World Cup 5 a�� Mont Sainte Anne a�� Finals

Wow what a great race! So many amazing performances. Just one facet of the race was the juniors on hand to hone their race skills before the world championships in Andorra.

You couldn’t have picked a more exciting race to celebrate the 150th UCI downhill world cup and the 25th year that Mont Sainte Anne have held a world cup/championships. There was plenty of action before finals with qualifying throwing up a few surprises of its own, Aaron Gwin was a DNF as he crashed in the first corner, Danny Hart and Marcelo Gutierrez were up at the pointy end of the field which was headed by Troy Brosnan. With rain falling during qualifying it was with baited breath everyone went to sleep. Race day dawned and it looked like we might have a clear day ahead of us, only time would tell.

Racing came around and it looked like the rain was going to hold off... — Racing came around and it looked like the rain was going to hold off…

There were a few crashes in the last practice session before racing, some more severe than others. Unfortunately it looks like Emmeline Ragot will miss out on world championships after breaking multiple bones in her leg and arm, healing vibes.

Getting into racing and the aforementioned juniors took to the track first, Remy Morton went into a tree with his front wheel but was still upbeat, Harry Bush finished 26th, Max Warshawsky came 12th, Jackson Frew 11th and Joel Willis was in 10th finishing the trifecta of Aussie results next to each other! Andrew Crimmins was the highest placed finisher with 3rd place as he battles for the overall junior title.

1. Laurie GREENLAND
2. Alex MARIN TRILLO A�+6.663
3. Andrew CRIMMINS +7.528

Remy Morton had an unfortunate excursion into a tree! A taco was his payment for doing so (wheel that is!).

Next up were the women and you have to say that Rachel Atherton is the lady to beat at the moment, the other riders gave it a real shake but Rachel went on to claim her 24th world cup victory. Unfortunately for Tracey Hannah she had an excursion into the ground during her race run and Tegan Molloy matched her number plate finishing 14th.

1. Rachel ATHERTON
2. Manon CARPENTER +3.417
3. Myriam NICOLE +3.617

The overall is now firmly in Rachel Atherton's grasp, solid riding by all the girls though means it is anything but guaranteed. — The overall is now firmly in Rachel Atherton’s grasp, solid riding by all the girls though means it is anything but guaranteed.

Moving onto the men’s race and there was drama, action and some amazing riding. For a track that was nearly 3 kilometres long the top times were extremely close. The rain came and went for the men’s final but in reality it didn’t noticeably change the results as it never came down hard enough to cause issues. A few notes; unfortunately for the locals Stevie Smith couldn’t repeat his victory of a few years ago, unorthodoxly he crashed in the same place as his qualifying crash, washing out on a steep corner. Fortunately Mark Wallace gave the locals something to cheer about in 6th, his team mate Dean Lucas racked up another top 20 finish in 18th. Connor Fearon went over the bars in one of the gnarly rock sections on course and finished way lower down the time sheet then he had hoped. We also saw the return of Mic Hannah to world cup racing, regaining confidence before world championships. It was also Sam Hills second world cup since returning from injury, he finished a handy 20th.

It was great to see Mic Hannah back from injury and racing again.

Aaron Gwin was on the hot seat after an early run when ironically Loic Bruni knocked him off with a bike that had its chain wrapped around the cranks thanks to a big impact further up the course. Everyone was wondering could it finally be Loic’s turn?! It would seem his tough luck of getting podiums but not winning (would anyone really complain about that though?! We know Loic isn’t) continues after getting knocked down right towards the end of the day. It was Josh Bryceland that did it, with a few riders left to go it was only Troy Brosnan who troubled Josh but in the end Josh held on by 0.2 of a second over Loic, just 0.025 seconds behind Loic was Troy! What a crazy time gap after 4.5 minutes of racing! Truly nail biting stuff.

1. Josh BRYCELAND 4.22.156
2. Loic BRUNI +0.200
3. Troy BROSNAN +0.225

Not the result Connor Fearon was looking for after his recent podium, it is just a matter of time and it won't be long! — Not the result Connor Fearon was looking for after his recent podium, it is just a matter of time and it won’t be long!

Danny Hart got wild off the drop into the final straight, almost leaving the course and collecting some spectators!

Troy Brosnan lurching for any time he can get!

So close, Troy knew world cup win number 2 was so close but there are more opportunities around the corner, next weekend in fact as we head to Windham.

Loic Bruni again just missed his first world cup victory,maybe his chain issue cost him? Then again maybe it helped him by keeping smooth when he was tired towards the botom?

The Rat is back! Josh Bryceland said his run wasn't perfect but at MSA it doesn't have to be for the win, it just needs to be the best. — The Rat is back! Josh Bryceland said his run wasn’t perfect but at MSA it doesn’t have to be for the win, it just needs to be the best.

Next weekend we head south into the US of A for the Windham world cup, tune in then.

Images: Zach Faulkner (Instagram: @zachfaulkner)

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August 3, 2015

SA Enduro Series – Eagle Park

Adelaide has a lot of cycling options, if you are into that lycra, skinny, wheeled caper then the Tour Down Under is the pinnacle for you. However, if you are into mountain bikes, which we assume you are because you are reading this then Adelaide has a lot going on for it, one of its greatest assets is Eagle Mountain Bike Park. Located 20 minutes from the city centre, the park has a range of trails and played host to round 2 of the Gravity Enduro of South Australia (GESA) series.

There was some great riding had over all the stages.

Leading up to the event the weather was reflecting the current winter season but come race day it had cleared up, make no mistake there was plenty of water left around though. It didn’t dampen the spirits of the riders though.

Iced coffee! No it is just the left over water on the track... — Iced coffee! No it is just the left over water on the track…

If you are a regular at Eagle then stage names such as Sunset Boulevard, Top Deck and Overlocker will be familiar to you. If not then think of single track, with a mix of rocks, built up corners and fun rollers. The transition stages were wide fire roads that, whilst not impossible, did have a few people getting off and walking.

The reward for the uphills was a series of rewarding downhill stages.

The results are as follows;

Elite Men:

1. Cameron Ryan

2. Simon Buzacott

3. Curtis Dowdell

Elite Women:

1. Shelly Flood

2. Anna Puckridge

3. Moira Love

Junior Men:

1. Matthew Taylor

2. Sam Walsh

3. Sam Walter

There was a good turn out of riders across the categories and the organising committee put another great event together. We have a few more pictures from the event below, enjoy.

Aussie downhill legend Steve Marsh with one of the most impressive moves of the day. The majority of riders were going around this rock, a few of the elite men were riding up on to it and dropping off. Well, Steve came in at full pace and used the first rock as a lip and jumped the whole lot! He washed out in the next corner but he had previously been riding this out. Very impressive.

Sunset Boulevard saw riders ducking, weaving, going over, around and down!

Cameron Ryan took the Elite Men's win after another battle with Simon Buzacott. — Cameron Ryan took the Elite Men’s win after another battle with Simon Buzacott.

Shelly Flood took the Elite Women's win in the sunshine. — Shelly Flood took the Elite Women’s win in the sunshine.

The next round goes to Fox Creek, see you out there!

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August 1, 2015

World Cup 5 a�� Mont Sainte Anne a�� Track Walk

Mont Saine Anne plays host to the 150th downhill World Cup this weekend and it is quite the venue! Long, rough and fast. This year the legendary booter has been replaced with a few different features, we will wait until practice to see what the changes are like. For now enjoy the video below.

Peter Varley also supplied a few images of the junior riders as they are here getting practice in before the world championships in Andorra.

Some fresh faced juniors ready to learn the craft.

Who better to learn then from Sam Hill, he has won more world cups here than anyone, including the 2010 World Championships'. — Who better to learn then from Sam Hill, he has won more world cups here than anyone, including the 2010 World Championships’.

Check back soon after practice and look out for our coverage over the weekend.

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July 30, 2015

SA State Series – Round 4 – Fox Creek

Fox Creek Long was host of Round 4 of the Inside Line South Australian State Series. It did involve sideways action of the good kind!

Fox Creek in the Adelaide Hills, that is where round 4 of the Inside Line South Australian State Series took place, a cold A�and wet lead up to the weekend turned into a weekend of clear skies (it was still cold!). Track wise it was ‘Long’ that was used and was riding as well as it usually does. A few Victorian riders made the trip over for the weekend and took on what the course had to offer, quiet successfully we might add with the Vicos taking home a few gold medals!

Stunning... (ly cold?! It is an outdoors sports though so no complaining!) — Stunning… (ly cold?! It is an outdoors sports though so no complaining!)

There was lots of sideways action on display!

The crowd loves the sideways action of course!

Infact it makes the whole event feel a little better when there is a crowd cheering on the riders.

If you have seen the video footage floating around then you would understand why the most out there whip of the weekend went to James Chambers.

We want to talk about the females who rode on the weekend, always great to see and something we want to see more of! Sport women was hotly contended with Casey the Ballarat MUD rat taking the win over Sue-ann who usually braaps a BMX.

Elite women was won by Philippa, whose light setup proved a fast roller on the tacky Fox Long track. Moira desperately flogging more speed out of the “Beast of Glory”, to take second place from Laura Kelly, who retired early due to Master Kellys untimely hospital visit.

Moira and her 'Beast of Glory' riding into second place in Elite women. — Moira and her ‘Beast of Glory’ riding into second place in Elite women.

This rounds reporter on all things that involve the fairer sex, Curbsidechucky coming through the waterfall section and the jumps following it.

As for the men’s racing it was the Victorian import, Darcy Coutts, who took the under 17’s A�win by around 4 seconds – impressive work! As for the elite men it was Conor Clancy taking his maiden elite win. For all the results head to the Inside Line website and see them there.

Darcy Coutts popping off the waterfall and on his way to victory in the Under 19's men category. — Darcy Coutts popping off the waterfall and on his way to victory in the Under 17’s men category.

Conor Clancy snagged his first Elite win, a well earned result!

Hanging out with your mates at the races, good times indeed!

Ian 'The Buffalo' Jones getting rowdy in practice, what is out frame here is the tree he hit! Ouch - but he was okay folks! — Ian ‘The Buffalo’ Jones getting rowdy in practice, what is out frame here is the tree he hit! Ouch – but he was okay folks!

In fact it was the Buffalo's second podium in as many races (even after having to do a rerun for not breaking the start beam properly). — In fact it was the Buffalo’s second podium in as many races (even after having to do a rerun for not breaking the start beam properly).

Superstar mechanic Aaron Peltarri was kicking around the pits before he heads back overseas to help fellow Inside Line club member Troy Brosnan win some world cups!

Getting an adjustment wasn't just limited to the bikes themselves! — Getting an adjustment wasn’t just limited to the bikes themselves!

The next race heads to Eagle Mountain Bike Park. Thanks to Curbsidechucky for the women’s race report information!

Images: RFPhotographics (FacebookA�hereA�or follow on Instagram @rfphotographics).

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July 22, 2015

3D Printed Model Downhill Bike

The future is now… there is some pretty amazing technology and this gives an insight into where the future for downhill bikes is heading. 3D printing is very exciting, parts and whole frames may be something that you can print from home sooner rather than later. How handy will it be to print a replacement when you crash and damage your hanger, etc?!

This model (of a Specialized Demo) is pretty cool and we are going to try and chase down some more details for you, until then watch the video below and follow the guys at Trinpy.

Get in touch with Trinpy here:

www.trinpy.com

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Facebook: Trinpy

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July 9, 2015

World Cup 4 – Lenzerheide

Welcome to Lenzerheide! A picturesque town in Switzerland and home of World Cup #4.

If downhill was a novel then 2015 would be a book full of twists and sub plots, sure while the race winners have been pretty much the ‘established’ riders the rest of the podium positions/top 20 have been going to some different faces!

With Steve Peat overlooking the tracks design and construction you could be sure racers were in good hands. The total bill to build this tack was in the hundreds of thousands!

Practice, qualifying and racing all took there toll. With Andrew Neethling, Brendan Fairclough, Josh Bryceland, Jack Moir (who did our #15secondtrackwalk from this round) and Andrew Crimmins all scored some pretty dramatic injuries of one type or another over the course of the week. In some cases, such as Andrews' they could still race, in other cases like Jacks' it was home for surgery/rehab. — Practice, qualifying and racing all took there toll. With Andrew Neethling, Brendan Fairclough, Josh Bryceland, Jack Moir (who did our #15secondtrackwalk from this round) and Andrew Crimmins all scored some pretty dramatic injuries of one type or another over the course of the week. In some cases, such as Andrews’ they could still race, in other cases like Jacks’ it was home for surgery/rehab.

Brendan Fairclough still managed to lay down plenty of style! (and speed, he finished 15th in a stacked field).

Sam Hill was back, even before his doctor said he should be, so he was using this race to get some 'race feel'. The next round takes us to Mont Saint Anne where Sam has won countless times before. We feel he will have his eyes on this race to launch his season comeback. — Sam Hill was back racing, even before his doctor said he should be, so he was using this race to get some ‘race feel’. The next round takes us to Mont Saint Anne where Sam has won countless times before. We feel he will have his eyes on this race to launch his season comeback.

Stevie Smith was another rider who is/was on the comeback. He snuck into the top 10 with 9th place but you know he wants to get back on the podium. Again we feel Mont Saint Anne will be his springboard.

Caption this haha! The girls watch on closely... — Caption this haha! The girls watch on closely…

The female podium, featuring a disappointed Emmeline Ragot in 5th who qualified fastest but crashed in her race run. Morgan Charre in 4th who hasn't seen the podium for longer than she would have liked. Third place went to Tracey Hannah who is moving up the overall rankings with consistent results. A very relieved Mannon Carpenter in 2nd, this year has not been kind to her. Top step goes to Rachel Atherton for the third race in a row. — The female podium, featuring a disappointed Emmeline Ragot in 5th who qualified fastest but crashed in her race run. Morgan Charre in 4th who hasn’t seen the podium for longer than she would have liked. Third place went to Tracey Hannah who is moving up the overall rankings with consistent results. A very relieved Mannon Carpenter in 2nd, this year has not been kind to her. Top step goes to Rachel Atherton for the third race in a row.

You put your right leg out, you put your.... With Rachel Atherton's form and confidence at the moment it is going to be a hard task stopping her running away this year. This marked her 23rd world cup victory,truly amazing. — You put your right leg out, you put your…. With Rachel Atherton’s form and confidence at the moment it is going to be a hard task stopping her running away this year. This marked her 23rd world cup victory,truly amazing.

By now you would have no doubt seen the results of the race, unfortunately for anyone trying to stream the race there were some technical issues during the men’s finals but at least the coverage is free and they rectified the problem before the end.