This is our race journal from the 2ndworld cup race of the 2019 seaosn in Fort William/ Scotland. We will update the journal every day with the latest news and pictures of the day. Stay tuned we keep you posted!
Day 4: race day:
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- this is what we call miserable.
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- one of the necessaries this week: tear-offs. No worries, those will be collected after the race.
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- Last training session for Laurie.
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- Brook going over the Red Bull road gap.
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- Brook was pushing hard in his race run: 9th place.
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- Brook going over the Scotland arch jam.
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- Laurie dropping into the last section.
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- Laurie on the second last jump before the finish.
Well, this was it. Fort William in done and in the books- unfortunately not with the best end for us, even we managed to finish in descent positions. Brook finished in 9thplace, Laurie end up in 15thspot and Thibault became 60thand made his first world cup point in 2019. Eleonora could not race because of an infection and high fever, but she will be back for Leogang/ Austria. Overall this was not a bad race, but for sure we hoped for better. Fort William is simply no joke and it takes a lot to show outstanding results. For sure we will come back next year, to prove we can do better and hopefully we will make it on the podium then.
Day 3: qualification
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- Eleonora in the last training session before the qualification.
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- Brook finished in 6th with a solid run
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- unlucky fellow Mike suffered from a mechanical on the front wheel. unfortunately not protected and will not race the finals
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- Laurie had a mechanical as well, but the protected status makes him race the finals.
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- Thibault happy with his 43rd place.
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- Laurie before his race run.
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- signing session at the Mondraker pits with quite some interest.
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- good crowed here in Fort William
Qualification today ended with mixed results. Brook had a good run and finished in 6thplace. Laurie and Mike suffered from mechanicals. While Laurie has a protected status and is qualified for the finals Mike unfortunately is not protected and will not race finals. Thibault also had a good run and managed to qualify for the finals with a 43rdplace.
Eleonora had a big crash in the upper rock section. She hit the ground pretty bad with her hip and finished further back in the field. Even she is protected and could race finals shew won’t by doctors recommendation.
Day 2: 1st practise
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- goggle setup- probably the most important these days.
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- Laurie in his fancy Fox pants with a zebra animal print.
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- conditions and atmosphere on track were surreal.
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- Brook on one of the wooden bridges in the upper part of the track.
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- Mike showed a good pace trout the training.
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- Thibault Laly crossing one of the little creeks.
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- mudpack for the Mondraker Summum
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- soaking wet
No news on day 2 training. The weather conditions have been miserable like on the day before and it doesn’t seem to get better. Timed training was a kind of meaningless as no one was really trying to set a best time and rather prevent crashing under those conditions.
We used all the training including the timed session to test different setups, but the conditions make it really hard to focus on that.
Day 1: track walk
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- track walk time in Fort William. Boys and girls checking out the track- just minor changes.
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- weather is miserable in Fort William... cold and wet, but Eleonora is still smiling.
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- Laurie in a good mood... Micheline hat keeps him warm.
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- Fully prepared Mike Jones.
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- happy Brook MacDonald... no matter of the weather!
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- classic pit preparation in Fort William
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- Mark Sterland preparing Laurie's bike.
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- some interesting talks between Laurie and his mechanic Mark.
Welcome back to the mountain bikes world cup classic. Fort William is for mountain bike downhill what is Kitzbuehl for downhill ski racing. The venue with the most spectators, the biggest party and one of the fastest tracks on the circuit. This track is infamous for its length, for mix of rocks and hart ground at the top and the muddy conditions in the lower woods. Furthermore the track is known for the speed and the long pedaling section before the finish.
While we had perfect conditions in 2018 we are facing miserable conditions now. It is currently very cold mixed with a lot of rain and while other sports would cancel training or even the race, we keep on going as long as riders can be transported to the start.
