Ive just got back from a month in canada/usa and im pretty stoked to be home. First week was spent in mt st anne for rd 4 of the world cup series and it was a pretty rough week for me. The track was rough and getting rougher all week, and once it pissed with rain it made an already tough track, even tougher… there were so many deep ruts and holes that were trying to stall you the whole way down, and rooty slick rock sections that you couldn’t touch the brakes on so the rain helped nothing at all. I had a pretty fast crash the final practice run before quali so i was fairly hanging for the run, walking was a bit of an issue so i wasn’t suprised when i struggled to get it together for qualifying but i struggled through and took the saturday off to try and get back in the game. Sunday came and i felt much better, i felt confident for a solid days racing and was on point all the way up to the moment i blew my rear tyre. it was game over and to add insult to injury i got a DNF from the UCI after carrying my bike the whole way to the finish.
Next up we headed to Windham for rd 5, it was a pretty solid drive there, but we broke it up with a day off at Lake George to get some jet ski/ speed boat action in. Good fun watching Polish Pete nearly sideswipe Browny on the jet skis. Windham was following the same style most of the tracks have been this year, the same as last year but way mellower and less tech. Just balls out stuff rather than anything hard to ride… bit of a shame but still kinda good fun. I felt fast but qualifying and race run were both off the pace and i finished out of the top ten. It sucked to be so far down but at the same time it brought to light a few technical issues we had been ignoring this year. I always find you learn the most from the poor results and Windham was no exception.
After having my ass kicked for two weeks i was looking forward to chilling out in Whistler for a bit before Crankworx kicked off… that place is so much fun with loads of good riding and places to hang out at night. I decided to take it easy on the racing front and not do too many, Canadian Open and A Line were the only ones on the cards in the end. An over the bars and a puncture respectfully. Not the results i was looking for but i wasn’t too bothered, it was a lot of fun riding with everyone and getting away from the racing for a bit. Judging the ‘miss trail bunny’ contest and watching Stevie Bell learn backflips were probably the highlights. Was stoked to watch best trick and qualifying for the slopestyle, so much respect for those guys, you can see they are pushing pretty hard and no one is in any sort of comfort zone, its inspiring to watch.
