Crankworx, NZ concluded:)

March 30, 2015

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ROTORUA, NZ

Spent a couple of weeks down in Rotorua, NZ, riding the forest and the awesome trail bike trails. That place is pretty amazing as far as embracing mountain biking. It smells terrible from all the geo-thermal hot springs and whatnot, but the shuttles that run up the hill during the week for the public make up for that. Good riders were hanging out in NZ really early pre riding all the trails for the enduro, and maybe escaping the winter, but no body knew which actual trails they were actually going to race.

With a tight schedule, it wasn't really that easy to do all these events. I was going to attempt Dh, pumptrack, whip off, and there was a super small chance of winging it in the enduro, but as it turned out I had a really nasty crash in the DH on the second day of practice and couldn't pedal or take a compression on my leg. Wrapped it around a tree in a really steep section.:( I could walk, which was a good sign, so I popped a few pain pills and gave the pump track a go. I somehow qualified first, made finals, but got stuck in the gate in the final run, and didn't get another chance, so 2nd in that. Bit anti-climatic for the fans, but Anneke didn't want to have another go, so that was it. Still loved it there, and at least we got some good photos with Bell helmets throughout the week on a photo shoot.

I'm ready for the next one , that's for sure. Couple of weeks to get this quad working properly, and we are all set for Sea Otter. Thx.

Crankworx NZ

March 13, 2015

First race of the year is coming a bit early, and in one of the best mountain bike destinations in the world- New Zealand. I have been to Rotorua a couple times, but this is for Crankworx, which operates at a whole other level. I am competing in 3 events, Pumptrack, DH, and enduro. World Enduro. Should be interesting getting em all in. But that queen of crankworx title, is my new jam, so bike riding is bike riding, I'm in. 3 bikes, Bryn and his bike, and spares.

crankworx.com will have live coverage.

Guess What?

February 13, 2015

We are moving to Bellingham!!!! Just bought a house, and are heading north where the trails flow like water. See ya.

California sunshine

December 29, 2014

After a lot of rainy days at home in Seattle, bryn and I headed south to Santa Cruz for a month or so to train in the sun and get some base mileage. A few sponsors are based here and the trails are the best in California , so it's a nice change of scene. lots of homies here too:) it's not Australia , like we used to do for winter, but it is pretty damn sweet. Very happy down here going outside, rather than sitting on a trainer for hours in the basement:)

Re-signed with Norco Bicycles for 2015

November 24, 2014

http://www.pinkbike.com/news/jill-kintner-bryn-atkinson-norco-bicycles-2014.html

A press release was posted on Pinkbike and Vital about our re-signing with Norco for 2015. It's a bit of a different kind of year for us with more of a domestic approach, but Bryn and I are looking forward to projects with sponsors, picking and choosing our events, and having some time to be creative. The plan is to own our back yard and really have a good impact in North america and Key international events, while Bryn focuses more with filming and camps, and the races he wants to do.

For me, coming off 5th at Worlds and a few World Cup podiums, I didn't expect Norco to hire a new World Cup program, but it's part of the business, and I am happy for them, as having a male rider with potential to win is huge. For us, it is exciting to have some time to work smarter and more effectively on our business and strategy moving forward.

My schedule covers DH, Slalom, and some enduro racing. I included a couple World cup rounds (Ft.Bill and Leogang), Worlds, Crankworx bc and NZ, Sea Otter, most of the Pro Grt series, US open, Colorado freeride festival, EWS colorado, some enduros, Kamakazi games, and skills camps at Stevens Pass with Bryn.

Norco bikes are awesome, as we helped develop them:), so our goals are to ride the best carbon bikes out there, keep our relationships with the sponsors and people that have supported us for years, race and win events, make creative content, and give back to the community.

Having run our Team program from the ground up for several years, Bryn and I have a lot of skills in the bike business that will serve us well. We will be everywhere, except Europe 400 times in one season:) North American racing is gonna be really good this year with the Pro GRT series making big gains, so I want to be a part of that, ride fast, and continue to make a difference in the MTB world and beyond.

THX> Jill

5th annual -Bermsleed Halloween Race

November 10, 2014

RENTON, WA Well this post is a little late, but still fun. Every year, our local bike shop, GHY Bikes hosts a slalom race on this bermsled singletrack slalom trail close by. It has some good turns and jumps, and is about a 1:10 to race. Everyone gets dressed up, rides, bbq, prizes, etc, so overall good times. I went as Mistique from X-Men, and was getting called out for having a skinsuit advantage:) Jake the eagle couldn't see out of the eagle head, a few people had muscle suits on, bryn was hard to recognize with his chicken mask, etc. Lots of antics:)

I have two friends, Travis and Lucas who always talk shit about beating me there, so this is one of my most anticipated races of the year with some heavy pressure:). Turns out this race fell on the day after halloween , so a few nameless individuals may or may not have got power wasted the night before. It's best of two run format, so if you mess up theres another chance. Bryn and Luke were there as well, plus a few of our local pros who rip, so there was no lack of comp.

In the end bryn and luke were almost identical times, .1 different with stopwatch timing , but I squeaked out the Bronze, just edging out Lucas, which was incredible:) Mission accomplished, haha. All in good fun though as best trick, best costume, followed by a few beverages. Thanks to Aj at GHY. Kinda world cup'esk for a little $5 local race.

Season Recap..

September 29, 2014

JILL 2014 Highlights 2 UCI Downhill World Cup DH podiums 5th UCI DH World Championships USA National Champion DH and Slalom Crankworx Air DH and Slalom wins 4 Women’s specific instructional clinics World Cup Team owner Video- Dirt- Beyond the bike - Coming soon.

STEVENS PASS CAMP- SEP 27-28

September 22, 2014

STEVENS PASS BIKE PARK, WA Bryn and I are doing another one of our famous camps up at Stevens Pass next weekend. The format is Women's class on the Saturday, men's class on the Sunday, and we both teach at both classes. We look at each rider's specific needs, bike set up at great detail, reading terrain, etc. We have a lifetime of knowledge, tap into it:) Only at Stevens Pass... Go to http://www.stevenspass.com/site/summer/services/Gravity-Clinics

To reserve your spot contact Stevens Pass Bike Shop.

Email: sales@stevenspass.com

Phone: 206-812-7844

Added to the slideshow..

September 16, 2014

Just thought I would add some of my favorite photos from the year to the slideshow on here. I've been working on a web overhaul:) Should be good, but I love the slideshow. Enjoy

WORLD #5

September 9, 2014

HAFJELL, NORWAY

Well after what seemed like a long time away, Hafjell Norway World Championships turned out pretty well. I was 5th, bryn was fastest at the Speed trap at 82.5 kmp/h and 18th overall, Isak 37th at his first race back since breaking his collarbone 6 weeks prior.

Worlds brings out National support from USA cycling, Mtb Australia, etc, and everyone wears a country jersey instead of individual teams, which makes for more of a team effort with everyone rallying together as a nation. XC team, Dh , staff, massage people, physio, mechanics all combined. Our personal mechanic- Reg the Wrench was there for us making sure all was sweet at base camp, which keeps things consistent. He had lots ofwork to do rebuilding all the wheels and new bearings in the frame. Just takes time to go through all the small details. Long hours with 3 riders this time, but he loves it:)

My run was really good, hit my lines etc. Just a couple places I could have been off the brakes a bit more, and maybe actually tucked in the speed trap, but I'll take it. British girls were on it, and congrats to Manon Carpenter for the close win.

Men's race was super exciting too, with drama, crashes, Neko getting 4th chainless (USA), Sam Hill crashing in the last rocks when he was gonna win, Ratty hucking to flat and snapping his foot only to come second by nothing. Gee Atherton won.

All in all , really glad it was dry and happy to end the year in top 5. Till next time.

Here is the link to the replay - http://www.redbull.com/en/bike/stories/1331674779387/replay-uci-world-championships-dhi - Replay from Worlds on Redbull.tv (jill at 37.49, Bryn at 2:17)

(Team mates- Isak for Norway, Jill USA, Bryn Aus )

One day home and off to vegas.

Verbier Bike Park - SUI

August 30, 2014

VERBIER, SWITZERLAND From France, we headed to higher ground in Switzerland. Verbier has had some good reviews from other riders we know, and it was for sure one of the most scenic, fun places I have ridden in Europe. The bike park manager- Trifon, gave us a tour, and he is a really good rider, which shows in the trails. They have a bit of everything. I also rented a trail bike and went exploring with a local. Lots of switchbacks and natural terrain, some steep bits too. But the gondola from the bottom of the hill collects everyone, so heading down is all you need to do really.

I was a bit beat up from Meribel, so we had a nice place to rest and heal here. It's a super fancy town, home of some expensive real estate, but it keeps the riff raff out. Stuff costs more up here, and I can only imagine the winters. Carriage rides, fancy cars, fondue, chalets:)

Anyway, it was a good little stop, really beautiful here. Swissy, our mechanic even came for a day to ride:) Switzerland has a much better vibe in my opinion than France, little easier culturally. Both places have some incredible riding, so it's good to have options. Till next time... Off to Norway tomorrow.

World Cup Finals- France

August 24, 2014

MERIBEL, FRANCE Meribel was a good venue and a challenging track for World Cup finals. A bit steeper, rootier, and more natural than a lot of tracks we have seen this year. I was glad it was dry, but day 1 was a little greasy on the roots . Spike tires all week long. I had a rough weekend. Coming in not 100% and a bit sick, plus landing on a rock didn't help. No excuses, I just need to get better at riding this kind of terrain and letting off the brakes. Rough one finishing 10th and going a bit too slow with some mistakes. Just never really felt good physically the whole time. No matter, with a week off and time to rest, I should be good to go for world champs in Norway.

Finished the season in 7th overall. Some highs and lows, but happy still. Au revoir france.

On a side note, it was super cool to watch the showdown for finals. Overall world cup champion is a difficult task, and Ratty and Mannon earned their victories with lots of pressure coming down to the wire. So congrats to them, and also Sam Hill and Rachel for the wins on the day. Good stuff.

Crankworx

August 21, 2014

2 outta 3 aint bad- won Air DH and Slalom, 2nd in pumptrack. Bit of a whirlwind of a trip with one day off on either side of flying in from New York and out to France sun.

Windham, NY, World Cup

August 21, 2014

2014 back in Windham New York. This time a little wiser, faster, adn made it outta there in one piece. 6th is how I finished, one step higher would have been better:) There was a red flag in the start just before my race, so I had to wait a bit, but no matter. that track was all about maximum speed and pinning it. I had the course good, and was happy with my riding, just could have been a little more aggressive in the final to attack and let off a bit longer.

Mt.St.Anne

July 29, 2014

The past month, we have been busy training, regrouping, and getting ready for the next stint of racing which has a lot of travel and back to back weekends. We just made it to Eastern Canada- Quebec, then to the Catskills of NY, Whistler, France, Norway, Vegas, and then home:) I think. One step at a time though really. Been working on physical building and mental skills to really give myself the best of opportunities. Ready to race right now and feeling fast on the DH bike. Race is on Sat. Wish us luck.

Next up...

July 21, 2014

We have had about a month off from World Cup action, but have still been travelling a bit and ramping up for the next couple rounds. As a popular Norco event at Silverstar resort- Rider Appreciation Day or Rad-fest anyone on a norco bicycle got 50% off of lift tickets, which is a cool thing that norco does for the community. We were there for 5 days with a handful of our favorite people and riders from Nocro for a fun little bonding trip and photo shoot on our new Aurums. Fun place to ride, totally worth the trip, good flowt berms, long runs, no lines really. I rode one day on my range and was murdering the green challenger trail, which seemed to have an endless amount of rollers and gaps if you are willing to pin it. Anyway, once home, the following weekend, Bryn and I did some high end coaching at Stevens Pass. One day for women with both of us coaching, and the otherday for guys. Hot days, but tons of attention and a lot of specific knowledge most people can't teach. We had a good time, and have another weekend scheduled in September with the same set up. Don't miss it, spend the weekend in Leavenworth with your significant other, rider the park one day, take a class the next. Kinda limit it to people who are invested into riding by a couple of years, so it's worth it for us. Intermediate to advanced skills. That's where we can make the biggest difference.

Other than that lots of Intervals, gym time, ordering parts, etc. really excited for the next block of races.

In some unfortunate news, our team Rider Lorenzo Suding was in a car accident, adn will not be joining us for awhile till he's all healed up:( We wish him the best, as it's hard to have to sit out mid season, but character building.

So one more trip to Canada to ride in Whistler before we go, and that's it. Quebec, Windham, NY, Crankworx in Whistler, France, A week in europe somewhere, Worlds in Norway, Interbike, another camp at stevens, and then home:) Wish us luck..

Oh and congrats to my pal Arielle who just had a baby girl:) Alta.

c ya.

Opening day at Stevens Pass

June 29, 2014

STEVENS PASS, WAThe snow has melted, and the trails at Stevens Pass are finally ready to rip. The new PBR jump trail is pretty fun. It is super easy to get a bunch of riding done in a short period of time. Think we had 8-10 runs in a couple hrs. Luke and Bryn show you how its done... iphone vid, made by me:) http://www.pinkbike.com/video/369061/

http://www.stevenspass.com/site/summer

Usa DH champ

June 22, 2014

ANGELFIRE, NMWell after a long hot weekend, I got it done in the DH today, making for my 4th us national title in DH and 13th national elite title overall. 4 -dh, 4- 4x, 3-slalom, and 2-bmx. Pretty good effort considering I flew here straight from Austria, raced two events, and was solo with this campaign. Fox and Shimano helped tons though with fine tuning and letting me hang out.

The course got pretty blown out and sketchy. There were lots of flat tires and crashes, so holding it together was key. Especially at 9,000 feet.

Gwin killed it for the men's title. Dominated really. These guys are lucky to get to race the best in the world, and push themselves. Neko Mulally 2nd, Mitchypoo 3rd. Luca Shaw flatted in Juniors and Shane Leslie won.

Anyway. Cruisy day tomorrow getting home, and then back to training...

Here is a helmet cam video I made from Practice: http://www.pinkbike.com/video/368353/

Slalom champ

June 22, 2014

ANGELFIRE, NMSlalom finals went down last night after DH qualifying. It felt like a lot of effort pushing up the hill in the heat, but I had fun and took the title.

Luca Cometti took the men's title. Kyle Strait is one of the very best slalom riders in the world , and Luca was pinning it through the shitty loose turns to keep the pressure on after the first round by .1. Round two, luca was on the better course and rode a perfect run to win by .3, so congrats to him. He was on the Junior Worlds team last year for DH and is a ripper. This is probably the biggest win of his career, and he did it on an Intense tracer trail bike.

Luca Shaw had a crash in the semi and put in a blitz on the second run, but came up short, finishing 3rd. Cody johnson was here as well, but was acting weird , super quiet, which isn't normal for him, so I don't think he was firing for this event. He went out in the first round.

Other than that, this course was not really anyone's favorite, morale was down. I think it was slightly better than last year, but that's not saying much. I don't think the dirt allows for good tight turns. All good though, racing is fun, slalom bikes are my favorite to ride, and another title added to the collection.

just ready for dh :) Loving riding here. Had a bit of a mistake in Quali, so looking to improve a bunch today:).

Angelfire, NM - US NATIONAL CHAMPS

June 20, 2014

Well after Austria, I had a day at home to do laundry, repack, hit our local breakfast spot, and fly out to New Mexico. The drive from Albuquerque up the windy mountain road in the dark all jetlagged was pretty wild. Anyway, Angelfire has a pretty big bike park with lots of trails. We were here last year for nationals as well, so they changed up the track a bit to shorten it from 6 minutes down to probably 3 or 4. We start at 10,000 feet, so it's a bit easier with the change. This year's national track is set on the old World cup track from 2004. It doesn't feel at all like a current world cup track. There are a lot of straight lines and a general mellow grade connected by high speed fire roads. It's super fun though, and does however have some tricky bits with all the rocks and dry loose dirt. Since every person here, Cat 3, 2, 1, and pro are riding the same course, it's getting really blown out. Lots of orange spray paint on the rocks so you can see the nasty ones. The racing here is really fun and laid back. Bunch of characters cruising around, that are just nice and familiar:)

(Matt Thompson- Trail builder extraordinaire/ American/bent ass finger)

I like the course, happy to be racing in America. The slalom course got a slight makeover as well. It's not the best of tracks, in fact last year it was the worst track ever, but for some reason, I liked it better this time with the changes they made. Nothing technical, It is fast down into berms with 4" of loose dirt, couple of flat turns and rollers to pick up for and pump, one jump maybe two. I love riding my slalom bike so much and I feel like a champ on that bike, so whatever. There are only 2 races a year that I get to race it, so making the most of it.

DH

Slalom

Anyway, this is the race for the stars and stripe sleeve and National Championship. Gwin is here for the men, Neko, Logan Binggelli, Aiello, Bubba Warren, Mitchypoo, kyle thomas etc. In the women's field, I just cruised into the bike shop where Jackie Harmony works, only to find her fully pregnant:) so she will not be racing. Lauren Daney is here, becky Garner, Abbey Hippley, and a few others. I haven't raced these ladies in a couple years, so should be fun. I am feeling pretty good, and stoked on the 650b wheels on a course like this with all the fireroad sections.

I don't think there is a single photographer here, so don't expect much coverage. I'll try to keep ya posted though...

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