The rain slowed up and riding sped up as Finals kicked off here in Maribor. Rachel Atherton returned to her winning ways with a convincing 10 second margin over Sabrina Jonnier in second even after breaking her finger only one week earlier. A lot of riders came off trying to make the podium including top qualifier Sam Hill, but Gee Atherton stayed on and posted a great time only to be beaten by just 0.25 seconds by race winner Greg Minnaar. Great results for British riders Brendan Fairclough in 3rd and Joe Smith in 8th.
Brendan Fairclough at the DH event in Vigo Spain. Definitely one to watch this season. Training for the first time in his life this winter… added to all that talent. Fingers crossed for the local boy!
Red Bull Rampage is back in 2010. New format. New features. Same epic location. More information coming soon.
To check out photos from past events, go to www.RedBullRampage.com
Launched in 2001 and held annually through 2004, Red Bull Rampage brought the creative, unrestricted ethos of freeride mountain biking to the contest arena while staying true to the sport’s core ideals. Poised on a sandstone ridge in the brutal landscape near Virgin, Utah riders were free to chose whatever line they dared between an established start gate and the finish line 1,500 vertical feet below. Exactly what happened between those two points has become legendary.
In 2008 Red Bull Rampage: The Evolution returned to Utah, mixing the challenges of the natural terrain with hand-built features, paying homage to the popularity of the slopestyle scene that emerged in the years since Rampage began. The winner of the event was the 17-year-old Brandon Semenuk, who was still in grade school when the first Rampage took place.
In 2010, there will be new features, new riders, a new format, and another chance for the next generation of mountain bikers to prove their ability on the world’s best terrain.
Originally scheduled to take place in Schladming, Austria, the sixth round of the 2010 UCI Mountain Bike World… Cup will now take place in another Austrian resort, Leogang (Salzburger Land). The date, (June 19th and 20th) remains unchanged.
Schladming has been on the World Cup calendar since 2004 and has already been voted best event of the series, thanks in particular to its downhill track which is especially appreciated by specialists of the discipline. However, as the popular resort has been awarded the 2013 Ski World Championships, it is currently undergoing important works and transformations which make it impossible to stage the mountain bike event.
The International Cycling Union (UCI) is pleased to announce that another venue will replace Schladming. Leogang has agreed to organise the sixth round of the World Cup, a double event featuring the downhill and four-cross disciplines. The change will allow Leogang, which already has an event registered on the UCI international calendar the following weekend (June 26th and 27th), to provide a veritable mountain bike festival for fans of the sport. The UCI is delighted to have found an excellent alternative on the same date as Schladming, which minimises the implications for the riders, teams and media.
The 2010 UCI Mountain Bike World Cup comprises nine events starting with an Olympic cross-country event in Yorkshire Dalby Forest (GBR) on April 24th and 25th, and finishing with a triple event in Windham (USA) on August 28th and 29th.
More ample information about the Leogang site will soon be available on the Mountain Bike World Cup page of the UCI website.
Looks like Leogang has some good tracks, bring on the rain, they could even send it over the Freeride course at the bottom too?
Have you registered for the biggest Enduro Downhill race yet? I have! – Links, prices and info inside!
If you’re planning to race at the Mega but have not entered yet – you better get your butt in gear and register. If you’re going to be racing, post up here on the comments – who you are, where you’re from and what bike you hope to be riding at the Mega Avalanche 2010.
Prices
Pack Platinum: Avalanche Enduro Vaujany, Avalanche Cup Oz, Megavalanche, Pass 9D – 135 euro
Here’s some pictures from the 2009 interbike show in Las Vegas. I’m not in the bike industry, but was lucky enough to have a friend in the industry who could get me in! I felt like a kid in a candy store. Monday and Tuesdays were the outdoor demo days at Boulder canyon just outside Vegas. Lots of fun single track, a downhill course (with shuttle), BMX track, and a few miles of freshly paved road. Toss in most every bike you could think of from vendors like Specialized, Trek, Ellsworth, Cannondale, Santa Cruz, Yeti to name a few and you had cycle geek nirvana! I spent most of Monday riding as many mountain bikes as my legs could handle around the trails. Not being much of a downhiller and watching as they brought down multiple “casualties” I didn’t get up the nerve to try a run….maybe next year. Tuesday was spent riding the multi-thousand dollar road bikes and the assorted “other” breeds of bike like electric assist, elliptical, off road unis, incumbents, etc. Wednesday and Thursday was spent at the convention center at the Sands casino walking the indoor show. Not as fun, but enjoyable non the less. Hope you like the photos!
Saint Bike - Looking an aweful lot like a Yeti 303 or a Knolly
