We have been following the Asia Pacific Downhill Challenge (APDHC) over the years now and each year it continues to get more and more popular. This year names like McDonald, Thirion, Masters and Davis were all on the island battling it out. Even though it is their off season the riders love racing the event, the track is tough yet fun but more importantly the fans go wild! The location is amazing (who wouldn’t want to be riding their bike on a tropical island) and the hosts always go all out to ensure a good time is had.
Brook MacDonald was one of the riders that made the journey over.There were a range of riders competing from locally and abroad.The locals definitely got the biggest cheer!
For the riders who came in from abroad the humidity was a big challenge, the heat sapping energy at a rate of knots! We have a selction of pictures from the event for you to enjoy:
In amongst the jungle!The loose dirt was a lot of fun, some years have seen torrential rain, not this time!There were some brutal crashes, healing vibes to those riders!
The win was taken by reigning champion Remi Thirion, Thibaut Ruffin was second making it a Commencal 1-2,A�Wyn Masters claimed third, fourth was Hajime ImotoA�and young Jackson Davis was 5th.A�Brook MacDonald crashed out of contention.
Remi Thirion did the double and backed up his win from last year.Third for Wyn Masters.Fourth was Hajime Imoto.Jackson Davis took 5th.
Next year promises to be even bigger and better!
Images: Hiroyuki NakagawaA�on Instagram: @ngawa
Get more content onA�FacebookA�orA�follow us on Instagram: @downhill247
What a view! The APDHC is high on the list of races one must attend, totally different to any other race going!
Time flies, feels like it was only a few days ago we held the 2013 Asia Pacific Downhill Challenge. Here we are back at the same track in beautiful Bali, the Patrol DH track. It hasna��t rained for 7 months and the heat was much much worse than last year! We were back in August to scout for a better lines to make the track faster and longer. We could still see some greenery back then. Now ita��s early November, most of it has gone to brown and the track conditions were dry and loose. a�?I never seen such a loose dirt in my life, worse than back homea�? said Ty Bowmaker who made the trip down to do the video documentary for us. We opened the track 3 weeks before the event to let riders have more time riding it and to see how the track was holding up. We watered the track as often as we could but that didna��t help at all. Most of the berms were blown out and there were ruts everywhere, tree stumps and rocks that werena��t there before started to show themselves.
The track was pretty wild, with lots and lots of dust!
The line up for the elite this year was quite interesting, it wasA�almost like the east vs west kind of race. We have more Australian riders coming every year. Jackson Davis is a regular, well almost like a local now. Along with him came Sik Mik, Jordcan Prochyra and Shane Wode. More Aussies racing in other categories too, Remy Morton the new kid who just signed by HUR team will race in Junior, Kian Esmaili in Expert Mens, Jake Royle in Master Expert. Wyn Masters remaining as the only New Zealander for the 2nd time. He flew in early to get as much practice as he could, he was keen to get the win just like everyone else. We also saw more Japanese riders coming, Hajime Imoto had been here before in 2011 but raced on a different track. Madison Saracen WC team rider Kazuki Shimizu who came 2nd in Asian Champs a week before also made the trip, Keisuke Hayashi, Fujita Shoya and Daiki Shimogaki completed the line up for team Japan. Fabian Cousine was not the only Frenchmen, Remi Thirion was invited by the Commencal and Bos distributor to help promote the brand and the new store opened in Jakarta. Malaysiaa��s national champion Adam Ahmed accompanied by Aaron Chan.
There was a pretty stacked field! Kazuki Shimizu was coming into the event with red hot form having grabbed second at the Asian champs the week before.Wyn Masters back and ready to entertain everyone both on and off the bike!
The local riders were also very keen to test their skills against the pro riders, Popo Ario the local hero was racing with an injured ankle but eager to get another win again after the legendary winning run in 2010. Ditra Pranata, Candra Purnamawan, Afrizal Brasco, Agung Fambudi, Dafit Iskandar, Mahfudz and Isrofudin are the Indonesian line ups. To wrap up the lists, Specialized sent their freeriders to have a go at the race. The Coastal Crew, they were stoked to ride their bikes in Bali. Even more stoked that they are very famous in Indonesia. We were talking to other riders during the year to try and get them to race the event but unfortunately most of them couldna��t make it due to their contracts expiring and the fact some will be changing team. Hopefully those guys can make it next time though.
There were plenty of local riders who were riding fast and could take the win, Pop Ario being one of them!
A total of 200 riders registered and were divided into Men Elite, Men Expert, Junior, Men Open, Women Open, Master Expert, Master A,B,C and Grand Master. In other categories we also had riders from all over Asia and the world such as, Philipines, Austria, Singapore, Malaysia, India, Australia and South Africa. The organiser kept the limited slots because they want to keep the race a little bit exclusive so all riders can race the final.
There were 200 riders entered from across the globe.The crowd and people were loving it!That view….Here you can see how steep and loose parts of the track were.
There weren’t many changes on the track except the 1st off camber section was much more faster as we made it a bit straighter so the riders could carry more speed to the next section. The major changes were towards the bottom where we lost the A line because of the entrance to the steep rocks was no longer rideable and not much we could do to fix it. We decided to use the B line but with some changes to it. Garry from Trailscapes and Eric Sanjaya did a good job to keep everyone on their toes all the way down. The new bridge was a nice new feature added to the bottom part. Riders can either launch down from it or roll if they think ita��s faster. Garry also added 2 big jumps before the finish line, which some riders head scratching on how much speed they need to clear it. We saw few riders went down hard and some rims cracking as they came up short.
Some big jumps near the bottom allowed riders to get some style in if they wanted, many obliged!
Finding shade and cool surroundings was a big deal with the heat!Cranking!
The track was opened for practice on Thursday, after the track walk. Most of the pros decided to skip it, may be because of the heat but not for Remi Thirion who is still waiting for his prototype fork and shock sent from France. Most of the local riders making the most of it to find their set up and get used to the climate. Wyn Masters was looking fast and got his lines dialed. He was throwing down big whips for the crowd and photographers.
Whip it good, real good! Wyn Masters can whip no doubt about that!
Hiroyuki Nakagawa known as one of the WC photographers’ made the trip again, hea��s been a great help to us on promoting the event in Japan. When Hiro is on the track, you can bet there will be some epic shots and sick angles taken by him.
Shoya Fujita negotiating some off camber sections.
Friday was the official practice and each rider must do a minimum of 2 runs to be able to make the seeding on Saturday. Sik Mik looked very smooth everywhere, Remi finally got his suspension and was doing runs with Wyn Masters. Remi looks at home after a few runs. We saw some creative lines from him that others werena��t hitting it or were they just not playing their cards too early? A�Young Jackson Davis decided to race in Elite to see how close he can get with the big guns. Kazuki seems to have find his lines tooa��. he was looking fast all day and throwing nice style over the double at the bottom. Popo was struggling a bit with his injured ankle but was riding very loose everywhere. Tracey Hannah was again in the class of her owna��. it is sad that the women riders get less and less each year. Therea��s only 3 riders competing and we are wondering whether this sport is still attractive enough for girls ? God only knows.
Tracey Hannah was a small number of females racing, a real shame.Uplifts!It was also a chance for an impromptu selfie or two!
Riders were up early on Saturday to punch in some runs in a tight time frame given by the officials for practice. Track condition was worse, in a way that it got even more blown out after the Elite men hammered the track on Friday. For some they found it a lot easier to ride as the Elite has pushed the loose dirt and rocks away by the end of their practice runs. A lot of riders were getting flats as sharp rocks appeared more and more towards the bottom of the track. Tracey won seeding by 42.774, from Fitriyanti and 1.26.292 from Tiara. We see a lot of crashes in Master categories but we also saw some fast old guys made it look too easy in some sections. Remy Morton took seeding by 8.495 from Local boy Anak Agung a�?Abiena�?. Will he be able to find that time to beat Remy on final ?A� Sik Mik was riding really well and won seeding with 2.29.923 from Remi just by 0.012 though, Wyn Masters in 3rd but 3.315 off the pace, Kazuki Shimizu in 4th with 5.150 back and Fabian Cousine round up the top 5 with 5.231 behind.
Seeding was a good indication of who was on it but some how yuo knew people would be holding their cards close to their chests at the same time!
Sunday was a bit cooler and everyone put on their race face, the atmosphere at the top was very chilled. Most of the master riders sharing their story about the practice they had in the morning, how the track changed on some sections. Few took a tumble and didna��t make the start because of injury or the track got the best of them and decided to sit it out. In Junior Remy Morton was untouchable and took the win with 2.36.947 and clear by 11.531 seconds to local boy Anak Agung a�?Abiena�? in 2nd place. Fahraz SA in 3rd, Andy Prayoda and Calvin Krisna Dwipa round out the podium. In women open, Tracey took the win as expected by 43.120 to Fitriyanti and 51.662 to Tiara. Men Expert category has a good competition going on. Dimas Pamungkas took the win with 2.52.523 only by 0.093 from Kian Esmaili. 3rd Chrisdian Mardianto, 4th Eko Purwanto and 5th Erda Gozali.
The Coastal Crew were rocking the singlets, must have helped, finishing strongly in a big field was impressive considering they’re not racers!
During lunch time we have the usual poster signing by the riders. The Coastal Crew, Jackson Davis, Remi Thirion, Popo and Fitriyanti was getting down to business. Over 500 posters were signed all together in an hour, might be a new world record ? Wyn didna��t need any posters, just like a rock star he signed on the girls Ta��s and on the best spot.
Posters were a hot commodity with everyone wanting one.How often do you get all these superstars in your home town?Classic Wyn…. Signing anything!Some just want a pic, the price of fame?!
The Elite started at 2pm, the temperature got a bit cooler and you could feel the sea breeze if you were watch from the top sections. The crowd was pleased by The Coastal crew as they threw whips on the big double near the finish linea��. Kyle Norbraten finished in 11th, followed by Curtis Robinson 12th and Dylan Dunkerton in 16th. Not a bad results considering the stack of field and hardly any racing experience. They put on a good show for the crowd and won the best whips too. As the 10 ten riders coming down time starts to come down in a big margin. Popo pushed hard but only managed 10th even though he better his seeding time by 8 seconds. Jackson Davis took over the hot seat better Popoa��s time by 4 seconds. Hajime Imoto rode really well and took the hot seat from Jackson only by 0.596 seconds. Time different becomes tighter as the faster riders coming down. Shane Wode took the hot seat from Hajime, then Jordan Prochyra took over and Fabian Cousine took over by 0.684. Kazuki Shimizu stayed for a while as Wyn Masters slipped into 6th when he crossed the line. He spun out in one of the corners he said and lost a lot of time.
Jackson Davis boosting into the finish!
Remi Thirion was fast out of the gate and looks like hea��s on a mission. Gapping down the off camber then boosting out of the berm at Barng section, he looks fast everywhere. Remi crossed the line with 2.26.119 thats 3.804 seconds faster than Mick Hannaha��s seeding time. We asked him where did he find that 3.804 ? he said he was just focusing on riding smooth and not to push too hard as the track was a lot looser than Saturday. Mick Hannah came down and keeping it low wherever he jumps as Sik Mik always does. He looks so in control and was looking fast as he took the last drop from the wooden bridge and sprinted into the double and pedal hard as he crossed the line. It wasna��t enough to beat Remia��s time, he was 1.631 behind. Such an intense race and the crowd really enjoyed ita��. this is the best race we had so far because the racing was so tight and there was a great atmosphere the whole weekend.
Remi stood atop of the podium, a quality field no doubt.Mic Hannah came close but couldn’t grab the win, Mic was still his usual happy, positive self though!Not the winners but they still got on the podium!Tracey Hannah is a force at any race, on any track!The crowd was loving every minute of it!
During this event Specialized Indonesia represented by Darrick Subrata and Rayza Tisnohadi donated, 1 S works demo frame to be auction and 1 Specialized Dissident Comp DH helmet as a lucky draw prize. Buy as many coupon as you want to get lucky. The money raised will be use to purchase as many bikes as possible that later will be donated to the people of Klungkung Bukit Tengah. Thank you to Wayan Agus Eka for making the highest bid on the frame. Hea��s now the proud owner of the one and only frame that was signed by The Coastal Crew. Today November 18th we have donated 42 bicycles, 40 of them are given to the students of a primary school in Bukit Tengah and 2 of 26a�� bikes were given to the priests in Goa Lawah a temple very close to the track.
Now what a fantastic idea to help the local community (and a great prize!)Helping out the local community with bikes was a great initiative.A very stoked winner with The Coastal Crew!We are already keen for next years race!
After the event we were all invited to the after party by The Chillhouse at Deus in Canggua�� everyone had a good time good music and free flow of drinks at the VIP area. Some went home after midnight and some headed to Legian for more party. After all ita��s Balia��. party ona�� enough said.
Thank you to all sponsors United Bike, Specialized, Patrol Mountain, Shimano, FJC, Castle, Kabuto, Formula Bike, Spinergy, Commencal, Bos Suspension and The Chillhouse
Photo credits Hiroyuki Nakagawa, Simon Yeong, Christopher Berry and Damian Gerrard. Article: Andre Palmer.
Welcome to Indonesia! Fitting in with the local dress.
We told you about one of the most epic races of the year earlier with our article on the 2013 Asia Pacific Downhill Challenge but now let’s hear from one of the invited riders, David McMillan, here he gives us the low down on a crazy week;
You get to go to some pretty crazy places when your racing a bike and Bali is one of the last places I thought I’d be doing it. I got an unexpected call about a week before asking if I wanted to come to Bali and compete in a one off race called the Asia Pacific Downhill Challenge, of course I couldn’t say no. Specialized and FJC Clothing hooked it up and I was on my way a few days later with a bike, board shorts and a few t-shirts.
Stepping off the plane I was instantly hit with a massive heat wave, it was crazy hot all week. We stayed in a place called Swan Keremas Villa which is apparently a pretty epic surf spot. I don’t think I’ll ever stay in somewhere so nice again for a race week haha.
Press conference times! We have been to World Cups less organized than this!
The track was built by Gary from Trail Scapes. It had an awesome view looking over the ocean and had a bit of everything. Loose, slippery, dusty, rocky, technical are a few words to sum it up.
Practice rolled round after a few days of hanging out by the pool getting our tan on. I felt a bit rough on my bike having not riden it since Loegang World Cup. I found the track quite challenging with a lot of off camber parts and narrow shelves. After a few practice runs I got my head around it and had lots of fun with the other riders.
Dave getting his eye in and his wheelie on!
The fans in Indonesia are crazy! Always wanting your photo and autograph. We had an autograph signing and the line went for ever. They just love it and make the atmosphere really cool.
The fans just lapped it up! Loving having some of their hero’s riding their home tracks.Crowds lined the track going crazy for all the riders!
I qualified in 6th place just behind the big guns and knew I could have improved my run. Eric, The Lord of Bali hooked us up with a scooter for one night which was pretty fun, we ended up driving it to the track on race day fitting in with all the locals.
Race day was the hottest day for sure, constantly sweating and trying to cool down was hard. We had 2 practice runs then went up and watched some of the local riders try for gold in their categories. My team mate Jackson Davis won the junior category putting together a decent run holding it wide open on the bottom loose section.
Race run for me was not ideal being very messy with a small bobble near the bottom. The winner was the last man on the hill making for exciting racing with Troy taking the win by half a second.
Not the perfect race run but still smashing it as always!Last rider down the hill and Troy took out the race.
We had a pretty loose night out afterward with all the Drogan (drongo-bogan) Australians and other racers. The whole experience was so cool And I can’t wait till next year to come do it again! Thanks to everyone who made it possible! Special thanks to Specialized and FJC clothing.
The Asia Pacific Downhill Challenge is becoming one of the premier events in Australasia/Asia and for good reason too!
Here we are back at that time of the year again, the 2013 Asia Pacific Downhill Challenge. This is the race that everyone in the region looks forward to. As usual we wanted to up the ante again to keep things interesting and make a new challenge every year for the riders. After moving around every year, finally this year United Bike and the people of Bukit Tengah Klungkung join together to build us a permanent downhill track. Thanks to Eric and Komang who managed to convinced the chief of the village and all the villagers.
A permanent track has been built in the area as Kazuki Shimizu shows us on his way down.
Garry Patterson from Trailscapes Australia was chosen to do the building together with me and Eric. It was my 1st time to open up a new hill and scout for possible lines. Helped by the local diggers it’s not as hard as we thought. The hardest thing is actually getting your idea across the digging crew as Bali have their own language and dialek. We are lucky enough that Garry can operate machinery too…. which makes life easier for us. We are able to speed up the building and finished everything just in time. The track is located on a hill that is right next to the ocean. The view is just breath taking. I really enjoy spending time building the track no matter how hot it is…. the view will cool you down!
That view… All the way down to the beaches of Bali!
When the track was open 2 weeks before the race, most of the local riders were stunned and we received a lot of phone calls saying how good the view was and how gnarly the track is. We hit our goal once again. Everyone was struggling but enjoying the track at the same time. The loose soil, rocks, and so many off cambers sections made everyone think how to ride and what line to choose. Some sections are quite steep, so much so that some riders choose to sit it out and rather watch then race! The aim when building the track is to be able to get the Oceania Champs or World Cup race to Indonesia in the future. Track length is about 1.5km for Elite and 1.7km for the B line.
Troy Brosnan is a crowd favorite everywhere he goes but in Indonesia they went mad for him!
Troy Brosnan, Adam Ahmed, Yuki Kushima, Jackson Davis and Adrian Aakre are the usual big name suspects for this event. This year included in the mix were Wyn Masters and David McMillan. They were excited when they saw the track. Nothing like the previous years, where most of the riders would say, it’s like an XC track or that it was too easy so they didna��t need to practice that much. This time they all asked for more practice time right away!
The track was tough and riders asked for more practice to come to terms with it before racing it!
Come Friday for the official practice the track was open in the morning until lunch time, for all Masters category, Women open and Veteran. The track was so loose and we have few riders injured on their first run, nothing really serious and everyone was still able to walked away from their crashes.
David McMillan had his first Asia Pacific Downhill Challenge experience and loved it! Expect to hear more as we go behind the scene with Dave soon…
This year we got new faces joining the race, Wyn Masters, David McMillan, Takuya Aoki, Kazuki Shimizu, Tracey Hannah, Fabien Cousinie and Guillaume Cauvin. It seems the event attracts more riders every year.
The crowd was going crazy at the event, Wyn Masters showing everyone how it is done!
When we opened the track for the fast boys to practice, the spectators were pretty loud in some technical sections. The pros made everything looks easy. Whipping the hip jumps, scrubbing the doubles and making the technical drop easy…. I was blown away by their riding too. It feels like we have a World Cup race, watching how these guys do runs after runs. The scorching heat of Bali sun doesn’t stop people from coming out and watching, by the end of the day you see their faces and arms were burnt but they got had smiles on their faces. Garry and I went up to see how bad the track condition was after all the riders skidding around it all day. Surprisingly the track held up very well and the only thing we needed to fix was just the racing line and few of the safety nets, apart from that it was all is in good condition.
Rain overnight still wasn’t enough to keep the dust down but after all everyone had to race in the same conditions!
The rain fell pretty hard on Friday night butA�sadly not hard enough to make the track less dusty the next day. A few riders put in few runs in the morning practice and said that the track was better than yesterday. WithA�better grip on track, we would expect the riders to push some more to put in a good time. We were also expecting some gnarly crashes at the famous section called “Kill Bill” full of rocks with couple of technical lines to choose. The fastest line attracted a few good riders to try, some made it and some ended up in the ambulance with a broken arm, collar bone and big cuts from the rocks.
Some sections of the track were really make or break, get it wrong and it was game over, Jackson Davis threading the needle.
The steep rock section towards the finish line also claimed a few riders. Yuki Kushima walked away from the most spectacular crash of the event I would say. He was coming in fast and the rear give away high sided him from 3/4 of the way straight to the flat bottom. It’s almost like you fall from the 2nd floor. You feel the ground shaking as he hits the dirt. You should be able to find the video on instagram or may be youtube now. Took him a while to gather himself and finish his seeding run. The Ninja is one tough kid.
Seeding results top 5 for Men Elite
1. Troy Brosnan 2.16.886
2. Kazuki Shimizu 2.19.765
3. Wyn Masters 2.20.336
4. Guillaume Cauvin 2.21.107
5. Fabien Cousinie 2.21.287
Finals day and you could feel the intensity as riders are putting their game face on. The price money of $10.000 USD in total for the Men Elite is up for grab. Troy Brosnan has been having bad luck in his final run a few times at this event and would really want to put an end to it. Afos Katana had a technical problem on his seeding run and will be starting first. Pornomo from UBK team was the fastest local rider and is a regular on the podium every year. Our fastest rider Popo Ariosejati was injured so he had to sit it out this time. He was there to cheer on his team mate and all Indonesian riders while promoting the new brand line up by United Bike, The Patrol Mountain.
This shot just gives you an idea of how steep some of the sections on the track really were.
Tracey Hannah took an easy win in the Women Open, with no threat from her competition. She won by almost 38 seconds from the 2nd place. She decided to enter the Elite Mens race as well.Men Expert, Ismail Nurdin from UBK was 9 seconds faster than the fields on seeding. He crashed near the finish and managed to grab 2nd overall. Master Expert category also a good one to watch as most of the riders use to be in the Elite in their prime time. Setyawan Hoho won the seeding by almost 4 seconds and he said he played it safe for final. That nearly give Paul De Klerk from West Australia the win, Paul was 0.003 back. Really close hahaha…..
Jackson Davis sorted out the issues he had during seeding and took the win come finals.
In Junior, Adrian Aakre took the seeding from last year’s winner Jackson Davis as he crashed at the top section. Not in final though, Jackson put his head down and put down the time of 2.26.354 a good 2.3 seconds off Adrian in 2nd place and top 10 in Elite. Local boy Abien also better his time and took 3rd with 9.1 seconds back.
Yuki Kushima charging one of the rock sections on the track.
Finally the category that everyone is waiting for, Elite final run…First rider left the starting gate is Afos Katana, he did a run that put him up on the hot seat for a long time. The 2.18.935 was seemed to be hard to beat as we see riders after riders fail to dethroned him from that seat. Dave the Drogan McMillan (we will explain Drogan in another article coming soona��) had a crash, Wyn Masters came into the finish with one of his knee pad falling off to his shin, Tracey Hannah put a shamed to some of the boys when she delivers a 2.29.376 that puts her in 12th overall. Fabien Cousinie was closed but almost a second off Afos’s time. Kazuki Shimizu, runner up at the Asian Championships this year finally beat the time with 2.18.796 almost 200th of a second quicker. His time didn’t last for long as Guillaume Cauvin came in with 2.17.217. All eyes on the last man down, Troy Brosnan. I think everyone was holding their breath as it felt quite long until we saw him coming out of the woods. Soon enough we saw him dropping into Sonjon section and into the Suksma rock with good speed. He hit the last chute and pedalled right away. Then it felt like a moment of silence for ages, before the crowd erupted as the MC announced Troy’s time of 2.16.322, faster than his seeding run too. I think all of his fans are happy to see Troy back in his winning form again.
Troy Brosnan took the win and the dollars, boy didn’t the crowd just love it too!
It was another great weekend and we hope everyone had a blast too. Healing vibes to all the injured riders. On behalf of the organizer Orange Sports Communication and all of our partners and Sponsors United Bike, Patrol Mountain, Specialized, Shimano, FJC, Castle, Kabuto, TLD, Maxxis, Pro, Park Tools, Daihatsu, Funn, Formula Bike, McDonalds and Surya Husada Hospital. Also the Government of Bali Province, we would like to thank everyone who came down to race or just spectating. You helped us make this event another one to remember. See you at the next Asia Pacific Downhill Challenge
Get your style on! Locals and invited riders alike were putting in for the crowd!
The Specialized Asia Pacific Downhill Challenge is one event held simultaneously with a whole range of other events in Indonesia, think of it as the closest style ofA�event the region has to Sea Otter. We are just going to focus on the downhill, here is what Chris Berry had to say about the event as well as Junior Aussie Jackson Davis;
Looking back we realised that the only dry race we have had was in 2009. It has always been a wet race and I think thata��s what made the event different from other races around the region. The pros got to ride the track in all conditions, dry, intermediate and really wet. Summing up the comments from the riders after the track walk on Friday was that the track was quite mellow. Fun is the word when ita��s dry. For the first two runs the riders were still getting the feel of the track. Dan had a crashed at the entrance of the pinball section. Marc was looking super-fast, Mitch and Brendan was boosting the small chute trying to clear a section in one go. Neko was flying at the top section. Christian, the brother of Brendan, also decided to join the race and he was having fun riding the track. Jackson Davis was here few months ago and won his category. However, this time we were using different line which he thought was way better and so much faster. He was doing runs with the elite guys and tagging along was United Bike Kencana International upcoming rider Adrian Aakre. These two were flying and whipping all the jumps.
Nice! We have seen World Championships with smaller, less organised press sessions then that!Track walk time! Not sure about Brendan Fairclough’s choice in footwear though…
Just as they thought they had it under control in comes the rain! Then all of a sudden ita��s game on. Never have you seen so many pro riders hitting the deck and not once but a couple of times. Brendan Fairclough and Mitch Ropelato were telling us, never before had they rode a track that is like riding on tiles or ice…. Like last year, we see a lot of riders getting confused which tires they wanted to run. The whole weekend was like two seasons in one day. Wet in the morning and dry in the afternoon or vice versa. The track was drying out for seeding although rain fell after the official practice on Friday. Some riders are sticking with wet tires. The pros were running intermediate and cut spikes. The track was so much grippier than Friday and there was some fast action in seeding. Jackson Davis took the lead with 2.43.8. The Women Elite field only had 3 riders and they were all from Indonesia. This is one category we want to see more riders in the future. The Elite men was the last to come down as the clouds were rolling in.
Even though the track itself was quite mellow, the conditions and grip levels meant it challenged the best riders in the world!With such varying and different conditions bike set up was a real headache for some riders!
The Elite men started with Dan Atherton coming down 1st, the line he took was an eye opener and the speed he was carrying was mental! He posted the fastest time for the day with 2.29.3, Mitch Ropelato in 2nd, Marc Beaumont 3rd, Agung Fambudi the National series leader in 4th and Popo in 5th. Brendan FaircloughA�was way down in 10th and Neko MulallyA�in 16th. Young Aussie Jackson Davis took the win in the Youth category with 2.42.7, making it 2 from 2 for his Indonesia races this year. John Derrick Farr from the Phillipines came in 2nd, Abien in 3rd, Henri Fitra 4th, Multi Gangsar round up the podium in 5th. Adrian Aakre was just off the podium this time in 6th. The rain fell right after the seeding run and it didn’t stop until 11pm. The sun came out stronger then on Saturday, riders were taking the morning 1 hour practice time very seriously. The track was slippery and they all said that the track was so beat up making it harder to stay up right. The condition stayed the same until lunch time, then water came down like it was being poured from the sky. Some sections of the track turned into small streams! For the local riders, this condition is the best condition because the track has better grip and the mud tires can dig into the clayiest ground.
The locals were loving the wet conditions and the event in general!The locals stacked the top spots, testament to their ability in these conditions.
With the heavy rain falling more spectators were on the track, they wanted to see how the worlda��s best riders handled the technical parts of the track. They were cheering like mad for every Elite rider passing through. We saw riders crashing and falling as they tried to stand up. Dan Atherton finally wins it with 2.39.2, followed by his team mate Marc Beaumont in 2nd, Mitch Ropelato 3rd, Popo in 4th and Neko Mulally, despite a top section crash, still managed to get the last spot on the podium. Brendan Fairclough crashed at the pedalling section and this put him way down the order in 24th place.
What a cool event, look at the background! Good to see the locals show the rest of the world what they have and what they can do on a bike!The love of downhill is a world wide feeling, here we see some of the biggest names in the business riding with a local Indonesian junior. This is part of the reason the organisers invite the likes of Fairclough and Ropelato, to give their riders a chance to learn and progress, awesome.
We caught up with Aussie junior Jackson Davis and this is what he had to say about the event;
Well we were racing in a place called Bandung, about 3 hours out of Jakarta, the track we raced was called Chikole, which is actually part of a volcano. Last time I raced there in June it was dry but it was the wet season over there this time and after a few showers it was definitely the slipperiest thing I’ve ridden. The locals said ita��s something to do with the soil. The rain was kind of on and off all week which made the track pretty gluggy and slow to race on, it was a different track since last time, with a new top section which was probably the most technical part. Then there were some steep corners and drops, then it came to the old section where it was really fast, full of corners and breaking bumps and then the pedal… Haha the pedal section was probably a little over 30 seconds, with a few cool jumps along the way, which eventually led into some fun corners and jumps towards the finish! On race day I was lucky enough to have a semi dry run and ended up winning youth with a time of 2.42, which I was stoked with! At about lunch time was when the rain hit, making it a super wild race for the Elite boys definitely the heaviest rain all week! It was Dan Atherton taking the win with a 2.39, he was just too good for the local boys! All in all it was a sick event they really know how to put a show on up there big thanks to Andre Palmer, FJC, Specialized and Kabuto helmets.
Jackson Davis flanked with some of the heavy hitters in the downhill world! He did Australia proud and took the win in the Junior division.
With the event all done and in the books of history, the boys headed off to Bali for some relaxing time and to get a tan for few days. The organisers would like to thank all the participants and sponsors for making the event possible and even bigger this year. See you all next year…
Article and photos: Andrew Palmer/Christopher Berry
The Asia Pacific Downhill Challenge is quickly becoming one of the premier races in the Oceania area, it is great to see the love of downhill cross international borders. Photo: Andre Palmer.
The Asia Pacific Downhill Challenge is back again, it’s being held on the 16th-18th of November, this race has been held in Indonesia for the past few years and has been a favourite with riders and fans alike. The Cikole track is about three hours from Jakarta, a landslide on the original track facilitated the change to the new venue.A�This is aA�race that Aussies have traditionally been well represented in and done well, Sam Hill won it last year, other Aussies there included Troy Brosnan and Mitch Delfs. Unfortunately, this year, the sole Australian entrant is junior Jackson Davis but there are some big overseas names whoA�are signed on to race this yearA�including; Dan Atherton, Marc Beaumont, Brendan Fairclough, Neko Mullaly and Mitch Ropelato. This, combined with the fast locals such as Popo Ario and Pornomo, will see fierce competition for the $3000 USD first place prize! More news and updates as we get them.
