Inside Info: Connor Fearon – North America

Connor Fearon at MSA the race didn't go as plan for him though.... — Connor Fearon at MSA the race didn’t go as plan for him though….

There was a big 6 week gap spanning from Leogang to the Canada World Cup so I went home and trained for a couple weeks then travelled to Bromont, Quebec to base myself for a couple weeks before the World Cup. I trained and rode my downhill bike a lot at the bike park. At home we don’t have the luxury of chair lift accessible trails and it’s also winter so I wasn’t riding to much downhill at home.

As some of you might already know MSA didn’t go to plan at all. I had a infected graze that I got from crashing in Bromont a few days prior to the race. On the Thursday and Friday (practice day and qualifying day) I felt really tired and I wasn’t having fun on my bike. I had no idea why but I wasn’t riding well and I didn’t even want to ride. Turns out it was the start of the infection hitting me. To make things worse I got a flat tyre in qualifying so I acquired no points, although being a top 20 rider I was luckily auto qualified. I went to the doctor after qualifying because my elbow was slightly swollen and got a iv drip and anti-biotics.
I woke up on race day with the biggest swellbo ever. It was really sore to move and I felt really sick, dazed and had a headache. There was no way I could race and I was devastated. I was plate number 16 and my goal this year was to finish top 15, so missing a race definitely has made it a lot harder to reach the goal!

The life and times of a pro rider isn't all beer and Skittles! — The life and times of a pro rider isn’t all beer and Skittles!

Luckily after 4 days of getting IV drips at 2 different hospitals and a course of oral antibiotics the infection had cleared and I was good to go for Windham. I have raced at Windham twice now in 2011 and 2012. Neither times I got a result worth remembering because I had rode off the track in the same infamous rock garden both times. The track is really short, rough and fast. The times are always really close so everyone pushes to the limit making it a very hard race.

On the hunt but a massive infection meant the closest Connor got to racing was the sideline!

I had so much fun riding the track and felt really good. I was slightly disappointed when I qualified 22nd though. I worked on a few things in practice to gain some time, although it all really comes down to just riding really fast because there’s not many lines to change. My race run was good I made a few little mistakes but it was hard not to because you have to push so hard. I ended up 17th, I wanted to be further up the ranks but not a bad result coming from the infection. Unfortunately after coming into wc #5 with the number 16 plate I moved back to 23 after missing Mont st Anne and despite finishing 17th at Windham I moved back to 25. It’s a little depressing working so hard and being back where I finished last year, I have one more World Cup to try to reel back some positions.

A top 20 in Windham didn't move Connor back into the top 20 overall, one more race remains for Connor to do so. — A top 20 in Windham didn’t move Connor back into the top 20 overall, one more race remains for Connor to do so.

One thing worth mentioning is that I was fastest rider on a 26″ wheel. I can’t use it as an excuse but I think it is making it a little more difficult competing against everyone with the 650b wheels when there’s a small but obvious advantage. Things are in the works and I’m sure it won’t be to long before Kona have a 650b bike for me to race.
The last few weeks has made me realise in this sport nothing you can do will guarantee success. Weather you get sick, crash, get a mechanical, ride out of your ability or keep it to safe it all makes it hard to have a perfect race or season.
So right now I’m sitting in Montreal Airport about to fly to whistler. I’m really looking forward to riding the best tracks in the world and do some races that aren’t so serious and don’t come with all the pressure of a World Cup. Massive thanks to all the people that help me out especially Kona Bikes, SRAM, Rockshox, Stans No Tubes, Maxxis, Truvativ, Yakima Racks, Swift Supplements and Breese High Performance.

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Photos: Jason Stevens Photography. Facebook:A�www.facebook.com/jasonstevensphotographyA�or follow @jasonstevensphotography on Instagram

August 13, 2014

World Cup Round 6, Windham – Finals

'Focused' - captioned by Troy Brosnan himself — ‘Focused’ – captioned by Troy Brosnan himself

Today we wanted to do something a little different for everyone, so we aren’t writing this report, today we are handing over the reins to Max Warshawsky, our fastest Junior of the day, the words are his and the images will be picked by him also.

Riders were greeted to a even dustier and blown out course today, with the rain staying away overnight and throughout the day. Although it didn’t seem to make the track any slower, just more sketchy and wild with some big ruts and holes forming in most sections.

Greg Minaar looking forward towards the finish

Racing kicked off with the Junior Men’s category which saw times drop a lot quicker from qualifying yesterday. The crowd was pretty nuts from early on in the day with chainsaws being a regular down the hill. I managed toA� have a clean run down the hill and it was just good enough to hop into the hot seat andA� bump Andrew Crimmins into second with 7 riders left to go. I didn’t end up staying there too long but still stoked to end up in 6th and Andrew in 7th. The Brit Taylor Vernon ended up putting together a pearler for the win, in front of the homeboy ‘merican Luca Shaw and Loris Vergier in third.

Luca Shaw looking spent and dissapointed not to take the win on home soil

The women came next with Teegan coming down first and taking the hot seat, but only quickly as the women started crossing the line, the times were very tight throughout the women until it came to the top ladies, then the times started spacing out, with the top girls taking large chunks out of each others times. Micayla Gatto had a huge crash which closed the track and got Tahnee Seagrave a re-run, it also meant that Manon Carpenter put a 6 second gap on her closest competitor. Emmeline Ragot came down to take the hot seat, and Rachel Atherton couldnt better her time, leaving Emmeline with the win for the day

This left only the men, the main show, right for the start the times were really close with the hot seat changing lots and the gaps being sub 1 second. Mick Jones came down on a flyer and took the hot seat for quite some time, edging out both of his team mates. He stayed on the hot seat until Sam Blenkinsop came down and knocked him off, this started the hot seat swap again, with Troy Brosnan taking the seat and then Aaron Gwin, leaving just Josh Bryceland to try and take the win. Times were close at the first split, sub 1 second again, but by the second split Josh ahd increased the gap to over 2 seconds almost ensuring he took the win. This makes Josh this seasons first repeat winner.

Junior Men
1. Taylor Vernon
2. Luca Shaw
3. Loris Vergier
4. Niel Stewart
5. Thomas Estaque

Elite Women
1. Emmaline Ragot
2. Rachel Atherton
3. Tracey Hannah
4. Manon Carpenter
5. Tahnee Seagrave

Elite Men
1. Josh Bryceland
2. Aaron Gwin
3. Troy Brosnan
4 Sam Blenkinsop
5. Brook Macdonald

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Words: Max Warshawsky Photos: Jason Stevens Photography. Facebook: www.facebook.com/jasonstevensphotographyA�or follow @jasonstevensphotography on Instagram

August 10, 2014

World Cup Round 6, Windham a�� Qualifying

We woke up to another cracker of a day, with the sun shining and the clouds hiding you would not of guessed that last night it rained heavily for a few hours, on the lift up the hill before practice it would appear looking at the track you wouldn’t know either, with the track looking just as dry as it did yesterday. Inside the woods was more damp than it was by the end of yesterday, but the open areas were almost as we left them. As the riders bega to flow down the hill we realized that times today were going to be very tight and very quick. Qualifying would be a challenge for everyone involved. It would appear that lots of riders felt the same way, pushing very hard, with lots of crashes in early practice, many over the bars, with a few serious incidents.

It doesn't matter how fast Dave McMillan is going, there is always time for style — It doesn’t matter how fast Dave McMillan is going, there is always time for style

As practice for the A group wrapped up we were astounded at the speed some of the guys were going, Aaron Gwin was especially impressive through the rougher sections, looking good as a local favorite to be on the podium tomorrow.

The juniors started rolling down the hill and Luca shaw looked quick, as always. He took the hot seat, and never left it, yet again, qualifying on top. Something to note is that Aussie Junior Max Warshawsky placed 8th and that makes him the fastest Australian Junior today.

Max Warshawsky was looking on pace all day

This had the women coming down next, with Manon coming down first as usual, however she didn’t sit on the top spot for very long, with country-woman Rachel Atherton coming down to knock her from the top spot and claim the last run down for the women tomorrow.

Rachel Atherton was looking cool, claml and collected. Not to mention ridiculously fast, much like the Rachel of old

This just left the Elite men to come down, and did they come down! We were absolutely blown away at the speed these guys are riding, they were all so fast it was extremely hard to distinguish a faster rider from where we sat, we had to listen to the echos of the announcer to get any indicator of who was riding fastest. Josh Bryceland took the las run honours, followed very closely by Aaron Gwin and Neko Mullaly, two local USA Boys.

Ratboy getting foot loose, and claiming the top qualifying spot again

Qualifying results are as follows:

Junior Men:
1. Luca Shaw
2. Thomas Estaque
3. Ferran Jorba Prats
4. Loris Vergier
5. Taylor Vernon

Elite Women:
1. A�Rachel Atheron
2. Emmeline Ragot
3. Tracey Hannah
4.A� Manon Carpenter
5. Jill Kitner

Elite Men
1. Josh Bryceland
2. Aaron Gwin
3. Neko Mullaly
4. Troy Brosnan
5. Loic Bruni

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Report: Jason Stevens Photography.A�Facebook:A�www.facebook.com/jasonstevensphotographyA�or follow @jasonstevensphotography on Instagram

August 9, 2014

World Cup Round 6, Windham a�� Practice

Sam Hill waits for the lift in the early afternoon sun

Today we arrived to the Windham track with the top of the hill covered in a dense cloud. The wind was blowing quite hard at the top, but we felt the cloud would clear quite quickly and reveal another lovely day. The riders began to roll down the hill with the fog still over the top of the hill, but not far from the start gate it thinned and cleared, leaving a lovel blue sky, with patches of the low cloud blwoing through. The cloud had left the track a little damp on the surface, but it only took a couple of riders to clear the slightly moist top layer to reveal a skatey lower layer that stayed for the remainder of the day. The surface was slightly deceptive as it looks very grippy, but many riders reported it was in fact not tacky at all.

Casey Brown was looking very quick in todays practice

Manon Carpenter watched a few go past this section, also looking very quick today

The sun came out and the forest to open area contrast was a challenge for the riders, but the sunw as drying the track further, and it was nice to not stand in the rain for once. By the time B practice had finished the track was starting to look a little worse for wear, with the juniors having plenty of energy and throwing in heaps of runs, leaving the track with some ruts in some of the corners that were a little more challenging due to being flat.

By A practice some cloud had rolled in, but it hadn’t dropped any rain, it just reduced the air temperature a little, but the cloud then became patchy and was very similar to this morning. The wind was picking up though, with many riders having to contemplate off some of the jumps due to the gusts. Something to mention is that all the riders seemed to climb right up to ace pace almost instantly, there was no real warm up, just one scouting run and then everyone turned up the speed dial, if there is one thing we are sure of its that this race will be fast and likely to be tight too.

Dean Lucas drops into the marvelous afternoon sun

Nick Beer navigates one of those flat corners

Thats practice all wrapped up, Qualifying tomorrow. We hope you join us for all the qualifying action!

Sam Hill was looking quick today, no doubt boosted by his win last year

A happy downhiller is a fast downhiller!

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August 8, 2014

World Cup Round 6, Windham a�� Track Walk

Young Gun Andrew Crimmins pointi to a line choice by Connor Fearon — 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' — 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 walk

And 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..... — I spy with my little eye…..

Stay tuned for tomorrows practice.

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Report: Jason Stevens Photography.A�Facebook:A�www.facebook.com/jasonstevensphotographyA�or follow @jasonstevensphotography on Instagram

August 7, 2014

World Cup Round 5, Mont St. Anne – Racing

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

Elite Women
1. Manon Carpenter
2. Rachel Atherton
3. Emiline Ragot
4. Tahnee Seagrave
5. Tracey Hannah

Elite Men
1. Sam Hill
2. Josh Bryceland
3. Danny Hart
4. Troy Brosnan
5. Sam Blenkinsop

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Report: Jason Stevens Photography.A�Facebook:A�www.facebook.com/jasonstevensphotographyA�or follow @jasonstevensphotography on Instagram

August 3, 2014