NPS Round 2 THIS WEEKEND & Steve Peat Kit auction!

This weekend is another big one for DH racing with round two of the MSC Bikes/Descent-Gear.com NPS at Innerleithen, Scotland.

I've just had a scan through the entry list here and it's anyone's guess who could take it. Disapointingly, there's none of the big guns like Peaty on board... or even the Chain Reaction guys. Maybe a first place for Beaumont, Ben Reid or Stanny? Rach Atherton is back though and it's a pretty safe bet she'll be bringing home some silverware.

Either way - it's a great venue, the weather repo is threatening sun and it's set to be a damn fine weekend of bike racing.

If you haven't got an entry, get your ass over and do some cheering. There's free parking, loads of facilities and it's right next to Glentress for some killer XC/freeride loops. The Monster Energy truck will even be there dishing out Monster Energy drink to keep you buzzing (and weeing green!).

For more information on the NPS checkout www.NPSDH.com.

They're also running an e-Bay auction to win a signed Steve Peat race kit and raise cash for the Stephen Murray Fund.

The auction finishes on Wednesday the 28th of May 2008 at 20:00GMT so get bidding...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=380027399577&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT&ih=025

The weekend's media...

Jim spent the weekend zooming around the Midlands, papping shots for Wideopen and Fattyre.

Saturday was the NPS 4X at the The Edge in Bridgenorth, Sunday AM over to Bringewood for the Pearce Cycles DH round... Then BACK to the Edge in time for the semi's of the UK 4X Champs. The boy is on a mission!

Here's a few snaps he sent over last night:










Get over to fattyre.co.uk for LOADS more

UK 4X Champs Results

The UK 4X champs went down yesterday at The Edge in Bridgenorth. Scott 'Boom Boom' Beaumont is your new UK Champ, Will Longden took 2nd and Lewis Lacey 3rd.

Photo from www.beaumontracing.co.uk and David Richardson

Jim at fattyre.co.uk was on a mission all weekend, covering the Champs, the Pearce race at Bridgenorth AND the NPS 4x race on Saturday. Apparently Saturday was wet and slippy at the 4X with the drifty final turn making the motos a bit of a lottery!

Thankfully, things cleared up on Sunday for a day of flat out and close racing. I got this text off Jimbo last night:

"Flyin down the roads to get to everythin in time! Boom Boom won the 4x, London led it till the last corner and he smoked him! Lacey 3rd"

For Jim's official repo and hundreds of shots stay tuned to fattyre.co.uk
Also look out for our repo in Issue 7 of Wideopen...

NPS4X homepage: http://www.nps4x.com/

Stuck for something to do this weekend?

Also:

Pearce cycles Rd 3 at Bringewood

NPS 4x and the UK 4X Champs at The Edge Bridgenorth

SDA Rd2 at Fort William

Pop along to one of 'em and do some heckling if you're stuck for something to do!

King of Dirt Round 1 Footage!

King of Dirt dude Ben just sent over this vid from Rd 1 at Chicksands... Put together by Rob Austin.

Be prepared... Round 2 is REALLL soon, going off on Sunday May 25th at Wisley.

Hit the facebook group here: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=13221248793&ref=ts

Morzine and Les Gets News

Just got an email from Alan Milway at Riders Retreat with some good news for the summer:

"This sunny weather has really got me in the mood for the summer Alpine season- and it is fast approaching.

There has been some rumour about late opening times for the lifts and I just wanted to clarify the situation:

This year the lifts are opening in Morzine and Les Gets earlier than usual- to make the most of June. There has been no real reason why the lifts shouldn’t open earlier, and the French tourist office has been encouraged by us and others to allow riders to make the most of the summer biking season.

To this end, the Pleney lift in Morzine will open on 7th June and in Les Gets they have also moved the lift opening forward now to 14th June for the Chavannes lift. (This lift services the side of the hill with the extended downhill course, and numerous single tracks off this, as well as the well like gulley run and also a new route back to Morzine (which is pretty much all downhill and has some great single track on it too).

We’re pretty happy about this news and as such are now offering 15% off any holiday booked in June! Early season is a great time to come and the trails are always in good condition and with news of a new downhill track on the Pleney- it should be a good time to ride!

We have accommodation in Les Gets and Morzine for groups and smaller bookings too. For more info please see:

http://www.riders-retreat.co.uk/

Dragon Downhill Rd2 - Gethin

Last weekend was Rd2 at Gethin, a track that's infamous for being flat out and rocky as f***k...

The track starts out with some fast, flowing corners before spitting you into a steep wooded section then again out into some open, fast rooty bends... Quick road crossing then a MONSTER of a rock garden that is just waiting to eat bikes and riders. Seriously... it's worth a trip to Gethin for the rock garden alone! Final section is a killer pedally bit, with a chunky road gap to style it up for the crowds.

Top spots went to Haby-Blu Cann and Wideopen interview victim Ash Mullane - nice work kids. The next round is at Rheola on the 21st/22nd June. Be there!

We'll have a full repo in Issue 7, with more pics from our expert snapper Oke Ogali at http://www.kchuk.co.uk/

Full results are here

Dragon Downhill webby is here

Here's a vid from last year's Gethin round courtesy of the Team Scream boyos:

Get well soon Josh Bryceland!

A BIG get well soon to Josh Bryceland who had a big crash at the World Cup in Maribor.

Reports say that Josh was pinning into a rock garden and got spat Superman stylee through the air. He's now suffering from a bump to the head and a torn quad muscle that will need some surgery.

Get well soon and get back on it buddy!

World Cup Rd1: Maribor downhill RESULTS!

You've no doubt heard already but Sam Hill took first place by over 3 seconds... 100% still the man to beat in World Cup downhill.

Second place was a bit more of a suprise with French man Jullien Camellini in second, then Peaty in third.

Sabrina Jonnier took the top spot for the ladies, with Rachel Atherton in second and Emeline Ragot in third. Definitely the 3 riders most people would have put their money on... and more GREAT riding from Rach.

The rest of the results are pretty interesting with some great results and some maybe a bit lower than you'd expect... Scan through 'em here

Few highlights from the men:

Fabien Barel - 4th
Greg Minaar - 5th
Gee Atherton - 6th
Kovarik - 7th
Brendog - 9th
Dan Atherton - 11th
Ben Cathro - 17th
Matt Simmonds - 23rd
Gracia - 29th
Ruaridh Cunningham - 33rd
Stanny - 42nd
Sam Dale - 50th
Danny Hart - 62nd
Ben Reid - 66th
Dave Wardell - 68th
Donny - 72nd
Marc Beaumont- 79th

and the ladies:

Fionn Griffiths - 4th
Tracey Moseley - 7th
Mio Suemesa - 8th
Claire Buchar - 11th
Katy Curd - 13th

Head on over to mtbcut.tv for loads of footage
and to Dirtmag.co.uk for loads of great coverage

Maribor 4X results

Top racing this avo with crashes in almost every heat!
1. L.Alvarez
2. G.Tschugg
3. J.Fischbach
4. T.Slavik
Cedric won the B final (or small final as they're calling it?!!!) and was the only MAN to hip the bottom hip in his final run, respect. Great recovery after a big crash in his previous run. A.Beerten won in the ladies...bit of a cakewalk with Jill in BMX for the Olympics though.

Maribor LIVE

Kids, get onto freecaster.tv and watch the 4X this afternoon, already Lopes is OUT in round 1 after a slip up up top. Dan Atherton nearly made the comeback of the year in his round, but just missed out after getting shoved up top.
Great racing action...

World Cup Vid: Day 1 at Maribor (cert 18+)

Hot off the stove from MTBCUT.tv... Some comments from the World's best racers as they gear up for the weekend in Maribor.

Cheers to Stu and the team for sending it over!

Chepstow BMX Jam THIS SATURDAY!!

We had a good time last year, so why not do it again bigger and better?!?!?!

We're having prizes from Seventies Distribution, got coverage from www.BlewBMX.com and www.Welshsidebmx.co.uk.... so if we start planning/getting people involved early its going to be killer!!!!

I am not solely organizing this event, everyone needs to put their 2 pence so it'll be ace, Idea is to get a lot of pallets, a few 8 x 4' boards in and a load of sandbags to make the most ghetto obstacles imaginable, and outdo the LSP boys :PPost building ideas up on the wall and any stashes of building materials you know of..... not that we're condoning stealing, but if it happens it happens right?

Also bring down BBQ fodder, Girls and Beer ;)Partytime in Chepstow after, then to Raoul's for a house party he doesn't know about yet ;)

FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=8572728750&ref=mf

Welcome aboard to Pump Urban Wear!

Did anyone spot the Pump Urban Wear advert in Issue 6?


We've been working with Pump since Issue 2 and they've very kindly supplied advice, content, ideas for articles and loads of tshirts to give away to readers!

After all that, Rick has decided to get involved and advertise in the mag for the next few issues. We've had a great time getting to know them and are really pleased to have them on board!

If you haven't heard of them... Pump are a UK clothing company with loads of fresh designs and a real love for MTB, BMX and skating. They currently sponsor a few riders, including Issue 6 interview victim Tom Gethin.

Take a look if you need some new threads and keep an eye of out for the ads in Wideopen...

http://www.pumpurbanwear.co.uk/

Madison to distribute Gamut USA

Madison are pleased to announce that they will now be the exclusive suppliers of Gamut chain devices in the UK. By the end of May you'll be able to buy 'em throughout the UK at your friendly, local bike shop.




Pictured above is the new Gamut P30, which is a woppingly light 222 grams and they reckon is more than tough enough to take on a World Cup season. If you want proof - check out Irishman Ben Reid who has been beasting Gamut products for months.

They've got 5 different models to fit all BB sizes and ISCG set ups.

Check out http://www.gamutusa.com for more
and www.madison.co.uk for the distro

More Gold for Sam Pilgrim!

Sam Pilgrim must be looking like Mr T by now with all the gold medals he's got hanging round his neck! I'm honestly loosing count of how many wins he's had recently...

Good news is that he just won another one at the FISE MTB slopestyle event in Montpelier... Beating some of the best riders in Europe to the top spot.

Sam's next event is in Munich this weekend for the Qashqai event and then on to London for the Qashqai Finals on 24th-25th May which take place next to the Tate Modern Gallery on the Southbank.

He's also now going to be sporting this rather nice Halo Wings shirt, which you can get hold of in light green, white, cardinal red & violet.

Many thanks to Matt at Ison Distribution for the news. Ison sponsor Sam with ODI, Gusset and TSG products.

Check out Sam's homepage here: http://www.sampilgrim.co.nr/

Donny on location shooting for Foot Out Flat Out

Check out these bad boys from this weekend's shoot with Neil Donoghue!.Taken by James Matthews.

E.Thirteen have got your back!

Great news for E-Thirteen owners in the shape of the 'E.Thirteen Technical Support Programme'

The support programme will see E.thirteen attend the top races around the UK where they will be offering riders technical advice and support.

The support is open to any racer running an E.thirteen chain guide or components competing in the race whether big time professional or first race amateur.

E.thirteen will be attending all UK NPS (National Points Series) downhill, UK National Championships and the Fort William World Cup Round in 2008 supporting their riders and keeping them on course for the podium.

Give them a shout if you're at any of those events and look out for our LG1 test in Issue 7

E.Thirteen homepage

UK Distributor Silverfish

Ashton/Diamondback's Rowan Johns NEW webvideo!

Check out Wideopenmag Issue 6 for a full interview with Rowan!

http://www.ashtonbikes.com/

MTBCUT.tv LIVE World Cup Broadcasts!

Not gonna make it to any of the World Cups this year?

Don't panic! The boys at MTBCUT.tv have teamed up with the UCI and will be streaming World Cup racing LIVE online.

Watching World Cup rounds usually involves setting your alarm for silly o'clock or battling the VCR to try and catch Eurosport or some other dodgy show... This is really gonna be a great chance to see your favourite riders in action.

Stu Thomson, the rider and videographer behind MTBcut.tv said, “this is surely one of the biggest moves ever for the growth in promotion and success of our sport. Last year’s World Championship coverage proved that there is a massive international enthusiasm for live coverage of our sport and now this move will allow the growth and development of Downhill and 4X to continue.”

Good luck to 'em!