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OK, it’s been a while since we brought you a decent team update, things are always flat out at the back end of the season and, like listening to a Whitney Houston song, you quickly get to the point where you wish either your life or the source of pain would end.
Their Trademark is Stupidity
OK, first up I’ll tell you about Fort William, this was the biggest event of the year and you’ve got to hand it the organisers, there is no other race like it. For the shred/bikemagic.com team it was one of the first times that we’d all been in the same place all season. The nature of races in these modern times means that XC, 4X and DH rarely happen together so Fort Billy was a welcome change.
Friday and Saturday saw a lot of action around the shred camp, located slap bang in the main arena. Cider and Sausages were in full swing and members of the industry and media rocked up to eat and drink at our expense and get the full taste of shred magazine hospitality. First prize I think goes to Steve Jones from Dirt Magazine who managed to eat his own body weight in food.
Elsewhere there was some racing and training going on and our man Ashley Mullane was feeling a bit down in the mouth about the way things were going. A crash over the finish line in practice had left him a bit shaken up and his Cove Peeler looking like a tangled mess. Some time in the hands of our stand-in mechanic Damo’ and some parts from our sponsors Ultimatepursuits.co.uk and we had the bike back in action and a smile on Mundane’s face.
Sunday morning rolled around and for the shred crew it was a case of all at once. Ash went up the hill to ride his vital Semi Final quali’ run and our Xc riders Nige Muntz and Andy Carnell lined up in the Chaser event to get a taste of World Cup courses for the normally aspirated mountain biker.
Ash had a storming run after two sweet practice runs and easily qualified for the finals. He admitted he’d been riding at around 70% to avoid crashing and had come up in just outside the top 50. Things were looking good.
Muntzter and Carnell nailed the XC, Carnell riding to a fast 6th place in the masters race and Muntzy rolling in 4th place in Sport. It was as we watched the podium (that Muntz missed by a mere 1 minute) that he admitted he’d crashed on one of the descents and determined not to be beaten by the course had walked back up to the top and gone at it again, costing him a podium place, or three (numbskull).
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So with all the pressure valves of qualifying undone, Mullane only had the final run to look forward to. With some of the world’s best sitting either side of him he was sure to get a warm welcome when he rolled across the line.
Run time was 3.17pm and we climbed into the gondola at just before 3. I was feeling a little twitchy myself about the lack of time to get to the top.
I watched as the hands of my watch revolved and the Gondola worked its way up the mountain. As it docked we could here the commissaire screaming at us and hauling Mullane’s jacket from his shoulders. What happened next was recounted by the other brit riders when I eventually arrived back down to base camp in the Nevis Range. “Mullane sprinted past us as we queued for for the start and rolled into the empty start gate, the starting marshall just crossed his hands in front of Ash and said that he couldn’t start”
Just 10 seconds late, but 10 seconds too late. I can’t put into words how we all felt at the time, honestly I wanted to be mad about it but you only had to take one look at Mullane’s face to see that the biggest torture was going on in his head. He was gutted.
Season roundup
OK, as a quick event rundown goes, here is everything else we’ve been up to since we last spoke.
Fat Face Night Bash – Awesome mix of NPS 4x and Downhill. Mullane rides to 2nd place in his first ever 4-x.
Sleepless in the Saddle – Awesome event, 15th place for the Shred/Bikemagic.com team.
Dragon Downhill – It’s been an awesome season and with just one event to go Ash lies just short of the top step of the podium – here’s hoping he’ll fill that gap this weekend coming and take the series Elite win.
Trek 6-4-2 series – The Shred/Bikemagic.com team finished up the series in 3rd place in the team class. A great series this year. The best we can remember.
Coming up
OK, the season is nearly done but still to go…
Afan Bike Bash – this coming weekend for some riding.
Cheddar Challenge (1st October) – the original MTB fest, we are organising the party and it is looking like a wicked night. Get your entry in now. www.cheddarchallenge.co.uk
The Stinger (9th October) – run, bike, painful run. Something a little different to welcome in the winter at Plymouth’s Newnham Park. www.inevent.co.uk
Roc D’azur (16th October) – you knows it, the best event in Europe by far (and the longest drive).
We’ll bring you reports from the lot and somewhere in there we’ll have a new issue of shred magazine coming out (we reckon about the 6-7th of October). The sale is still on in the shred site and details of the new issue are coming soon.
Keep it rocking, we’ll speak soon.
Team Shred/Bikemagic.com
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Thanks to our team sponsors:
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You can soon follow the team’s summer tour at www.bikemagic.com/team or www.shredmagazine.com.
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