Brook MacDonald 'Robbed' Of World Cup Podium, Neko On Target
Sunday, June 16, 2013 at 4:21PM 
The hot dusty conditions on the super steep track in Val Di Sole saw Brook MacDonald on target for a 4th place result until a crash in the last sector of his run saw those hopes slip away. Meanwhile Neko Mulally who doesn't see this track as one of his strengths, was very pleased to take his 2nd best career result and be on target for the second half of the season.
Earlier in the day Greg Williamson, fresh off his break out ride in Fort William, was sending it down the hill in absolute style, getting green lights all the way from split to split, only to have the front wheel wash out in the corner made infamous by Sam Hill in 2008.
"I was really enjoying myself in the run, especially the last sector and I don't know, my hand slipped alittle and the next thing i know I was surfing the ground. I'm happy with my speed but just disappointed not to convert it into big points today".
George Brannigan was 6 tenths up on the first split, but was suffering all week to get the right suspension set up for this track and ultimately crashed, but will be racing between now and the next World Cup to get his set up where he needs it.
Neko was the third rider from the team to tackle the course and despite the temptation to push much harder, rode a smart race to arrive incident free at the line in 4th place, which was ultimately good enough for 15th, and has moved from 24th to 16th overall.
Brook was aiming for his first top 5 on this track in 5 years, and was well and truly on target the cross the line in 2nd but a loss of the front wheel and damage to his bike resulted in a 24th spot, and a 3rd place overall in the World Cup.
"About half way through my run I was havign trouble seeign and concentrating. My reaction time was suffering. This schedule here was pretty stupid, almost dangerous. It was 7 hours between my last parctice run and the race run and the day was just too long. The UCI need to get this sorted, you can't be off the track for so long betwen practice and a flat out race run. Having said that, I'm sitting top 3 before the summer break and I'll be keen to chase the podium again in Andorra next month".
Mammoth Bike Park Heating Up
Friday, June 14, 2013 at 7:06PM ;)
The action at the Mammoth Mountain Bike Park is heating up! We had a good amount of rain earlier this week, and the trails are in excellent condition. For this weekend, a number of trails are open, including Lower Twilight Zone, Downtown, Uptown, Big Ring, Paper Route, Juniper, Timber Ridge, Shotgun, Lower Pipeline, Lower Bullet, Lakes Trail and Pioneer Practice Loop.
;)
But the big news is that the Gondola will start spinning next Friday (June 21), which opens up a huge portion of the mountain for the season.
;)
The legendary Kamikaze bike games are back at Mammoth Mountain. Come check out all the action September 4th-8th. Road biking, dual slalom, and the fastest downhill course in the world. Check out Kamikazebikegames.com for more information.
;)
Photos by Peter Morning/MMSA
Bicycle, Downhill Mountain Bike, Mammoth, Mammoth Mountain |
2013 Val Di Sole WC 2 Qualifying Results
Friday, June 14, 2013 at 6:24AM Junior's Qualifying Results
| 1 | ATWILL Phil | GBR19950111 | MADISON SARACEN DOWNHILL TEAM | 3:28.095 |
| 2 | NIEDERBERGER Noel | SUI19950821 | GSTAAD-SCOTT | +0.573 |
| 3 | GRAHAM Innes | GBR19960703 | MS MONDRAKER TEAM | +4.647 |
| 4 | SHAW Luca | USA19961225 | SPECIALIZED RACING DH | +6.069 |
| 5 | ELLISON Luke | AUS19951030 | AUSTRALIA | +6.669 |
| 6 | FAYOLLE Alexandre | FRA19950720 | FRANCE | +8.588 |
| 7 | MEDICI Simone | ITA19950705 | ITALY | +8.885 |
| 8 | VERNON Taylor | GBR19960912 | GT FACTORY RACING | +9.242 |
| 9 | LUCAS Dean | AUS19950502 | AUSTRALIA | +9.332 |
| 10 | VERGIER Loris | FRA19960507 | LAPIERRE GRAVITY REPUBLIC | +9.586 |
Women's Qualifying Results
| 1 | ATHERTON Rachel | GBR19871206 | GT FACTORY RACING | 3:51.866 |
| 2 | RAGOT Emmeline | FRA19860527 | LAPIERRE GRAVITY REPUBLIC | +6.188 |
| 3 | CARPENTER Manon | GBR19930311 | MADISON SARACEN DOWNHILL TEAM | +10.578 |
| 4 | CHARRE Morgane | FRA19900609 | MS MONDRAKER TEAM | +10.585 |
| 5 | PUGIN Floriane | FRA19890417 | GSTAAD-SCOTT | +12.891 |
| 6 | SIEGENTHALER Emilie | SUI19860919 | GSTAAD-SCOTT | +18.461 |
| 7 | HANNAH Tracey | AUS19880613 | HUTCHINSON UR | +18.892 |
| 8 | KINTNER Jill | USA19811024 | TEAM NORCO INTERNATIONAL | +20.601 |
| 9 | BROWN Casey | CAN19901027 | DIRT NORCO RACE TEAM | +25.072 |
| 10 | CERNILOGAR Zarja | SLO19891218 | BLACKTHORN GT | +25.183 |
Men's Qualifying Results
| 1 | ATHERTON Gee | GBR19850226 | GT FACTORY RACING | 3:15.475 |
| 2 | GWIN Aaron | USA19871224 | SPECIALIZED RACING DH | +1.362 |
| 3 | SMITH Steve | CAN19891125 | DEVINCI GLOBAL RACING | +2.007 |
| 4 | MACDONALD Brook | NZL19911125 | TREK WORLD RACING | +3.266 |
| 5 | HILL Samuel | AUS19850721 | CHAIN REACTION CYCLES.COM / NUKEPROOF | +3.931 |
| 6 | HART Danny | GBR19910920 | GIANT FACTORY OFF-ROAD TEAM | +4.691 |
| 7 | MINNAAR Greg | RSA19811113 | SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE | +5.015 |
| 8 | BRUNI Loic | FRA19940513 | LAPIERRE GRAVITY REPUBLIC | +6.267 |
| 9 | PAYET Florent | FRA19861121 | EVIL CK RACING EVIAN | +6.364 |
| 10 | SIMMONDS Matthew | GBR19870520 | CHAIN REACTION CYCLES.COM / NUKEPROOF | +6.801 |
| 11 | THIRION Rémi | FRA19900423 | COMMENCAL / RIDING ADDICTION | +6.834 |
| 12 | HANNAH Michael | AUS19831121 | HUTCHINSON UR | +8.375 |
| 13 | FERREIRO PAJUELO Antonio | ESP19900103 | EVIL VENGEANCE TOUR | +8.418 |
| 14 | READING Jack | GBR19881210 | +8.575 | |
| 15 | NEETHLING Andrew | RSA19840805 | GIANT FACTORY OFF-ROAD TEAM | +8.703 |
Round 2 of the Bluegrass Enduro Tour International 2013 Mollau - Alsace
Tuesday, June 11, 2013 at 4:41PM The second round of the Bluegrass Enduro Tour International took place in France in the village of Mollau, last week-end. Two days of fantastic riding with a total of 7 timed stages specially designed by the "Dahus", the local bicycle club.
Saturday, June 8, 2013:
But the Bluegrass Enduro Tour is not only about riding great trails, the organization had planned a live concert and a boar on the spit party (6 boars devoured in total!) on Saturday night to share a great evening all together.
Next stage of the Bluegrass Enduro Tour International in Scotland - Kinlochleven - 15/16 June.
Résumé vidéo du Bluegrass Enduro Tour International 2013 de Mollau
Les différents support de la course :
Bluegrass
Expert Vision
Tannenbike
MET
Cannondale
Station Outdoor
Yodabikes
Velo tout terrain magazine
Europe Environnement
MMA Bianchi
Crédit Mutuel
Royer Frères S.A.
Vélo Club Mollau
2013 Bluegrass Enduro, All Mountain, Bicycle, Enduro |
The Athertons Sweep At Fort Bill
Monday, June 10, 2013 at 9:03AM Round one of the Downhill series at the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup presented by Shimano became a family affair, with the brother and sister team of Gee and Rachel Atherton (GT Factory Racing) crushing the competition in the elite men's and women's races at Fort William, Scotland, on Sunday.
British riders have always upped their game at what is, essentially, their home course, and this year was no different. Fort William is considered one of the gravity centers of the sport, and boasts some of the biggest and most enthusiastic crowds of the year. At nearly five minutes long, the track is also one of the hardest, requiring technical skills for the rocky upper section, and power and fitness for the bottom half.
Rachel Atherton qualified first among the women, over six seconds in front of Emmeline Ragot (Lapierre Gravity Republic), but the defending overall World Cup champion has been burned before in Scotland, finishing second the last three years. Fort William was the only major downhill result missing from her resumé.
Emilie Siegenthaler (Gstaad-Scott) set the first sub-5:30 time, which held until Nicole Myriam (Commencal/Riding Addiction) went below 5:25. Manon Carpenter (Madison Saracen) then took the leading time below 5:20, but Ragot and Atherton were still to ride. Ragot couldn't manage to overtake Carpenter, so it was down to Atherton, and the British champion did not falter, finishing over ten seconds ahead of her compatriot.
"Winning is just ridiculously hard here," Atherton commented. "I have qualified first a few years here. You can't let your guard down. It is such a wild track and that run was just so messy all the way down, I was just thinking I'm throwing it away, the other girls are going to be smoother. I couldn't believe it when I crossed the line and finally heard the crowd cheering, instead of groaning like normal. I can't believe it."
Atherton leads the overall standings with 250 points, followed by Carpenter at 190 and Ragot at 180.
Unlike the women, the men's race did not have a single clear favourite. Danny Hart (Giant Factory), the 2011 world champion, qualified first, but less than two-tenths of a second ahead of Gee Atherton.
The leading time crept down slowly, with Austin Warren (Pivot Factory Team) the first to go under 4:50. Local Scottish rider Greg Williamson (Trek World Racing) was the next to spend any length of time in the Hot Seat, but the fastest riders were just starting to come down.
Sam Hill (ChainReactionCycles.com/Nukeproof), who won the world title in Fort William in 2007, broke the 4:40 mark, but that would not prove to be enough to make the podium. Only two riders later Brook MacDonald (Trek World Racing) took the lead, with five riders remaining, setting the stage for some of the closest times ever seen. The next three riders all came within nine-tenths of a second of MacDonald, but none could surpass the New Zealand rider.
Then it was the turn of Atherton, the 2010 winner at Fort William. The British champion was running the rock sections at the top noticeably faster than any other rider and, although he lost a few tenths of a second in the lower half, he still crossed the line 1.142 seconds faster than MacDonald to take the lead. Hart covered the top sections of the course almost as quickly as Atherton before fading in the pedaling section to finish seventh.
"I can't begin to describe it," said Atherton. "It is a pretty emotional feeling. It has been a while since I won here, and my sister won on the same day. It doesn't get better than this. I was scared, but it was a smooth run. This is the first run on a new bike but it went smooth. I couldn't have asked for a better run really. I am stoked to start the World Cup series like this. Bring it on, I say.”
Atherton leads the World Cup with 240 points, followed by MacDonald with 180 and Steve Smith (Devinci Global Racing) with 162.
In the new Junior mens’s World Cup category, Noel Niederberger (Gstaad-Scott) was the top finisher, followed by Michael Jones (FMD/Intense Cycles) and Lucas Dean (Australian National).
