Leogang IXS CUP

LEOGANG, AUSTRIA Well the race is over, and I came out with another podium. 3rd this time amongst the worlds best. Bryn had a crash in the first turn and still places 24th in an impressive field. Will be awesome when it clicks for him, the speed is obviously there.

I was really glad we came out to this event. IXS cups have been running for several years in Europe. They have European cup, German cup, Swiss cup, etc. http://www.ixsdownhillcup.com/. We have heard of the numbers they get, but I guess last week in Germany they had over 600 entries, here there were 450 people registered. It's crazy how many people were riding. I was also impressed at the quality of bikes, seemed like everyone had blinging bikes with good parts. The bike economy is thriving Europe..

With World Champs being here in August, and the World Cup in Italy next week, the timing of this event brought a World Cup caliber rider list. So many random people as well though, It wasn't until qualifying that you could put in full runs, without someone getting in the way. The holes and ruts were insane here. It was sunshine for all of practice and racing, but the days before practice saw nothing but rain the whole week.

Either way, this course is sweet, and the mountains are so huge and powerful across the valley. Really beautiful with the stream running through and the green fields in front of the mountains. If it wasn't for all the ham and bread you have to eat, I could easily spend a lot more time here:) Swine, argg.

Race wise for me, The womens' field had 30 entries. The euro girls are lucky to have so much competition close to home. The only two girls in the top 10 missing were Frenchy and pom pom. Not sure if Sabrina is healthy again , but you get the idea. Rachel is back to full force, Ragot is on her game, Pugin is healed up, Tracey hannah is ripping, as are several others. I'm enjoying racing everyone and learning, gaining speed weekly. Hopefully they get better prize money for the women's field in the future, cause I would do more of these events. Every race like this should be bare minimum $1000 for first, I think.

Big thanks to our Swiss mechanic Alain Hall, who has been a key part of our success. Ol Swissy:) I wrote an article about how to "break in a world cup mechanic" in the latest issue of Revolution magazine (aussie mag)

Anywho, it takes a bit to be a solid dh racer, and adapt to new countries, terrain, speeds, etc... Breaking seems to one of the most important things at the highest level. Fine line. For qualifying, there were no points or anything, reward was getting the full run in, so for me I exposed some key braking points, and the sequence of piecing sections together. So for the final I was able to take off near 10 seconds. Pretty happy with that to go sub 4 min. Such a rough track, but I am in much better condition to contend this season, and the medium Aurum was a good move for me  for all this rough high speed action, so I was loving it. Rachel 1st, Ragot 2nd, me, Pugin, Tracey. Think Tracey had a crash near the end, but that's racing.

For the men, Gee had a crash in seeding and was in the hot seat forever. He was showing off all his kinesthesiology tape on his battered ankles? he went pretty fast for his first race back after a broken leg, plus that crash in seeding. He wasn't able to go Minnaar fast though. Greg with the win, Then Stevie smith, Brooke MacDizzle , Spagnolo, and Gee. Poor Nick Beer set the fastest time in seeding, but made a big mistake. Consistency is key, but good work to him, ol Bic Neer:). Troy Brosnan took a hard crash in practice, and had to go to hospital for some internal stomach stuff. Sucks, cause he was in prime form..

Bunch of people are riding today, doing fox testing. Justin, our tech isn't here, so we are taking the day off to regroup and prepare for next week in Val Di Sole. Gonna need as much strength as possible for that race. It's ping pong over roots the whole way. Heard there were gonna be some changes, so we will see. Last year the soil disappeared by sunday, adn we were just left with roots and rocks pretty much...

Thanks my sponsors-  Red Bull, Norco, Crankbrothers, Fox, Shimano, Renthal, Maxxis, e.13, 5.10, Dakine, Oakley, Fizik, Cane Creek, Park Tool, Troy Lee helmets, Alpine Stars protection, Motorex, Stan's notubes, Jetblack trainers, and eSoles.

C ya. Jill

Red Bull Media coverage...

Look who is on the banner ad. Sweet. Red bull will have amazing coverage of the next few rounds of racing. GUess the men's top 30 or whatever will be live, but the women's is pre recorded  to make a tighter TV package.

Looks like the IXS cup in Leogang will be first.. We will be there, so check it out.

http://www.redbull.com/en/bike

Euro Bound...

Final push before we head overseas to Europe. Next up IXS cup in Leogang, Val Di Sole in Italy, Then Ft.Willy....

Slalom bike video

Here is a link to a video Norco made about my custom slalom bike being created. Shows the process of the design, to welding, painting, then onto the victory. The super behind the scenes footage should have been of me building it up on my sunny rest day in our driveway with pandora rocking some tunes:)  Thanks to Yess, and Norco for getting the lil ripper made. Crankbrothers Iodine gold wheels and the Fox Kashima really set it off, new saint shifting too. Such a slalom weapon. Crankworx is it's next race. http://youtu.be/vmmhzr_Y3c0

Port Angeles- Pro GRT

PORT ANGELES, WAAlmost everyone who was at Sea Otter last week made the journey north to the US National Round this weekend in Port Angeles for the Pro Grt/US GP/NW cup - http://nwcup.com . World Cup riders close to home on a sweet course, all good things. Rowdy fans, campfire, downhill racing, etc. I took another victory, adn Bryn was 8th after seeding 3rd the day before. Sunday was a weird schedule, one practice run in the morning, followed by 6 hrs of nothing, then the race. Stevie Smith took the win in men's pro field, followed by Gwin and Mic Hannah.

Full results HERE

Back in PA

Port Angeles, WAThe tracks here in Port Angeles are so good right now. Wet, dry, etc, its got some variety, roughness, ruts, roots, rocks, high speed, etc. It's like another Sea Otter turnout, but on a really good n proper DH track. Lots of smiling faces. Good stuff. Just finished up Qualifying. Good results for Team Norco Intl. with Bryn Seeding in 3rd, and Me in 1st for the womens.

Think it was Stevie Smith 1st, bryceland, bryn, Strobel, Mick, Mitchy-poo R., and then some.

Women's me, Holly, Jacquie Harmony, Miranda who had to pass someone, and then some.

Race day tomorrow. C ya.

Margus Riga

How's this for an awesome photo. Pinkbike.com and Margus. Thank you.

Sea otter 2012

MONTEREY, CA Really good weekend at the Sea otter classic for me!! won both the Slalom (3-pete) and the DH (1st time) = Clean sweep. Norco was pumped! Love where we landed with them, really nice people and beautiful bikes that can win:)

Bryn set the fastest time in slalom qualifying on the blue side, and qualified 3rd overall!! He is amazing slalom . First round rolled his tire off the rim from cornering so hard, and that was it. Racing is funny sometimes. Good for him to be up to speed against the best guys in the world though. Dh too, he looked incredible. Once he gets all the ducks in a row in a race run, those guys are in trouble, think he is faster and more controlled than ever before. Just slid out in the final.

Got some fancy new components from Shimano, Fox, Crankbros, Oakley , etc, which is an honor. Norco Made me a custom slalom bike too. Lots of media coverage , so this is the place to show new stuff off and do well for sponsors, cause they are all here doing a bit of an expo as well. There is so much going on, draws a big crowd from all types of cycling. Not too much intermingling amongst riders. The schedule had us up at 630 am ever morning for practice and done by 11.

I raced the new Saint gear in the slalom for the ease of shifting, quietness, and overall feel. 2 quick power loaded gear changes out of the start needed precision. The attention to detail is really noticeable in the feel and textures of the levers.  Had a good run through my rounds and practice, but ultimately Buhly and I met in the final for annual slalom battle. Manon Carpenter for 3rd.

On the xc/DH bike (my Norco Sight) for this weekend, Gwin and I were the first ones on the new 34 fork for 26". The tuning on it makes things a whole lot easier for the average consumer, and the traction and performance is impressive, like riding on air:) Crankbros have a few new DH mallets being tested. as well, platform changes mostly, some new ideas.

The weather this year was like 80-90 degrees, dry and hot. Sunburn central for some. Racing two events and pushing up the hill for slalom leads to a lot of exposure. The Euros were struggling so hard, bright red faces, nearly heat stroke for poor Josh Bryceland.

This downhill race is half about set up and half about fitness. 7 turns in total I think, but kinda fun to ride. I basically took my trail bike, and changed the gearing and the fork. That was it 140mm, with a shortened rc4 on the back, which is so sick. Over the years, we have tried every type of bike, 5", 6" 7" 8", and guess what, my 5.5" was the best. It's exactly like riding an xc trail, but with some jumps and a couple fast dh bits. Buhly is so strong here every year, so it was a big accomplishment to get the Win here finally. My run was pretty good, so that is nioce to be racing full runs well. 2 minutes of sprinting seems easy after the 4.5 minutes of sprinting in south Africa:)

I'm pretty tired from the drive home.Gonna finish this later. C ya.

Sea Otter Slalom

Monterey, CA We just finished up slalom saturday with a nice little W!! 3rd year in a row for me. Kyle Strait with an impressive men's victory as well with a stacked international field. American Slalom domination today!

Our day was a 9am- 6pm. Not riding that whole time, but at the venue in the heat all that time. So glad to have the sprinter; its a nice little haven of air conditioning, sleeping, and snacks when needed. Close the door and get some rest:) Had to have been like 85-90 degrees today.

The Norco crew looked after us, bike pushing, fixing, water, etc, such nice people, thanks to Jonathan, Pete, PJ, Mike, Dustan, etc. Also thanks to our sports psychologist- Dr. J.rich for being here and helping out.

Bryn was riding awesome, qualified 3rd early on. Mic Hannah was 1st, Jared 2nd, Bryn 3rd, Minnaar, Kyle Strait. etc. The racing went down pretty different than that. Bryn and Jared both had bad luck in the first round, bryn rolled his tire off, jared crashed and got his head stuck in a gate. Rounds went on, and people kept getting eliminated. Kyle strait prevailed in the end!! Which was awesome to see!!! Troy Brosnan 2nd overall, cedric 3rd, danny hart 4th. So fun t watch.

I took out a three- pete! Felt good all day, love slalom. Buhly and I had our epic sea otter slalom final battle. She took out 2nd, Manon Carpenter 3rd, Steffi Marth 4th.

Building bikes

Slowly but surely our fleet of bikes for the year are coming to life. Organizing parts has been an ongoing process, but we did really well with product ordering and have built some incredible machines. Feel lucky to have the support that we do this year.

Our Aurums have been going for awhile, but they just got upgraded with some super fresh Shimano bits, you'll see at Sea otter. On monday I also built up my slalom bike from scratch, and am in love with it!! Bit of sun in Seattle, so I was outside with the dog, pumping beats, getting it done. The bike has a Short rear end and maneuvers obstacles better than any other 4x/slalom bike I have had, stiff laterally in the rear, and really light, get ready for it!!.

Sight xc bike too is such a balanced bike, that rips turns.. Everything is coming together. Leaving for Sea otter in a couple days. Standard route. Seattle, Bend, Santa Cruz/Monterey.

Bryn is back too!!! Added bonus. I had all his gear ready to go:) Team management.

Here are some pics of slalom birthday.

Nw cup results

PORT ANGELES, WAOne of the best weekends of riding ever!! When the sun comes out in Washington there is nothing better. Dark brown dirt, big trees, etc. I'm loving riding, and making awesome progress with the DH racing. The Aurum is such a pleasure to ride. Fun to see all the locals as well, mingle, ride, hang out. We have a solid community at these events.

They have made a new trail for the GRT National race in a few weeks. I haven't ever seen it, but heard it's pretty steep.

Remi and I took the Wins in Pro. Leonaruzzi got his first win in cat 1 men- noice work. About 50 canadians in attendance, amped up to start the season. Congrats to fellow Norco Rider- Nick Geddes for his first race back after recovering from Leukemia!  I had some fast canadian ladies to race against, glad they came down/ Good times in PA. C ya.

Pro men 1. Remi gavin 2. Adam mantle 3. Luke Strobel 4. Tyler Alison 5. Dean Tennant

Pro Women 1. Jill 2. Holly Feniak 3. Miranda Miller

Full results HERE

Nw cup #1

Port Angeles, WAAhh, back to a familiar place, good ol P.A. This N-Dub cup is A smaller regional race, but should lure in a few Canadians and die hard Californians. Will see. There is a national here in a few weeks.

Bryn is still in Australia, so he won't be back till next week, then off to California for the otter. Later.

Fanatik Spring Fest

Fanatik bike shop, which is up in Bellingham, is having a big sale /demo/ bbq/ prize giveway/ riding weekend. They sell Norco, and a bunch of oter premium brands, so I will be up there with Russ and the homies form the shop just chillaxin for a few hrs. That is kind of the local zone, tight community of bike riders there. So come say hi, try some bikes, and enjoy the best trails. fanatikbike.com

Back to America

All packed up in oz and onto the next chapter- full time international racing. Will be back to oz/nz when it gets cold again, but for now, really excited to be heading home to the USA!! Mom, pup, cars, friends, and summer all await.

Next is a dealer day at Fanatik shop in Bellingham, a NW-Cup, then the Otter mid April!!!

Still lagging pretty hard from the South Africa trip, and I have just compounded it with another 15 hr mission from Sydney to Seattle. Glad this big ones are done for now. Makes europe seem like a breeze at only 8-10 hrs:)

Stay tuned. Lots of excitment on the horizon....

Kennedy Wedding!

Two of our bestest pals, Cillian and  Shannon, (AKA: Cillo and Shaz) got married last weekend, so I wanted to say a big CONGRATS!! They are in NZ living it up right now on a honeymoon. March 17th World Cup, so we missed their big day, but they looked lovely, and no doubt had an awesome party. Cheers guys!!

Flipper

One of the nicest people on tour, and one of the best photographers we have ever seen, Gary "Flipper" Perkin, will not be at the rest of the World Cups. Life as a gypsy only lasts so long, his family will enjoy having him home. Good luck, we will for sure miss you and your amazing view of the sport. www.blog.flipper.co.za

Podium in Pietermartitzberg!

Got my first Dh World Cup podium today. Norco and the Aurum got their first WC podium as well!! Thanks to our new mechanic Alain Hall, sponsors, and justin at Fox for the tuning. I was so glad the course dried up, cause after the downpours last night  and the slippery wet clay this morning, it was a bit of a relief to be able to race like normal. Not a perfect run, had a big mistake in the steep bit- front wheel over the top of the berm, and lost a lot of time, but a podium is awesome! I'll take it!! 4th. Tracy Hannah 1st, Manon Carpenter 2nd, Ragot 3rd, Me, Myriam Rucchi 5th. Sabrina and Pugin both were hurt in practice and didn't race.

Bryn rode amazing as well, with good form and speed. Think the pedalling was a bit tough still, but his first world cup back from the femur is a win. More later.  Minnarr with the hometown win. Gwin 2nd.

South Africa DH quali

Just a few quick updates from the day. Overcast skies, humidity, but an awesome day overall. The transport is a fleet of vans and trailers, so it is about a 30 minute commute to do a run. Pretty funny how the drivers are working the clutch. It's a mission to get on the freeway up the hill, through some neighborhoods, a massive fancy estate gate, pass sugar cane fields, past the Hawk that chills on the fence post at the top, then a little ride into the start. 8 people per shuttle, it goes good though.

Pit row is also quite spaced out, we elected not to even be in there. After you finish a run, you gotta ride to a bridge to get over the xc course, climb up the stairs, ride down the other side, and the pits are like a quarter mile long and in the opposite direction to the shuttle in some cases. Much better set up under the trees in the parking lot with the other privateers on the way to the shuttle. Our new mechanic Alain Hall is doing awesome, getting broken into the ways of WC racing.

THis course is very rapid and a lot of fun. High speeds amongst the trees, then out in the open, etc. I had a good run, just a few places to still work on. This is only day two, but conditions were perfect. Tracy Hannah set the fastest time, she went big on al the jumps and also raced here last week, so congrats to her. Frenchies following her +3 sec, in the same second- Ragot, Pugin, Jonnier, then Me +3 from them in 5th:) Pom pom 6th, etc. Another day on sunday, but a good start. This track is red clay and hardpacked, bad combo with rain, and it's raining now. Will be like ice. Fingers crossed it dries up for sunday.

Mens quali was pretty exciting. There was good coverage on the jumbotron. I got to see the majority of bryn's run, which was awesome. He came out today with 18th! After all he has been through, that is awesome, more in the tank:) Think he came up a little short on the jump leading into the pedaling bit.

Minnaar and Gwin had a really tight battle, Minnaar won by .008 seconds. Gwin didn't pedal to the line, so there you go, nothing in it. Stevie was right there .8 back, so that was rad to see as well. Super gnarly; Brook McdDonald was cruising into the last hip jump with the finish line in sight, took off funny, landed sideways, high sided, yard-saled, and took a massive digger, just layed there for 10 sec, no concussion though. Next dude down almost hit him, inches away. I saw it happen, and am impressed he is ok.

I haven't been taking photos or anything, just riding. Sorry about the updates. Guess other things I noticed. Brendan Fairclough is on clips, as is pom pom. Marc Beaumont has "Atherton Racing" written all over him as well as their logo of the three guy guy girl icons, which is weird. The new Scott bike is out. Luke Strobel is on Pivot. 90% of people have drop posts on. Richie Rude qualified 45th at his first World Cup, USA Junior ripper. Bunch of top guys even are casing the big table tops. The sprint is very long. Florent Payet broke his collar bone last weekend at the pre race cause of the wind on the big jumps. What else? Ben Reid is out with Pneumonia. Dunno really. That's all I got for now.

South Africa - WC#1

Been in South Africa for a few days now. Today is actually the first day of practice. Over the week,  we did some tourist stuff; saw some lions, elephants, monkeys,etc. did a little bit of exploring, some riding, watched the race last weekend, walked the track twice, saw everyone, Alain (our mechanic) has been getting the bikes ready, and now it's time for business...

South Africa..

- PIETERMARITZBURG, RSAWe are off on friday for the first World Cup of the year- South Africa!! 15 hours of flying time from Sydney. Been an awesome offseason with exponential progress, so all the work is done. I'm prepared to vomit at the end of that sprint:) leave nothing behind. Only one box left to tick off..

Also, a massive highlight will be to see monkeys again:) In case you were wondering, the local monkey's are caled Vervet Monkey, and yes they have blue male bits:). Crazy critters...

Sicko:)