecutive World Cup win streak stopped at four, Gwin wasn't too upset. "I have no excuses, I had a pretty good run. For how I felt I am happy. To win the overall again, it is so amazing, especially after this weekend. I came in feeling good, and kinda had a bonehead moment in Qualifying. Hurt myself a little bit. It [his hand] was better than I thought it was going to be in the Finals; it didn't hurt too bad. I just got a little tired at the bottom. So I had to back it down at the bottom to make sure I stayed on and I kinda backed it down too much, but it worked out. Everyone loses some and wins some. I have lost many more in my career. I am just stoked to be up here."

Gwin now has 1260 points with one race remaining, an insurmountable 260 point lead over Minnaar. The fight for second overall is far from over, with Atherton only 19 points out of second.

Editor |

tagged

2012 UCI World Cup,

Downhill,

Downhill Racing |

Wednesday

Jul252012

Nukeproof Pulse Frame Announced