Under the Radar - Intense Surprises All Their Fans

Intense ventured in to the carbon trail bike market with this smoking bike - the Carbine! At 5.5 pounds and a lot of trendy specs, it should sell like hot cakes.

More info and pics here:
VitalMTB always has the best photos and most reliable info.

Canadian National Championship - Panorama Resort, BC

Well it wasn't what I had hoped for, but the same track was used again this year. It's not a track that I get stoked to race on. It has two horrible uphill sections, but the rest isn't too bad. I got past the point of not having fun on the track and just tried to race it like everyone else would have to do.

My bad luck from Windham followed me into my seeding run at Nationals, where I entered a steep rockface near the end of the track. I snagged my pants behind my seat and couldn't make the turn after the rockface. My seat post hardware snapped and I had to reset on track again...without a seat. Sketchy!!

In my race run, I didn't feel fast in the first couple turns and tried to forget about it and keep riding. It was smooth but not fast. Things went totally wrong near the rockgarden. The wind was blowing the course tape into my braking line and it played with my head. I came in too hot and lost speed for the rockgarden. I them tried to make up for the lost time and let it fly. I still not sure what happened, but my front end got loose and before I had time to react, I hit a huge tree with my shoulder. I knocked the wind out of myself and couldn't finish the race. I did ride down on my own though.

This year hasn't been what I thought it would be. After having some good race results last year, I really wanted to improve further. A little sports psychology lesson should get me back on track!

 

Neon M9 - super flash

Yeeeooow!

Check Out the 2011 Sun Peaks Trail Map!

BOOM!

Scott Sharples Signs as Intense Cycles Marketing Manager

The retired Aussie WC racer and coach of many world class riders joins Intense Cycles!

http://www.vitalmtb.com/news/press-release/Scott-Sharples-Joins-Intense-Cycles,357

Windham World Cup

In the middle of New York state are the Catskills Mountains. During prohibition, bootleggers would voyage up here from New York City to escape authorities. Many horror legends originated from this area and presumably from intoxicated people wandering through the woods.

Sounds like a great place to host a world cup race. Well, it was. The track was short, but technical and had all elements of what a true race should have. It rained again, but only on Thursday and as the weekend progressed, the track dried out and some great ruts formed.

I haven't been feeling 100% in my race runs lately, so I tried listening to music and warming up with a little more intensity this time for qualifying. I think I'm finding the right balance of what works for me leading up to an important run. The times were tight in qualifying, with the gap between first and eightieth only 25 seconds apart, I managed to sneak in - 76th. Not exactly what I wanted, but I did made some crucial mistakes and knew I had a lot left in the tank for Sunday.

My run started great, I felt faster than all of practice, but still in control, until this happened:

My tire rolls off the rim and I could not finish the race

The same thing happened to Gee Atherton last weekend in Mont St Anne, so it can happen to anyone, even World Champions.

Riding and racing are two totally different things and I feel like I'm finally learning the difference. I no know how I have to prepare myself for the start gate.

Mont Saint Anne World Cup

My first world cup and my first DirtTV appearance! (About 1:07 in)

DirtTV MSA Thursday Practice

More mud and rain made the course rough once it dried up for qualifying. After my less than acceptable performance at the previous race here, I wanted to do well. My whole qualifying run just felt slow and I didn't get into a good rhythm. A small crash near the flatter, end of the course keep me from qualifying, but it was a good learning experience. After watching the pros ride in practice and then also in the finals, I saw how their paced slowed towards the bottom of such a long track. It was good to know that even the top guys get tired.