The sun was out in Mont St Anne for practice day, cheers to the boyos at MTBCut for the video – check the interview with Shaun Palmer who even suggests a full season next year!

Jim News

661 MINI DOWNHILL RACE – PORC – Kent

Its back, following the amazing success of the last 661 Mini DH races, Penshurst Off Road Centre is the next place for exciting new way to get into downhill mountain biking.

Mini downhill is the new fun exciting way to race downhill. Its aimed at new riders to the sport to give it a go and we also have the Pro am category for the more established racers. You get 2 race runs, a good laugh and topped off with top prizes from our sponsors.

 

NEW 10 & 11 Year old and want to race downhill?

The minimum age for DH in the UK is 12 years old but we are always getting asked by parents “their son is 11 year’s old and really wants to start racing.

Great news is Mini Downhill’s are the only races approved by British Cycling to have 10&11 year old kids racing downhill. we made the “Rippers” age category just for them, so tell you’re little brother to get his bike out and he can start racing.

 

 

Race Sponsor

The race is being sponsored by SixSixOne, Sunline and Royal Clothing and will be known as the “661 Mini Downhill”.

 

Date:               Saturday 8^th August 2009

 

Location:         PORC, Penshurst Off Road Cycling,
Grove Road,
Penshurst,
Kent
TN11 8DU

 

Times:

Practice                                    9.00am – 10.45am

Race Starts (2 x runs)                 11.00am – 3.30pm

Prize Presentations                3.45pm

 

It’s a great weekend for race action

The National 4X series takes place on Sunday 9^th August so you can do downhill & 4X on the same weekend in the same place. Details on www.nps4x.com

 

 

Background:

Penshurst is a classic riding spot for mountain bikers from DH,4X and Dirt Jumping with loads of riders turning up every weekend.

 

Chris Roberts race organiser and the brains the idea of the Mini Downhill said

” There are load of people who ride around the London area that have never raced, so we have brought a race to their local track, The course is fun and following to ride but a real challenge to ride flat out on the limit.”

 

The event is open to any one to try downhill, no need for a race licence, so tell your friends and get your bike ready!

 

Description:

 

Top names from UK Mountain biking are taking part in the pro am race.

The riders will be competing against the clock to get the fastest time.

Two-timed runs the winner is the rider with fastest single time. 

The course is around 30 to 40 seconds long.

This makes the race really intense where every single second counts.

 

Race categories

 

New Rippers – Age 10-11
Juvenile – Age 12-14

Youth – Age 15-16

Junior – Age 17-18

Senior – Age 19-29

Master – Age 30-39

Veterans 40+

Pro-Am – open to any experienced racers, Pro, semi pro any one who wants the challenge of this intense type of racing.

 

These races sell out fast but you can book your entry on line at www.minidownhill.com

 

Prizes

SixSixOne, Royal Clothing & Sunline products for top 3 in each age categories & the custom made Helmet Trophies.

 

 

Course

There are loads to choose from in PORC. The actual course will be revealed closer to the event so expect a fun & flowing track and a great challenge for this one off event.

 

Medical

Extreme Medics will provide the best possible Paramedic care for any one who tries just a little bit to hard! – We always recommend body protection but you must wear full face helmet to race.

 

More details 

Website www.minidownhill.com or http://www.nakedracing.com/

 

Contact the organiser:

Chris Roberts
Phone/text 07702 826260
E-mail chris.roberts@nakedracing.com

 

Jamie News

Attention video geeks! Justin over at Lucent Productions has been a busy dude getting ready for the US Champs and has pulled out every bit of kit in the armoury to get those money shots of Palmer.

Ever wonder just how much junk the pro filmers have to cart up the mountains to bring you killer footage? Wonder no more…here’s a kit-check of Justin’s pro video kit bag.  

Hey man!

Heres a better run down of the list of gear. I attached a higher res image as  well.

Rundown of gear:
Sony Z1U
ContourHD helmet cam
Bogen/Manfrotto Tripod
Kata Rain cover
Spider Brace Shoulder Brace
Skullcandy Hesh headphones
Bug net
Hoya Filters
Senhiesser Wireless Microphone
Rode NTG-1 XLR shotgun microphone
XLR extension cable
Sony MiniDV tapes
Cleaning supplies (blower/wipes/alcohol)
Walkie talkies
Energy Gum
Sony batteries and charger (1 reg and 2 extended life)
9V batteries for mics
Warm Cards white balance cards.
buttons/pins/stickers
Various USB/Firewire/AV cables.

I think thats everything!

- Justin
Lucent Productions
www.lucentproductions.com

Here’s a couple of samples of the goods:

Evil Bikes – 2009 US Open from Lucent Productions on Vimeo.

Lucent Productions Promo – Ft William from Lucent Productions on Vimeo.

Thanks mate! G’luck with the filming…

Jamie News

The news is trickling in from this weekend’s National Champs at Inners and it’s Gee Atherton and Tracy Moseley that are your new champs.  Peaty’s saying on his FB that he had a ‘dumb crash’ and made 5th.

That’s all we’ve got for now… Stay tuned.

Jamie News

Our mate Patt CJ seems to get more new bikes than the rest of us get hot dinners – so we’re always doing bike checks on him. No stress though, they’re always worth perving at. Chances are you’ll have seen this on Facebook already – but if not – here’s his all new and VERY sexy Yeti 303R.

The ‘R’ stands for ringstingingly sexy.

Nah – sorry – that’s bullshit. The R stands for ‘Rate’. Yeti’s blurb on their website says:

“The single linear rail controls the shock rate. To achieve the same rate using only links, a very long link would be required. By using the linear rail, we can optimize the shock rate, optimize the lateral stiffness of the frame, and keep the suspension linkage low and within the confines of the frame. It also limits the shock rotation to less than 0.5 degrees from full extension to full compression. This translates to longer shock life and increased suspension efficiency.” -

Here’s the fine print:

Travel: 8″ (203mm)
Weight: 10.5lbs frame only
BB: 83mm shell 128mm spindle
Rear wheel: 150mm x 12mm
Post: 30.9mm

Check out Patt’s website at http://www.patcj.co.uk/

If you wanna know more about the 303R Sicklines have done a new piece on it here or you can check out http://www.yeticycles.com/

Jamie News

The Descent-Gear/MSC Bikes National DH Championships 2009.
Supported by British Cycling and Monster Energy.
Saturday and Sunday the 18th and 19th of July 2009.

This weekend see’s the most prestigous race of the year for every British Downhill Mountain Bike Racer, the Descent-Gear/MSC Bikes National DH Championships at Innerleithen in the Scottish Borders.

A tough, challenging and varied track awaits the U.Ks finest and what a line up we have, Steve Peat is the reigning National Champion and will be under huge pressure from the current UCI World Champion Gee Atherton and brother Dan Atherton and a whole list of hungry new comers that want the prestigous National Champs jersey and Gold medal so badly.
Previous winner Marc Beaumont is also on the charge as is Josh Bryceland along with newly crowned Scottish Champion Ben Cathro who will be leading the Clan army along with Joe Barnes and Chris Hutchens.

New age categories for the old boys as we have split the Veterans and Masters age range in half meaning more champions to applaud come podium time on Sunday afternoon.

We have a packed pits booked with Descent-Gear.com, MSC Bikes, British Cycling, Monster Energy, SIS – Science in Sport, Hope Technology, Atherton Commencal, SantaCruz Syndicate, Lapierre, Rave Racing, K9 Industries, Ticket2Ride BC, MX1.co.uk, 2Stage Bikes, CRC Intense, Swiss and Swallow, Nicolai, Continental and Pureriders.co.

We have a large Marquee, hot and cold food, refreshments and DVD showing Saturday night. Live timing on a big screen, live commentating and all parking and spectating is free!

Stuck at a loose end on Saturday night? We have the living legend that is Danny MacAskill the trials/street demon. ‘The Clan’ Trials Demo will kick off at 18.00 on Saturday in the carpark beside the Traquair Arms in Innerleithen. Bikes and Berms will be setting up a pump track for the weekend in the same area as well.

Getting there. There will be some road closures on Saturday in the town due to the St Ronan’s Games. The minor road between Walkerburn (where the camping is) and Innerleithen (where the race is) on the South side of the Tweed will be closed to cars (but not bikes) on Saturday and Sunday. The uplift trucks for the downhillers park here to head off up the hill so be very careful if you are pedalling up to the race.

There are communal showers room at the XC camp site.
No noise after 23.00 please, and turn off generators. Tidy up after yourself and take your rubbish away with you.

There is one supermarket in Innerleithen, this will be closed for the St Ronan’s Games weekend as will all the shops. The nearest supermarkets are in Peebles; Sainsburys (38 Northgate, EH45 8RS) as well as Tesco (Dovecot Road, EH45 8EQ).  Peebles will be open as usual.
There is no water on site at the race, but you can fill bottles from the kitchen at the cross country campsite. SEPA have asked us to ask you not to wash your bikes in the Tweed please, it’s no good for the trout.

St Ronan’s games. The local people of Innerleithen welcome you to come along and enjoy the games, festivities and the fair whilst you are not practising or racing. The games run from the Thursday to the Saturday night, please check out http://www.stronansgames.org/ for more details, we would recommend the ‘Burnin’ the De’il on the Saturday for the non-racers.
 
Timetable for the XC and DH weekend:
Friday:
12.00 – 16.30 XC and DH course inspection walk only, and DH Comms Inspection
18.00 – 20.00 DH registration

Saturday:
08:00 – 11.00 DH Registration and XC Comms Inspection
11:00 – 18.00 XC Registration
09.30 – 17:00 DH Open practice
13.30 – 16.30 XC Marshalled practice
16:45 – 17.00 XC Riders and Teams meeting
17.00 – 18.30 XC Open/Fun race
17:45 – 17:50 DH Riders meeting
18:00 – 19:00 Trials display (Innerleithen)

Sunday:
09:00 – 10:45 DH Open Practise
09.00 – 11.00 XC Race 1 – Youth/Juv/Jun
11.30 – 12.00 XC Race 1 Podiums
11.00 – 13.00 XC Race 2 – Masters/Vets
13.30 – 14.00 XC Race 2 Podiums
11.00 – 14.00 DH Seeding runs
13.00 – 15.30 XC Race 3 – Seniors/Espoirs/Sport
14.30 – 17.30 DH Race runs
16.30 – 17.00 XC Race 3 Podiums
18.00 – All DH Podiums

Steve, Si and Hensley look forward to seeing you all trackside.

All photos are from Jim Smith

Jamie News

Very quick bit of news from the Mini-DH team. Their next race is set for the 8th August 2009 at PORC in Kent. It’ll be the ususal mini-DH format with prizes from 661, Sunline and Royal.

Entries are going to fill up quick so head over to http://www.minidownhill.com/ to get yourself signed up.

Jamie News

The Glencoe ski resort was the venue for the Scottish National Champs and the steep, rocky track wasn’t making things easy. Come Sunday & race day the rain came in and made everything that little more tricky.

Ben Cathro took top honours with the Elite Men win with 4 other MTBCut.tv team mates taking big results home.

Senior Men
1. Ben Cathro 2:49.933
2. Joe Barnes 2:51.892
3. Chris Hutchens 2:53.547

Women
1. Jaymie Mart 4:41.035
2. Bex Reilly 4:43.471

Juvenile
1. George Gannicott 3:24.806
2. Ross Wilcox 3:30.711
3. Stuart Wilcox 3:36.624

Youth
1. Lewis Buchanan 2:57.655
2. Fraser McGlone 2:58.498
3. Daniel Carrigan 3:11.075

Junior
1. James Scott 3:01.957
2. Arran Gannicott 3:02.220
3. Willem Herd 3:19.482

Veteran
1. Alastair Maclennan 3:13.966
2. Neil Wilson 3:14.856
3. Stevie Boyd 3:23.174

Master
1. Phil Mowat 3:31.937
2. Chris Coates 3:34.883
3. John Young 3:38.986

From Pete @ Hotlines:
Chris Coates, James Scott, Chris Hutchens, Joe Barnes and Ben Cathro all came home with at least a medal which came with a dusting of champions trophies and jerseys.

Chris Coates was unlucky to come second and take the silver as a dismount in his second run brought him down 4 seconds behind the man in 1st. Following his crash, Chris stayed trackside to allow the rider behind him to pass only to discover that the rider behind him had punctured and he needn’t have waited. A silver medal was not shabby considering the above. Medal number on for MTBCut.tv.

James Scott’s runs were more fortuitous and a strong second run meant that he took his second consecutive Scottish Championship title in the Junior category on the steep and muddy course. Scratch title and trophy number one.

However it was in the Elite men’s that Stu Thomson’s boys really showed their class. 3 riders remained to come down the rain soaked hill in the MTBCut colours and those Chris Hutchens, Joe Barnes and Ben Cathro climbed the podium in that order. Total domination in the elite category. A medal each for Chris and Joe and a Scottish Champion jersey and a large trophy for Ben Cathro.

Big thanks to Ian Linton for the snaps & Pete @ Hotlines for hooking us up with the info!

Jim News

I bailed from the Scottish Champs this weekend (what? Glencoe scares me ok!) and headed for the No Fuss, 10 at Kirroughtree event instead. After 10 Under the Ben I wasn’t going to be going solo again, and after a last minute injury from one of the Edinburgh Uni CC riders opened up a place in the mixed pair category, I grabbed my bike and headed south.

After a slightly misdirected 3 hours in a van I got there late Friday afternoon and went for a quick lap of the track. The course was great, no question about it, and it just begged to be ridden at speed. Rocky, technical and flat out fun in some places, with probably 95% of it on singletrack.

My team mate Emma and I managed to bag 10 laps in the 10 hours which was enough to take us onto the third step of the podium. The really impressive rides for me came from the solo categories, Ant White completed a mamouth 12 laps to take the win for the men and Helen Findlay managed 9 in the womens cat. As always at No Fuss events everything ran like clockwork and everyone appeared to have a good time. (Possibly not the folk that camped in Saturday nights epic rain, though we wont blame No Fuss for that). Thanks to all the riders out on course who I spoke to/raced with/passed on the downs to be overtaken by on the climbs!

Stu has already got his video from the race up on the NoFuss site. Thanks go out to Oliver Coats for the above photo. He was on hand snapping folk for most of the day and should have his collection online soon. Check out olivercoats.co.uk.

Further north it sounds like the Scottish Champs podium was a complete MTBCut/CycleJersey whitewash. 1,2,3 for Cathro, Barnes and Hutchens, while James Scott took the Junior win. Hopefully we’ll get a proper repo’ from one of the boys soon.

Steve.

Jamie News, team

Just a quick one to say a big ‘welcome aboard’ to Riders Retreat who are now advertising with us. Paul and the RR crew offer top quality accomodation to mtb’ers in Les Gets/Morzine and are definitely worth a look if you’re out there. We stayed with ‘em a couple of years back and had a great time.  Highly recommended. 

Big thanks to them (and all our advertisers) for supporting WO and helping to keep the site running with some much needed dolla.  Hit up their site at http://www.riders-retreat.co.uk

Jamie News