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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.
Jill Kintner is one of Dirt's all-time favourite riders. She can (and will) ride any kind of bike on the dirt and is a proven World Champion... she's an inspiration too.
Looking for legit tips to improve your riding?? The Don, and Marc Beaumont are doing an awesome job as pro riders explaining all kinds of stuff. It's rad how thorough they are, with some humor and sick riding. Check it out for how to, gear review, bike checks, explaining setups, etc. I've watched dozens of them.
Jill Kintner…. Three time 4x World Champion… multiple Downhill World Cup podium finisher and … Olympic bronze medalist!
Just won 3 more National pro titles this weekend, making 15 elite pro- one day- National Championships.
This time one in a new discipline- ENDURO, so I am now up to 5 disciplines, but Enduro is Sooo hot right now:) too bad pumptrack doesn't count. Anywho,,,Mammoth was really kind to me, and I am grateful to have had the ability and energy to get it done.
New Mexico is like another world compared to the Austrian Alps (where I came from), but for the Southwest the bike park at Angelfire is really fun, with over 60 miles of trails, 10,000+ feet of elevation, and one of the longest chairlifts in the world. Worth a visit.
WORLD CUP #3 - LEOGANG, AUSTRIA LEOGANG, Austria - JUNE 14, 2015 - Got another top 5 to make that my 5th World Cup Downhill Podium!! Austria is one of my all time favorite places, and I did this as a solo trip working on my own bike with minimal support! Feels good:)
Well, I'm trying something new, I flew to Austria by myself the other day to race a World Cup. No team, no mechanic, no bryn, but what I do have is speed, a good bike, awesome sponsors like Shimano and fox who offer tech support, and a solid track record at Leogang. Things change sometimes, but I can tell you that after doing a lot of racing in my own country and having fun winning , I still miss racing the best girls in the world :) I have nothing to lose, and have worked hard physically and mentally to be here, so ultimately I want to be here, am prepared for opportunity, and austria is my fav.
The first two world cups of the seson looked anything but fun, glad I was not there. Seems like they broke a few people's spirits. Hopefully I can capitalize on being fresh.
The event is this weekend, you can watch on redbull.tv ... Wish me luck.
VERNON, NJ
Round #2 of the Pro Gravity tour rolled into Mountain Creek resort in Vernon, NJ. It's about an hour outside of NYC, so flying into Newark airport and getting there is super easy. I think it's a really good venue as far as having a hotel on site, chairlift, fun trails with enough technical rock features, a bike shop on site etc. The town itself is pretty deep into the country, but mountain resorts are kinda like that.
They also have the world's deadliest waterpark next door, I guess.
anyway, it was a really good turnout, with some big names in attendance. Bryn held it down as a token australian to keep things international . Well Remi was there from canada, and there was also a really quick Colombian rider. Well I wasn't really paying attention, could've been more. I did hear a few queebs, but that also counts for canada.
either way, the track was fun to ride, fast, the event ran really smooth, awesome prize money, cool trophy, easy logistics, and a lot of up and coming us talent. We are lucky to have a good national series again.
good job Usacycling:) and Mtn creek, and all involved.
Our local race scene is pretty fun, so I cruised out to Round 2 of the NW Cup to get some more valuable race experience leading into the summer.
I took a win, as did Luke Strobel in the men's class. Bryn had some other stuff going on, so a successful solo mission out there. My bike was feeling good after a few days messing with suspension and testing it out at speed. Big thanks to my sponsors:) and the Melvin family racing, for running a tight program with good company and delicious food :)
SANTA CLARITA, CA A couple weeks ago, I went down to Santa Clarita, CA to run in a charity event called the Wings for life World Run, to raise money for spinal cord research. I haven't done much running since my high school soccer days, so my muscles weren't really tuned up for this motion, but I made it 10km, which exceeded my goal, but the event itself was really fun.
If you haven't heard of it, WFL is a global mass start running race, where there is a chase car that eliminates people from the back. It speeds up at a consistent pace, and once it passes you, you are out, till there is one person standing.
Global coverage and live streams, thanks to Red Bull, so this race for the men came down to a guy running in austria and one in Chile, and built a lot of tension seeing the chase cars close in and people get eliminated. The guy that won got 79.9km , which is insane. Like two marathons, at a blistering pace. Overall the event raised over 4million Euros or something in a day. Some problems just need time and money,so hopefully one day there is a cure for spinal cord injuries.
Next year, I will have a bit more running time in hopefully . thx to Red Bull for including me in this awesome event. xoxo
http://www.wingsforlifeworldrun.com/int/en/
http://www.redbull.com/us/en/stories/1331688260695/wings-for-life-2015-north-america
https://www.kajabinext.com/marketplace/courses/1688-30-day-wheelie-challenge
Ryan Leech - Trials rider extraordinaire as well as Our Norco Bicycles team mate and nice guy - created this really incredible class online for people to learn bike skills from with videos, thorough explanations, breakdowns, etc. Ryan is also a yoga instructor, and all around nice guy, so his explanations almost feel like he is telling stories in a really calm and animated way. I took his class as a tester, and because I always wanted to be good at wheelies. My progression was fairly quick, because I practiced diligently and without ego to try to learn a skill that is really fun. I could wheelie before a little bit, but from this class, I made tons of improvement and feel a lot more in control.
I suggest you try this if you want to have fun and need a little boost with your wheelies:) Thx Ryan!!
Port Angeles, WA - APRIL 26, 2015 -
From California to the pacific northwest, the first round of the Pro GRT National Downhill series saw a record turnout with over 600+ riders, and really tight racing from some of the World's best Downhill competitors.
The Port Angeles venue is familiar territory for Jill Kintner and Bryn Atkinson who live just 3 hrs away, and took their local advantage all the way to the podium with Jill on the top step, and Bryn in 4th against some fierce competition.
JILL KINTNER - DH 1st
"It's nice to be on the downhill bike and put down a fast run when it counted. Port Angeles is a spot we know really well, which helps for keeping things chill and low stress. I was stoked to see such a strong turn out , especially in the Pro Women's field which had nearly 30 ladies. Hopefully this is a trend that will continue into the other rounds across America. All in all, this was a really well run event, ripping trails, and good times all around."
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Bryn
BRYN ATKINSON - DH- 4th
"Tight times, crazy hecklers, and a super fun track! Ndub productions nailed it this weekend with an all time 600+ riders, which goes to show DH racing is going strong around here."
DOWNHILL RESULTS:
PRO WOMEN
1. JILL KINTNER - USA- 2:36.76 2. Miranda Miller - CAN- 2:36.88 3. Claire Kovarik - CAN- 2:40.00 4. Vaea Verbeek - CAN- 2:41.58 5. Emilie Siegenthaler - SUI- 2:41.59
Men's DH podium had some international flair with a couple of Aussies, one American, and a pair of Canadians.
PRO MEN
1. Connor Fearon- AUS- 2:19.34 2. Mark Wallace- CAN- 2:21.14 3. Luke Strobel - USA - 2:21.33 4. BRYN ATKINSON - AUS- 2:22.12 5. Remi Gauvin - CAN - 2:22.66 6. Logan Binggeli - USA- 2:22.94 7. Ferran Jorba Prats - ESP - 2:22.99 8. Bernat Guardia - ESP - 2:23.18 9. Kiran MacKinnon - USA - 2:23.52 10. Bubba Warren - USA- 2:23.92
NEXT UP: Round #2 of the Pro GRT , Vernon, NJ
Monterey, CA Hard to believe that Sea Otter Classic event has been around for 25 years at Laguna Seca, but it has, and this year went pretty well. I took victories in both the DH and slalom, while Bryn narrowly missed the podium in 6th.
Last year most of the World Cup riders were in South Africa, and missed it, but this year had a pretty solid field of talent as well as booming industry support.
This race is the season opener, so a lot of companies have new product to display to show off to all the media. Riders have new bikes and colors, etc. World Cup #1 was in france last weekend, and Crankworx NZ was a little early too, but this is North American Season opener I suppose.
Regardless, for me, Sea Otter is an important race to set the tone for the year. I love slalom, and the dh course is pretty much a pedally trail bike race with lots of jumps. Right up my alley.
This year was dusty and dry, seems like no rain for awhile in Cali, which made the dirt quite sandy, loose, and slippy.
It was fun to see everyone, and test the ol legs out. Thx to all our sponsors and friends for a good time!!
Port Angeles Next for Pro GRT #1...
Photos- Bike Mag, Pinkbike, Paris Gore
I will not be in france for round 1 of the world cup. My schedule this year is a little different, hopefully less travel to Europe, so I will just be going to select events :) Good luck to everyone over there.
