Schladming, Austria
September 10th, 2006

THE KIWI PERSPECTIVE: FROM BLAIR CHRISTMAS
PICTURES FROM KATHY SESSLER
Courtesy of Santa Cruz Syndicate

So last weekend was the final of the world and it was nice . Ive been told all sorts of tales of this track , words like "good " and "fun" are often used to describe what many consider the best on the circuit . Obviously I wouldnt have a clue as Ive only done 1 other one and it sucked ( stay away from germany , its crap . But plenty of grade A sausage ) . but it was good .

//World Cup Final Austria:
Proudly Bought to you by Schladminger - refreshingly salty!

Me and the van with missus and horse arrived early to find a quaint little Austrian town with this ominous looking monster of a track looming above . Its 4 minutes long ( Oscar saiz blinkinslozzle rips ) and theres No pedalling ( for me ) and some if you are good ( Oscar saiz pedal a bit ). its steep and rooty and  semi tech , difficult to explain but fun to go down on with a bike .  



//CHRIS KOVARIK: TEAM MS-INTENSE FACTORY RACING

I didnt see anyone fast in practise ( i caught leikonnen , hes shit ) so confidence was high , i dont know how these "pros" get to know the track . I figure they have muppets to practise for them or teams of japanese with cameras . The track got blown as you would expect , there was all us pros and 4 unimogs full of slovenians that were smuggled over the border pushing entrant numbers well over 300 .  

//GREG MINNAR: G-CROSS HONDA

 But in the end I think it was me that was making all the braking bumps , putting in the kind of race run Ive come to know of late , 104th or something . No excuses just old and weak , bike felt good and I felt myself but it didnt help .

However there were others that were good , Oscar saiz he couldnt beat Kovarik then furclog come down better and that went on for a whole with 3 or 4 on the same second before Hill beat every bastard by heaps  .You ( or I ) get the impression hes a demi-god from all the spunk that gets spent over him in the DH media but I saw it first hand ( so to speak ) watching from the bottom saw him come out of an off camber bastard of a corner that claimed many , most were getting back in shape where he was pedalling along quite happily with his front wheel way off the ground .  

//Dave Wardell: GT BICYCLES

Kiwis rode good ( one exception ) with skinner ending up 40th or something and both Leov and Blenkinslozzle right up there .Funny listening to the armchair critics when blinkinslozzle came down arguing over who it was , he was "hooking ".  

//SCHLADMING PODIUM
 
 After party was nothing short of outstanding with plenty of sweaty ,drunk dhers yelling and trying to dance. Again blinkinslozzle featured as a standout with a popular fireworks display ( thanks cam ) and a nightclub that was all mosh and noone standing . Communal vodka and plenty tequila  , derek previously of nelson also performed well .

//STEVE PEAT : ON FORM
 
 So thats it , Im off to the beach and will get a job at some stage .

ELITE MEN:
1 AUS19850721 HILL Samuel 3:49.83
2 AUS19810510 RENNIE Nathan 3:55.34
3 RSA19811113 MINNAAR Greg TEAM G-CROSS HONDA 3:55.38
4 FIN19840419 LEHIKOINEN Matti TEAM G-CROSS HONDA 3:56.19
5 GBR19880110 FAIRCLOUGH Brendan 3:56.36
6 FRA19791011 PASCAL Mickael QBIKES 3:56.37
7 GBR19840925 BEAUMONT Marc TEAM MBUK SANTACRUZ 3:56.95
8 GBR19850226 ATHERTON Gee TEAM ANIMAL / GIANT 3:58.62
9 AUS19780301 KOVARIK Chris MS-INTENSE FACTORY-RACING TEAM 3:59.56
10 FRA19840618 PEDEMANAUD Fabien 4:00.88

12 NZL19881028 BLENKINSOP Samuel GRAVITY GROUP 4:01.74
15 NZL19841020 LEOV Justin YETI FOX RACING FACTORY TEAM 4:02.55
49 NZL19871011 SKINNER Mike 4:12.49

//THIS MAY BE WHY BLAIR QUALIFIED 104

SEE THE UK PERSPECTIVE: FROM SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE TEAM
PICTURES FROM KATHY SESSLER

//PARTY SUPPLIES: Well, atleast enough for Peaty

THE NZ RIDE "WORLD OF NZ DH" TEE
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// 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.

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Watch out for our special feature on the Atherton family - coming up soon.

//NZ RIDERS

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//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…