How could I not… “Ryokou follows the journey of World Champion cyclist Shane Perkins in Japan whilst competing in the 2012/13 Keirin competition. The web documentary explores the Japanese Keirin as a pivotal part of Shane’s personal and professional growth, in context of some of the major events in his career. The series comprises of 5 episodes which will be released over 5 days in May/June 2013.” SBS will also be televising it on the 26th of May at 6:30. Get Keen!

Presented by Onitsuka Tiger.
Proudly supported by Jayco and Huon Aquaculture – the world’s most loved salmon.
And 88 individuals via crowdfunding platform Pozible.

The Sunshine Series DH has rolled around again for 2013 and once more it has opened at the classic Toowoomba trail, ‘Mackenzie Frenzy’. A lot of modifications were made before the race, bringing new life to the old track and keeping riders on their toes especially through the off camber top section. Further changes worked out well providing a fresh look to the track whilst still having the well-known ‘Mackenzie Frenzy’ flat out speed and looseness riders have come to expect.
The weather threatened all Sunday afternoon with some small showers but nothing did deter the riders or their times.The Elite category was big and stacked with talent, containing names like Kovarik, Maltman and young guns Remy Morton and Max Warshawsky who both were racing above their years. The U19′s win was claimed convincingly by Sam Rohdmann above Cairns boy Lachlan McLaren who pulled second with two crashes and Loughlin Murphy rounded out the podium in third.
The top three in elite were separated by just under a second with Lindsay Klein taking the win ahead of Kovarik and Ben Power. Max Warshawsky found his way into fourth place, giving the crowd something to cheer about and James Murphy showed his form coming in fifth with his first elite podium. However the highlight of the day was clearly young Remy Morton who was just over a second off the podium in sixth pace, a very impressive performance.
Big thanks must go to the Toowoomba Mountain Bike Club for putting on a great event year in year out as well as to new series title sponsor ‘Yakima Racks’. Well wishes also go to Liam Paiaro who came unstuck on track and had to be airlifted to hospital, he is now home and recovering.

Words : Chris Dalziel Photos : Andrew Benson

With the first World Cup of the season mere days away the Trek Factory Racing team have just realeased this tidy little edit to introduce the team. Within you will find some top notch footage of Australian racing legends Bec Henderson and Dan McConnell, check it out.

A little bit of 16″ downhill shredding in sunny ol’ Tasmania, well worth the time waste. LANGUAGE WARNING on the song.

At first glance, the Flow EX rims look too light to be a strong and durable Downhill rim. Weighing in at 490grams (that’s 165grams lighter than a Mavic 823!) I expected them to only last a few runs before I would be changing them out. I was wrong.
Stan’s have put a lot of time and thought into the engineering of these rims, focusing on how the tyre works and designing the rim around its performance. The low profile of the side wall gives you a strong and durable platform which not only creates a fantastic bead edge for the tyre to lock secularly into place, but also allows the tyre to form its intended shape to give you optimum grip. This also means it has the ability to run lower pressures and reduces the likelihood of burping or pinch flats.
With the Stan’s No Tubes tubeless system, these rims are a breeze to build, not to mention that they bead and seal better than any other tubeless rim out there that I have ever had the pleasure of working with.
I have had the Stan’s No Tubes Flow EX rims built up on my bike for the last three national rounds: Thredbo, Mt Stromlo and Bright. Thredbo and Stromlo are without doubt two of the hardest-on-equipment tracks on the national calendar. These rims held up well; my wheels stayed true with no dents. The tyres maintained a perfect tubeless seal despite three small cracks appearing in the rear wheel by the end of the national championships round, keeping in mind that riders were destroying even Dee Max rims at Stromlo.
All in all I am extremely happy with these rims as a lightweight, cost effective race rim. They get my tick of approval.

Words : Crundy // Swift Rocky Mountain Team Photos : JL Media

The release of JL Medias highly anticipated Insight 2 is just around the corner and having seen the final edit ourselves we believe your in for one sweet visual experience. Copies will be available this weekend at the VDHS presentation day and online there after. If you want to know whats instore for you click through and watch the trailer after the jump

Having never ridden 100 km on a mountain bike before (98 km being the most), I knew the Convict 100 wasn’t going to be a walk in the park! Having got some good training in since the national series ended, I was confident I could “race” the race and not just ride it, even with the bit of fatigue I was carrying. The week prior had me searching all across the internet for every detail about the race I could get my hands on. One recurring theme throughout the videos, articles etc. was the feared first climb. Coming around at 11 km into the race, after a flat section of road, it would most likely shape how the rest of the race would pan out.

As St Albans is rather remote, the closest accommodation option was camping. The night prior to the race after much deliberation (by Dad) we finally chose a camping spot, by luck it happened to be right next to fellow national series racers, Michael Crosbie and Alex Meyland. Then it was onto a quick roll up the start road, rego, dinner and an early night.

A very favorable start time of 7 am (not very favorable) meant waking up at 5:30 am, which left enough time for several nerve induced toilet stops and some food. Quadruple checking everything with bike and rider, all seemed squared away and there was time for a short warm up.

Then bang, finally it was time to turn the pedals in anger. Andy Blair was first to attack shortly after the start, and after some confusion he was brought back. Eventually a small break got up the road, consisting of Brendan Johnston, Shaun Lewis, Andrew Hall and Mike Blewitt. With both the Cannondale Sugoi team, with Andrew Hall, and the Swell Specialized team, with Shaun Lewis, represented in the break, their respective team mates were quiet happy sitting in, which left the chase to only a handful. Being the masterful tactician that I am, I decided to try to bridge across to the break. Which just ended with me stuck in no man’s land, using up a lot of energy and not really going anywhere. Back to the bunch it was. Fast forward to the base of the first climb>>>>Up the climb I was sitting behind Kyle Ward, Michael Crosbie and Andy Blair, halfway up I began to lose contact and just tried to keep it smooth. Jason English came alongside and that is how it stayed over the top. Soon the Cannondale boys (Anthony Shippard and James Downing) bridged up and our group of two became four. Having Andrew Hall up the road, the Cannondale boys were never going to work and help marathon national champ Jason English reach the front group. So the chase was largely left to Jason, I tried to help where I could, and soon enough we made contact. At this point we were sitting second group on the road with only Brendan Johnston and Andrew Hall remaining up the rode from the early break. Continuing along the ridge line it was time to eat and drink. Anthony Shippard provided the entertainment on the water bars, probably seeing how strong his new lefty fork was with two very nose heavy landings!

After the first feed zone (28 km), it was some more fire road then onto the convict trail (I think). A bit over 30 km in we came to a creek, with only one single track route around it. After the slight bottle neck it was a quick run, then back on the bike. Unfortunately, the group had really strung out after this and I was popped off the back.
This section was probably the only time I have experienced a distinct disadvantage by having a hardtail. From memory, apart from the two escapees, it was only Jason English on a hardtail in front of me. With the rest being on dual suspension bikes and able to consistently pedal through the rough stuff, those on hardtails left with a lot of stop start action. Soon after, the Cannondale boys passed me then it was just me and the koalas trackside. Mike Blewitt passed me at some point but I honestly can’t really remember much else.

Then it was onto the 50 km feed station. I spent a lot of time looking at the table of bottles trying to find mine. Luckily a race volunteer was there and pointed it out for me (right in front of me). Then everything flowed onto the next, there was some climbing, some rocks, sand, rocks, climbing, cramps, more rocks, pretending I was a pirate on the canoe bridge, an endless bitumen section, then onto the final major climb. Near the top, my coach, Mark Fenner, had caught me and told me to get going (with a few extra words added!). So it was to be some stem chewing action across the final ridge until the cramps came back on a steep climb and I was popped off his wheel. Around there we passed Kyle Ward, who looked like he was paying for an aggressive first section.

Pushing on over the last hills it was onto the final descent, some fire road and after watching a beardy man ride away from me it was a short stumble across a lake and sand dunes and an ITT over the last few km to cross the finish line in about 4:20 hrs in 14th place. For my first 100 km race, I am reasonably happy with how I went and look forward to putting what I learnt into the next race.

Words and Photos : Sebastian Jayne
Sebastian Jayne Racing Blog

Gippsland MTB Round 4 – 26th May, 2013

What is this new format of racing? Gravity Enduro? Start at a higher elevation and finish at a lower elevation? Then get shuttled to the start to do it all again? Gippsland MTB got onto this idea years ago…

It’s May again – Time for Pete’s Track Sprint. S&J Cycles are back on board to proudly sponsor another great event.

This race always seems to bring out the XC/DH rivalry – The DHer’s have claimed the title of recent years, perhaps this is the year of the XC rider? Can someone finally knock Karl Peel out of position 1?

The course will be approximately 5km in length and it showcases fast, flowing trails, rock gardens and log rides. The locals have put a huge amount of effort into the course to make it one you will remember. While some may see recent weather and falling trees as having made a bit of a mess of the track, Lenny sees ‘opportunities’ and ‘potential’ so look out for some possible new additions to the course that we all currently enjoy.

The race format will be similar to a DH event – practice runs and shuttles will be available for riders once registered until the rider briefing. Riders will get two race runs with only their fastest time counting towards their final standing.

The event is open to both members and non-club members for solo entries in Male, Female and Junior categories. It is suitable for riders of all abilities and a great way to get involved surrounded by a friendly atmosphere.

Due to the added complexity of staging a sprint race as opposed to a multi-lap XC enduro, online pre-registration will be the entry method. If you are unable to pre-register, or have any other questions, please contact events@gippslandmtb.com.au or call Graeme on 0408 595 294. Event day registrations/provided shuttles will not be accepted as we need to seed all riders. The event registration will close at midnight on Friday, 24^th May and rider numbers will be capped at 100. To avoid disappointment, get in early as this is another one not to be missed!

S & J Cycles have put together some excellent prize packs and Shane (The ‘S’ in S&J Cycles) will be about for tech support.

So, register and get along for a race to be remembered. Registered HERE

Tim Eaton of the Giant Australia Team is by no means new to the scene and really knows how to have his bike set up. So sit back and check out the bike of one of the fastest Australian downhillers.
Tim Eaton is supported by : Giant Bicycles, SRAM Australia, Jarrah Bresse High Performance, Onya Bike Belconnen and Civic. You can support Tim though Facebook : HERE