NS Bikes superstar Sam Pilgrim is currently wrapping up competition podiums all over the globe.

Another day, another sweet photo. This time a flair out of a dirt quarter pipe.

San Jose, California – Project London riders Michael Blatchford, Kevin Mansker, Daniel Walker, and Jimmy Watkins dominated at the Testarossa Velodrome Challenge at the Hellyer Velodrome.  The team took first, second, and third in the Sprint and Keirin. 

In the Sprint, the fireworks began in the qualifying round.  Michael Blatchford kicked things off with a 10.82 flying 200, setting a new track record.  That record would only stand for a few moments, as fellow Project London riders Jimmy Watkins and Kevin Mansker both went 10.73.  Daniel Walker also qualified well, slotting in fifth place.

In the Sprint semi finals, Mansker and Blatchford advanced making for an all Project London final.  Walker won the minor final for fifth place and Watkins won the finals for third place in three rides.  The finals for first place also went three rides with Mansker getting the better of Blatchford. 

The Keirin was also fiercely contested among the Project London riders.  At the finish, it was Watkins taking the win, Blatchford in second, and Mansker in third.

 

Breckenridge, Colorado – Colin Cares of Team Kenda/Felt emerged victorious at the Firecracker 50, defeating a formidable field of opponents.  The victory is Cares’ first Firecracker 50 win and comes after several strong performances earlier this year.

The Firecracker 50 course is renowned for being one of the most difficult circuits in North America.  Racers completed two circuits of the course which consisted of almost entirely singletrack and included nearly 5,000 feet of climbing each lap.  Record snow levels required a slight alteration to the course, making the circuit 27 miles instead of the usual 25.

Cares was under pressure from the start, with the lead group charging through the first section of the course at an infernal pace.  The twenty-three year old Boulder native stayed with the lead group and was able to take advantage of the fast pace, distancing himself from the leaders on the second lap and holding on for the win.

“I think it just suited my strengths with long climbs and altitude,” Cares said after the race.  “I'm really excited to win here.  I've been racing the Firecracker since I was 16 or 17 years old. For Colorado guys this is one of the staples every year.”

Cares and the rest of Team Kenda/Felt compete aboard Felt Nine and Edict Mountain Bikes throughout the season.

Nukeproof Scalp rider Alasatir Maclennan took part in Kill The Bill 2 at Fort William. Here's his round-up of the event:

After all the travel of recent weeks it was great to just roll out of bed and race at my local track, Fort William.

A fairly low key event with an entry of only about 160 riders made for quite a relaxing event made even more enjoyable by wall to wall sunshine for the whole weekend.

The track was fairly loose as it always is in the dry and has become pretty rough since the World Cup a few weeks back.

After doing only 5 practice runs at good speed on saturday I could feel my arms had taken a beating but I still felt in good shape for Sundays race.

Rumours that the big World Cup Step Down was going to be used were quashed as we walked the track and saw that the "chicken run" around it was used instead. The rest of the woods section rode well and you had to be very careful on the slippy roots and holes that had appeared.

Race run 1 very nearly ended seconds out of the start hut after I got the hip jump at the top station a bit wrong and did a balancing act as I landed on the grassy verge and nearly went through the tapes and down the banking. Calming down a bit my run went well and felt fast and smooth over the rocky top half of the hill. Coming into the woods I hit it a bit full-on but stayed in control and got through it at good speed. Dropping down across the fire road it was flat out down the 3 steps and then a fast turn and lovely smooth jump next to the big wall ride before being shot into the narrow rough gully. Just after here I caught up the man in front and tried to squeeze past him but caught my bars on a tree and then leaned on him with our bars locked. It neary ended in a pile up, but we both managed to stay upright as I forced my way through and onto the motorway section.

Pedaling hard all the way all jumps were cleared before taking off down the Off Beat Wall, jumping into the 4X bowl and then the last triple into the finish.

I managed a time of 5: 26 to take the lead by around 40secs.

Race run 2 was a bit windier up top which slowed me down a bit on one section but I got all my lines fast and smooth and had enough energy to power all the way to the finish line to end my run a second faster on 5:26 which I was pleased with.

Overall a great weekends riding on a super tough track in the sun made only better by seeing my son Alastair do his first race and coming 3rd in juveniles.

The Scalp took a pounding this weekend on the harsh track and yet again came out and was great fun to ride.

Next race is the No Fuss Events Endurance Downhill at Fort William. 6 Hours of body and bike punishing fun!

Ghost's World Cup 4X riders Guido Tschugg and Johannes Fischbach present: the first episode of their 2011 podcast series "GHOST Stories". Throughout the video, they do what they do best - fooling around in between practice and competition runs, dropping from rooftops with 5 inch travel bikes and crashing cars. ENJOY!

Straitline and Nuke Proof's main man in the US, Jack Fogelquist, has put out some bike checks to let everyone know what setup he's running on the jumps and on the downhill tracks.

NS rider Sam Pilgrim flying over a tabletop do a flat 360!

Posted by Hotlines Distribution

The Nukeproof Junior team made the trip Llangollen for the fourth round of the British Downhill Series. Ben continued his unbeaten run of the series in the Juvenile category while Junior rider Dan Sheridan took 6th place and Chris McGlinchy took home the silver medal. Here's the round-up of the weekend.

The full team of Ben Kennedy (Juvenile), Chris McGlinchy and Dan Sheridan (both Junior)arrived in Llangollen on Friday afternoon and set up our pits. Weather was good and we walked the track. During the track walk the weather changed and the rain arrived.

The track was deadly , the top section flat out single track then into the steep shutes and finally into the off camber section , over the drops and into the long pedal to the finish.

Saturday practice was wet and the track really greasy. We set up our bikes and had a good days riding. Ben was on the pace and Dan and Kipper were on the gas too. Dan t-boned Brendan Fairclough who reckoned he was pinned.

Sunday morning the weather had changed completely with bright sunshine and the track had started to dry out. Up early for the first uplift and all riders got their 2 runs in before seeding.

Ben was first out and finished in pole a good five seconds clear.

Dan was next up and was well ahead at the split and was looking good until he had an over the bars experience in view of the finish line. He recovered but lost all his time and finished near the end of the field.

Chris cruised down with a great run to finish in the top 5. Bikes repaired, Dan had some mechanicals and his leg was badly bruised and was bandaged up to let him do his run. Ben and Chris were all ready to go.

Race run and the track was riding really fast. Ben came down the winner in Juveniles by a close 1 second margin to maintain his unbeaten run in the series.

Dan was off in the first 5 as a result of his crash and had a great fast run in the 1.54 bracket. He went into the hot seat to hold first position for the next half an hour.

Chris was on the track having a great run when the rider in front was injured and the race was red flagged for half an hour.

Chris and 3 others got reruns and Chris came down with a magnificent run in the 1.53 bracket to get 2 nd place overall. Dan finished in 6 th place after a very disjointed end to the race as a result of the red flag.

Nukeproof Vet rider and Fort William local Alastair Maclennan took the trip to Kranjska Gora in Slovenia for the European Masters DH Champs last weekend and brought home the Gold Medal on board his Nukeproof Scalp. Here's his round up of the weekend.

Kranjska Gora in Slovenia was the venue for this years European MTB Masters Championship. The small friendly town with backdrop of massive rocky peaks made an ideal location for this years event. We were even greeted with massive downpours and thunderstorms to make us feel at home.

The track was essentially 4 of the rootiest possible tree sections strung together with flat out berms, drops and off cambers finished off with a flat out top gear death pedal to the finish over a flat long jump , open piste and a bridge jump.

Starting out for the first day of practice in the wet was not much fun as the rain had made the track treacherously slippy and my riding felt quite awkward on the harsh terrain, but by the end of the day things had slowly dried and I felt I was getting to grips with things.

Second day of practice I made a couple of suspension set up changes which instantly changed my riding and I was feeling very comfortable with the track and could feel the speed coming as I let go more in the gnarlier sections. I also changed the gearing by putting on a bigger front ring as the course was so fast towards the finish.

By the end of practice I had all my lines dialed, but the rooty tree sections still had to be treated with respect as one small mistake would soon ended in disaster.

Qualifying day came as well as the sun and a drying track. The wetter slippier track of the day before would have probably given me more of an advantage, but I much prefer riding in the heat and am quite partial to a bit of dust!

Tactics were to put in a good solid run leaving the oposition wondering what I had left. It went well and I didn' over do it on the big pedal section and coasted in with a time of 3:08.866 with Giuseppe Lividini 2nd on 3:19.119 and Jiri cila 3rd on 3:32.759.

I woke up to an unusual amount of nerves on race day. One of my goals this season was to win the European Title onboard the Nukeproof Scalp and today was the day I had to make it happen.

After a good warm up pedal and some last minute collaboration with broken fellow traveller Paul French I headed up for my race run.

The usual mind games/tactics were being played out at the top of the hill as riders waited for their start but I didn't get envolved.

I powered off the line and dived into the first steep rooty section to be soon spat out into the open and into the super fast berms. Everything past quickly as I hit all the right lines with just enough aggression to keep the speed going but not over do it too much. Section after section passed and I soon found myself powering for the finish with everything I had to take the win with Lividini finishing 7.281 secs behind and Cila 20.656 secs.

Really happy with the win and to have given the Nukeproof Scalp its Euro Title.