Day before finals

Pietermaritzburg, Sputh AfricaAll practiced up, tomorrow is world champs. We had a bunch of rain last night and a super early timed run this morning. The practice session was really short and early, and as it was needed to be at the venue at 7 to make the shuttle for my run. I didnt do the 30 min practice, so didn't really know what the soil was like, but it was actually perfect, and cut all the dust down. Unfortunatly i got a random flat tire early on, so it was more of a sight lap than anything today. Too bad cause it would have been good to push in a few sections and link everything together. I will have lots of energy in my legs tomorrow for the pedal. Ready for anything. :) c ya

World champs in Africa/frankfurt

The 42 hours of travel time I had to get to South Africa just turned into 4 days. Apparently the 2 blank pages I had left in my passport aren't the right ones, so I need a new passport. Not the best news to hear when trying to board a 10hr flight and they send you back. Frankfurt is a good place to be stranded though, I guess, half way there and on theright time zone. Know the airport and hotel pretty well now, Small bump in the road. I'm really looking forward to this race, its a bit of a ripper for me:) Wish Bryn were here, but he is healing up at home from surgery where he needs to be. I'm staying with Team USA for the first time ever, so that should be fun. C ya later.

Crankworx - 3 for 3

WHISTLER, BC www.CRANKWORX.com . Just finished up the week up at whistler and had a pretty good run, winning 3 of the 3 events I entered, and on 3 different Bikes ( Aurum DH, Rampage HT,and my slalom bike).

This was my first Air DH win, and I am really proud of that given the conditions and competition. Ragot was fresh off her World Cup win in Mt.St.Anne and won here last year. My time was nearly 5 seconds faster, in the rain too. Bit of a unique DH race, tons of jumps and a bit smoother, but quite physical and long with a lot of pedaling. Super blown out this year too. I was on the fence which bike to ride; trail or dh, and went with my dh bike with some faster rolling maxxis 2.5 single ply minion tires. Takes a lot of practice to remember which jumps to brake check or not, where to pedal, braking spots, etc. Easy but hard if that makes sense. It's not as alive or steep as usual world cup tracks, stays consistent and hard packed, which has it's own challenges. So Yeah, Stoked on my run, it was a good one:) .

4-peat in pumptrack was pretty sweet too. I got kinda nervous for the final with so many people and the announcer taking his time and just chanting 4-peat 4-peat in the start. Caroline Buchannan had just won BMX world championship 2 weeks ago and had good drive down the straightaways, but I think my cornering won it. We both kinda messed up foot placements on the starts in different rounds, mine wasn't too bad with the flats, could adjust my foot a bit. Clips were bumming on the start but better on the pumping. It was super close though and really fun. Such a rad event, there should be more of those types of events.

Then slalom, which is my favorite event usually. Love slalom!!!. It was raining and really steamy for visibility. The course looked good, but was super easy and short. Still fun though. Kinda glad it rained actually to slow it down and add a little something. It was a close one between Caroline and I again, but I won. Top 4 girls were really good, so that was awesome to see.

My 3 event wins were enough to take the overall- queen of gravity title:) It's best to sort of pick and choose events for me, cause there is a lot going on in Whistler, and other social activities. By the time sunday rolls around on day 10 there is not much left as far as Focus goes. My main goal is on the next couple weeks at world champs and the last two world cups.

Only sad part is that Bryn had a crash while filming with the Parkin Bros, and broke his collar bone. Spent Saturday and Sunday dealing with that at the hospital. Canadian surgery is kinda whack. He got put on a waiting list, and spent two days totally broken waiting for a phone call. We ended up just going home and got it done. He's all fixed up, plated, and doing fine, but not good news to report:(

Thx to all our friends and sponsors for making vicories and good times possible. South africa worlds is next.

Crankworx- Whistler

Whistler, all week long:) So rad up here. My favorite event/ festival. I have 3 events back to back, so it will be a busy couple of days. Good competition too, which i live for:) wish me luck. C ya.

Photo Sven Martin/ vitalmtb.com

Bryn in St. Anne

Bryn finished 18th in Mt. St. Anne at the World cup!! Back up to speed , healed and riding well..

USA National Champs

ANGELFIRE, NM Just finished out this weekend in New Mexico with my 11th US pro national championship title, 3rd one in Downhill. Happy to have the usa flag sleeve back again to represent the stars n bars worldwide.

Anyway, yesterday's DH final was pretty exciting.

Think most people expected Gwin to win the men's title, but Bitchin Binggeli and Mitchypoo put in awesome efforts, matching Gwin's quail time. Unfortunately for them though Gwin bettered his time by like 9 seconds?. Logan had the run of his life going,  crossing in 2nd with no chain. Word is that he lost it in the rock garden, but I can't confirm that, just saw the speed tuck at the end. Anyway, Kevin Aiello was 4th on the 650b khs, with a mega wheelbase 50+. Cody Warren 5th as a semi retired racer/ soon to be firefighter. His coasting speed was crazy fast as a bigger dude. Almost the entire Warren family was there, even 4 dogs, but Bubbs was sadly missed still camped out in the UK with his team. So bubbs, Neko Mulally, Luke Strobel, Mikey Sylvestri all should have been here :(. Just bad timing I suppose with Mt.St.anne and whistler coming up. Think Downieville was this weekend as well.

Photo: Bitchin Binggeli

Anyway, The moisture in the dirt was about zero till the very last pro man raced, then it just opened up and poured hard for like 20 minutes. Sad part is, whoever wrote up the schedule put the junior men after all the pros, so they had a flash flood experience and raced in downpours and mud. Those who had issues in seeding played the rain game.

Walker Shaw flatted in quali and came out with the Junior title!!. There was a big delay with the lift cause of the approaching storm and lightning. That kind of worked out perfect for me to get through drug testing, pack a bike and then go watch :)

My race was pretty good. I felt like I pushed harder on all the pedalling and nailed the rock garden the best I had all weekend. There was a bit of a head wind, and I had one staill in a flat section which cost some time, but all in all pretty good as it was enought to win by over 30 seconds. Jackie took second with a bit of a mistake and the flu, and Anne 3rd.

Larry Longo was there announcing, which is always awesome. He has been a staple of US racing for as long as I have been in it. Anyway, lot of officials from USA Cycling, who hosted this event. Real nice people, but I think their gravity effort in the US is a bit off the back. Whopping $350 for prize money. "better than nothing" . Anywho, I can't complain too much. Had an awesome weekend. Was glad to see my fellow americans again and race in a place that eats real food for breakfast:) C ya.

Photos Matt Delorme.

Big thanks to Shimano and Daz at Fox for letting me hang out and looking after me:) Also Norco. Aurum hit gold again.

_____________________________________________________________________

FRIDAY FIRST THOUGHTS

Angelfire, NM Straight off the plane from Europe to Angelfire. This place is so high, think it starts at 10,000 feet and kinda finishes in the 8000 foot range. All good. Bit different terrain here; pine forrest, loose dirt, rocky, etc. the course is fairly mellow, but super blown out now and really high speed. Couple sniper rocks coming out too. Cat 2 and 3 raced already and it's bone dry and hot up here, so thats the real challenge. Course should be in the 5-6 minute range, which is sooo long, but it's pretty fun. There are a few fire road sections to catch your breath and tuck. Lots of natural little hops over rocks n such, one flat rock garden section to try to keep speed in.

Not the most impressive turnout here though. Probably the most bumming national race ive ever been to as far as atmosphere, and fan or rider turnout. The organization and scheduling isn't all that great either. The resort is pretty good though, so that makes up for it. Everyone is spread out. There is no real pit area so it's hard to know who's even here. Glad Shimano, Fox, Wd-40 guys (doing free bike washes :), KHS, Arma Evil, Odi junior team, maybe saw a Sram tent, but no one is n the same zone.

For riders I know Gwin, Binggelli,Aiello, Mitchypoo, C dub, maybe Mikey Sylvestri but haven't seen him, Furbees, Grame Pitts, Magic Mike day, Shaw Bros, Haderer, Condro, Ray, but that's really all i've seen. Aussie Troy Brosnan is just hanging out riding the park, and  course sweeper I think:)

For slalom, Barry Nobles and Mikey Day killed it in Quali, Maybe Luca Shaw in 3rd or Blake Carney. The course is not my favorite, I would say it's really bad actually and really blown out. sigh, I was pumped and then depressed after 2 laps. It's the old 4x track from the world cup split into two, but nothing technical, not much skill, tiny jumps, lots of hiking to the top, and lame shaped turns with 3 inches of powder. I really hope it gets a facelift. The slalom course in North Carolina for nationals a couple years ago was 4000 times better. Overall moral from pro riders was wayyy down on the slalom front, but there are still titles to be had.

Only 2 girls including myself signed up. Mens there may have been 14 pro men maybe?. Mitch didn't race cause he's a sissy. Hope he sees this:).

Anyway, Dh quali tomorrow and slalom finals. Here's a shot from my go pro.

WC3- Andorra

TEAM NORCO INTL. - World Cup DH #3 - Vallnord, Andorra

Vallnord, Andorra - July 25-28, 2013 - This past weekend, Team Norco International headed to Vallnord, Andorra for the third round of the UCI World Cup.

Andorra is a beautiful country nestled high within the Pyrenees Mountains boarding both France and Spain. The best description of this course was very raw, fast, natural, technical, extremely steep, and ever changing. All qualities that keep the best riders in the World on their toes.

For Norco riders Jill Kintner and Bryn Atkinson, each rider came in with a different story. Bryn had been recovering from a back injury sustained in Val Di Sole and was barely cleared to be riding, but gave it a go. With flashes of glory in practice Bryn attempted a full seeding run, but wash't quite ready for that kind of push and irritated the muscles placing him just outside of qualifying position in 106th.

Jill had been riding strong, and was really enjoying the course. For seeding she started in 27th position due to the UCI world ranking rule, and had to pass yet another rider in seeding finishing 8th. The final race had some rain fall in the afternoon, but conditions were dry and fast again for finals. Jill started quick in the top portion of the course, clocking 2nd at the first split, 6th and the 2nd split, and ultimately 8th at the final. At over 5 minutes of racing on the steepest, most technical race of the year, Vallnord proved to be a worthy World Cup venue.

Jill had this to say,,,

"This course was physical, steep and rough, which made bike set up really important and unique to combat the hard braking and massive holes. A race run took so much focus and energy to hold on. I pinned it up top for the first couple minutes, and did my best to keep my hands from flying off the bars on the last few steep chutes, but was too conservative and a couple mistakes. The Brits and Frenchies are really quick in terrain like this. I picked up good experience and learned a lot, and will have to take these 8th places for now. As gnarly as this course was, I enjoyed it, so yeah, I am proud of myself and have more races coming up."

Bryn had this to say,

" With only 5 weeks since breaking bones in my back, I was on the fine line of being ready to race in Andorra. My Dr. cleared me to ride "mellow trails", so I rode up in Whistler for 2 days before getting on the plane, but that was it. I was going to go to help Jill, but could rip sections in practice, which was fun, so I decided to race. To race flat out was a different story though, as I found out in qualifying. Early into the run I could feel my back muscles locking up and starting to spaz. It was hard to accept, but I had to take it on the chin and just roll down the rest of the course which put me out of qualifying range. Disappointing, but A few more weeks of rehab will do me some good. "

Big thanks to Reg for mechanical support!!!

DOWNHILL RESULTS:

PRO WOMEN

1. Rachel Atherton - GBR

2. Manon Carpenter- GBR

3. Myriam Nicole - FRA

4. Emmeline Ragot- FRA

5. Floraine Pugin - FRA

6. Morgane Charre - FRA

7. Tahnee Seagrave - GBR

8. Jill Kintner- USA

9. Fionne Griffiths - GBR

10. Emilie Siegenthaler -SUI

PRO MEN

1. Remi Thirion - FRA

2. Gee Atherton - GBR

3. Sam Hill - AUS

4. Steve Smith - CAN

5. Troy Brosnan - AUS

6. Greg Minnaar - RSA

7. HART Danny- GBR

8. Loic Bruni - FRA

9. Marcelo Gutierrez -COL

10. Aaron Gwin - USA

Next up is USA National Champs in Anglefire, New Mexico……

Team Norco International is supported by: Norco Bicycles, Red Bull, Crankbrothers, Fox Shox, Shimano, Renthal, Bell Helmets, Sombrio, Maxxis, Stevens Pass Bike Park, 5.10, e.13, Oakley, Jet Black trainers, PotentrX health and performance, High Performance Nutrition, Motorex, Cane Creek, Fi’zi:k, Camelbak, Alpinestars protection, and Park Tools.

More info at: www.jillkintner.com

Photography: www.parisgore.com & www.inmotionphoto.com

####

Andorra World Cup

VALLNORD, ANDORRARace day approaches here in Andorra. We have had a few days of practice and a seeding run so far. The evolution of this natural, steep track has been awesome. It started wet, dried out, and now the ruts are in place and the ground is rolling fast. From course walk, this track was pretty intimidating, but turned out to be one of my favorites to ride. It's rough as guts now, and lines have evolved as well. From Day 1 to race day is a big contrast. Pretty proud of my riding here. I feel good, dirtmag.co.uk had a good pic from quali I think, check it.

I was 8th in seeding. Bryn may have jumped the gun a bit, still recovering from 2 broken vertebrae. Props for riding, but he wasn't able to qualify.

Manon Carpenter from the UK won ladies seeding, and Sam Hill the men's.

http://dirt.mpora.com/events/downhill/uci-world-cup/dirt-world-cup-2013-gallery-vallnord-qualifying.html

Cockpit set up tips -Bars n Levers

After teaching a bunch of clinics, and finding similar issues with people and their bikes, I decided to write up some tips to help the "average Joe or Jane" improve upon their bike set ups. I have spent a lifetime tweaking on my own bikes, changing stuff, testing, watching video, studying form, etc. so I would like to think I have a keen eye for biomechanics. There is a lot of info that can also be discovered from trial and error :). My tips are guidelines as everyone is different, but there may be a few things in here that can help you with your riding and bike set up...so enjoy.

#1- Bars, levers, shifting. This is where I start with people, mostly. Bar width is such a major component for trail riding and gravity stuff. Having too narrow of bars, the wrong roll, or height, can effect your form and how you corner. Just a basic non-scientific rule I think works is doing a push up on the ground and measuring the edges of the outside of your hands. It's a Strong position and custom to you. I run 740 mm to 730 mm width, 30 mm rise to 38mm rise depending on which bike. Bigger guys run wider bars than me obviously. Too wide, and you will not really have the ability to leverage the bike though.

Also having the brakes positioned too far up or down, or the reach too far out , is funky. So you want to sit on your bike in a neutral standing up position, wrists in line, and elbows up. Start with the bars and ignore putting yor fingers on the brakes at first. Loosen the bars, and try a few different positions. Make sure they are centered too with measuring tape ().

Usually you want your bars the same angle as the fork, so look from the side. See what happens when bars are rolled too far back or too far forward. Elbows go down if the bars rolled back your lap, or too high sometimes. Too far forward and your position is off, it's harder to get behind the bike in corners etc. That's my main beef with long stems, you probably aren't as good at cornering, but like it for climbing? things have changed, bike geometry has changed. A compact cockpit is really enjoyable and better for riding down hills. Different bends of bars come in too. I use Renthal Fatbars, which are perfect:) Some bars have massive backsweep and that kinds sucks too for body position unless you are really small and your bike is too big.  Stem rise and how tall you are are important considerations fro bar height. On slalom and dirtjump higher bar rise.

Then I guess stem length. 40mm to 70mm for a trail bike depending on your bike. Jeese. 70 is still gonna put more weight over your front end. I run 50 on all bikes 45mm on dh.

As for lever position, once you got the bars all sweet, you want your index finger and wrists all in the same line. Some dirtjump or bmx guys run the lever super far down, but that's really only good for flat ground riding. the steeper the terrain the higher the lever to keep things neutral and natural. Too high and your elbows will drop and your wrists will be all cocked, which isnt really the strongest or safest way to ride. Sometimes we put a spacer under the bars or drop the fork out on steeper trails too to counter the weight distribution. Steep terrain will put more weight on your front end and it's hard to keep your front end from diving or your head up to see where you are going, so that's the reason for the adjustment.

Back to lever reach. This is the main thing I see with chicks. 2 finger braking is usually because of not being able to reach the lever, or it's too close to the grip. All good brakes will have a reach adjustment. So wind in the lever enough so the very end of the lever is at the end joint of your index finger without doing anything. Having the brake too close to the grip can effect your elbow too, so slide the position of the brake to a good spot so you hold on to the edge of your bar, elbows are up, and your index finger is on that knuckle. I use calipers to set them equally and the point of contact equally, and the position away form the grips equally.

Shifter should be in a place that you don't have to move anything except your thumb to engage it. Shimano XTR is super dialed. they made shorter brake levers and longer paddles on the shifter so it's obvious which side goes where. levers closest to grips. I have to changeold shifters around for chicks sometimes to accommodate small hands, but I'd say bikes are getting better and people seem a bit more savy lately at the intermediate level.

Suspension is really important as well, but It's tricky to explain and limitless really. My other big tip is to balance out your body and have good hip mobility. Adductor/abductor balance and core.

This bikeradar link is oldschool, but references some photos to know what I am talking about.

http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/workshop-setting-up-the-cockpit-on-your-mountain-bike-20662/

Whistler

Just spent a solid few days up in Whistler getting all primed up for the next world cup in Andorra in 2 weekends. Whistler is awesome if you don't already know that. There are so many people from Washington up there riding as well as all the canadian homies. Well tons of Aussies and other people too I suppose. I am just finally getting to know the trails and did top of the world for the first time ever which was pretty fun, few awkward spots of single track:) but one hell of a view. Thx Whistler for some focused fun:)

Sugar showdown #2

Duthie Hill Park-ISSAQUAH, WA Kat Sweet of Sweetlines.com hosted another ladies instructional/competition weekend called the Sugar Showdown at Duthie hill . She basically gathers some of the best female coaches/riders to have fun, revisit fundamentals, and work on jumping. Grand finally is to put it all together for a little weekend jump comp. Kat is such a rad lady and does a lot for helping others. I was home, and had a nice little saturday helping out. I have made an appearance at 3 of her events now, last year at duthie, Sant Cruz bike festival (sort of), and duthie this year. She must have good timing with my schedule:)

It's an easy format for me to just be a floater amongst groups and help dial in people's bike set ups , suspension and basic technique and form. I'd say biomechanics and set up are my specialty when coaching, which is good, cause that's the starting point. I am not a hoot and holla' type of chick, but I really appreciate the concept of these events and can make a difference to my fellow lady rider friends:) happy to do so.

Three cheers for Kat. Check out pinkbike for more of a recap. I was only there for saturday instruction, but got a little interview on there.

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/Sugar-Showdown-Seattle-2013-Presented-By-Diamondback.html

Stevens Pass- Gravity Skills Classes for women

Stevens Pass has Washington's only chairlift access bike park. There are a few trails of different ability open now, but as someone who loves to see my community grow, and also to have a killer spot to bust out as many dh training runs, stevens is awesome.

I scheduled these ladies camps with Stevens around my season since there was a gap in the race schedule and an obvious need for it. Kat Sweet was my helper, so we had a good time breaking everything down teaching the ladies some fundamentals, biomechanics and advanced skills like reading terrain and a little bit of race craft. I personally think I have an eye for this kind of teaching as not many people have studied form or bike set up as much as I have, so it's always good to make a difference for someone with a few tips. There were a couple junior girls who are some of the best I have seen too, so that's exciting to get to em early to make good habits. Of course we keep it fun with some laughs, a few jokes, etc. Kat and I have a really good balance of fun and different ways of looking at things:) Pink hair keeps it lively too:)

Anyway, go check out stevens pass bike park, then get onboard with a class. It was pretty easy for me as the resort handled accommodation, registration, transport, food, etc. So it's a killer deal.

http://stevensbikepark.com/jill-kintner-womens-clinic/

Big thanks to all my sponsors, and especially to Sombrio who makes the finest ladies riding gear and Camelbak for the giveaways, everyone was stoked!!!

Ashland mountain challenge

ASHLAND, OREGON Really fun couple of days here in Ashland! Unexpected too as I drove down just to be a part of the e.13 media camp, but was a little early and ended up racing the oregon enduro last minute with zero practice on these trails. Winged it to the max, but ended up riding pretty well and pedaling my ass of for 2nd. My carbon 650b Norco Sight was perfect here!! love that little rig:).

These stages were broken into 4 parts. They did have some shuttles to get to points as half the stages were on one mountain and the others on the other side of town, but still there were some 40 minute climbs and other transfer climbs to get point to pont. The timed sections had so much pedaling, holy crap. The grade is only slightly down, nothing steep or overly technical, but constantly turning the pedals over and pushing hard. There were a lot of high speed sections and some nice flowy bermed stuff once into meat of the stages. Would have been better to know what was ahead just to know how to strategize, but it was fun racing.

Stage 3 had a section of fire road that went on forever, probably 5 minutes on a fire road at maxed out gearing, then another 8 minutes of other stuff and a few pinches. Stage 2 was my favorite by far cause it had lots of natural gaps and water bars, plus was pretty ripping. Stage 4 had like a slalom course right at the end that was jumpy, berms, and blown out, but it took awhile to get into that part. The winner was Rosara who is damn fit + skills, so congrats to her! and the other ladies.

In the men's local hero Nathan Riddle took the victory with awesome riding and the wildest of tire choices. The trails here are dry and loose and super high speed, so he played it local knowledge and rolling speed with the Nano raptor WTB 29er tires (which have barely any tread) at 40 psi. Impressive, no chance I would ever run that set up.

Pic: Riddle's rig

This is the 3rd enduro I have done in oregon. Each event gets better and better with signage and timing. Wish the raffles and prizes would run faster, but overall nice work to the organizers and people who support the series. Enduro is not an easy spectator sport , but is really good for participating and the socializing after. So yeah, good times.

Now onto the e.13 media camp. Shuttles, sweet new products to learn about, media folks, and even more good times. :) c ya

New e.13 Carbon Lg1r guide.

Pro Women Enduro Podium

1. Rosara Joseph 2. Jill Kintner 3. Carolynn Romaine 4.  Abby Hippely 5. JJ

Pro Men Enduro Podium

1. Nathan Riddle 2. matthew Slaven 3. Curtis Keene 4. Marco Osbourne 5. Tom Doran

Val Di sole- finals

Well, I don't have much to say about my race run. Lost some time up top through the rocks and that was it, Happy to ride this course decently all week though. I felt pretty rad at times:) Val di sole changes your perspective a bit, makes normal tracks seem pretty easy:)  There are a  few positives to take away, so I learned a bunch , just disappointed to finish 12th . Will funnel that energy and keep improving, I have lots to be thankful for I suppose.

Tons of people got hurt over the 4 days, which is never fun to see. I wanted to push super hard and ride it fast, but missed a few lines and was a bit too conservative to do well. This course rewards the loose sketchy off the brakes moments, but it's a roll of the dice, dunno if that's really my style but it needs to be somewhere in the middle there.

Bryn had a big crash on the second day, and ultimately couldn't race. Hit his head on a tree, concussed and flipped into rocks into his back. Directly from my race run, we went to hospital and spent the night in hospital for him to find out he has a fracture on the transverse process of his L2 lumbar vertebrae. That's the best case in the spine really, its the little flange off the vertebrae and heals on its own no real problems hopefully.

Check out the soil.... Each run was a new line pretty much.

Val Di Sole

VAL DI SOLE, ITALYBeen in Italy a few days now. The course here in Italy is super unique, nothing really compares. It's steep, straight down the hill, very few real turns, rocks and roots at every point, no jumps. It's a very raw course that has been ridden hard for a few years. Even the new sections are beat after 2 days.

You take away a new par as to what is difficult after this. The dirt is so powdery as well and roots just seem to appear. Keeps you on your a game , that's for sure.

I'm enjoying riding it and rather proud of the fact that I can.  8th in seeding today. Will keep it moving forward for the final race. Qualifying had a bit of pressure just to get in smooth. They changed the ranking rules to some irrelevant world rank , so protected positions went to some people who raced in South America early in the year or OZ or the hundreds of races in Europe that have points. There is only one in america and that's in summer. I actually went backwards after placing in the top 10 last week at the first world cup, but working my way up is kinda exciting I suppose. Adds the element of passing sometimes .

Sort of a rough day in the office for some. Bryn hit his head pretty hard on a tree and slammed his back, so he wasn't up for racing today.

practice tomorrow am at 830 am. Race sunday.

TEAM NORCO INTL. - World Cup DH #1- Ft.William, Scotland Ft.William, Scotland - June 7-9, 2013 - The first round of the UCI World Cup Downhill was held this weekend in the Scottish Highlands under sunny skies.

Known as one of the roughest most physically demanding courses on tour, Ft.William terrain tests riders and equipment alike. Bryn and Jill were up for the challenge in an action packed 3 days of riding and racing. Supporters were out in the thousands as well, lining the 1.75miles of man-made trail all the way to the grandstands and Jumbo-tron TV at the bottom.  The men's average speed was about 23mph proving that this was a pinned event right out of the start. Qualifying on Saturday was exciting, with jill coming in 6th after being stuck behind the rider and having to pass, and Bryn 40th with a small bobble. For race day, both riders were ready and upped their times, but ultimately finished in 8th and 36th. With a little more sleep, and back in the rythem of racing, the team looks to keep attacking for podiums.

Jill had this to say,,, "I really enjoy this place. Looking at the track vs. riding it were 2 completely different experiences; the bike just handled business and the speed blurred out the rocks. I felt really good, just found myself braking a bit too much in the final trying to hold on. Race runs at World Cup pace take some getting used to, so I'm gonna let it go a little more at the next one. " Bryn on the last jump section before the finish.. New to the program this season, Reg Brench, a veteran mechanic from the UK, proved to be an asset at the first round keeping bikes and pits looking ace. Big thanks to REG!!!!! DOWNHILL RESULTS: PRO WOMEN 1. Rachel Atherton - GBR 2. Manon Carpenter- GBR 3. Emmeline Ragot- FRA 4. Myriam Nicole - FRA 5. Morgane Charre- FRA 6. Floraine Pugin - FRA 7. Emilie Siegenthaler- SUI 8. Jill Kintner- USA 9. Tracy Hannah- AUS 10. Zarja Cernilogar - SLO

PRO MEN 1. ATHERTON Gee - GBR 2. MACDONALD Brook - NZL 3.SMITH Steve - CAN 4. BLENKINSOP Samuel- NZL 5. HANNAH Michael- AUS 6. HILL Sam- AUS 7. HART Danny- GBR 8. MINNAAR Greg- RSA 9. BRYCELAND Josh- GBR 10. Williamson Greg - GBR ... 36. BRYN ATKINSON .. 79. Rhys Atkinson (Bryn's Brother) The team now heads to Val Di Sole, Italy for round #2 of the UCI World Cup……

Team Norco International is supported by: Norco Bicycles, Red Bull, Crankbrothers, Fox Shox, Shimano, Renthal, Bell Helmets, Sombrio, Maxxis, Stevens Pass Bike Park, 5.10, e.13, Oakley, Jet Black trainers, PotentrX health and performance, Susan @ High Performance Nutrition, Motorex, Cane Creek, Fi’zi:k, Camelbak, Alpinestars protection, and Park Tools.

####

Travel Prep

Couple days left till we visit the Scottish highlands to kick off the world cup season!! We added a logistics manager and a new English mechanic with a sprinter set up to our program this year. Little less stressful , which is quite a luxury,,, so thanks to E-Dub (eric Wallace) and Reg for helping out, as well as our sponsors who make it all possible. Should be good. Got just a few things to pack- 4-5 bike boxes worth. C ya on the flip side.

NW cup #3

PORT ANGELES, WAAnother weekend in PA and another victory! Racing in Port Angeles is like second nature to us now. We had 5 days out there, 2 of which were for bike set up, but yeah, good times. Bryn did testing, proving that his knee is ready for ft.bill, but sat out for the race.

Here is the race recap from pinkbike. http://www.pinkbike.com/news/NW-Cup-Round--3-Race-Day.html

Fox Shox testing

Suspension testing is awesome. Such a useful resource to get that fine detail of comfort on the bike. Fox is always pushing the limit, and over the years our bikes and suspension changes, so it's real nice to have a closed environment with timers to get all set up. Big thanks to Justin and Darren at Fox for coming up!! Got the lil rippa all ready to go for ft. bill:)