Round 4 of the SEQDH Series run by the Downhill From Here crew saw riders heading north of Brisbane to a private property between Mapleton Forest Reserve and Kenilworth where they took on Hella��s Descent. The track starts with an open, high speed section of drops and doubles straight out of the gate.
Shuttles to the top are always fun when your driver is Bob Davis, 63 years young and still racing downhill.The racers were throwing down a bit of style at the step down double early on in the track.The a�?pencil techniquea�� was pretty common off this lip as riders tried to get a spotting on their landing before railing the next berm and shooting off down the track.Jordan Clements aboard his TR500You dona��t see too many Canyon frames going around Australia but this guy knows how to throw his around.1/15 over the step down.Warrick McNab squashes the final drop of the top section before taking on the switchbacks down the face of the mountain.
The track then dives down the face of the mountain where riders had to try carry their speed through an endless series of tight, steep switchbacks littered with roots and rocks as well as off camber root sections and rock gardens.
Ben Power going high across the off-camber roots as he prepares to drop-in on a series of switchbacks.. Hayden Poptie attacking the inside line, the other options were to thread a slower middle line or drop off the outside.More off-camber rooty goodness for the riders to attack.Recent rain has left a lot of vegetation around the track and transformed the normally dusty track into a grippy, tacky trail that the riders were railing hard throughout practice before it got chopped up a bit prior race runs.A lot more a�?enduroa�� bikes have been seen throughout the series as technology innovations allow these smaller travel bikes to take on the downhill scene.100% concentration down the whole track. There was no respite for riders with the endless turns, roots, and rocks.Early practice was a bit slick with the dew on the track but this soon translated into grip as the track dried out a bit.
The final section of the course opens up to a small field of high speed, flat and off camber turns before dropping into the last forest section featuring a high speed long-and-low gap before a transfer over into the finish-line step up.
Ryan Leutton was unable to gain a podium spot this round and relinquished his overall lead to Ben Power.Loic Fery styling it out over the finish line step-up.Big whips and nose-heavy landings were on order for the final jumpSam Fraser: upside down and sideways in his final race run on the way to 5th place.
Ryan Leutton went into this round leading series overall for Elite Men but was unsuccessful in gaining a podium finish. Ben Power took his third win from three races and seems unstoppable on his way to taking the series overall. Lisa Matheson and Tracey Knight continued their dominance of the Open Women, taking the top two steps of the podium for Planet Cycles once again. The highlight of the day was Sam Frasera��s cork flip on the finish-line step up in his finals run and to add to it, he managed to claim the final step on the podium with that run!
Open Womens Podium: (2) Tracey Knight, (1) Lisa Mathison, (3) Jasmin StreetThe Planet Cycles girls seem unstoppable this year.Elite Mens Podium: (4) Cameron Allonby, (2) Harry Bush, (1) Ben Power, (3) Mat Tape, (5) Sam Fraser.When you backflip your way onto the podium, you can celebrate as much as you want.
That’s a wrap for this round!
Images and report: Cooper Messery Photography (Facebook hereA�or Instagram @cooper_messery)
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As long time supporters of Connor Fearon this has to be one of our favourite Inside Infos ever, without further adieu we hand it over to the man himself;
Coming into Leogang I had mixed emotions. The first two world cups this year I had a crash and a flat tyre so was disappointed to say the least. Especially after training so hard in the off season I had high hopes for this year. Leogang has always treated me well. In 2012 I placed 3rd in the junior world championships, 2013 I got my first ever top 10 (10th place) and 2014 I got my best result at the time of 9th. I was nervous that I would ruin another race in a row… Fun fact while I’m here, I ended up with plate number 36 for this race. A number I always thought was lucky because C and F are the third and sixth number of the alphabet… I’m not one to be superstitious but I was a little excited when I saw the number.
36 on the plate was a nice way to start off the week.
Anyways, we arrived in Leogang and had a look at the track. There where quite a few new sections which I think made the track better. People always complain about Leogang being to “bike parky”. Meaning it’s hard pack dirt with wide berms and braking bumps everywhere from having a lot of bike traffic on it. There was a lot off fresh loam but after it rained and practice went by all the dirt moved and exposed hundreds of roots. I felt comfortable on the track straight away but took some time setting up my suspension looking for the best performance I could get. In timed training at the end of the first practice day I put in a couple of solid efforts and was around 5th so I thought another top 10 in the finals wouldn’t be out of reach. Next was qualifying. I had planned to just have a solid clean run and not to push the envelope to much because I wasn’t protected. I thought this should land me in the top 20 somewhere. I guess I proved myself wrong when I crossed the line in 2nd place behind Aaron Gwinn. I was happy for about 10 minutes then the nerves started setting in. Getting a World Cup podium is a massive dream for mine and this was the golden opportunity.
A strong qualifying helped points for the overall but also increased the nervousness before the race.
I couldn’t really sleep that night because I was so nervous and on race day I just wanted to hurry up and get the race over and done with. I had 2 practice runs and then went back to the hotel and chilled for a couple hours before I had to race. My race run was really good. I hit all my lines perfectly and rode on the edge the whole way. I got to the halfway mark and knew I was on a really good ride so decided to just push it to the finish. Dropping into the last section I rode an inch wide off a fade away drop and landed just outside the track for a split second before returning to the course. I knew people had been harshly disqualified for this in the past so I didn’t know if that mistake would cost me. I came across the line in first which guaranteed me a top 2 spot.
Crossing the line into the hot seat, with only one rider left,meant a guaranteed podium!That feeling…. only a racer knows!Yeah Connor! Congratulations all around.
Aaron finished and just beat me with no chain somehow but I really didn’t care I had rode the best race I could. Still feeling so nervous I was going to get disqualified I didn’t feel relieved until after the podium. It felt amazing to stand up there with the worlds best riders and especially my mate Troy who I’ve been racing for 10 years since we where 10 years old. It’s definitely a massive weight off my shoulders to get a podium and I think it’s going to make racing easier for me in the future with this new confidence.
Massive thanks to all my sponsors Kona Bikes, Fox Head, HT components, Fast Twitch gym Adelaide, Yakima racks, Maxxis and all the other team sponsors!
Austria, visually stunning and also home to a lot of cows!
Round 3 of the UCI mountain bike world cup in Leogang, Austria was one of the most memorable races for years, if not ever. By now everyone knows the results and what a one Mr Aaron Gwin did sans chain but there’s more to the race than just that race winning run.
The week was a constant guessing game in relation to the weather, the alpine weather could change at the drop of the hat. Conditions went from dry and dusty to monsoonal and wet in no time flat, in the end the conditions for racing were okay, the biggest challenge for the riders were the strong winds.
Conditions were crazy all week long, in the end Mother Nature tried her best for the finals.
Juniors were on track first and for anyone that wasn’t fortunate enough to be track side the live timing was the closest to the action you could get. As there often is it looks like the race for the overall will be a see-sawing battle, this time it was Australia’s own Andrew Crimmins who took the win by 3 seconds over Irish rider Jacob Dickson who is being mentored by Ben Reid. Laurie Greenland, one of the other strong overall contenders finished 3rd with a broken chain (did he start a trend for the day?!). It is also worth mentioning Jacckson Frew took home a solid 5th place and Remy Morton suffered a mechanical and finished down the bottom of the list but is as positive as always!
Is getting disqualified worse than crashing or a mechanical? Unfortunately Manon Carpenter hasn’t had a season any where as near as successful as 2014. Her race finished with a DSQ next to her name on the time sheet as she exited the course and went over one of the bunting poles.
The women’s race was always going to be interesting with a few riders capable of the win, in the end the British showed why they are the power house of the sport taking gold and silver. Rachel Atherton, the most dominant female rider of this generation, surprisingly had never won at Leogang before. Rachel was quietly hoping for rain but in didn’t need it as she took a 3 second victory, finishing second, for the second race in a row, was Tahnee Seagrave. You would think that Tahnee is going to grab a maiden victory sooner rather than later. For Australia Tracey Hannah grabbed 6th, missing the podium on her birthday weekend by one place and Tegan Molloy A�finished 15th.
Rachel Atherton overcame her Leogang dry spell by winning on the weekend.
Moving onto the men’s race and the anticipation was high, Loic Bruni came down early on after issues in his qualifying run. He was blunt during his hot seat interview saying he didn’t think his run was enough for the victory. True to his word he eventually finished 8th.
An issue in qualifying saw Loic Bruni come down early on in finals and set the time to beat.
Coming into the race there were any number of riders who could have won the race, Greg Minnaar has a fantastic record here and had won just the weekend prior. Unfortunately for Greg (who is a tall fella) he hit his head on the start gate and had to rearrange his helmet/goggles and in the end couldn’t notch up another victory.
A favourite for many, Greg Minnaar has won world cups and championships on this course.
Flo Payet came over the finish line jump and had a tyre blow of the rim, sending tubeless sealant all over anyone standing close by. Dean Lucas powered home for 24th, his team mate Stevie Smith wasn’t so lucky crashing and finishing way down the order. Gee Atherton couldn’t replicate his sisters race and finished off the podium in 6th. Trpy Brosnan finished 4th, a solid result and one that will help his chances for the overall, 0.2 ahead of Troy was Remi Thirion claiming 3rd. If there is a danger man for the world championships in Andorra later this year surely it is Remi.
A strong 7th place for Josh Bryceland!
Much to the Australian downhill communities delight Connor Fearon managed to replicate his qualifying position and finished second!!! It was a nervous few minutes while officials waited to see if he gained any advantage after he ran off course near the bottom where Manon had earlier. His first world cup podium, check downhill247 for his Inside Info on his first world cup podium. First, without a chain, was Aaron Gwin who admitted ‘strange things happen here’ after losing his brakes at the 2012 world championships, his tyre at the 2014 race and then this year his chain! His win will go down in history as one of the most amazing runs of all time.
Connor Fearon has had great success at Leogang, snagging third as a junior at the 2012 World Championships and 9th last year.Crossing the line, with the time board showing green, what every racer strives for!Connor and Bernard Kerr are mates so there was a lot of people stoked for Connor as he crossed the line.One of the best riders of our generation, absolutely no doubt, Aaron Gwin took first without a chain!
Next world cup is the new track is in Lenzerheide, Switzerland, Steve Peat is helping create it so no doubt it will be epic.
Old faithful Willunga… It seems like we are reporting on a downhill race here every second month or so! We aren’t but fortunately everyone seems to like it. We headed about an hour south of Adelaide for round 3 of the South Australian state series and were met with a fun course and reasonably good weather.
Ah those views! Not that the riders got to take them in as they were riding, at least the local residents could!There is always a good turn out for the local races and riders seem to enjoy themselves whatever they are riding!
The track this round had a few slight changes, mainly in the way that it was bunted. Feedback from riders was that initially the bunting changes weren’t favoured but after a few runs and riders had things dialled then it was actually quite fun!
You can actually see the majority of the track from near the bottom as it winds up the hill.Sorry Steve but the puppy appears to be more popular!The pits were loaded with boys and there toys! (there were some females racing too which was great to see!)
In regards to racing, there were a few crashes but the main challenge for riders seemed to be punctures! This definitely resonated true through the elite men’s class with Matt Taylor, Simon Buzacott, Cam Ryan and Ngari Jenkins all getting final run flats!A�That’s part of racing though… The Elite Men’s winner, Curtis Dowdell, kept his good form up and it looks like he will A�be making a serious charge for the overall title. All the results from the weekend can be found here;A�http://www.insideline.com.au/index.php/results/2015-race-results/race-3-willunga-2015
Crashes and flats were the order of the weekend!Things were serious in the pits…. at least by the looks of this photo they were!Out on track tucking was the name of the game for the lower half of the course.The middle section of the course was where the drifting was to be had…… And the top part of the course was the rocky sections!It really was quite wild watching riders through the middle sections.Ian ‘Buffalo’ Jones snagged second the weekend after recently stepping up to the 650B world.Sion Buzacott throws some horns.607 on the plate, 7 on the gate…It almost rained, a few sprinkles came down after finals fortunately that was the extent of the rain!Conor Clancy comes into the final arena at warp speed!The camber and wide open turns near the top had people going sideways!Elite men’s winner Curtis Dowdell charging the rocks.Those views!The Adelaide Independent Racing guys run a type ship and lift the profile of the sport here in South Australia.Andy Murnane has been racing for what seems forever, he still has speed though!Considering there has been a bit of rain recently the track was quite dusty in sections!Just you and your bike…Lurking in the trees.Skills!Keeping it low for the dough…Race weekends seem to blur past sometimes.A few changes in the track kept riders on their toes.The Elite Men’s podium.These races are always good for riding with your mates.
After the racing most people went home for round 2, the World Cup in Austria. Our coverage from that race will be up soon! Meanwhile we will have some more photos from Willunga to show you so check back soon.
Images: Downhill247 and RFPhotographics (FacebookA�hereA�or follow on Instagram @rfphotographics).
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Coming off a devastating result at the first World Cup at Lourdes I really wanted to get a good result in Fort William. In the past I’ve done pretty well there and last year I was inside the top 15. Everyone who follows the world cups knows that Fort William is the roughest and longest track of the year. It has technical woods, flat out rocky sections and the infamous highway at the bottom where you have to pedal the last 45 seconds of the track. By the end your physically exhausted that’s for sure. This year there was a new woods section that had no shortage of slippery roots.The worst part about this race was the terrible weather. It rained non stop and was insanely windy. Especially the top half which is completely exposed as there’s no trees what so ever .
The top half of the track saw riders battling headwinds before having to use even more energy on the lower parts negotiating the ‘highway’ section.
Practice and Qualifying was average for me. With the high winds it was hard to feel good on the bike. The whole top half felt really slow battling a head wind the whole way and also added to the exhaustion because sections of the track you could usually roll with quite some pace everyone had to be pedalling hard to maintain speed. Due to the high winds qualifying and practice was cancelled on Saturday. This meant that qualifying and racing would be held on Sunday, starting at 6:15am!
Sunday was a big day for everyone with the pits coming alive at about 5am. The weather didn’t seem much better although the rain had died out a bit the wind was still terrible. My practice runs where better on race day. I kept changing springs on my shock and never got comfortable on the Friday but I felt like I had it right finally. Most people only got to do one practice run in the morning due to the changed schedule. Since I was out of the top 20 I wanted to have a smooth run to guarantee me a spot in the finals. I must have hit something pretty hard because I broke about 8 spokes in my rear wheel about a minute from the finish. I could feel the wheel slapping both sides of my frame so cruised it to the finish to avoid the wheel collapsing. I still qualified 25th which came to a surprise. Still disappointed because if I hadn’t broken the wheel I could’ve got points for qualifying in the top 20.
My race run started out great I was riding all my lines fast and confident. My improved fitness was also helping me in the more technical sections because I wasn’t as fatigued as the last few years. I noticed my front tyre starting to go flat about halfway and I was devastated. It held enough air to ride but slowed me down significantly and was completely flat by the last section of the track.
Footout, Connor can swap between flats and clips as needed, handy! Look closely at that front tyre and see if you can spot an issue…
I finished 34th still which means I at least got a few points. The last two races have been really disappointing for me because I know I had potential to do really well at them. The next race is Leogang which I’ve done great at in the past so I’m really hoping i’ll have a clean race there!
Thanks to everyone that helps me race- Kona bikes factory team, Fox head, fast twitch training centre Adelaide, Yakima rack, HT components
Follow Connor on Instagram @connorahoyhoy and we will check back with him after Leogang this weekend.
Images: Isac Paddock follow on Instagram @_paddock
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