Stamina is always a factor in the Swiss resort of Lenzerheide, but coming just a week after another double – the sixth round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup Presented by Shimano in Vallnord, Andorra – round seven on July 8-9 will be an especially brutal endurance test for both XCO and DHI riders. Nonetheless, the venue known as the Alpine Oasis is beloved by athletes and fans, with 300 kilometers of marked mountain bike trails and a crystal-clear lake at the finish area, all set against the breathtaking backdrop of the Swiss Alps. Lenzerheide not only kicks off…
Author: Tomasz Profic
Riders at the Enduro World Series once more faced down a weekend of wild weather and even wilder racing, this time at the Natural Games Millau EWS driven by URGE bp in France. Already a big two days in the saddle at 88km in total, brutal weather further tested riders as they struggled to stay upright in some of the most difficult conditions of the year to date. And that’s saying something. Adrien Dailly However, the French offered a masterclass in riding in the rain – with Cecile Ravanel (Commencal Vallnord Enduro Racing Team) and Adrien Dailly (Lapierre) stamping their…
Brace yourself for a jam-packed week of MTB action! About 200 rookies are expected to head to the MTB-Festival Serfaus-Fiss-Ladis from July 31 to August 6 in pursuit of the fastest time and bags of fun. The festival kicks off with the “Rookie Camp” and concludes with hundreds of downhill talents from all over Europe sending it during “Kona Rookies Games” on the first weekend of August. Every single one of them will be aiming to show their skills on the downhill and pump track in order to have a chance at becoming an unofficial youth World Champion or “Festival…
The Enduro World Series heads to it’s spiritual home of France this week for round five, the Natural Games Millau EWS driven by URGE bp. Part of the Natural Games, the EWS riders will be immersed in this celebration of sport and music that features, amongst others, climbing, parkour, stand up paddle boarding, kayaking and paragliding. Now in it’s tenth year, the Natural Games is Europe’s largest outdoor event, attracting crowds of 100,000 over four days. This two day race will feature nine stages across 88 kilometres, with a huge 4200m of total descent. Taking place on trails typical of…
THE SYNDICATE is back. In the second episode of 2017, Loris Vergier shows us around his hometown of Cagne-sur-Mer and introduces us to his days of racing BMX in jeans. After a little pedal-to-the-metal in his favorite car and throttle twisting at the beach, it all turns to World Cup race action from Ft. William to Leogang. Get ready to meet one of the Syndicate’s newest recruits!
If there was a surprise in the Innsbruck downhill, it was in the course, rather than the podium, as the fast-running track unearthed holes and ruts, pushing the racers onto their edge. First place finishers Tracey Hannah (AUS) and World Champion Danny Hart (GBR) weren’t exactly longshots for the win, although Mick Hannah (AUS) did give Hart’s and his rainbow a serious shakedown, sliding in just .15 behind for second place. Danny Hart Danny Hart: It’s really hard not to override the track. You want to be giving it full beans because it is so rough and so blown out……
What a sensational premiere in Austria! The world’s best slopestyle athletes competed at Crankworx Innsbruck for the first time in the history of the FMB World Tour this weekend and put on a huge show for the fans! It turned out that the timing at high noon was perfect for a duel, which will go down as one of the most exciting battles in slopestyle history. Nicholi Rogatkin The weather could not have been any better for the first ever Crankworx Innsbruck event. In Run 1 it was polish athlete Szymon Godziek, who was the first to get the crowd…
Pulling herself up into a manual and stretching for the line, Australian Caroline Buchanan bested American Jill Kintner on the Innsbruck pump track in such a photo finish squeaker of a win, it could not be detected by the naked eye. The pair appeared tied in the first round of the final, with announcers only later stating the timing equipment revealed Kintner to be ahead by six thousandths of a second—the onscreen graphics only reporting to the hundredth. As Buchanan’s wheel crossed the line, she paused to see the score, +0.03, then leapt into the arms of her fiancée, Barry…
Frenchie flare felled the giant Swede on a crisscross dual speed & style track in Innsbruck, Austria, Thursday evening, as Tomas Lemoine bested Martin Söderström, who couldn’t help but claim the loss another victory. Martin Söderström vs Tomas Lemoine Without doubt Lemoine’s 360, double barspin to Xup off the top, and flip double barspin on the final jump, brought home the win for the young Slopestyle specialist, who made his first climb to the top of the podium in the sport. But having just claimed third place in Les Gets, and placing second just one week later, Söderström, “one of…
The women of mountain biking whipped out their best sideways steeze to beat Canadian Casey Brown, the undefeated maestro of the whip in the first event of Crankworx Innsbruck, and while she still holds her title, it is clear the stage is set for her defeat—just as she wants. Brown has been competing in the event for several years and has becoming the best advocate, teacher and cheerleader for women learning to whip along the way. Casey Brown With eight women on the start list for the Tiroler Tageszeitung Official Alpine Whip-Off Championships presented by SPANK, despite the scale of…
This past weekend can definitely be seen as one of the annual highlights of the downhill season: the third round of the iXS European Downhill Cup invited the downhill elite to Schladming. At the end of the day Philipp Atwill and Eleonora Farina celebrated their victory as the winners of the day. Phil Atwill After a four-week break the iXS European Downhill Cup returned this weekend inviting the downhill elite to Schladming. The race track at the Planai still is regarded as one of the most popular and favorite tracks of the world, so it definitely is always one of…
Canadian superstar Brett Rheeder returned to the top Sunday evening in the Crankworx Les Gets Slopestyle, delivering a measured, near flawless performance in his first Crankworx competition since tearing his meniscus, and besting the latest breakout star in the sport, 17-year-old Swedish rookie Emil Johansson. Brett Rheeder In interview from the finish coral, Rheeder said he missed only one barspin, then rattled off the ins and outs of his trick-laden run, which included a flip, one-foot can off the flat-drop at the top flowing into a double-whip on the second jump, a switch truck-driver landing into a switch cork-720, and…
Same time, same place, different plan of attack. An unheard finish in the Crankworx Les Gets Air DH saw two female racers, Canadian Casey Brown and Switerland’s Emilie Siegenthaler, cross with the exact same time—to the thousandth—and leave the usual big air suspects out of contention. Morgane Charre Ironically, the pair could not have more far-removed styles. Brown concentrates Crankworx, is the master of the whip-off and known for her big air flare in the bike park, whereas Siegenthaler is a technical rider straight out of the World Cup circuit. Emilie Siegenthaler: We don’t get to see each other very…
Hot, loose conditions combined with the wide turns, steep woods and a crazy grass section unseen on any other modern track gave the Crankworx Les Gets Downhill presented by iXS a race worthy of its legendary course status. With a stacked field of both men and women on deck, Myriam “Ponpon” Nicole (FRA) sailed through the finish line for her first Crankworx win in two years, over a woman well-accustomed to the hot, dry conditions, Tracey Hannah (AUS). Myriam Nicole But the story of the night was last year’s Canadian Open Downhill presented by iXS champion Troy Brosnan (AUS), whose…