Well it's over. Thank God for that.
Tuesday was the official starting day for the event, with a course inspection-only day. The kiwi contingent arrived in town too late on Tuesday to walk the course, so we set up camp next to a vanload of UK mates. EZ-Up and campsite sorted, we went for a wander around the town. Dinner and beers at the infamous 'Lou Pingouin' to catch up with the owner, then bed.
Organisation at the race was in a word, sh1te. One queue for more than 500 riders was incredible. Add to that all the damn freeriders in the resort wanting a go too. There are 3 lifts basically next to each other and they opened the slowest one. 3 cabins (2 riders, 2 bikes per cabin) per minute, means slow progress. We finally got on the lifts and did a recon run of the track. Super-dry, off-camber and high-speed describes it best. Awesome fun and great flow from top to bottom. The deep dust meant following a rider was pretty difficult, especially as you really had to get your line spot-on.
Foot out loose
I passed up on practice Thursday morning. I couldn't be arsed with the queues, so pushed to the front and went up sans bike. Walked the course, spotted a few good lines and went back up in the afternoon to try them out. With the lift lines being as they were, 4 runs a day were possible. Back to the camp to strip bikes and eat.
Friday, one practice in the morning, then seedings. The Misser brothers were the fastest on the day, coming first and second. Good times..
Missing the last berm
Saturday, one practice in the morning, then hours of waiting for your start time. Thats racing. My race run went well: a couple of fvck-ups with a few bloody gouges and patches of skin missing, but managed to keep going to the finish line. My result is bad for me, but at least no chicks beat me. The day's entertainment were the 2 Mojo riders (Porter being one of them) in skinsuits and peakless helmets. Argh.
Back on the gas
Results:
1st - Lee Bertram (UK)
2nd - Shaums March (USA)
3rd - Pau Misser (Spain)
Saturday evening saw a ridiculous amount of drinking, with the Pingouin bar running out of beer, but the drunk owner releasing bottles of whisker and Riccard. He then dragged anybody and everybody to the next bar/nightclub, Le Loup-Garou. Lars Tribus, armed with a pocketful of stickers, proceded to cover everyone and everything with Chumba racing logos. Shaums aided us in the drinking of the taps dry. Good night out.
Sunday, half dead, we went home.
Anyways, here's my video of the race. Just put it together today:
Youtube, as usual, wrecks the video quality. If anyone really wants a good copy, let me know.
Tuesday was the official starting day for the event, with a course inspection-only day. The kiwi contingent arrived in town too late on Tuesday to walk the course, so we set up camp next to a vanload of UK mates. EZ-Up and campsite sorted, we went for a wander around the town. Dinner and beers at the infamous 'Lou Pingouin' to catch up with the owner, then bed.
Organisation at the race was in a word, sh1te. One queue for more than 500 riders was incredible. Add to that all the damn freeriders in the resort wanting a go too. There are 3 lifts basically next to each other and they opened the slowest one. 3 cabins (2 riders, 2 bikes per cabin) per minute, means slow progress. We finally got on the lifts and did a recon run of the track. Super-dry, off-camber and high-speed describes it best. Awesome fun and great flow from top to bottom. The deep dust meant following a rider was pretty difficult, especially as you really had to get your line spot-on.
Foot out loose
I passed up on practice Thursday morning. I couldn't be arsed with the queues, so pushed to the front and went up sans bike. Walked the course, spotted a few good lines and went back up in the afternoon to try them out. With the lift lines being as they were, 4 runs a day were possible. Back to the camp to strip bikes and eat.
Friday, one practice in the morning, then seedings. The Misser brothers were the fastest on the day, coming first and second. Good times..
Missing the last berm
Saturday, one practice in the morning, then hours of waiting for your start time. Thats racing. My race run went well: a couple of fvck-ups with a few bloody gouges and patches of skin missing, but managed to keep going to the finish line. My result is bad for me, but at least no chicks beat me. The day's entertainment were the 2 Mojo riders (Porter being one of them) in skinsuits and peakless helmets. Argh.
Back on the gas
Results:
1st - Lee Bertram (UK)
2nd - Shaums March (USA)
3rd - Pau Misser (Spain)
Saturday evening saw a ridiculous amount of drinking, with the Pingouin bar running out of beer, but the drunk owner releasing bottles of whisker and Riccard. He then dragged anybody and everybody to the next bar/nightclub, Le Loup-Garou. Lars Tribus, armed with a pocketful of stickers, proceded to cover everyone and everything with Chumba racing logos. Shaums aided us in the drinking of the taps dry. Good night out.
Sunday, half dead, we went home.
Anyways, here's my video of the race. Just put it together today:
Youtube, as usual, wrecks the video quality. If anyone really wants a good copy, let me know.
Last edited:
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