Update: Lars has made it to the US Worlds team as a discretionary selection. In fact, all of the DH riders were chosen in this manner. Get the full story on PinnedMTB.com
Congratulations to Lars Sternberg of Port Angeles, WA and Fluidride on his 4th place finish at Angel Fire. Now he’s off on the next two legs of a World Cup trip that hopefully gives him the points he needs to compete in DH at Worlds in Italy. In 2006, Lars placed 13th in MX at the Worlds in Rotorua. This was his only other time competing at the World level. Lars has been dominating in regional races and he got a top 25 at this years Sea Otter which sees the majority of the World Cup racers. I have a lot of hope and expectation that it is now Lars’ time. I wanted to know what Lars had to say for himself and about his journey.
It actually snowed in Angel Fire, NM during the practice days. How did this affect you when it later dried up for qualifying and the finals?
It didn’t bother me at all really. I’ve done a ton of riding all winter so it wasn’t a shock to have to ride in the snow. As soon as I heard it would be bad conditions I tried to prepare myself mentally as much as possible. Then getting to race in bone dry conditions was just a bonus. Continue reading ‘Interview With Lars Sternberg’
Once a year the freeride course on Beacon Hill in Spokane, Washington lends its rock faces and dry eastern forest dirt to a downhill race. Unlike last years race, this race had near perfect conditions, zero scandals, and smiles for everyone. It wasn’t all perfect - let’s see, Saturday was hot and very dry. For those of us not used to sun stroke, dangerous even. But then it rained early Sunday morning and drizzled during the morning’s activities making the dirt perfect! Continue reading ‘Beacon Blowout 08′
First off - I have to apologize for not getting April’s results out in a timely manner.
No excuses…
April’s Picture Of The Day Winner:
We gave the April POD to Carl Warren for his piece “Blind Ambition.” |
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This is a shot of Mike Estes on his new Brodie out at Syncline, WA. The great thing about this photo is how the contrast of the shot brings out the gradation of drab colors, as if it was a painting. These colors also help to bring the viewer into the rider’s mind space. It seems forbidding, yet some how alright. Check out Carl’s galleries on this site: Main Gallery FR Cup#1 Fr Cup#2
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May’s Picture Of The Day Winner:
There were a lot of similarly good photos for the month of May. |
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We can’t overlook this picture that Karen Johanson took of Darren Berrecloth at the BearClaw Invitational. More than any other dirt jump or freeride related photo that I’ve seen, this photo shows us that moment when it all comes together. The perfect exposure and focus are the reason we can view the photo ins this way. We see shots like this a lot in trail riding, were the photographer is right in the cockpit with the rider. The photos of the rider nearer to the ground are easier to get. But, in all these kind of shots we can see that “Moment” at it’s finest.Check out Karen Johanson’s portfolio site. |
The 2008 Qashqai Challenge has seen the world’s top freeriders hucking on courses in the core of major European cities — Milan, Madrid, Munich, Paris and London.
UPDATE: Northwest rider Phil Sundbaum ended up in the fourth spot in London and sixth overall in the Challenge after several weeks of solid runs — including two 360 tailwhips in London — landed him ahead of some of the usual suspects typically found on slopestyle podiums.
Here are the overall results for 2008:
- Lance McDermott
- Benny Korthaus
- Trond Hansen
- Paul Basagoitia
- Sam Pilgrim
- Phil Sundbaum
- Jamie Goldman
- Martin Soederstrom
- Brandon Semenuk
- Kurtis Sorge
- Adam Hauck
- Andreu Lacondeguy
And here are a few thoughts from Sundbaum about the Qashqai Challenge, Europe and the rest of 2008: Continue reading ‘Phil Sundbaum: News from Qashqai’
This video of the Fluidride Cup #2 Dual Slalom tells that story of grassroots dual slalom. Sure the pros are the stars, but in the local scene, even the fans yelling from the sideline get their 15 minutes. Some may claim that dual slalom is destined for “Friday nights under the lights.” Who really knows. The truth is, it’s fun and it’s making a comeback.
You can watch this low resolution version here, or you can (right click and save) and download an HD quality version here (Apple TV format playable with any updated quicktime player).
Also the podcast is always a better quality than the flash video here.
To See Video Continue reading ‘Long Live Slalom’
Simon Lawton — professional downhiller and founder of first Downhill Northwest and now Fluidride — moved to Seattle in 1996. Two years later, he met Chris Leman from the Eastlake Community Council, who had seen Simon loading his bike for races, etc. Turns out both had envisioned mountain bike trails in the area below I-5 — and Chris had connections in city government from his work on the Council.
Suddenly, Simon found himself going to meetings with everyone imaginable — bike commuters, community councils, anyone who might work with him to create the Colonnade. Continue reading ‘Colonnade — The Concept’
Pro Men: 1) Lars Sternberg 2) Andrew Mitchell 3) Bart Mcdaniel
Pro/Expert Women: 1) Katie Holden 2) Leanna Gerrard 3) Dawn Lambert 4) Joy Mutoli
Full Results: DH 2 Results DS 2 Results
This weekend was supposed to rain in Port Angeles, WA for Fluidride Cup Race #2. We got rain. At night while we all slept and dreamed of fast lines. We woke each morning to sunshine and perfect dirt. A perfect weekend for speed. In fact, I heard many racers talking about dealing with the speed of the course. “I feel I’m a little behind my bike.” “I’ve never felt faster” It was fast and the final times showed this. It also is possible that this is why there were so many injuries. But, we won’t dwell on this. Healing Vibes All. Now, there are three things that I must share about this weekend with you all… Continue reading ‘Fluidride Cup #2 Recap’
The 7th annual Spring Thaw Downhill came to Ashland, Oregon last weekend on May 4, 2008. The Downhill ran 1.7 miles down Catwalk to Toothpick Trail. The trail first ran down through a rock garden into a double that led to a balls out speedy highway section. The trail then proceeded to wind its way through a bunch of switchbacks into a hell bent 60 yard uphill climb to the finish. Continue reading ‘Ashland Spring Thaw Results’
Last weekend I got the opportunity to both cover and participate in the Fluidride Race Camp. As many of you know, my love for riding is a two-headed beast. One head is for sure Bones Over Metal and the bike media I work on. The other head is my own riding and racing. Lucky for me, both of these heads want to go in the same direction and attending the Fluidride Race Camp allowed me to exercise both of these interests. Continue reading ‘Fluidride Race Camp’
About 60 riders from spots throughout the Northwest converged on Snoqualmie on Sunday, May 4 for the BENT III comp.
Ladders, skinnies, drops, swooping berms and fast downhill were the focus of the day. In the first event, riders trying to conquer Shore-style stunts were dinged 10 points for every dab. But in the downhill event, a number of racers bypassed big hits, including several ladder drops, in the interest of shaving seconds off their time. A jump jam on a few of the bigger stunts concluded the comp.
At the end of the day, Matt Patterson, Brian Guse and Trevor Louvier ascended the podium for best overall male rider and Caryn Cantu, Kat Sweet and Deb Hutton were determined the top overall female riders. Damien and Trevor won spots one and two on the jump jam podium, joined by Matt P. Continue reading ‘BENT III’
For those of you that have looked forward to racing the National Finals at Tamarack the race has been relocated to Brian Head, Utah.
GRANTSVILLE, Utah (April 30, 2008) – Blue Wolf Events is pleased to announce
Brian Head, Utah, as the replacement venue for the National Mountain Bike Series
Finals Presented by Trek VW, on August 30 and September 1, after Tamarack
Resort, Idaho, had to remove itself from the schedule. Get full press release.
South Africa’s Greg Minnaar won the Sea Otter 2008 Pro Men’s Dual Slalom on Saturday and then woke up and won the Downhill on Sunday. Watching him practice I was impressed with the strength that he showed. His riding was smooth and aggressive, but there was also a raw display of power in the more pedaly sections that many other pro riders lacked. Greg Minnaar is new this year to the Santa Cruz Syndicate.
How did it feel doubling up at Sea Otter?
Twice as happy….. No just kidding, I didn’t expect it at all. I felt good on the Slalom and things went my way. The downhill is super padaly and I didn’t think I had the legs, it must have been the cliff protein bar.
Continue reading ‘Interview With Greg Minnaar’
Simon Lawton hired me to produce Fluidride: Like A Pro. Through this collaboration, I got to know Simon as a man with many “irons in the fire.” He’s a consummate pro rider, a shop owner, and a pro instructor. Even after spending the time with him to learn his ways while producing his DVD, I knew there were a lot of things that I still wanted to ask him. The following interview his born of respect and knowing that there is a ton more I can learn from Simon.
Simon, what is your definition of fast?
Being comfortable using the power of the hill to give you speed. This requires the confidence that comes with absolute control.
Continue reading ‘Interview With Simon Lawton’
Greg Minnaar got the win by nearly a second. I’ll put his 2:11.21 in context. 50th place was only ten seconds out of 1st. The course at Sea Otter lived up to its reputation of being a course that requires pedaling between features in order to put down the good time. There was little advantage to line choice. The greatest gains came from precise cornering, body position and making sure that a single, required pedal stroke was not missed. Basically, perfect execution was rewarded over balls out risk. Continue reading ‘Sea Otter DH Results And Video’
Tuesday and Wednesday: Hood River, OR.
So, I crawled into Hood River, Oregon and met up with Mike Estes, Miles Sullivan and Carl Warren for a little ride and shoot among Bike Media types. You would have seen Carl Warren’s stuff here, as well as, on Pink Bike with Mike Estes and Miles Sullivan. Kim Sturts, Karen Johanson, and Leif Olson all came down from Seattle to ride with us. By the time we all got together and got up to Post Canyon it was getting a little late. Plus the rain just continued to come down on us. We all ended up riding some quick lines on Middle School and then taking the Super D line 7 Streams out to the bottom pick up. It was a great run out in the rain, but my legs were rebelling by the end of the trail. After Sea Otter they didn’t need to ride another long pedally course on a downhill bike.
Continue reading ‘Sea Otter Classic Road Trip’
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