Bos

Even Better! Was looking so fast!, so calculated.

Sick run from Luca !!

Ya no Idiot over here forgot to update my team. Half of my team does not seem to be at the race ;( Thats my season done.

Thats more like it..

Noticing the tyres in the pinkbike Photo Epic. The Maxxis riders are mostly on DHR's or Dissectors. No Assegai's. (yet) probably to slow rolling. Definately no DHF's, probably not dry enough, or the roots?

Timed training results.. Reece's confidence showing..Vergier so consistent.. very talented individual, perhaps the most raw talent out of the entire bunch, I dig the laaitie.Marine C, although there are some other bright individuals coming up, I really like her and think she may still do some damage.. 22 sec gap between 3rd and 4th? Elite Men: 1st. Loris Vergier - 2:58.839 2nd. Matt Walker +1.117 3rd. Reece Wilson +1.457 4th. Troy Brosnan +1.531 5th. Danny Hart +2.187 6th. Dakotah Norton +2.811 7th. Charlie Hatton +3.141 8th. Finn Iles +3.186 9th. Loic Bruni +3.366 10th. David Trummer +3.642 Elite Women: 1st. Marine Cabirou - 3:33.918 2nd. Monika Hrastnik +0.994 3rd. Eleonora Farina +6.339 4th. Tracey Hannah +28.522 5th. Sandra Rubesam +31.566 6th. Camille Balanche +32.798 7th. Mille Johnset +3:25.175 8th. Tahnee Seagrave +5:24.936 9th. Nina Hoffmann: +15:44.682

What to make of Danny Hart's interview at the end there? I mean he is a bit shy in front of the cam, but it definitely said something about his "breakup" with Sarecen. For a moment I thought he choked up a bit, but I think he is just a man of few words, or one that picks them carefully. Regards

Although Danny comes across as a bit of a chav at first, he obviously has it together. He is only 29 though, so I don't see him throwing in the towel quite yet. I do see him running his own team giving him some flexibility allowing him to choose his schedule.

Can hardly believe there's another race this week and another on Sunday!. I hope its a proper race, If you know what I mean. Better go look at my fantacy team..

Those time gaps are HUUUUUUGE!

But I know..

So with regards to the World Champs.. I'm out camping this weekend, and although Redbull TV can not show live, I'm hoping I will be able to see the race Sunday night later. The Pinkbike fantacy league is another story. Im finding it extremely hard to be patriotic at the moment, and my team is mostly French.. But I will have to put Greg in there as a heart pick, but my head picks are all Blue White and red. (not Loic)

Yes, that guy! We all owe him, hope he wasn't sick the next day.

Hahahaha You made my day. I had to check If I got warning points from the Authorities there for a moment. Speaking of his team..Does anyone know If the kind underdressed gent with the staunch sidepath and the classic HT bike ever made it back to civilisation? That guy deserves a bells as he had the baptisim of Enduro/George peak fire last weekend..

@Jew Hahah You talking about the rolly poly in your pants? Listen Admin @Nick , I only just noticed you, or the devious Chris (joke) favoring the local riders snuck me out of the top 10 on the results sheet, this is BIG to me guys, what the heck happened? Please Explain yourself?

All I keep thinking of was how excited yet intimidated I was hiking up to stage 2's start with riders (Pottie) tearing down that top bit of singletrack at warp speeds while the cries of "Rider" sent everyone diving like scenes from Hack Saw Ridge when fighter bombers flew overhead..

Chris, you started something pal.. Thanks for this press release Nick!

I cant imagine the pretty words coming out of your mouth at that stage I was just k@k sleg and thats the reason for my pain on the climbs, but I knew exactly what I was in for. Wouldnt have missed those downs for nothing though. I quite enjoyed S3, I enjoyed how it was not so obvious or easy to maintain speed, and then there was the dropoff. As you said though, "Cross downhill South". Those young guys ahead of us warned us to keep a look out for a steep bit as we pass the pilon. I was like, what steep bit..and then baaaah!!! I absolutely loved it. Walking up to S2, when the guys came rattling passed that top hike a bike section was also pretty intimidating. I was like, no way I'm going that fast!

Not a complete Virgin. but you can put me in there Silly thing is the last ride there I did ACDC, which is where I took a wrong turn! If you check Deidre's pics, you'll see everyone came down that rock step, then there's Bos, who comes from the left Yes, Deidre just asked which Photos I'd want copies of. You should ask Nick to do a proper race review with some of her photos on here so it lives for years to come.

I thought I saw him but disappeared out of plain sight. Some other lizzards I spotted along the way. Nice to meet you bru. I could however not keep up on the climbs.

WOW...I really cant say how awesome this was. @Christofisen This is real Mountain Biking! And to me as an out of towner, the experience was amplified so much more. The Videos you posted does no justice to these trails. Also, the fact that you are quite the ripper yourself hides what it really takes. Witfontein is a proper venue, and so refreshing to just plow straight down a mountain over rocks and loamy goodness using all of my bike in the process. Not switchback after switchback which has its merit, but the loamy confidence inspiring surface just made for such thrills. New trailsNew landscape to beholdDifferent soil & terrainGreat peopleGreat variety of trails, I honestly didn't mind stage 3. It took skill to maintain speed but was not out of place. Although not a lot of "purely death defying GNAR" I was far happier being able to go fast over the reasonably Gnarly & proper steep stuff which actually leaves one feeling better. Testament to really great trails. I hope you got out of it what you put in Because we are going to have to come back next year and make it an annual thing. We need more out of town (further than 100km from Cape Town) events like this. *The last photo was taken from Deidre Clute's FB. I have contacted her to find out where one can get hold of the photos and pay as there are many more awesome shots with hubbers.

Cool. Thanks for that. Getting really really excited!

Oh well..cant have it all now can we. On a slightly more serious note. For us out of towners. The windguru report seems ok for Saturday, bit of rain Friday night but nothing torrential. Saturday sees a 25 knots Westerly and 15C temps. Will a cycling top plus wind jammer suffice or should I be thinking more? I know the radio tower is pretty alpine and exposed. Freezing my ass off all day is not going to go down well. I might just come in a longsleave top anyway. Second question, will there be stalls at the start area at all? I'm going to need a power bar or two to keep me fueled and maybe even a gu for the last climb. I'm not bargaining on any water points during the ride either right? Thanks again for putting this event on. Goodluck with the last arrangements. See you on Saturday.

True..! I must say, I quite enjoy the #powerstage format. Technical climbing seems to be making a bit of a resurgence. It was a big part of riding growing up, I must admit. We rode everything.. Up and down. And although I for one do not want to see overly long uphill stages in enduro, because I'm so damn unfit, if its technical, It remains a test of skills. As far as dual crown vs Single crown.. How much more does one gain these days, with DC forks over the 30mm SC forks. Its not like guys are looking to go plusher.. I know the turning radius, and crown to knock with your knee while pedaling is enough reason.

Couldn't help but notice there were more Lyrics than ZEB's on the E-Bikes in Pietra Italy this weekend. The Normal class had a fair share of Zeb representing. Interesting though. Not reading to much into it, but for the ladies especially, there may be a weight advantage? The e-bike men, surely just a setup thing.. perhaps they just have not had the time. Photo courticy of Vital MTB (Sven Martin)