2008 Blk Mrkt Riot

Check out our review and custom build of a 2008 Blk Mrkt Riot inside.

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Special thanks to:

• Blk Mrkt Bikes
• Deity
• Fizik
• FSA Pro Bmx
• Profile Racing
• Red Barn Bikes

Kathy sent along an update from the Santa Cruz Syndicate from this past weekend’s race. The race was well attended and was exciting to say the least. The result was Sam Hill with the win, Peaty 3rd, and Minnaar in 5th. Sadly Josh Bryceland took a tumble and was injured.

The first NISSAN UCI World Cup was met with much anticipation and excitement. Websites were buzzing all week with news from the event and journalists and television crews were all over the beautiful Pohorje Mountain situated on the outskirts of the city of Maribor in Slovenia.

The outing for the Syndicate was successful and dismal all in the same day with Steve Peat and Greg Minnaar headlining the highlights as they finished 3rd and 5th respectively while Josh Bryceland suffered a massive get-off at the end of the rock garden while having a screamer of a run.

Here’s how the week went:

The Maribor downhill course is a popular one. Starting on the ski slope, it quickly enters the dark, root filled woods, and is known for it’s long rock garden section, even though some of it is man-made and cemented into place. The course is flowing but fast and pretty rough in places. Race morning Josh Bryceland says, “My practice has gone really good so far. I’m feeling really confident after last weeks race in Italy. I’ve been doing things on the track here and I am really excited about the race today.” Peat says, “Practice has been going good. We’ve made a couple of changes to my bike and it feels way better, I feel solid on the course. My mechanic ‘Rick Bobby’ has been making my bike feel like a new bike each day.”

The Syndicate Riders Photo: Kathy Sessler (More photos in the gallery)

The Santa Cruz V-10’s were dialed in each run by the ace Syndicate mechanics, Doug Hatfield, Rick Clarkson, Nigel Reeve and Iain Bryceland. Hatfield says, “Each run here we’ve made changes to the bikes. It’s all a progression going forward. Every change to the bikes just leads us up to the start of the race. We’ve adjusted the suspension settings and made brake changes sizing rotors up, and then down, and changing pad compounds. The track has been wicked hard on the brakes at this event.” Clarkson says, “The training speeds have been getting faster and faster each day, so we’ve made all the adjustments accordingly. The bikes are dialed.”

Hatfield wrenching away Photo: Kathy Sessler (More photos in the gallery)

DOWNHILL QUALIFIER:

The qualifier went pretty well for the Syndicate boys with all of them placing in the top ten. Steve “Old School” Peat delivered the goods with a second place finish to Julien Camellini just .16 behind him. Minnaar posted the fastest split time of the morning, then came fourth to Sam Hill’s third place finish, just .15 behind Sam. The competition is fierce with less than a second separating the top four. Peat says, “You’ve got to push in the qualifier, it’s a world cup and you get points for it. My run went pretty good and I pedaled hard, and I made some mistakes. I know where I can take some time off.”
Minnaar said, “My run was steady and smooth on top, but I made two big mistakes at the bottom, but I would rather do it now than later.” Rennie made some mistakes and came 10th. Bryceland was not pleased with his effort but still cracked the top ten ahead of Rennie with a 9th place finish.

DOWNHILL FINAL:

As the downhill unfolded Rennie was the first of the squad to attempt to improve on his qualifier, but couldn’t get past the arm-pump and finished 21st. Bryceland was on the hill at the same time Rennie was finishing and all eyes were on the big screen. With Freecaster broadcasting the race live, much of the world could see Josh pinning it into the rock garden and witnessed his crash which spit him into the air, superman style, pummeling him into the stumps at the bottom. Cedric Gracia describes it saying, “He was 4 meters high, and flew so far, he was going so fast. He slammed into the ground, I can’t believe he didn’t die.” After a few minutes we could see on the big screen Josh walking away from the crash…but his injuries weren’t apparent right away.

Josh Bryceland Photo: Kathy Sessler (More photos in the gallery)

Next up was Minnaar looking like he was having a good run, and his efforts gave him a 5th place finish. Normally that would be a podium finish, but UCI has decided to make the podium a 3-person presentation rather than the traditional five, so it was quite a disappointment that he wasn’t on the podium. The decision is not a popular one, and riders and teams are against it. We all want UCI to change back to a five-person podium and will lobby for reinstatement of this.

Peaty’s race run was solid and proves that “Old School” has what it takes to stay on the blocks in this sport. As Bryceland was in the ambulance he asked the driver to wait a moment so that he could watch his mentor race by, and Peat raced to the bottom placing 3rd to Julien Camellini, and race winner, Sam Hill. Peat says, “I’m happy to finish on the podium. I feel really confident on my revamped V-10. I’m not happy to get beat by Julien or Sam. The track got a lot drier and I made some mistakes on the top, then settled into my run and picked up my pace, but it wasn’t enough.”

Steve Peat Photo: Kathy Sessler (More photos in the gallery)

Minnaar says, “I knew I had a lot more in me after the qualifier, at least a few seconds. I think I tried too hard at the top of the woods and overshot a few corners and didn’t have much flow up top. Exiting the woods I didn’t carry as much speed as I wanted through the middle and at the bottom I tried to make up time. The middle worked well, but the bottom I tried too hard and lost time. I’m happy with my result, but not with my race run.”

In the meantime, Bryceland was met at first aid by his mom, Luisa. On radio contact she reported that it appeared that he was badly bruised, had a chipped tooth and was okay. Yet as they were leaving the tent he became nauseous, and his smashed up helmet was clear evidence of a concussion. He was then taken to the hospital for observation and it was revealed that he suffered a leg injury, which at this time appears to be a quad muscle torn from the bone. He will be flying home to the UK to have surgery to repair the damage.

Next up for the Syndicate, we are off to Lisbon for the annual Lisbon Downtown Race.

Steve Peat 3rd Place Run (see more videos on Freecaster here)

Pro Men (full results here)

1) SAM HILL (Monster /Iron Horse) 2:47.54
2) JULIEN CAMELLINI (Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense) 2:50.62
3) STEVE PEAT (SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE) 2:51.85
4) FABIEN BAREL (Subaru) 2:52.11
5) GREG MINNAAR (SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE) 2:52.19
6) GEE ATHERTON (Animal Commencal) 2:52.34
7) CHRIS KOVARIK (Chain Reaction Cycles/Intense) 2:52.52
8) JUSTIN LEOV (Yeti) 2:52.56
9) BRENDAN FAIRCLOUGH (Monster/Iron Horse) 2:54.23
10) ANDREW NEETHLING (GT/Mongoose) 2:55.49

21) NATHAN RENNIE (SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE) 2:57.76
DNF: JOSH BRYCELAND (SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE)

Pro Women (full results here)

1: Sabrina Jonnier 3:14.31
2: Rachel Atherton 3:14.49
3: Emmeline Ragot 3:21.80

Sam Hill thunders down the hill to a 3.08s victory. The look on Barel’s face is priceless.

Sam Hill, Julien Camellini, Steve Peat

Nigel Page sent along a report on the front lines with the Chain Reaction Cycles team. Julien Camellini put in an amazing run for 2nd place in the World Cup final today in Maribor. After qualifying first in the morning Julien kept his nerve and focus to put in an amazing final run to place 2nd behind World Champion Sam Hill.

Chris Kovarik also put in a fantastic run to place 7th only 0.67 seconds behind 3rd place. This is a great start to the World Cups for Chris after a dissapointing season last year. Chris is right in with the top guys again where he should be and this will give him the confidence to start winning World Cups again like we all know he can. All of us at Chain Reaction Cycles / Intense are stoked to have Chris on the team.

This is Juliens best World Cup result to date riding his new Intense M6. This is a fantastic result for Julien and Chain Reaction Cycles / Intense. We are all super stoked with this result to start off the World Cup season.

Matt and Ruaridh both put in great runs in a stacked field with all the top guys in the World riding at their limit. Matt managed 23rd position only 10.62 second down on the winning time and Ruaridh has overcome his knee injury to place 33rd only 11.97 seconds down. We are stoked to have these 2 brilliant young riders onboard the team. They are now both two of the favourites to be selected for the GB team for the World Championships in Italy.

We all worked hard as a team for this weekend and we couldn’t be happier for this great start to the World Cup season.

We look forward to the next UCI round in Vallnord on the 1st June. Team CRC will now head off to Morzine tomorrow. Chris Kovarik and Ruaridh Cunningham will be racing the Lisbon Downtown next weekend.

Todays results:

UCI World Cup Round 1 Maribour

Pro Men (full results, including qualifying here)

1: Sam Hill 2:47.54
2: Julien Camellini 2:50.62
3: Steve Peat 2:51.85
4: Fabien Barel 2:52.11
5: Greg Minnaar 2:52.19
6: Gee Atherton 2:52.34
7: Chris Kovarik 2:52.52
8: Justin Leov 2:52.56
9: Brendan Fairclough 2:54.23
10: Andrew Neethling 2:55.49
23: Mathew Simmonds 2:58.16
33: Ruaridh CUNNINGHAM2:59.51

Pro Women (full results here)

1: Sabrina Jonnier 3:14.31
2: Rachel Atherton 3:14.49
3: Emmeline Ragot 3:21.80

2008 Maribor World Cup 4x results and video’s inside from Mtbcut.tv. Check it out.

Pro Men:

1. Alvarez De Lara Lu
2. Guiuu Tschugg
3. Johannes Fischbach
4. Tomas Slavik
5. Cedric Gracia

Pro Women:

1. Anneke Beerten
2. Anita Molcik
3. Fionn Griffiths
4. Melissa Buhl

Tune in here on Saturday & Sunday to see the Live Webcast!

Inside are a few video’s giving you a preview of the course and more. U.S.A. residents will unfortunately be blocked from viewing the live feeds due to contractual agreements. See the countdown and more inside.

Freecaster Course Preview

MTB Cut Maribor Preivew (Caution, contains some adult language.)

If you have any suggestions, or have a cool video to share feel free to drop us an email or sound off in the forums.

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Sam Davies sent us an email on his latest video project called TIA (This is Australia). Check out the trailer he’s put together! See the Flash version inside if you don’t have quicktime.

www.tiafilm.com

Race Face Diabolus DH low-rise handlebar

Race Face continues to bring new products to the table that riders have been clamoring for. A low-rise Diabolus quality bar. The rise and the sweep remains the same as the higher rise Diabolus but in a much lower 1/2″ rise variant.

Available only in bad ass black, these new low rise handlebar from Race Face will be loved by many. Designed for downhill and freeride, the Diabolus bars are built strong with an internal taper to keep the strength up and to keep the weight in check.

(click to enlarge)

The width on these bars rings in at 710mm (28″) wide.

(click to enlarge)

The bars feature a 9º rearward, 4º upward sweep with only a .5″ rise.

(click to enlarge)

Bar Diameter: 31.8mm

The bars have the typical Race Face styling with subtle flame graphics.

The bars have some nice cut marks with distinct cut lines.

(click to enlarge)

Price:

$60 MSRP

Weight:

Part	Year	Real(g)	Pic.
Race Face Diabolus Low-Rise Bars (28″)	2008	361

So far it’s as expected with this bar. Race Face delivers a very low rise bar with a good sized width. It is significantly lower than previous Diabolus offerings (1.5″ rise) and maintains the same feel of the Diabolus bar but in a lower .5″ rise.  With increased suspension and desire for a lower overall feel on the bike, the need for low rise bars is definitely there.
[Race Face Diabolus DH Low-Rise Bar Gallery] [Race Face Website]

The Ranch Style Grassroots Dirt Jam went off well and Andrew Wilz sent us some pictures of the event. Looks like a lot of fun was had. Go check out the jump spot if you’re close by to Grand Junction, CO.  See a small video inside.

[more pictures in the gallery]

Eric Carter has been putting in some hard work for a gravity (shuttle) mountain bike park out in Temecula, California (SoCal). BNC Productions has put together a video of the location and has an informative video with Carter giving more details.

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let us know why you deserve this 2008 Canfield One

Last week we posted our review of the prototype Canfield ONE and this week you have a chance to get a hold of the bike for yourself!

A lucky rider has been selected!  Thanks for the emails everyone!

One of the best ways to improve something is to measure it in some way, shape, or form. A timer allows you to get a mathematic grasp on what improvements (line choice, bike setup, etc) really get you down the hill faster. Read our thoughts inside on the DMC Moto-Trainer.

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The first Dobermann full suspension (single speed 4130 Cromo) prototype has evolved a bit since its birth and is coming along well. Read more about it on the Dobermann Blog.

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Sam Hill looks poised to be on point again this year on the downhill WC circuit. It should be a great season. Inside are some spy shots of his 2008 race bike that Stefano sent us from the Val Di Sole Worlds Test Event where Hill dominated the Pro field by 5.18s. Tons of prototype goodies on board the Blackbox equipped bikes this past weekend and Hill’s bike was no exception.

Sam Hill’s 2008 Race bike with the BlackBox Boxxer on board (click to enlarge)

Sam Hill’s 2008 Race bike (click to enlarge)

Sam Hill’s 2008 Race bike (click to enlarge)

May 4th, Roxybury NY. Kevin Aeillo won the Plattekill Jr. Worlds Qualification Race that earns him a spot to represent the U.S.A. at the Worlds race this year. George Ulmer sent us along some results and some details of the event. See more inside.

JR-X Results

1. 3:15.452 Aeillo, Kevin CA
2. 3:19.074 Mulally. Neko PA
3. 3:19.157 Ulmer, Naish UT
4. 3:21.716 Faulkner, Zach NH
5. 3:21.836 Schusler, Joey CO
6. 3:26.232 Quehl, Ethan GA
7. 3:29.809 Shulze, Peter NM
8. 3:33.578 Pisst, Grahme CA
9. 3:33.830 Rude, Richard CT
10. 3:41.819 Collins, Will CT
11. 3:45.469 Eterno, Austin CT
12. 3:52.498 Bercume, Eric MA
13. 4:00.072 Hurteau, Patrick VT
14. 4:02.739 Schumer, Andrew VT
15. 4:03.032 Wilkens, Cody NY
16. 4:15.495 Kilmartin, Zach NY
17. 4:27.466 Stevens, Samuel CO
18. 10:00.00 Tjossem, Bergen CO

Pro Results

1. Geritt Beytgah
2. Chris Higgerson
3. Chris Heath

Neko Mulally (15 years old) qualified 1st followed by Kevin Aeillo. During the finals, five riders had to do re-runs which helped out a few of the racers.

• Grahm Pitts crashed first run
• Naish Ulmer crashed first run
• Joey Schustler Lost Chain first run

Neko, 15, and not eligible for the worlds team raced well both qualifying and race run around 3:19. Will Collins crashed hard Saturday went to Hospital. His riding was dialed down to about 50% on Sunday as a result.

The west coast racers adapted well to the terrain which is similar to the world championship course. All the riders were happy and no no one seemed to be upset because of the reruns (non racers cut thru finish line which screwed up the timing).

Conditions were foggy, and a muddy/slick track on a very steep course with two drops over 8″ and three over 4 feet.

Willem’s Jr-x video compilation from the weekend

PEATY 2ND, HILL DOMINATES TEST EVENT : Kathy Sessler
Val Di Sole, Italy
May 4, 2008

The organizers did a brilliant job putting together this test event in the heart of the Val Di Sole region in Northern Italy, and the pleasant weather this weekend helped make the event a great success.

The test event is a great way to prepare for World Championships for both the racers and the organizers. The Syndicate boys were pleased with the downhill track and feel it is worthy of a championship race. “The course is great with fast parts ripping through the trees, and it has a lot of rocks and sniper roots all over, and quite a few steep parts. They’ve done a nice job putting the course together and the sections link up with a nice flow,” said Rennie.

Hill wins Test Event (more photos in the gallery)

The semi-final run was held to determine start order, with everyone qualifying. There were some surprises from practice to semi-finals as riders tested the track at a racing pace. “I just wanted to ride smooth and tried to get on the lines I had seen in practice. I got half of them, and missed half of them. I didn’t realize how hard it would be to stay on the lines, or on the track, even,” commented Minnaar. Peat just rode steady hitting his lines but said, “I felt like I was riding like a girl in some sections.”

Rennie said, “My run was a shocker, I mucked up the top rocks then another section so I just cruised down for an earlier start.” Josh Bryceland’s run was not “mint”, as he didn’t hit many of his lines, but he was pleased and surprised with a good finish time. Sam Blenkinsop posted the fast time of 3:29.82, while Peat just beat Minnaar to set the three top positions with 3:30.01 for Peat and 3:30.88 for Minnaar.

Peat gets 2nd (more photos in the gallery)

The finals saw Bryceland having a fantastic result with a time of 3:29.37, which held up for a 6th place overall finish. Fabien Barel then set the mark to beat with a time of 3:26.92 to take the hotseat. Just ten minutes later Hill was smashing it up with the crowd cheering him as he neared the end with an obviously smoking fast run. His finish time of 3:19.42 had people gasping! Peat gave it a go and was the next fastest finisher at 3:24.60 to take second place. Barel’s time held for 3rd, with Florent Payet in 4th with a 3:27.77, and Justin Leov rounding out the top five with a 3:28.67

Minnaar suffered a mechanical (8th) (more photos in the gallery)

Minnaar suffered a mechanical that left him in 8th position, and Rennie had a crash that put him off the pace, he finished 59th. They were both happy at least that these things happened in a test race, and not at a race that counted for more. Minnaar said the course was a lot faster in the final than the qualifier as the clouds moved in and eliminated shadows making it easier to see the track conditions. On his run, Peat delighted the group of team mechanics as he set out of the start by pumping his fist in the air saluting them. Syndicate mechanic, Doug Hatfield said, “You had to see it, you could never replace that moment, what a great salute Steve gave to us. We were pumped!”

The Syndicate will stay on in Italy for a few days testing new Black Box products with SRAM before heading to the first UCI DH World Cup next week in Maribor.

[See More Photos in the Gallery]

TOP TEN MEN DOWNHILL FINALS: (full results)
1) SAM HILL (MONSTER IRON HORSE) 3:19.42
2) STEVE PEAT (SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE) 3:24.60
3) FABIEN BAREL (SUBARU) 3:26.92
4) FLORENT PAYET (SUBARU) 3:27.77
5) JUSTIN LEOV (YETI) 3:28.67
6) JOSH BRYCELAND (SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE) 3:29.37
7) SAM BLENKINSOP (YETI) 3:29.40
8) GREG MINNAAR (SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE) 3:29.58
9) FABIEN PEDEMANAUD (TEAM PYRENEES/ MOREWOOD) 3:30.04
10) PASQUAL CANALS FLIX (MASSI) 3:30.85

DOWNHILL SEEDING RUN RESULTS:

1) SAM BLENKINSOP (YETI) 3:29.82
2) STEVE PEAT (SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE) 3:30.01
3) GREG MINNAAR (SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE) 3.30.88
4) SAM HILL (MONSTER IRON HORSE) 3:31.00
5) FLORENT PAYET (SUBARU) 3:31.23
6) JUSTIN LEOV (YETI) 3:33.15
7) DAMIEN SPAGNOLO (SUBARU) 3:33.53
8) MICKAIL PASCAL (MSC BIKES) 3:34.25
9) JOSH BRYCELAND (SANTA CRUZ SYNDICATE) 3:34.49
10) JULIEN CAMELLINI (CHAIN REACTION CYCLES) 3:34.66
14) NATHAN RENNIE (SANTA CRUZ BICYCLES) 3:38.47

THANKS TO THE SYNDICATE SPONSORS:

Santa Cruz Bicycles
SRAM
RockShox
Truvativ
Avid
Maxxis
DT Swiss
WTB
Crankbrothers
Lizard Skins
Clif Bar
Troy Lee Designs
Chris King
Five Ten

Val Di Sole Worlds Test Race Results:

1st Sam HILL Monster / Iron Horse
2nd Steve PEAT Santa Cruz Syndicate
3rd Fabien BAREL Subaru Mountain Bike Pro Team
4th Florent PAYET Subaru Mountain Bike Po Team
5th Justin LEOV Yeti Fox Shox Factory Race Team

11th Chris KOVARIK Chain Reaction Cycles / Intense
12th Julien CAMELLINI Chain Reaction Cycles / Intense
30th Matt SIMMONDS Chain Reaction Cycles / Intense
42nd Ruaridh CUNNINGHAM Chain Reaction Cycles / Intense

Sam hill showed everyone why he is the current World Champion and the man to beat come the real World Cup race on the 21st of June. The course looked super rough for the riders and the bikes. Riders had to be really strong to hold onto the bike and also really fit to be able to go at 100% all the way down the very steep and challenging course.

Julien had a mechanical early on in his race run and made him pretty nervous all the way down but still managed a great time, so he has a lot more to offer also come June. Juliens hard training over the winter is definitely going to pay off for him and he is very happy with his bike.

Chris over came a few bike set up problems for the final and had a descent run to place 11th but also post a good time with a lot more left come the real race. He said he had a descent run and was finally happy with the bike set up. Chris hasn’t rode anything steep with roots since the final World Cup last year, so this was a very valuable test event for him and the team.

Ruaridh was looking great on the course, but unfortunately caught his pedal on a root whilst hopping up onto a high line and flipped over the bars and landed on his back. He jumped back on quickly but then plowed straight into a tree head first. Even with all this Ruaridh still managed a 3.42 only 12 seconds off the top 10! So this is amazing for him so early after his winter knee injury.

Matt had a decent run but struggled a bit with his lines. We got here late because we had to wait for a shipment of parts the riders missed course walking inspection and while the other guys walked the track on Saturday evening, Matt was racing 4X.

All the guys now know what they need to work on for the start of the World Cup series in Maribor next weekend. This has been a great weekend of testing and getting the bikes set up properly. We head off to Maribor tomorrow for a bit of training and recovering before Thursdays practice.

Thanks to all our sponsors.

Nigel Page
Team Manager - ChainReactionCycles/Intense

See more pictures in the CRC Gallery

The second stop in this year’s Nissan Qashqui event lineup takes place in Madrid, Spain. Highlights and top runs inside.

Results

1. Andreu Lacondeguy
2. Greg Watts
3. Benny Korthaus
4. Kyle Strait
5. Amir Kabbani

Nissan Qashqai Madrid 1st Andreu Lacondeguy:

Nissan Qashqai Madrid 2nd Greg Watts:

Nissan Qashqai Madrid 3rd Benny Korthaus:

See more video’s on the Freecaster Qashqai page

If you have any suggestions, or have a cool video to share feel free to drop us an email or sound off in the forums.

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