PRO GRT DH NATIONAL
Round #1 of the US National DH series kicked off in Port Angeles, a spot I know all too well. The courses in PA are super fun, and Scott and Casey run events buttery smooth after years of hosting regional and top national events. It was a little smaller of an event this year with the timing of the world cups after Sea Otter, but super fun none the less. The course was my favorite one here, well there are a couple new favs actually, but this one is the best for racing. I won, as did some new faces in the men's classes. Tanner Stephens pro, Steve Walton Jr.
VELOSOLUTIONS PUMPTRACK
This place is amazing! The story behind getting this pumptrack made is even more touching and the people out in Leavenworth have set the bar pretty high. Good work to Claudio at Velosolutions and Craig paddle plus all the volunteers. More communities should get these made, it's the best skill building tool for bikes period, it has the most fun elements of bmx plus cornering, which you don't get in BMX. I love riding pumptracks:)
SANTA CLARITA, CA
The Wings for life run is the biggest race in the world. Everyone starts at the same time all over the world and runs until the catcher car catches up, thus eliminating people until there is one runner left. All proceeds go towards spinal cord research. Run for those who can't. It's simple, and such a worthy cause. I've had direct competitors effected by these injuries, so it feels good to do this in their honor. I think I was passed at 11.5 km, but waled to the 12km mark, and then some. It hurts the day after since I only run like once a year, but worth it. Run with us next year!! Wflwordrun.com
SHIMANO XT Di2 Commercial
Good times up in Squamish filming with the fellas from Anthill Films for Shimano. Anthill has made some real sweet MTB videos over the years, and had the fanciest gear I have ever seen. For sure a pro set up and the XT Di2 is gonna look real sweet on my tiny little bike.
Remeber to film on grey days kids, and also bring the intensity:)
SEA OTTER CLASSIC
MONTEREY, CA
The highlight of Sea otter, apart from seeing our friends and sponsors, is the slalom. This discipline is my jam, love it; high speed, big turns, tech skills. Fans come out with their USA flags and enthusiasm ready to watch head to head battles. Sea Otter is an expo for new products, and the racing pretty mellow, but highly competitive. It took me awhile to figure out how to win these events, but now I got it fairly figured out.. 10th pro win. Not too shabby, sick and all this time...
ROTORUA, NEW ZEALAND
First event of the year in NZ was a nice sunny change to the dreary wet winter back home in Washington. I am happy to report that I won 3 of my events!!!!!! and did the whip-off on the biggest jump ever. Bryn also won in the Deep Summer Photo Challenge with photographer Simeon Patience. So yeah, an unbelievable way to kick off the year!! Thanks Crankworx for a good time. This was stop 1 of three- Les Gets and Whistler are next......
CRANKWORX NZ
The first stop of 3 Crankworx festivals this year goes down into summer in New ealand. I will be competing in 4 events (Whip, Slalom, Pumptrack, and DH), so it'll be quite busy, but I'm all trained up and ready to go. From Winter into the southern hemisphere we go.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4kSfrwOrtQ
BIKE MAGAZINE FEATURE:
Documenting progress is key to any racer's preparation and ultimate success, but Jill Kintner's version of note-taking stands out. Instead of relying on POV footage, words scratched on paper or her memory, Kintner sketches detailed maps of every course she races. "Maps give me something to think about and rehearse" she said. "It's my version of a game plan."
VIDEO:
Freehub Magazine. In the final episode of HOME, Jill Kintner rides one of her favorite backyard trails in the Chuckanut Mountains. She pins the straight aways and takes the high line in a fashion that can only come from knowing every turn of the trail. A little extra inspiration comes from a simple question: "What would Bryn do?"
https://freehubmag.com/videos/home-episode-3
DESIGN COLLABORATION:
It's pretty fun to have an idea, sketch it out, and have a custom prototype made by a talented local bag maker. My friend John at Highabove.net makes sweet packs for riding, his specialty being hip packs. He loves bags in general though, and is really enthusiastic about products that function and have style:) . He can sew just about anything, so when I asked him if he wanted to help make a travel helmet bag, he was in!! ....
VIDEO:
Our friends over at Freehub Magazine put together this 3 part video series about what "home" means to Bryn and I. Wattsy and Grundburg literally work down the street at Freehub HQ, so this was a fun video making journey with a solid crew! Hope you enjoy a little slice of NW life. Courtesy of Maxxis tires :)
Episode 1 was Bryn riding and shuttling with his moto.
Episode 2 is this camping trip in eastern Washington.
Episode 3 will be me ripping around the chuckanut trails.
SPONSOR news:
Bryn and I joined the SMITH OPTICS family for eyewear!!! It's hard to ignore the momentum Smith has been gaining in the bike world, with lively athlete marketing, and MTB specific products like the the Squad Goggle and Arena Max Pro glasses. Based now in Portland, Oregon, promoting a local sponsor with fun style and clear vision is gonna be sweet. Check out Chromapop :O
World Run- MAY 8th
"What if you could get the whole world running? Everyone, worldwide, on the same day, at the same time. A race of epic proportions with just one lone runner left at the end. A world run. But could it be done? It could."
Nothing quite like going for a morning jog a 4am with hundreds of awesome people who are helping raise money for spinal cord research. Be one of em! Come with me and run for those who can't!!! Santa Clarita
Christmas in Aus goes down as a blistering hot affair, but it's good for riding bikes and getting some base miles in. A second summer makes me happy. It sure beats the countless hours sitting on rollers indoors watching the rain drizzle down:) Santa is a bit overdressed over here, but other than that, it's pretty festive all around.
MAMMOTH MOUNTAIN, CA Last official race of the year took us back to Mammoth mountain in California. The Pro GRT series had 5 stops, and this was the last one to seal the deal. Coming in, Bryn and I both were leading the series, so it was even better to walk away with both the pro men's and pro women's National championship series.
Final race of the International calendar went high into the Pyrenees Mountains, down steep, technical terrain of the Andorran landscape. With a bit of nasty weather all week, the course had a few challenges with traction, but it was the relenting grade and length that were the hardest feat.
Sombrio is having a contest on social media for you win an awesome guided bike trip and a stockpile of gear to wear!!! You just have to post your #luxuryofdirt on instagram with a photo and follow contest rules to win gear through Aug 27th....
From humble beginnings in Washington State, Jill Kintner has grown into one of the best riders in the world. Jill’s professional BMX career began when she was 14, and progressed into winning a bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Jill’s abilities extend beyond BMX, evident in her progression into downhill and slalom mountain biking....
Learn to shred with world class mountain bikers Jill Kintner and Bryn Atkinson at their home resort in the Stevens Pass bike park
Just finished up a mega week at Crankworx. Went 3 for 3 in all my events, and got to see some impressive shows, photo contest, dirt diaries (which is hillarious), a women's yoga class with Juliana, slopestyle Joyride event, and mingle a bit with our friends and sponsors:) I signed up for Canadian open as well, but didn't get any practice and was really tired by saturday.
