UCI Downhill World Cup – Rd 5 – Windham USA

So today was the finals of Windham world cup round 5 in New York USA. Another day of great weather made me even more excited to get up on track and see how it was running with all the hot weather we had yesterday. The track had dried up a lot was running really fast. I went up for my third run and it was going great, before I had a big micanical at the end of the open section. My tryre popped of the rim and I was lucky not to have a big crash. When I had a look at the bike, it looked like the cause was a worn tyre bead. I decided the best thing to do would be to build a new wheel and and put a new tyre and tube on then I knew that there would be no risk of that happening again during my race run. I didnt have long to do this as my race run was at 2.18pm but everything went smoothly with the build so I was ok for time.

My race run went well, I had a clean run down the hill and hit all my lines, but just didnt feel like I’d pushed hard enough. I’m happy to put together a mistake free solid run but I know I need to push to get where I want to be. I finished up 68th today and really happy to get another top 80 result. Im looking forward to a few days of with my family in New York before heading home for some more training and our national championships at the super steep Llangollen track.

Portotype Superstar components Dreadnought pedals.

I have been using the new prototype Dreadnought peddles for about a month now on my XC bike and on my downhill bike and I love them. These are set to be the first in- house made product for Superstar Components with some very nice new machinery. I really like the layout of the pins; it gives me so much grip under foot. They are nice and light as well and, of course, come with a Ti axel upgrade. I think they look really smart and I like the way that they have been milled out from one solid piece of aluminium.

These pedals were designed by the top man himself, Neil. Superstar to offer ultimate grip pedals which look good at a price to suit all.

Not that much more to say from me but keep checking the website (www.superstarcomponents.com) for their release later this month.

San Remo road trip - Report

I have just got back from great Team Abarth MTB road trip in San Remo, Italy. We went to this area in northern Italy mainly because of the quality of the tracks in the area. We were out there as a team to get some time on the bikes and do some testing before the main part of the season kicks off.

I spent the first part of the trip working mainly on bike setup. I tested lots of things from different breaks and handlebars to springs in my forks and shock. As I got to the middle of the trip I really started to feel comfortable on the bike and was happy with how everything was feeling and from then I concentrated on going faster, only small suspension adjustments to help me feel even more confident with the bike.

We were staying in an apartment in the town of San Remo right by the sea. This was a great place to be based as we had easy access to some great road riding along the seafront and very central for all the different tracks. It was also nice to been in the town for the odd meal out and supplies.

I met up with one of my good friends Scott who was also out here doing some training and he showed us a load more tracks that I didn’t know about, including a new one that Fabien Barell had recently built. The track was very fast and rocky but good fun to ride.

After this I am heading home for a while. My plan is to try and put in some solid training in preparation for the main part of the World Cup season which is fast approaching. I am racing round 2 of the Pearce Cycles race series this weekend but my main focus is of course, the World Cup series. I am looking forward to travelling again and getting back into competing.

San Remo road trip - Days 1 and 2

After an 11 hour drive down to San Remo we had finally arrived at are beach front apartment for the week, With amazing weather and everyone feeling well, we were looking forward to the next morning when we could start are week of training.

Day 1: San Remo to Sospel… 8/04/2011

We headed out on the road bikes for a quick spin to explore the sea front, covering a steady 12 miles with an average speed of 24mph. I think we all came to the conclusion that the sea front mountain views were some of the most spectacular scenery you could ask for, making for a perfect start to the trip.

After a quick breakfast, we loaded up the downhill bikes and headed back in to France, to the Sospel bike park. The tracks at Sospel are quite varied, going from fast and rocky, to Champery style steepness all on one side of the hill. We started off on the fast rocky track which was around 5 minutes long, and just so happened to have a car parked halfway down (which may have lost part of its wing mirror during the day). After more punctures than any sane person could cope (about 6 between Michael and John in 5 runs) we started to get to grips with the fast, rough nature of the track and grabbed the helmet cam (link here). A total of 8 runs, spectacular sunshine and an uplift road that would put a smile on anyone’s face (10 miles of switchback corners), we headed back to the apartment to have some well deserved food, and get some much needed sleep.

Sospel Downhill, Italy, Olie Burton follows John Holbrook form Team Abarth MTB

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PjZbjvXCtCk

Day 2: San Remo… I’ll take that one please! 9/04/2011

08:55 1hour on the road bikes done, it was time to load up the van and head inland from the Italian coast. After yesterdays record number of punctures we stopped off at the local bike shop in San Remo to stock up on tubes for the day, 10 should do us for a few day…!

Tubes replenished, and a quick stop for another €100 of diesel in the Ducato, it was time to head to another new riding spot over in Pieve di tiaco, a fast rocky track about 30 miles inland from San Remo. The track was really worn in as there had been a wet race on the track during the previous weeks. The top half was rough, twisty and tight, leading into a fast, flat out bottom section. This traversed along the side of the mountain on old rock paths and had the tightest wooden corner out of a chute any of us had ever seen, before leading into a floating step down and on in to the town.

After 7 runs down the track, a load of bike setup changes, and getting a bit carried away with the banter along the uplift route, we prepped the bikes and headed back to the apartment. Tomorrow we’re keeping it local and heading up to San Romolo (just above Remo), as the annual Rally San Remo (which we forgot about) should be over now, meaning we can get some time in on one of our favourite tracks here.

Helmet cam footage from today. Olie follows John down the top section of the rocky Italian track.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bo2o2BHpVvk

BDS Round 1, Nant G

I got the go-ahead a week before Round 1 of the BDS, (UK National Series). With my new Saracen all ready to go I managed to get a bit of time on the bike before the race but noting like I wanted to.

The track at Nant Gwrtheyrnin north Wales is amazing, it’s a mix of steep, rocky technical at the start and flat out jumpy at the bottom. I really liked the track and had a great day practising track with my new team.

Sunday morning brought back the normal Welsh weather and it rained pretty much all day. This made the track allot harder and more fun in my opinion. My aim for this race was to have fun and get a clean race run and see where I placed with all the time of the bike. I was stoaked to finish 23th in Elite which showed me that I was no worse of than I was before I got injured so from hear all I can do in improve.

Check back for more team new soon….

Injury and XC bike.

Unfortunately I have been out injured for over month now mainly with a Hematoma in my leg but now with a broken finger. My leg is nearly all better now but my finger is not. I have been having regular check-ups and healing is going slow but hopefully I will be back riding soon.

I have been trying to keep my-self busy with things at home. Mainly trying to complete the van conversion that I started last year and never got around to finishing. I will put some photos up when its all done.

I got a xc bike as well now. Not that I have been able to ride it much but it differently passes the car park test. Thanks to the guys at Specialized for that.

2010 Season round up.

This season has been my best season yet. My first year on the World Cup circuit and my first year racing in Expert hear in the UK. After Champery and Val de Sole there was only one World Cup left this year and that was Windham in New York.

This was my first race outside of Europe and I was excited to be travelling to another country and seeing new things. Windham had put on a great event there and it really had a different feel to any other race I had been to. The track was good as well, It was fast and rough, very physical as well with some pedalling sections to. The course had a few big features on it, one was fast drop onto a of camber rocky landing which was hard to get right but all in all I had fun practising the course.

I was really happy to make it in to the top 80 for the finals and to finish a solid 72^nd at the race. This result ment that I finished 62^nd overall in the series. I feel that this is a great achievement for my first year as a World cup races. I have learnt allot and I am looking forward to coming back strong next year and to start making my way up the ranks.

After Windham I have one more race to go. This was a UK National at Caersws in north Whales and I was excited about going there because I have always loved Caersws. The trees there have been cut down recently for harvesting so it was a bit strange first run with no trees about. It was nice weather at the races and I got to hang out with some good friend which I haven’t seen for a while as I have been away allot. The race went well and I finished a solid 4^th.

I would like to say a big thanks to anybody that has helped me in this year, it has been greatly appreciated and not been missed. Thanks also to all my 2010 sponsors that have kept me and my bike going through the year, and my family as well.