Archive for the ‘Mountain Biking, Cycle Racing, BMX’ Category

Many superlatives have been used to describe what this guy does – the best trials biker in the world to take just one example and really you don’t need to say much more. His 5 minute YouTube video by Inspired Bicycles went viral and has now had more than 18.5 million hits and when you watch what he does you will understand why he was put up for the Laureus World Sports Awards – OK so he didn’t win but he was competing against Usain Bolt!

The video below from DGX1975 is of an interview with MacAskill – watching what he does is one thing but from the interview you will understand just why he has got to being the best in the world. Hours and hours of practice are required to perfect some of the amazing stunts that he performs – they should come with government health warning of not to be tried out at home.

Here is his brief biography as reported by Inspired

Biography

How old are you and where are you from?
- I’m 25 years old and from Edinburgh, United Kingdom

What is your day job?
- Professional rider

Every top rider needs to be well fueled, what is your favourite food?
- Quiche

And your favourite beverage?
- Red Bull

Have you got any pets?
- A dog called Meg

What kind of music do you listen to?
- Judas Priest, anything good

How long have you been riding?
- 13 years

Where is the best place you have ever ridden?
- Leeds or Bristol

Can you give us a quick run down of your current bike spec?
- Inspired Fourplay frame
- Inspired Fourplay forks
- Inspired Pivotal seat and post
- Hope Headset
- Shimano Saint front brake and cranks
- Hope Pro2 hubs
- Hope FR Stem
- Pro Handlebars
- Atom Lab rims
- A few other secret Inspired prototypes

MacAkill has had his fair share of injuries in the pursuit of perfection in his chosen sport. At the back end of last year he was laid up for 3 months with breakages to his body. He is now back in action and has been filming here in France, in Chamonix to be more precise – the YouTube video below is what he calls hi ‘Perfect Moment’ and comes from perfectmomentent

This guy is inspirational and we are pleased to be able to show off some of his skills in this blog – and we respect that he got to where he is today with grit, determination and hard work – well done Danny! And his main goal – ‘to go on and do better and bigger things in the future’ – bon allez Danny!

We have relented and decided to include the video from inspiredbicycles that has now received over 18.5 million hits – well we just had to – also great track from Band of Horses – ‘Funeral’. Enjoy!

As can be seen in the video above from badreichenhall the action was fast, furious and dangerous at the World Cup downhill recently held at Leogang in Austria. The main reason being the weather which made conditions very difficult – it was cold and it rained and as the various heats came and went the tracks became treacherous.

In the final of the men’s downhill, under worsening weather conditions, no one could match the top qualifying times, but Minnaar managed to complete his run seven-tenths of a second faster than Atherton, with Gwin taking third and Blenkinsop fourth.  Minnaar, with two wins and a third place, extended his lead over Atherton to 73 points, while Gwin moved into third, 250 points behind Minnaar.

“It was crazy out there,” commented Minnaar.  “I was just all over the place, trying to stay on the bike.  It really was tough.”

In the final of the women’s downhill it was Jonnier who came home first, nearly half a second faster than Atherton’s qualifying time. Atherton was the last rider to race, and the only one who could possibly beat the French rider, but the 2008 World Cup winner crashed on her run and did not finish.  Ragot took second and Tracy Moseley (Trek World Team) third.  Jonnier now holds a significant 140 point lead over Floriane Pugin (Scott 11), with Atherton third, 190 points behind.

But it was not only downhill action for Leogang also hosted the 4th round of the 4 cross series – and it was Jared Graves (Yeti Fox Shox) who took his third win of the season to extend his lead in the men’s series, while defending 2009 women’s champion Anneke Beerten (Suspension Center) finally won her first World Cup race of the year.

The win put Beerten into the series lead, ten points ahead of the absent Horáková, with Molcik a further ten points back in third.

Graves’ third win now puts him 175 points ahead of Slavik, with Wichman 190 points back.  These two riders have a slim mathematical chance of catching Graves for the World Cup title, but the odds are that Graves has already wrapped up the 2010 title.

Check out the action in the men’s final from SouLCr3aTioNv2 – can anyone catch Graves – we don’t think so! Well you have to win on your home patch.

The next round of the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup will take place in Champéry (SUI) on July 24th and 25th 2010.

As we mentioned above conditions were tough – see below how difficult it was and how Matti Lehikoinen crashed out in the downhill – now that is extreme! The video comes from dirtclowns

Whilst we sit here tranquilly sipping a glass of deliciously chilled Rosé, some battle hardened souls are pumping their way up and down the famous Alps of Europe -  Les Dix Alpes, a cycle event in its second year, is under way again.

It began on the shores of Lake Como, Italy on the 21st June and is scheduled to end on the 3rd July on the azur shores of Nice.

Les Dix Alpes is not for the fainthearted. 9 mountains of over 2,000 m will be part of the challenge, and then there’s the legendary climb up to the ski resort of Alpes d’Huez (1,860 m) with its 21 hairpin bends.

Many of the famous cols that are included in the Tour de France are part of this challenge: Col de l’Iseran, Col du Galibier (2,645m), Col d’Izoard and Col de la Bonette. The others are no less challenging,  Simplon Pass, Col du Petit St. Bernard (2,188m), Col du Grand St. Bernard (2,469m), Col de Vars and Col de Lautaret.

1,081 kms of a mixture of relatively flat roads along the lakes to long, steep climbs up and down the French Alps, a cumulative 22,305 m of climbing… The whole route follows well paved, relatively quiet and fantastically scenic mountain roads.

The start of the race is deceptively flat as you follow the shores of 3 lakes in northern Italy – Como, Lugano and Maggiore, but that’s the end of the easy bit, after that it’s straight into the Simplon Pass and a mountain a day to challenge.

There are 2 rest days, one in Visp which is the gateway to Zermatt and the famous Matterhorn, and the other is in the picturesque village of  Bourg d’Oisans at the foot of l’Alpe d’Huez. After climbing the last and highest Col de la Bonette  (2.802 m) you drop down to sea level in two days through wonderful gorges.

This is only the second year that this race has been run, but it looks like an event that will be here to stay. It is, as with many of these events, organised with a view to raising money for charity – an honourable charity: The Oncology Children’s Foundation (OCF), Australia. All participants from New Zealand and Australia are asked to support this charity. Participants from other countries are welcome to do so too of course (!), but may also support a charity of their choice.

Participants from around the world are welcome to this event. It is not a race. The trip is designed to challenge people and motivate them to achieve their personal goals irrespective of their ability. The ride is fully supported with a back-up vehicle, cook and Bike Dreams cycling guide. The support vehicle serves lunch half way through the stage and provides assistance to riders where required. Their cooks will provide traditional meals full of energy for hungry cyclists. Accommodation is a mix of camping and hotels.

The cost is €1,095.

Registration for the 2011 event is already open and the dates for your diary are 28th June, 2011 to 9th July. Registration before January 2011 will be €1,095 and after January will be €1,195.

If you are interested in taking part please fill in the registration form on their website, Bike-Dreams.

The season hasn’t even begun yet and have an eyeful of this pre-season snow…

Wow. Not bad. Leith Huffadine getting powder turns on Treble Cone’s famous summit slopes this morning.

With 35cm already on the upper mountain and sub zero temperatures providing perfect snowmaking conditions, opening day on 24 June is looking good! To keep up to date on the latest conditions check out the web cam at the new www.treblecone.com

You might be wondering whether it’s worth going all the way out to New Zealand to ski. Why bother? But, if you love ski-ing and you’re not into beach holidays, then why not? It’s a great place, great ski-ing, many world class events are now held there during the winter months, famous names and faces can be seen on the slopes getting ready for the northern hemisphere season and…. well read on and see for yourselves what’s on offer.

The New Zealand ski season generally runs from June through to late October. Conditions permitting, the major commercial ski areas usually begin opening in early June, with the smaller ski areas opening in late June or early July.

June and July are still comparatively mild months, but getting colder and can offer some good powder skiing. August is the peak month in which to ski, and September and October offer a variety of skiing, from spring ski-ing conditions to wintery powder – depending on the weather.

In a good season Whakapapa will open at Christmas (because of its higher altitude) for summer skiing, while some other areas open for mountain biking.

Commercial New Zealand ski areas, such as The Remarkables or Coronet Peak, all have their own distinct character. Most offer world class facilities including snowmaking, state-of-the-art snow grooming, and comprehensive base and dining facilities.

The smaller resorts  – like Temple Basin or Mt Cheeseman – are often run by a group of enthusiasts and have simple facilities such as rope tow or T-bar lifts, generally no snow grooming, but good day lodges and often a more social atmosphere.

Snowboarding in New Zealand is a popular winter activity. All New Zealand ski areas cater for snowboarding to some extent (in some cases better than skiers) and you’ll find good riding at them all.

Ohau in the central South Island, and Wanaka – near Queenstown – are both known as top snowboarding areas. In Wanaka, Cardrona is one of the most popular snowboarding fields, with a number of pipes and parks specifically for boarders of all levels. Across the valley, Snow Park has purpose-built facilities.

And being New Zealand, once there why not try your hand at any one of the extreme pastimes that they have to offer?

You’re spoilt for choice….

The world keeps spinning, thank goodness, and despite the problems that German chancellor Angela Merkel has in trying to prop up the broken Greek economy we are pleased to report that the UCI mountain bike cross country world championship heads to Offenburg in Germany for the latest round of competition this weekend.

The 5.1 kms circuit has been voted by both riders and the media as the best circuit for the last two years so you can expect some very tough competition in Offenburg. When is Julien Absalon, the defending world champion going to claim his first victory of the 2010 season. His main competition at this stage in the season comes from the Spaniard Jose Antonio Hernida Ramos, with South African Burry Stander and Swiss Nino Schurter pushing them all the way.

As can be seen in the video below from stumpyhofi it was great weather for last years event which Absalon won – he is determined to repeat that victory.

The elite women had a great race last year which saw the Chinese girl Chengyuan Ren come out on top with Margarita Fullana Riera of Spain second and Lene Byberg of Norway third. This year it is the American Willow Koerber (Subaru-Gary Fisher) who wears the leader’s jersey, the first time an American has been in such a position in nearly a decade after back-to-back second places in Dalby Forest and Houffalize. She is still looking for her first World Cup win and will be hotly pursued by round one winner Irina Kalentieva (Topeak Ergon), and round two winner Eva Lechner (Colnago Arreghini Suditrol).

The action comes from last years race for the elite women kindly provided by ucimtb

So the wheels will keep turning and maybe Germany will just have to accept Corfu in return for bailing out the Greeks!

There are some sports where you just don’t get the chance to discuss every move, savour every glorious minute, dissect in detail the fabulous day you just spent – because there was no-one there to witness it!

Many of our extreme sports are individual sports – no team effort required. There might be other people out there on the same wave, but they are thinking only about themselves and the next move and will only be keeping an eye on you to avoid crashes etc, certainly not to enjoy your miraculous moments but endeavouring to create their own!

So what can you do about it? The best thing I’ve come across to date is, of course, a GoPro Headcam – the handiest little sports cam ever. It got the top selling Product award from Dealer News Top 100 Retailer Poll (Motorcycle Industry)in both 2008 and 2009.  “I can see GoPro completely dominating the POV market,” said Ben DeCamp, Staff Photographer of Surfer Magazine. But check it out for yourself in the following video from curlcurllocal.  It gives you a very clear idea of what this little ‘gadget’ is all about.

Alternatively, who says you only have to have one on your helmet… if you wear one.. a helmet I mean? You can put one of these great little things pretty well anywhere: on the sail, your board, your car, your bike, wherever you want. As Mark Anders from Surfline.com says  “…after testing it for the past six months I can honestly say it’s one of the coolest, handiest little cameras I’ve ever used.” Thanks to tomasleeman for this fun video:

GoPro are understandably proud of their product and consider it the world’s highest performance-wearable 1080p HD video and stills photo camera on the market. It gives professional quality picture and records at 30 and 60 frames per second. It’s battery time is pretty impressive too – it will record up to 2.5 hours on a single charge and up to 9 hours total on a 32GB SD card, although this card is not included in the price.

What is included, though, are mounts for attaching the camera to three helmets and two pieces of gear or vehicles, as well as a head strap allowing you to wear the camera like a headlamp. You can also pull this strap over helmets for easy camera sharing between friends. One of the above mentioned helmet mounts is a lace-through strap-mount designed for vented helmets.

GoPro are proud to say that they are also shockproof, bombproof and waterproof! As self-confessed sports geeks, and needless to say extreme sports are in there in spadefuls, they have made sure that this little number will impress even the most exacting customers.

Perhaps you should go check out the GoPro Helmet HERO WIDE Waterproof Digital Camera for Sport at Amazon.com yourself and make up your own mind…