After spending sometime digging trenches and moats to keep the Kona Les Gets pit area somewhat dry team mechanic Paul Walton readied Tracy for practice. Maxxis Wet Scream’s were the way go to make sure she could get down ok. As the day progressed, the rain eased up and the track started getting more slippery as the mud dried and turned to greasy clay.

By the end of the day it was a tough call on tyres so Tracy opted to go for the faster intermediate tyres as it looked like she would be using them for race day. This turned out to be a good choice as it forced her to take safe lines and conserve her energy on the pedaling sections. She had a good run and took the win in the seeding run 5sec ahead of Helen Gaskell.

Sunday brought lots more rain and the first hour of the day was spent trying to drain our pit area. Practice went well and the track had actually gotten faster due to the extremely wet conditions, the most difficult part was vision, plenty of tear-offs were going to be needed for the Final.

Tracy was the last girl down and the conditions were dismal, she managed a good run and attacked where she needed to, she managed to hit all her lines and avoid all the trees which littered the track. She commented that removing tear-offs was a really tough job on this track due to its technical nature so she had a few sketchy moments in the process. Overall it was a
clean run and she posted the fastest time with Helen Gaskell in 2nd place, winning her second National Championship title in a row!

Kamil Tatarkovic took part in the Czech Downhill National Championships held in Bozi Dar and is the longest downhill course in the Czech Republic with some really high speed sections with some really technical stuff mixed in along the way. Kamil rode a very strong race conserving his energy for the finals. He made a few mistakes in some corners with cost him some speed but he finished a very respectable 2nd Place.

The Kona Les Gets XC riders were at the famed Canmore Nordic Center in Canmore, Alberta the site of some former world cup events. Neal Kindree performed like he was on a mission at a World Cup taking 2nd place a scant 4 seconds behind Max Plaxton, a consistent world cup performer.

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Neal Kindree was going for his 2nd overall Canada Cup Title and the course was to his liking with long sustained climbs. He knew his work was cut out for him as he need to finish two places better than Derek Zanstra to retain his title.

The race blew apart from the beginning with a lead group containing Plaxton, Kindree and Zanstra for the first three laps when Plaxton launched his attach. He held about 20 seconds on Kindree and Zanstra heading into the final lap. “On the fourth lap I new I had to go for it if I was going to win the overall. So I attacked and dropped Derek but couldn’t quite reel in
Plaxton. I got within four seconds of him but then just ran out of track.” Kindree finished 2nd.

Kris Sneddon was not so lucky as a broken handlebar took him out of the race just 10 minutes after start. “At least I wasn’t injured when the bar broke and I guess it was just bad luck. I’m pretty bummed because I have really good form right now,” said Sneddon who had high hopes for the event.

Kindree grabbed a red eye flight so he could get back in time for a big local race the Gear Jammer in Squamish B. C. He made it back ok but his bike didn’t and it somehow ended up in Victoria instead. So after arriving home at 2:00 am Neal made the best of the situation, borrowed his dads bike, got up early in the morning to make sure it would work for the duration and proceeded to take the win. “I was glad to get at least one win this weekend, even if it was in Gong Show fashion,” remarked Kindree.

Next up for the Canadian XC Squad National Championships.

Next up for the Kona Les Gets Gravity Riders-Whistler where they will conduct skills clinics and Tracy Moseley will go for the triple crown win-consisting of the Garbonzo Downhill, Dual Slalom and Canadian Open Downhill. Fabien Barel will join here and will be conducting Ride With the Champ Clinics too.

Till Next Time,
Marko

Photos Courtesy of John Gibson

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