Young Gun Andrew Crimmins pointing to a line choice by Connor Fearon
Windham, New York, United States Of America. Our last stop in North America for the world cup and home to a short, speedy, rocky track. Today we took a wander with the Kona Team to see what changes had been made to the track and just how the track was running.
Connor listens intently as Andy shares his views on the ‘Big D’
The first thing to notice, though not overly important is that the start gate has moved into the woods. The track then descends into some steep wooded sections with rock slabs and some rock gardens. We think the top part of the track is probably the most technically challenging aspect. However something to note though, is that the track has many places where there are only one to two lines. It was fairly dry when we walked down the track, but it did rain, however if it rains a lot, the track will become greasy and the rocks and roots will make for a very slippery scenario especially through the off camber.
The whole Kona team spots lines on the track walkAnd then it rained, just lightly, but it might be a sign of things to come for the rest of the days
With the track being very short, with mainly rock sections, roots and some open areas we feel like the pictures will give you an idea of conditions for now. We are hearing mixed reports of the weather, some say rain, some say sun, we are going to take a guess that it will probably drizzle like today for the remainder of the week.
I spy with my little eye…..
Stay tuned for tomorrows practice.
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Welcome to Mont St. Anne on the perfect race day, clear skies, the sun is shining, the excitement is building and the course dried off over night! We had an interesting qualification yesterday putting some new names at the top of the charts, not nessacerily new to the sport, just fresh as opposed to the likes of Gwin and Minaar. Would this mean another fresh winner for this world cup season? We will find out as the day progresses. As the track opened for practice riders flowed down slowly, making final inspections of lines they had chosen the day before, ensuring they were still useable, once decided there was a full scale attack on the course with a few high speed runs made and then it was time to relax and wait for the racing to begin. With the A practice drawing to an end many riders pushed hard trying their chosen lines and possibly to gain seconds with some larger lines, many were caught out on the last rock garden. There were plenty of crashes just prior to practice closing, most notable was Greg Minnaar taking a tumble and looking a little worse for wear, however he walked away and was sore but fine for racing.
Tracey Hannah drops in over the rocks
Rachel Atherton railing the corners through practice
As racing begun the junior men were first, with our own Ben Hill coming down first. as more riders came down the times fell, with Jack Iles putting in a super run to claim the hot seat and remain there until the very last rider Luca Shaw. As Luca appeared over the drop it was going to be close, as he crossed the line he claimed the top spot again and finished off the racing for the junior men.
With the men complete it was time for the elite women and they brought some speed from the get go, however as the riders began to come down there were some big gaps that formed as the quicker girls stepped it up and put a good gap into the previous racers. Rachel Atherton put a huge gap of over 12 seconds into the field which seemed almost un-beatable, and as Manon came down the first split indicated this may be true, however by the second split Manon had drawn the gap in to be negligible. Manon crossed the line on top and continued to stamp her domination in the Elite Women category.
This left only the Elite Men to come down the hill. And come down they did! there was a fast pace set from the start with times coming in much quicker than qualifying. The times fall consistently with no large gaps being formed, luckily there didn’t seem to be a repeat of mechanical issues through the field with only a couple of punctures. As we entered the top 20 the times dropped again and the speed stepped up, Sam Belenkinsop stepped things up with a great run which looked as if it may be hard to beat, but next thing Troy Brosnan was posting past splits and crossed the line on top of Sam. Danny Hart put in another fast paced run, and we feel that he is only a few races away from claiming a victory. Sam Hill came down with more pace than we have seen in a long time, looking like the Sam of old and crossing the line on top with a huge smile on his face. This left just Josh Bryceland to try and claim the win, could he go back to back or would we have another fresh face on the top of the podium. As Josh made his way down the track everyone was holding their breathe, as he made a few small mistakes it appeared as if Sam had it in the bag, the splits were still close though, and the race wasn’t run until Josh crossed the line. As Josh appeared over the drop at the finish line we could see it would be very close! The clock stopped and Sam Hill had taken the win today! Hats flew in the air and a very happy Nigel Page hugged his team rider.
The finals results for the day were
Junior Men
1. Luca Shaw
2. Jack Iles
3. Loris Vergier
Luca Shaw comes through the early dampness, giving this photographer a shower on the way through
Welcome to Mont. St Anne for day two of racing, today we woe up to a different hill with clear blue skies and warm temperatures. While the day was clear last nights rain had washed away a lot of loose dirt and revealed some new rocks and left many little rocks on the edges and in water ruts all over the track, some of yesterdays ruts had gotten even deeper with the water running through them and the moisture was still in the ground leaving parts of the track very soft and slow. As the first riders starting coming down for practice the soft parts of the track were torn up and started to form new ruts. however by mid way through practice the track was drying out to the point where the open areas of the track that saw sunlight most of the morning were so dry dust was forming.
Connor Fearon was unlucky to get a flat in qualifying, but luckily is a top 20 protected riderBen Dengate drops in, claiming a fast time and qualifying for juniors
With the B group practice winding up and the A group practice beginning we saw many of the top pros coming out onto the track at top speed, almost putting together a qualifying run, much more confident on the dry track. Due to the clear weather we saw many more riders on track much more regularly. however we did look up and notice that the clouds were starting to roll in, woudl this mean rain for race runs or later on in the day? only time would tell!
Manon Carpenter stamping her domination over the womens fieldDanny practices with his team mate close on his heels, Needles ended up claiming qualifying over Danny
Practice wound up and the Junior Men started rolling down the hill to qualify. Luca Shaw came down the hill first and looked on pace, he finished with a fast time and was not beaten the entire qualifying, finishing on top and scoring the last run of the Juniors tomorrow. Andrew Crimmins was also on a flier, impressing even the season world cup photographers like Sven Martin. Of the Aussie Juniors Andrew Crimmins, Ben Hill, Ben Dengate and Matthew McCorkell found themselves in the top 30 and ready for racing tomorrow.
Dean Lucas hurls abuse at the photographers for being slack, karma got him back with a flat in practice thoughDean Lucas had a great day qualifying well and throwing some style for us
As the women came down the hill we noted Manon Carpenters blistering pace, continuing her dominating season, we also saw that Rachel Atherton also seemed to be quite timid through teh rocks, but still wound up with a good time. Manon Carpenter ended up on the top of the board, continuing her amazing season this year.
Classic Steve PeatSignature Red Bull shotJack Moir has those concentration eyes
Troy Brosnan came down first for the men, holding onto his top spot, though the clouds were low over us we didn’t receive much rain, however we heard report that the top of the hill was saturated with heavy rain. One thing to note was teh astounding amount of flat tires seen during qualifying, at least half the field finished at the bottom line with a flat tire. By the end of Qualifying Josh Bryceland stood at the top of the leader baord, followed by Troy Brosnan and the Andrew Neethling. How will tomorrow pan out? Will Ratboy break the trend and have a back to back win or will we see another new winner for this world cup season? Only time will tell! We hope you join us for all tomorrow action, on the hill or behind the screen! See you all race day!
Troy Brosnan, shows off his new specialized and his national champ sleeve in qualisNumber 1 spot went to this guy, Ratboy on top again
Tune back for finals!
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Today we woke up to an awesome day, with almost clear skies and the promise of a great day of riding. The first session of practice got underway and straight out of the gate there was plenty of speed, with many of the veterans of the sport like Rachel Atherton hitting top speed in plenty of sections first run. The new and loose sections of track started forming ruts even after only a few riders had passed over them. There were plenty of lines being tried early on, but by the end of practice everyone had their lines down and there were only a couple of distinct lines being taken.
Ben Hill, one of the Aussie juniors throwing in some style
As elite men started rolling down for their practice the hill seemed to be deserted with only a few riders coming down. Then the rain began and this diminished almost all riders, with only a couple coming down every few minutes. the slippery conditions caught a few riders out, especially in the open sections where the track became slick and muddy, The most notable crash we saw was Gee Atherton who came off and snapped his stem clean off, he walked away from the incident but was a little worse for wear.
We dont have much more to say about today, so we will leave you with a gallery of todays undetakings.
Its great to see Andrew Crimmins back on a bike, and looking very quick in today’s practiceLaurie Greenland looking good through the top woodsMax Warsharsky, one of Australia’s juniors was looking on pace today, one of the fastest we saw under the chairlift.Manon Carpenter looked strong all day through the rocksJack Moir solves a problem of rock gardens, by just cruising over themDavid McMillan scouts the rock garden on his way through, still on a blistering paceGee Atherton moments before his crashTroy Brosnan, trying a little something different on his new DemoJosh Bryceland throwing in some signature styleThat Loam!Danny Hart navigating the wet and slippery trackSam Hill pushes over the signature Mont St Anne drop in the rainJoel Willis departs a wooded section
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Welcome to Mont St. Anne, in Quebec, Canada, A�an all time classic track from the world cup scene, with timeless sections that we all know from the mountain bike films of past. Today we are taking our track walk with the future of Australian Downhill, let us introduce the Australian Junior DH Team.
The Juniors full of excitement ready to head down the track
For anyone who is un-aware of the Junior team, these are the most outstanding young riders Australia currently has to offer, from left to right, front to back they are; Ben Hill, Jackson Davis, Ben Dengate, MaxA�Warshawsky, Michelle Crisp, Jared Rando (Coach), Joel Willis, Matthew McCorkell, Nathan Rennie (Coach). Not Pictured are Andrew Crimmins, Aiden Varley and Tegan Molloy.
From the roll in we could see some changes in the track, with the top section having a remodel and changing it up a little, the dirt up here is very fresh and quite loose, so we suspect that there will be some ruts forming very early tomorrow in practice, but only time will tell. There have been a lot of rocks inserted into this new top section, again we feel that the loose soil won’t hold all the rocks and that this top section will change rather dramatically from todays track walk.
Nathan Rennie rounds up his juniors like a Sheppard, spreading years of knowledge amongst the groupMatt & Ben eye off one of the new sections that have been added
The newer section slowly faded out as the classic Mont St. Anne track returned, however that had been some changes in bunting with the track being moved a little off teh classic lines to add a slightly new challenge, but still have the classic Mont St. Anne high speed sections. One of the newer little insertions was a small hip jump, while we eyed it off many riders walked past eyeing off different tactics to not waste time in the air but the clear the small creek beneath.
So many heads contemplating so many optionsWhile the sun is shining the smiles are clear
As we entered some of the classic open sections we noted the bunting had move slightly in places, with some spots being very tight in a high speed line, we are sure riders are going to push the limit of how close they can get to the bunting poles. The classic open section we see on TV has had some work done to it, with a jump we think will add some spice due to its smallness being dropped in. The speed trap area is still very high speed and one to watch. The lower rock garden is still just as challenging as it ever was, with plenty of line choices still available. There are plenty of risky fast lines, but we feel if it gets wet many will revert back to the classic safer lines we have seen in the past.
Thats a view not often missedClassic Mt. St. Anne Rocks
From the rocks the track simply opens up and drops you out into the open where there is a drop and a double leading into the finish line. Come the end of the track we had some very excited juniors ready to ride tomorrow. We look forward to practice tomorrow and we hope you check back in here tomorrow for all the action.
If you would like to follow the Junior Team as they travel and race their world cup campaign you can do so on facebook by following the Australian Junior Downhill Team 2014.
Two guys renowned for their style on a bicycle, what will happen when they ride together?!
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Race day has arrived here at Leogang, with the sun rising over another stunning day it would appear the race would be dry and un-interupted. As the track opened for practice riders began flowing down the track, looking so confident compared to the start of the week where through the roots the line choices were so timid and questionable. The riders were now on rails, so sure of the lines they had picked. Practice wrapped up and the track was closed for a moment as riders prepared for race runs. First up was juniors, we sat track side with the injured Aiden Varley and his mechanic, and dad Peter Varley, Aiden was disappointed to not being racing but we had a great chat about the junior racing. As the higher ranked riders started coming down the hill we noted there may be an upset on the cards with Amaury Pierron coming to sit on top and knock some of the faster riders off. Eventually with Amaury on top it was just Luca and Loris to come. As we watched the live feed on the board for the top sections of the track we noted that Loris had not come into view, over 20 secs off the pace we assumed he had crashed and the boards defaulted back to tracking Luca Shaw. We didn’t get a good view of the race from the screens, but as Luca appeared from the woods we noticed that Luca was only just in front of Loris. Luca crossed the line to claim 3rd place, we noticed Luca having a chat with the UCI, we thought he may of been held up from the assumed crash, however nothing came of the small chat and the results stood.
Next was the Elite Females, with quick times being set form the get go, the runs were mechanical free for the girls, a happy change from Ft. William I am sure, the only notable run that didn’t go to plan was Casey Brown who had a big off up track, she continued her run and finished but a long way off the pace. Jill Kitner set a super fast time which saw her in the hot seat for a little while, but as we saw the few girls roll down the hill her time tumbled. With just Manon on top of the hill Rachel Atherton was in the hot seat, could Manon continue her domination of this season’s world cup season? Time would tell, as Manon passed the first split time it was clear she was on a ripper run, however the split was still very close and a simple mistake would hand Rachel the win. Manon crossed the line and took the win by 2.69 Seconds, stamping her authority on this season, remaining the overall Elite Womens leader and also helping Madison Saracen to be the most successful team this world cup round.
Tegan Molloy hanging out in the hot seat, also taking second in the Junior women
This left just the Elite Men to come, and what a show it was going to be, the gap between all the qualifiers was only 14 seconds. The men started flowing down the track with times becoming very close from the start, by the time Sam Hill came down the hill we were seeing gaps of less that half a second between riders, this certainly was going to be a close one. We entered the ranks of the top 10 riders, the gaps increased and the riding stepped up. We watched as each rider came down the hill and topped the podium. Eventually it came to the top 5 qualifiers. We watched as Steve Smith made his way through the lower section, Steve appeared to be out of sync, finishing well off the pace, clearly disappointed with himself. It was then Andrew Neethlings turn, you could feel the excitement in the crowd, everyone was hoping Needles could pull a sweet result! At the first split he was up, not by much, but by todays standards it was quite a bit, though still less than a second, however by the second split he was down by quite a bit, with the whole crowd letting out a joined sigh. With three riders to go, who could take the top, Josh Bryceland came into view, on a fantastic time, and crossed the line to take the top spot, this left just Aaron Gwin and Loic Bruni to go. We watched as Aaron left the gate, a few moments later we noticed Aarons tire had come off in a flat, but he was still pushing, surely he couldn’t get a winning time with no tire, it turns out he couldn’t, crossing the line well back, but very impressive none the less. This just left Loic Bruni to come, he passed through the first split on top, and then through the second split, still on top, the pressure was mounting the crowd went silent! Loic appeared in the distance up the track, passing over parts of the course that had caught out riders earlier, one on of the final berms his wheel slid out, the celebration was explosive, Josh Bryceland takes the win, absolutely ecstatic with the result, he scored a free piggy back ride around the finish circle.
Josh Bryceland having infinite fun and slaying the trackBrook MacDonald making the podium, riding quick all weekend
With Racing Complete the results were:
Junior Men:
1. Amaury Pierron
2. Taylor Vernon
3. Luca Shaw
4. Alex Marin Trillo
5. Steve Marietta
Love him, or hate him, there is no denying Aaron Gwin can shred on a bicycleTroy Brosnan crossing the line to take third place and add another podium to the mantle piece
Ed Masters was perhaps a little too keen to congratulate Josh
Images: Jason Stevens Photography (@jasonstevensphotography or on Facebook)
