The World Cup’s over with Brit Steve Peat taking his 3rd overall series win. Sam Hill was 2nd and Minnaar 3rd. Going into the final round in the Austrian town of Schladming, Peat had a pretty good lead with Minnaar sitting in second with an outside chance of taking the overall if he put in a blinder and Peat bombed out. Hill was sitting in 3rd and could make up one position if he beat Minnaar.
On the course that some describe the best on the circuit, Peat rode conservatively to protect his lead coming in 13th. Brendan Fairclough proved that he has the speed making the top 5 and being one second off 2nd place. Matti Lehikoinen was 4th Minnaar came in 3rd with Rennie ending the year on a high with 2nd. But it was that man Sam Hill who schooled the rest of the riders by 5 and ½ seconds.
Sam Hill has a habit of winning by big margin’s, which must leave the other top riders wondering what they have to do to beat him. At the Worlds he was 4.22 seconds faster than Minnaar in second, and his other World Cup wins last season saw him put a big gap on the field. The big question is will he start putting these performances in regularly now and dominate men’s downhill for years like the legendary Nicolas Vouilloz did for almost a decade from the mid nineties. Can he, be stopped by the guys who have been around for a while or is it up to the new bread of juniors coming through to mount the challenge over the next few seasons.
Fairclough is emerging as a real contender in the next few seasons. He dropped it at the Worlds, messing up the pond jump putting him down nearly 19 seconds at the split, but he was fastest through the second half of the course. Then there’s Sam Blenkinsop who pulled out silver from the Worlds after a crash. He then killed it in Schladming, with a 12th, one position above Peat. Word from the track is people are noticing him. Then the Junior World Champ Cam Cole who’s taking a bit of a break at the moment chilling out at Outward Bound and looking forward to the onslaught in 07.
In the Women’s Event Sabrinna did what her teammate did in going back to back wins from World Champs to World Cup Final. She took the win over compatriot Emmeline Ragot. There was a big gap of nearly 6 seconds back to Tracy Moseley in 3rd. Rounding out the podium were fellow Brits Helen Gaskell and Rachel Atherton. Jonnier’s good late season form was not enough to make up the points lead that Moseley had etched out from winning the first 3 W.C’s. Atherton was 3rd Ragot 4th and Brit Helen Gaskell finished 5th for the year
The 07 season is already looking like being full of drama. With the World Champs being held at Fort William, will Peat be able to take out his first ever Champs title and set the crowd into a frenzy, and surely giving a fairytale ending to the season, or will Hill do what only he can do and dominate the race. On he Women’s side Moseley has also never won a Champs and what better place to do it on home soil
There are so many talented riders out there all charging, pushing themselves and others to the limits, going absolutely nuts, you’ve just got to see them.
WHAT'S HAPPENING BACK IN NZ?
Great to see so many Kiwi Boys (and the odd girl) representing o/s. There were big contingents all over getting the experience and living the dream (or it might have been pretty shit living out the back of a van with 3 smelly other dudes eating the cheapest kai you could find just to make the trip last longer- I’m sure it was worth it). Blair’s been living the dream, doing the circuit with Misses, Horse and Transit in tow (check out his report) still off shore as is Euro Skinner who put in a solid effort at Schladming with a 49th. Justin Leov was there too putting in a respectable 15th.
With so many Dh riders doing the big stint overseas, isn’t it about time that Bike NZ put something into DH and maybe invested in a house/accommodation in Whistler or Europe where riders can just worry about riding. We do after all have a current and 2 former World Champs still riding (plus a silver medallist). Or in the words from OX “are they more interested in uni-cycling” – I don’t know. That’s another story.
As the International season winds up, here in NZ the sun is staying out longer, the trails are getting drier and the race season is imminent. And it’s looking hot. The AKDH series is going big with 3 races on some solid DH tracks. The 3 rounds are Maraetai, Dome Valley – new track which is also going to be used for the Nationals in February 07, plus the final is going to be on everyone’s favourite rack – The Taniwha in Vegas (Roto). Plus heaps of other racing pre-Xmas in Wanganui and Wellington which might also be holding rounds combined with AKDH for a North Island Series.
The Nats are looking worthy with the first 2 rounds being Chairlift access. It’s going to be interesting to see what Nath and the boys in Queenstown have built on Coronet. The mountain should be open for a while so good play time here – apparently they were building a fun, 15 minute DH run, cant wait to check it out. Dunnos hosts round 3 and always puts on good event and after party. Then up to Nelson for the one off Nat Champs. 4 good races in January – so if any of you Northern Hemisphere types want to get out of the cold and do some riding there’s plenty to be had here – plus NZ is almost a third World country and Cheap as chips to travel around.
Then, a 3 week break before heading up to the North Island for the final 2 rounds in Auckland and Levin. If you get bored between rounds there is a couple of North Island businesses doing shuttles – Southstar Adventures www.southstarshuttles.co.nz run transport in Vegas and Hilton is running an operation in Napier, so check them both out.
It’s going to be a hot race season here. J.K. may have retired (I’m sure we’ll still see him charging).
Nathan Rankin has owned the NZ series for a while now, but he will have to be on it if he wants another title. There must be at least 6 serious contenders for the title with it being hard to pick a winner this early from the likes of Leov, Glen Haden, Cole, Blenkinsop, and Kieran Bennett could be up there. Then there must be another 8 guys who can pull out a big result on their day. Will BJ Scott be back with the sort of form that nearly saw him take out the National Chaps a few years back at Jentree Farm, Blenheim. He was eventually third behind J Lo and JK after he stopped pedalling a few hundred metres from the finish when he thought he had flatted. Or has Skinner now got the pace after spending time in Europe – he did beat Cam, Sam and KB and The NZ Champs a few years back on the 06 Worlds course.
Get out there and rip it up
//NATIONALS DATES
The Dates and Rounds for the 2007 NZ National Series are as follows:
DH1 - Treble Cone6th-7th Jan
DH2 - Coronet Peak12th-13th Jan
DH3 - Dunedin19th-20th Jan
NAT CHAMPS DH-XC-4X-HC - Nelson26th-28th Jan
DH4 - Auckland16th-17th Feb
DH5 - Levin23rd-24th Feb
XC Rounds at Cornet, Dunedin, Rotorua and Auckland and Wellington
More From Chris Mildon, MTBNZ President:
It was a struggle to get the 2007 schedule finalised due to not enough interest from North Island clubs or individuals willing to take one of these events on - there was actually enough South Island takers to run the full series down there next year, but of course that wouldn't go down too well with anyone. Setting this series up is always a case of doing the best we can with what is available (without twisting too many arms!) and 2007 is no exception.
We're running a five race series largely for the reasons above, but also to trim things down a little. Feedback from riders is that we are cramming too much into January and February, especially XC wise. Six races in seven or eight weeks is a big ask, and while that format is great for continuity it really wears people down and may actually detract from performance. So trimming the series to five for 2007 is also a concession to that. It will be the best four races of the five next year though, so the stakes are probably a little higher with only being able to drop one race from the series for an overall result. Another thing that is affecting our National Series planning these days is the number of other events sliding into the traditional Jan/Feb National Series time slots. There is just so much choice with races now and we are trying to keep things tidy during these months in terms of event conflict - the reality is that it is a prime slot for running events and we are getting squeezed. But still trying to keep the status of our National Series and National Champs where they rightly deserve to be!
It might look a little surprising that Rotorua won't be running a DH next year. But these guys are all looking forward to a bit of a break. Anyone who has run a Nationals DH jknows it takes a ton of committment and time to deliver, and the Rotorua crew would like a bit of a break after being front and centre in this area for some years now. They will run an XC which I'm sure will be a blast, back in the Whakarewarewa Forest.
Each year we have been improving the delivery and professionalism of our premier National races, and 2007 won't be any different. Each years races yield their own particular areas for improvement, and we act on them in always trying to better the product we are delivering for riders, sponsors and the general puiblic. The support for the Southern Lakes skifields is still there for the first couple of DH's, and further ahead in 2008 you can expect to see some pretty big developments in the chair lift riding movement - watch this space!
The 2007 National Champs is back in Nelson at the end of January due mainly to there being no suitable alternative. The all-in-one philosophy of this event (DH, 4X, XC and HC) at the one tight venue is something thats pretty difficult to achieve. But with the continuity in being able to achieve this over the last couple of years we're not prepared to go backwards to something that may be too segmented, amd possibly not that presentable to the public. Hopefully we'll be able to help clubs develop venues that would work for an event of this kind and you can expect to see the National Champs being scheduled at the same venue for multiple years to provide consistency.
The 2007 National Series and National Champs will be another great summer for riders and supporters doing the big road trip. Mt Victoria for the XC final, our long lost friend Riverhead and old favourite Dome Valley for the Auckland leg, and chairlifts down south are sure to be highlights. But each round will be it's own mini success and I look forward to following the circus around the country next year.
//KIWIS RIPPING IN EUROPE
Let‚s just say Kiwi's are on form, I can't say what it is but get ready for it.
2 races in the last week, one being the Sprint Avalanche race in Oz en Oisans on Wednesday 26july. This saw a large kiwi contingent including all the juniors that ventured to France for a few weeks. The track was awesome being mostly rocky and highly technical, knowing the track and the „hot‰ lines was definitely an advantage. Thank goodness it didn‚t rain otherwise Id probably be in hospital with the rest of the competitors after riding only 100m of track. Glen Haden proved that he has what it takes and then some by getting second fastest time overall just behind one of the top riders on the world circuit. The juniors had obviously been putting there time here in Morzine to good use as they kicked more ass than an underpaid prison guard. My runs were a bit more chunky than smooth, I caught up the girl in front so had to wait to pass and then discovered I was beaten by 200ths of a second. This aside I manage to beat Rachael Atherton and Helen Gaskell which lightened up my day. . . .a tad.
From France it was then off to Switzerland for all the big kids while all the juniors headed back to NZ after burning a bit of rubber on European soil. Wiriehorn, Switzerland brought on the 2nd IXS race of the season and a fantastic track at that. NZ crew consisted of Tom Holland, Blair Xmas, Blair Xmas‚s girlfriend Bex, Craig Pattle, Peter Futterup, Mike Skinner, Cameron Cole, Nathan Rankin, myself and a special guest appearance from Sam Blekinsop whom I never knew was in Europe and didn‚t recognize under the mullet (its bad). The track was great and I really enjoyed it, especially after getting my rear shock fixed after I blew it up at the Sprint Avalanche making my V10 act more like a pogo than a DH bike. Fine weather was delivered after Friday‚s downpour which probably helped the final conditions on race day that couldn‚t have been better. There was a large turn out but none powerful enough to outdo the Kiwi's. At the end of the day after 2 race runs Nathan Rankin came down to post fastest run of the day in the Elite men‚s. Sam Blinkensop did us proud by not only placing first in the juniors but posting 3rd fasted time of the day. I some how managed to scrape 7 seconds off my first race run time to beat Marielle Saners fastest time to take top podium spot and enough prize money to shout Peter some McD's. After some celebratory hand break skids, fire works goings on and McDonalds Peter and I pulled into the driveway ready for the final 9 days of our European adventure.
Top Kiwi Results
Rankin: 1st, Elite Men
Sam Blenkinsop:
1st Junior Men (3rd Overall)
Jenna Makgill: 1st Elite Women
Jenna Makgill
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We hope you enjoy our first issue and look forward to promoting Downhilling with you in the future. Stay tuned for more updates – we’ll be adding stuff almost daily for the first couple of weeks.
//OTHER FEATURES
THE NZ RIDE "WORLD OF NZ DH" TEE
//LOOK COOL:
BE LIKE JAMES
[BARON]
GET YOURS NOW
If you're part of the NZ bike scene, chances are you're on there somewhere, if you're not, sorry, but buy one anyway!
Only $45, be quick act now first 50 callers get a free set of ginzu steak knives, but really, you will get an NZ RIDE sticker kit with your shirt. If you're too cheap to buy a shirt, hit up one of the crew for some free stickers anyway.
The 3rd birthday issue of NZMTBR is on sale 24th July. This monster 164
page issue includes the Official Programme for the World Champs with loads
of profiles, interviews, event schedules, maps and information about the
biggest week to hit NZ MTBing. Amongst the dozen or so interviews is one
with 2x World Champ, Fabien Barel and a chance to win one of two sets of
adidas goggles signed by the man himself . And check out the latest
subscription offer - $10,000 of 2007 SRAM product to be won - including the
new Avid Code brakes, Rockshox Argyle dirt jump forks and Rockshox Domain
freeride forks.
// Rotorua DH Course Headcam
See the roto '06 page for a Full length head cam run of the Rotorua '06 Worlds Course
// COMPETITIONS
Check out the competions page for regular give aways and stuff. At the moment we're running two seperate competitions to guess the fastest Kiwis and the fastest overall rider in the upcoming World Champs in Rotorua.
Watch out for our special feature on the Atherton family - coming up soon.
//NZ RIDERS
Wonder what our top riders are up to in the off season? Each month we do a round up of who’s where, doing what and bring you reports from Kiwis in every corner of the globe and back here at home.. [+]CLICK HERE
//INTERVIEWS:COMING UP
We’ve got some wicked interviews lined up in the next couple of months, so be sure to check back regularly for profiles on Steve Pete, Chris Kovarik, The Athertons, Sam Hill and many more…
