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Matt Jones is an X-Games Phenom

by KORE
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on Thursday, 13 June 2013
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We are excited to have Matt Jones representing Kore at the first mountain bike slope style event at the X-Games. 226533 282668275197437 229085999 n

It was first announced that they would be accepting video enters for the Phenom contest. Details can be seen here at Pinkbike

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Along with 5 other riders Matt was selected to be involved in the Phenom event.

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With a huge bag of tricks we expect to see great things from Matt in the future.

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Congratulations to Matt and have fun in Germany.

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Spring in Whistler

by KORE
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on Tuesday, 04 June 2013
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The Whistler Bike Park opened on May 17th and Jackson has been riding there as much as he can. 

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Which means that if you want to find him on a Saturday, Sunday or the odd Wednesday afternoon just wait at the bottom of the lift and eventually you will see him skidding across the base of Whistler mountain.

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Jack has also been racing BMX Monday nights and racing cross country on Tuesday. You would think this would tire him out but it doesn't really seem to have any affect on him. 

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With a bunch of new sponsors this year, Five Ten, Shimano Zee and Leatt. Plus the sponsor who have supported him for the past seasons Kore, Royal, GoPro, Lil Shredder, POC and most importantly the Goldstone family. We can not wait to see what he can accomplish this year.  

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We here at Kore are also excited that the Jackson Goldstone Athelete Page on Facebook launched at the end of May.

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2013 is the summer of Jackson and I can not wait to get in a couple dozen park laps with this little ripper.

 

 

 

 

 

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Your Peak 2

by KORE
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on Tuesday, 28 May 2013
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Dirt Norco Race Team - Evolution

by KORE
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on Sunday, 26 May 2013
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Dirt Norco 2013 Team a Mountain Biking video by gee-milner

2013 is an exciting year for the Dirt Norco Race Team with the evolution from a 3 to 5 a rider team.

In this edit Ben Reid introduces new team riders Casey Brown, Greg Callaghan and George Gannicott as well as some of the teams new 2013 sponsors.

This video supports a feature in the latest Dirt Magazine (Issue 136) called ‘Evolution’.

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Race Report: NW Cup #3

by KORE
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on Wednesday, 22 May 2013
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The weekend was awesome for the Evil crew; we all were on the podium Mitch 2nd, Luke 3rd, and I ended up 5th.

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I worked with Fox during practice and got my suspension close to a good race set up for the world cup coming up in a few weeks. I was only a couple seconds off Luke and Mitch so I feel my speed is right there as well.

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I was really excited to finally get on the podium because I came into this race shooting for a top 5. I knew if I had clean run I could make that happen due to the fact that I have been so close these past few races.  Now all I got to do is get on the podium at the World Cups.

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Thank you for all of the support this year and I look forward to making even bigger things happen.

-Kevin

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Northern Downhill Series Round 1

by KORE
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on Friday, 10 May 2013
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As I got into the second half of April I really started to feel like my winter training had taken me to a whole new level. Stronger, more powerful, more stamina, more aggressive style. The way I handle a mountain bike has changed over the last 6 months and it’s left me really excited to move into the major portion of the season for the National and World Cup events. Therefore I was excited to hear that the 2011 World Champion Danny Hart was going to attend the final pre-season race I was doing at Kidland in Northumberland. How close I could get to him in the race would be the final indicator of where my training has put me before heading to the big races.

We arrived on Saturday morning and just in time for a track walk before practise started. The track was quite short, really steep and with some very tight sections. I was aware that I’d have my work cut out being one of the bigger riders and riding an XL bike, but I was ready for the challenge. I spent the day riding with my racing buddy Pete Williams who after an injury full 2012 is finally getting back to fitness and is riding well.

On my first run I felt very awkward on the track because of how tight it was. My bike felt like a double decker bus! However, and thanks to my training, it felt much better second run when I knew where I was going, as I muscled the bike through the trees and started to find a flow and a rhythm. It’s always nice to practice with Pete on tracks that are steep and tight because that’s what he’s best at in my opinion – the lad can corner on a 50 pence piece!

Carl Davidson of Northern DH had a very good uplift system running, and even when one of his mini buses broke down for the afternoon the uplift was still  great and we got 8 practise runs done. Big thanks to him and his drivers for keeping going tirelessly all day. By the end of the day I had all my lines dialed and was feeling good on the track and ready for Sunday.

Carl’s team had worked to fix the broken mini bus so when Sunday started we had a full fleet of uplift vehicles at our disposal so there was no waiting at the bottom at all. I did 4 runs and Pete managed to get 5 practise runs that morning! I’d had a good morning session, firming up a few lines and getting everything right, ready for the afternoon and racing.

My first race run was pretty good. I made two costly mistakes but only lost a couple of seconds and was relatively happy when I crossed the line with a time of 1.27 and a 3 second lead. Then it was nervously waiting for Danny to come down and see how much damage he would do to my time. To my amazement I had the lead from Danny by 0.6 seconds after first runs! I knew he’d had a least one small issue as well, so we both had time in the bank for the next run.

I didn’t really care what happened the rest of that day because I was so happy with the result of the first run. I’d got the final confirmation that my training has worked and I’m on pace for the season. My plan for the second run was to go up and do exactly the same, but try to avoid those small errors and take a second or two off my time. I was still expecting Danny to beat me but I was just focusing on my performance.

My second run was almost perfect. I had everything smooth, fast and controlled until the first of three loose turns near the bottom where I lost the front wheel and slid out. Incidentally it was where my Dad and our friends were standing so I got to watch it on video afterwards and it cost me about 3 seconds. I pushed hard to the bottom with no more mistakes and crossed the line with a time that was only half a second slower than my first time. When I learnt that I’d only gone this much slower I was pretty frustrated as without the crash I would have been around a 1.25 and this would have really put the pressure on. I waited at the bottom not thinking for a minute that Danny wasn’t going to beat my times. However he didn’t. He went third fastest on those second runs (second place overall) with my buddy Pete Williams in second and taking third overall– so good to see Pete back in the mix!

So an awesome weekend for me. I’m feeling strong, powerful, smooth and fast on the bike and have taken my first big win of the season. Obviously the race was only a regional, but beating Danny Hart, a rider who is a proven world beater and one that I have a lot of respect for, and have always enjoyed watching, is a massive step for me.

My confidence is high and I’m ready to hunt some big results this season! Most importantly keep having fun and leave every race feeling like I’ve raced well.

Big thanks to Ian MacLennan for the first 2 photos

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Mojo Trail Diary, Wales | Episode 1 Ft. Blake Samson & Tracy Moseley

by KORE
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on Thursday, 02 May 2013
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Matt Jones: Turn a Page

by KORE
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on Thursday, 02 May 2013
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Video by Laurence Crossman-Emms

Saracen: Matt Jones ~ Turn a Page on Pinkbike

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McKenna - Sea Otter Report

by KORE
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on Tuesday, 30 April 2013
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The 2013 Sea Otter Classic was held this past weekend in beautiful Monterey CA,

at the Laguna Seca Raceway. All manners of bicycle riding and racing took place,

attracting 65,000 people, including over 9,000 racers from all over the world. The

Sea Otter Classic is widely considered as the largest and greatest bicycle celebration

on the planet. McKenna made the long drive north from San Diego, to race the

downhill race as well as the dual slalom. Practice got underway Thursday morning,

as McKenna got as many runs in on the slalom track before heading up the hill for

downhill practice. Both courses appeared to be the same as last year, and she was

immediately having fun on both.

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Her first race was held on Saturday morning, after she was able to get in three

practice runs. McKenna was having a great time on the track, and this was evident

in her race run. She had a good run without making any big mistakes and finished

in second place with a 3:47, just 4 seconds off first place.

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Sunday morning found McKenna again on the slalom course, getting a few practice

runs in before her race. McKenna had a solid run on both the blue and red course, but

was unable to beat her opponent, and did not advance. She was still happy with her

racing, being the smallest and youngest in her class. She knows she has a lot of time

to develop the necessary size and speed. Overall, McKenna had a great weekend, and

another great time racing Sea Otter. A highlight for the weekend was definitely meeting

and being able to spend time with Max Commencal. McKenna would like to thank everyone

who helped make the Sea Otter Classic so great.

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Kore at the Sea Otter Classic

by KORE
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on Tuesday, 23 April 2013
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We have just spent the last week in beautiful California. As you can see from the pictures the weather was amazing. We had several riders and teams competing and a couple of them were fast enough to make it onto the podium.

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We had a great show and I think our booth turned out pretty good. Check out the pictures of the booth below.

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For everyone who made it down to Laguna Seca thanks for saying hello and we hope to see you again next year.

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Andrea Bruno Update

by KORE
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on Tuesday, 23 April 2013
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AndreaBruno NEWS 01 2013

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Jack Reading at Farmer Johns

by KORE
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on Sunday, 07 April 2013
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Blind Bobby Update - March

by KORE
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on Wednesday, 03 April 2013
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Bobby never ceases to amaze me. I mean, I already know the guy tears it up on a bike, so I guess it shouldn’t have been too much of a surprise that his great bike handling skills transferred to jet boating, right?! Yesterday I got to find out first hand that Bobby, after a bit of coaching, also knows how to rip up the river behind the wheel of a  jet boat.

Those of you not familiar with jet boating, they were first designed by Sir William  Hamilton for the fast flowing, shallow rivers of New Zealand. The boat’s engine draws the water from under the boat, into a pump, which then blasts it through a nozzle at the stern. Jet boats are highly maneuverable and can operate in water as shallow as 2 inches. Yup, you read that right, at times there can be only a measly 2 inches of water between the bottom of the boat and the rocky bottom of the river.

Our host, Mark Dickson of KRD Distributors, had been telling us all week about taking us up the Waimakariri River on his jet boat. Now, to be totally honest at the expense of sounding like a snob, I had visions of some shiny, cigarette type river speedster, so I was a bit surprised when Mark unveiled his pride and joy and it looked more like your standard 10′ fishing boat with a rather large engine in the rear. Turns out that rather large engine housed 250 hp, which meant that  the “standard” looking fishing boat actually pinned it on the water.

Speaking of pinning it, after a few instructions on the handling qualities of the boat, the workings of the jet propulsion system, some stall outs and some mis-turns, Bobby and Mark got their jet boating choreography right, which meant that Bobby was driving the jet boat on instructions very similar to the ones we use when guiding him on the bike. If you don’t believe me, check out this video clip of him driving the jet boat at close to 30 mph.

As has been tradition at the conclusion of most of our rides here on the South Island of New Zealand, Mark busted out the  BBQ mid-boat session and we feasted on gourmet burgers while lounging on the sandy, warm banks of one of the largest rivers in the North Cantebury district. In between bites, Bobby and I reminded each other how lucky we were to be here, doing what we were, and that when it comes to doing things that people think are impossible, especially for someone who is sight impaired like Bobby, it’s great to show that determination, focus, skill, and a bit of stubbornness, can make almost anything possible.

 

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44 Racing Rockstar - British 4X Series Round 1 - Afan

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on Monday, 01 April 2013
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The first round of the 2013 British 4X Series kicked off at Afan, Wales this weekend. The 44Racing 4x team were in full attendance riding their newly built Diamondback Assaults. Looking fresh in their new Thor kit, from http://www.freestylextreme.com, in Saturday’s practice session, the team were riding fast and comfortable on the challenging track. With features such as the cork screw bridge, the longest rock garden on a 4x track and two big pro section doubles, the course looked like creating some great racing the following day.

Team gate during practice. 44Racing team photos from round 1 of the British 4x series at afan. The team are sponsored by ... Rockstar Energy Drink Diamondback Europe Thor MX Kore USA Contour Cameras Freestyletreme.com Fox Shox Horizon Watches Plush Suspension Tuning SpiralGFX Molini-Freeride.com Etnies Europe Raleigh International Mojo Suspension




44Racing team photos from round 1 of the British 4x series at afan. The team are sponsored by ... Rockstar Energy Drink Diamondback Europe Thor MX Kore USA Contour Cameras Freestyletreme.com Fox Shox Horizon Watches Plush Suspension Tuning SpiralGFX Molini-Freeride.com Etnies Europe Raleigh International Mojo Suspension

Kicking off the racing for the team was Jack Hudson, in the Senior category. After some successful results in the Chicksands Winter Series, Jack continued this good form with wins in his first two motos. Despite a mistake in the last race, placing him in fourth, Jack still progressed through to the quarter finals. After the bad form in the last moto, Hudson ended up with a bad gate pick and an outside lane. Getting a good gate Jack was able to lead from the start and progress to the semis. Another win here put him through to the A final. Despite getting a poor gate in the final, Jack was able to move into second in the first turn, holding this position until the end of the race.

44Racing team photos from round 1 of the British 4x series at afan. The team are sponsored by ... Rockstar Energy Drink Diamondback Europe Thor MX Kore USA Contour Cameras Freestyletreme.com Fox Shox Horizon Watches Plush Suspension Tuning SpiralGFX Molini-Freeride.com Etnies Europe Raleigh International Mojo Suspension




44Racing team photos from round 1 of the British 4x series at afan. The team are sponsored by ... Rockstar Energy Drink Diamondback Europe Thor MX Kore USA Contour Cameras Freestyletreme.com Fox Shox Horizon Watches Plush Suspension Tuning SpiralGFX Molini-Freeride.com Etnies Europe Raleigh International Mojo Suspension

Next up was Jack’s younger brother, Connor Hudson in his first season in the Junior category. ‘Chudson’ got off to a great start in the motos with a win, passing the leader on the last straight with a great sprint. A third place in his second moto, after making a mistake coming out of the gate, Connor went on to comfortably win his final heat moving him through to the Junior semi finals. After a good gate, and leading into the first turn, Chudson was pushed wide. Doing his best to move through to the two transfer spots and showing great speed through the tricky rock section Connor was forced to settle for third and a space in the B final. With the last podium spot up for grabs, Connor led the final from the start before snapping his chain on the second straight. Trying his best to pump his way down the track to reclaim the lead, Chudson finished second, placing him sixth overall on the day.

44Racing team photos from round 1 of the British 4x series at afan. The team are sponsored by ... Rockstar Energy Drink Diamondback Europe Thor MX Kore USA Contour Cameras Freestyletreme.com Fox Shox Horizon Watches Plush Suspension Tuning SpiralGFX Molini-Freeride.com Etnies Europe Raleigh International Mojo Suspension




44Racing team photos from round 1 of the British 4x series at afan. The team are sponsored by ... Rockstar Energy Drink Diamondback Europe Thor MX Kore USA Contour Cameras Freestyletreme.com Fox Shox Horizon Watches Plush Suspension Tuning SpiralGFX Molini-Freeride.com Etnies Europe Raleigh International Mojo Suspension

New signing to the 4x team was Eddie Pugh. After some good results in Junior last year Eddie chose to step up into the elite category in 2013. After a strong fourth place in his first heat, Eddie continued to improve and showed much greater confidence mixing it up with some of the big named riders on the 4X Pro Tour circuit and was able to take two third place finishes in his last two motos. With such a competitive field of Elites, Eddie was transferred into run offs for the quarter finals. Pugh took a third here but with only one rider transferring on, he was knocked out.

44Racing team photos from round 1 of the British 4x series at afan. The team are sponsored by ... Rockstar Energy Drink Diamondback Europe Thor MX Kore USA Contour Cameras Freestyletreme.com Fox Shox Horizon Watches Plush Suspension Tuning SpiralGFX Molini-Freeride.com Etnies Europe Raleigh International Mojo Suspension




44Racing team photos from round 1 of the British 4x series at afan. The team are sponsored by ... Rockstar Energy Drink Diamondback Europe Thor MX Kore USA Contour Cameras Freestyletreme.com Fox Shox Horizon Watches Plush Suspension Tuning SpiralGFX Molini-Freeride.com Etnies Europe Raleigh International Mojo Suspension

Also racing in the Pro Elite category was Joe Mallinson. After a week’s training in Italy with Molini Freeride, Mallo was looking fast and hoped to perform well in his first national in the Elite category. Starting off his days racing with a win in moto one, Joe backed this up with a third place in the second moto. Crashing out in his final heat, Joe was able to remount and finished fourth, not before throwing some style over the huge pro line doubles. With these results the Rockstar Energy Drink athlete proceeded on to the quarter finals. With a tough heat Joe would finish in third place, just off transferring him through to the semi finals, and twelfth overall on the day.

44Racing team photos from round 1 of the British 4x series at afan. The team are sponsored by ... Rockstar Energy Drink Diamondback Europe Thor MX Kore USA Contour Cameras Freestyletreme.com Fox Shox Horizon Watches Plush Suspension Tuning SpiralGFX Molini-Freeride.com Etnies Europe Raleigh International Mojo Suspension




44Racing team photos from round 1 of the British 4x series at afan. The team are sponsored by ... Rockstar Energy Drink Diamondback Europe Thor MX Kore USA Contour Cameras Freestyletreme.com Fox Shox Horizon Watches Plush Suspension Tuning SpiralGFX Molini-Freeride.com Etnies Europe Raleigh International Mojo Suspension


The next race for 44Racing will see the downhill team at round 1 of the British Downhill Series at Combe Sydenham on April 14th and the 4x team at round two of the British 4x Series at Falmouth on April 21st.


44Racing Rockstar

Sponsored by....
Rockstar Energy Drink, Diamondback Europe, Thor MX, Kore USA, Contour Cameras, http://www.freestylextreme.com, Fox Shox, Horizon Watches, Plush Suspension Tuning, SpiralGFX, Molini-Freeride.com, Etnies Europe, Raleigh International, Mojo Suspension

Follow us on...
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/pages/44Racing-and-44Racing-Talent-Team/279181653455?fref=ts
Twitter - @_44Racing_
Instagram - @44racing_rockstar        

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Jack Reading - March Update

by KORE
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on Thursday, 28 March 2013
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RoostDH Training and Portugal National DH Race, March 2013

After 5 weeks at home following my February trip to RoostDH in Malaga it was great to head back out there again. This time I was traveling with my training/racing buddy Will Jones, and our ladies Sarah and Annie. We arrived on the Monday and had 3 days riding ahead of us before driving to Portugal for the National race at Gouveia.

We had an early morning flight so we could get a full afternoon of riding done on the first day. The weather when we arrived at the RoostDH villa at noon was fantastic. Bright blue skies, 20+ degrees and not a bit of wind, so me and Will took the opportunity to jump in the Roost pool.  This was freezing but nice to cool off in after building the bikes. After some lunch we left the girls at the villa to enjoy the sun and headed off to get the riding started.

We decided to ride two tracks called Sram and Shimano on the first day as we know them well so they would a great warm up venue. They both have race track characteristics, unlike many of the trails out in Malaga which are more natural and longer. We took the opportunity to use our Freelap timing poles and did some timed training throughout the afternoon. After 8 runs of each it was approaching 6pm so we headed up to the top of the mountain in the Roost uplift vehicle to the Antennas to finish the day with a run down my favourite Malaga trail, aptly named, Antenna Trail. After this we were both suitably tired for the end of the first day and ready to head back to the villa.

That night we drove down to the seaside town of Benalmadena to visit the best steak restaurant there is, the Rodeo Steak House. Seriously if you like lots of meat and are ever in the area hit this steak bar, the portions are ginormous!

Unfortunately day two was hampered by rain and colder temperatures. We headed over to a new venue near Granada and the girls came along with us. We left them to do a morning of exploration in the village at the bottom of the track while we went off to ride. The track proved to be great fun even though the weather wasn’t. It was predominantly smooth with a few rocky sections and some awesome hip jumps. I’m told that the track was built by Greg Minnaar back in 2001, so there’s no surprise that it was great fun! After a lunch stop and picking up the girls we finished the day with a few more wet runs before heading back to the villa for the evening.

Blessed with another sunny day we headed to Torrox for our final day of training. This venue finishes on the beach and has some really challenging tracks. It starts off being fast and rocky with a constant battle against a right camber trying to pull you off the track. It then splits half way down into two different tracks. We spent the morning riding the more challenging of the two bottom sections, this involves a very steep section of trail. We had the timing poles going again and did some useful testing with the race in mind on the coming weekend in Portugal.

After a nice lunch on the beach with the girls we headed back up the hill for an afternoon of riding. The girls had spent the morning sun bathing on the beach, but as the wind had increased they came with us. They walked the track and got some video for us in the afternoon. I took that afternoon pretty easy because I’d finished the morning with some great timed runs and was feeling very confident for the weekend.  I didn’t want to push my luck at the end of three days training, crashing and picking up an injury.

On Thursday we had to drive to Portugal and that took 10 hours. Not much more to say about that really, it sucked.

Friday started with a track walk. I’ve never been to Gouveia before but in previous years a bedded-in, fast and rocky track has been used. This year we arrived to find a new line had been dug for the race and initially we weren’t overly impressed. The top section looked good, rocky and then fast with some jumps. However, it then went into a long flat section, followed by an equally long flat but off camber section, both of which didn’t look great. The bottom looked great fun with fast loose straights into flat corners that would hopefully rut up well, before a series of fun jumps to finish. I try to never take a view on a track before riding it, but I wasn’t overly hopeful, especially if the weather forecast was right and it was going to rain all weekend.

We had practice on Friday afternoon when me and Will managed to get 4 good runs done without any rain.  We were pretty familiar with the track by the end of the day. It rode much better than we initially expected and was really enjoyable to ride. There was a boggy section in the middle that was horrendous, and should really have had a bridge over it, but it was the same for everyone. The bottom section was absolutely awesome, fast and loose with great jumps. The weekend was looking good.

The weather forecast said rain showers for Saturday and dry for Sunday, but it ended up being the other way round. We did 5 runs throughout Saturday and not a drop of rain fell. The track was running really well and I was feeling great on the bike and confident for a good race run the next day. There were some really good World Cup athletes in attendance but I was feeling confident that I could get amongst them and finish in the top 10 somewhere.

On Sunday morning we woke up to torrential rain and it didn’t let up. I did two practice runs in the morning and got completely soaked. The track was destroyed as well. There were holes everywhere in the top and bottom sections, and the flat middle section and the off-camber section were so boggy you simply had to pedal the whole way through them to keep moving. It sucked. However the biggest problem was that I hadn’t packed any wet tyres, expecting dry sunny conditions! What I would have given for a set of Schwalbe Dirty Dans that day!

In my qualifying run I didn’t pedal that hard because it was so physical I wanted to save as much energy as possible for my race run. I was in 9th place 13 seconds behind Matt Simmonds who was in first place. I knew I was going to be limited not having proper wet tyres, but hoped to move slightly higher up the top 10 in the race run that afternoon.

It rained constantly all afternoon but luckily just stopped before I was to leave for my race run. Very lucky because the uplift involved sitting in the back of a pickup truck for 15 minutes with no shelter. I had a fairly decent race run considering I wasn’t on proper wet tyres. I pedalled as hard as I could the whole way down and only made two mistakes. I finished in 9th place, this time only 8 seconds behind first place and 5 seconds behind third, a time I think I could have achieved with the right tyres for the conditions.

So a great training and racing trip was completed. I’d had three good days riding in Malaga, followed by a successful race getting some UCI world ranking points and a top 10 in a national event. I’m feeling great on my bike and things are looking good for the season. Back to training now before the first UK national in three weeks’ time!

 

 

 

 

A Weekend of Fun at Innerleithen - 1st to 3rd March 2013

After a successful weekend racing downhill at Innerleithen, I was only home for 4 days before heading back there again. This time for a 3 day training trip combined with doing the enduro event on the Saturday. I hadn’t taken the preparation for the race too seriously, as I wasn’t going to have any time before the event off the bike. I still wanted to ride really well and get a good result. Racing is racing after all! Enduro isn’t my main priority this year, so the focus of the trip was to do lots of riding, as well as to get against the clock and work on my riding in a competitive environment.
I left home at 7am on Friday morning and made my way up the M6. I reached the Moffat junction and was heading into the Scottish highlands by 10.30am. I wasn’t meeting DH buddy Pete Williams until 1.30pm, so I had time for a little adventure before arriving at Innerleithen. One of the many big hills in the beautiful valley on the way to Innerleithen has a trail up it leading off into the wilderness. I’ve always fancied heading up with the bike to see what’s at the top. When I arrived at the car park it turned out this trail is called the Grey Mare’s Tail, which some of you may have heard of, or been up.
It’s named after the massive waterfall just around the corner from the car park. You can actually see it from the road if you look back on yourself. The weather was bright and sunny and it made for a wicked hike. I really enjoyed walking up the hillside round the back the falls to follow the river up onto the moorland. At the top I found a highland loch which proved to be one of the most beautiful spots I think I’ve ever seen.
After enjoying the scenery for long enough it was time to have some fun and blast back down to the van! An hour and a half of hiking uphill, all for less than 10 minutes of downhill. Well worth it though! The whole experience was topped off perfectly when a fighter jet came smashing through the valley only metres above my head when I got back to the van.
Next I headed on up the road to Innerleithen for an afternoon of XC with Pete. Strava tells me we rode 12 miles of XC on the technical, natural trails in the woods above the village. It was a cracking afternoon to finish a great day and I was absolutely knackered by the end of it. I hadn’t had a day off the bike for over a week and I was starting to feel it getting the better of me. Not great considering I had the enduro to tackle the next day!
Pete couldn’t race the enduro because he was off to do a MTB course, so he dropped me in Innerleithen for 9am. This was a bit earlier than neccessary as the enduro practice didn’t start until 11am. I decided to walk up one of the two enduro tracks and then down the other, before practice started, so that I would know where I was going when practice got underway. This proved to be very helpful as there was a lot of track to learn and not much practice time, especially with no uplift and having to pedal or push your bike to the top.
The event consisted of 2 tracks but 4 timed stages. This was possible because we were to race each stage twice, once in the daylight and then once after the sun went down with the bike lights attached. So all in all with two practice runs in the morning I was going to have to pedal to the top of Innerleithen 6 times that day. Now that’s what I call good training!
My main rival for the event’s top spot was going to be Joe Barnes, who turned his attention from DH to enduro racing at the start of 2012. He used his experience to gain an advantage over me from the very start. This was because the event wasn’t seeded, so riders would just turn up at the top and set off in any random order, but Joe made sure he was there first to get himself a clean run! I on the other hand went down in the middle of the pack and ended up having to pass about 15 people on the way down! I hadn’t thought that one through had I, and consequently lost loads of time. On the other hand the run was great fun having to pass lots of people, most of them being fantastic and allowed passing moves!
My second and fourth stages went well without having to pass anyone, but my third stage was similar to my first having to pass 10 people this time. As far as I was made aware, Joe had pretty clean runs each time. When all the times were presented at the end I’d finished in 2nd place and was really happy with that, considering how tired I was coming into the event and it was my first enduro. Alex Stock was third and he is a great enduro rider so it was awesome to beat him. It turned out that me and Joe had exactly the same combined times from our second and fourth stages, it was just on the first and third stages where I’d got held up by other riders that he’d made the 35 seconds on me for his victory. I think some of this time also came from my tiredness, because this was the more pedally, longer stage of the two. So another podium for me, that’s 3 out of 3 since the 2013 season started, and long may it continue!!
The plan for Sunday was to ride some downhill, hopefully using my van for uplift before heading home. I was going to be riding with Lewis Buchanan, but he had a sore foot and bailed last minute. I therefore headed to the XC trails at Glentress in the morning as I’ve never ridden there. I did a steady but full run of the red route. I was surprised by it because it wasn’t like other trail centers I’ve ridden, which are very up and down the whole way round. This was made up of one very long climb for over an hour, then a descent all the way back to the car. Not as good as Gisburn I’m afraid Glentress! I finished the trip with a couple of hours of push up DH back at Innerleithen before the long slog home in the van.
So that was another great weekend all in all. Some fantastic training done. I feel great on my bikes. Achieved another podium finish. And 2013 is going be a great one, I can feel it!!

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Blind Bobby in New Zealand

by KORE
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on Sunday, 24 March 2013
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He has plenty of them, excuses that is. He’s survived diabetes, kidney failure, years of dialysis, two kidney/pancreas transplants, open heart surgery, and an aggressive form of cancer that spread to his lymphs. Oh yeah, and he also went blind when he was 29. But, Bobby McMullen, the man I’m heading to Queenstown, NZ with this week to compete in a 6 hour Enduro, doesn’t make excuses.

It was on this climb in 2011 (picture on left) that I came to the realization that too often we look at life obstacles, setbacks, injuries, arguments, etc. as limiters or barriers that bring our forward life progress to a standstill, literally. Watching Bobby tick the pedals over on the crunchy gravel, gritting his teeth on the final pitches out, made me think that we need to always reassess what is possible in life, even when we are faced with some sort of impediment. Seeing Bobby do what he did made any life struggle that I have, or could possibly face in my life, seem small, insignificant and unimportant. Here was a truly inspirational man pedaling by my side who can’t see, yet he wasn’t letting that stop him from doing what he loves most: riding his bike and living what is possible.

No excuses, no limits. That’s how Bobby McMullen lives.

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Dirt in our teeth. That’s what Bobby likes to say after we’ve perfectly choreographed riding some sweet singletrack and have had so much fun it put grins on our faces that collected more dirt on our teeth than the grill of a car collects bugs.

Yesterday we rode just such a trail. Rude Rock, a purpose built roller coaster ribbon of dirt that falls off the slopes of Coronet Peak Ski Area and terminates 3.5 k  later in a pullout, is one of the best trails I’ve had the pleasure to ride. But I didn’t start the ride with a smile.

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I hadn’t guided Bobby in two years, the last time being the Sea Otter XC course, and, to be totally honest, I was extremely  nervous about riding a completely unknown trial in the waning light of the day. It also didn’t help that when Bobby asked our host Mark Dickson what the trail was like, he replied,  ”I have no idea what the track is like because I’ve never ridden it.”

After a serious grunt up a gravel service road, one that forced us to walk sections, we reached  a massive otago schist head stone trail sign where I had my first,of what I’m sure will be many, Hobbit moments.The view to the valley floor below was breath taking, and it wouldn’t have surprised me if Gandalf had stepped out of the tussock grass. With the light fading and temps dropping, Bobby and I quickly reviewed our ride commands/directions, took deep breaths and timidly pushed off.

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After a few  stall outs, “oh shits” and some miscues on my part, Bobby and I got our riding flow on. And with that came ear to ear grins.

By the time the trail spit us out to where Mark was waiting with the truck, we had dirt in our teeth. As we pedaled over to the truck, Bobby humbly remarked that, “Every day I get up, I am thankful for the life I have and every day gives me the opportunity to push limits beyond limits, and show what we are capable of.” Amen to that Bobby. Here’s to getting some dirt in our teeth, whatever it is you choose to do.

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Taipei Cycle Show 2013

by KORE
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on Sunday, 24 March 2013
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We have just wrapped up the 2013 Taipei Show, thanks to everyone who came to see us. For those of you who could not be in Taipei, here is what our booth looked like this year.

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Our booth complete will all 2013 product and coffee bar.

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Thanks again to everyone who stopped by. See you again next year.

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Blake Samson Bike Check

by KORE
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on Saturday, 16 March 2013
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Blake Samson is riding Kore bars, stem and grips for 2013. Here is his bike check ...

Pro Bike Check: Blake Samson's 2013 Saracen ALX Dirt Jumper - More Mountain Bike Videos

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Jackson Achieves Pinkbike Video of the Month

by KORE
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on Wednesday, 06 March 2013
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Jonas Janssen: February Update

by KORE
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on Monday, 25 February 2013
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It is February and there is still snow on the ground in my hometown. With the bitter cold and the frozen ground there is not much going on. The poor weather condition is starting to annoy me, it is really bad. The only place I can ride is a small private indoor park in Mainz. The park is a little bit ghetto, but it is a cool location for pictures. 

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I was recently featured in a German MTB magazine (6undzwanzig). I am really stoked about the exposure.

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I am hoping the weather gets better in the next couple of weeks so that I can start filming a Mongoose/Kore edit.

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Cheers,

Jonas

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