thibault laly

1 August 2019

world cup round 6 Val di Sole

admin Allgemein, racing brook macdonald, Eleonora farina, ici mtl worldcup, laurie greenland, mike jones, round 6, thibault laly, val di sole

This is our race journal from the 6th world cup race of the 2019 season in Val di Sole. We will update the journal every day with the latest news and pictures of the day. Stay tuned we keep you posted!

Day 4: Finals

: not the day of Eleonora- she crashed and had a flat tire... this makes it impossible to get on the podium these day. Ele finished in P8

: Brook at the last jump landing on the 15 meter mark. 30th place for him after the crash in the top part.

: teammates: Mike and Laurie.

: First world cup victory for Laurie Greenland.

: well deserved Champagne shower by the current world champion Loic Bruni

: the taste of success...

: the men behind Laurie: Mark Sterland

: even the race didn't went as planned, Brook was happy for his team mate Laurie.

What a race and what a result by the end of the day. The day didn’t start as planned. Eleonora struggled in the morning trainings runs. The track changed a lot after the junior’s race, which made it impossible for her to repeat the 4^thplace of the qualification. After a crashed in the middle bit of the track, Eleonora suffered from a flat tire, lost some more time and finished in 8^thplace. Mike had a conservative run on the wrong side of the limit after crashing in the past 2 races. Mike finished in 31^stplace.

Laurie came down in the last top group of qualification. He pushed from the very to and was on a flyer. Not as wild as in previous years, but he managed to increase his lead to the current leader Loic Bruni. Laurie crossed the finish line in lead with 7 more riders to come including top contenders Amoury Pierron and his team mate Brook, who had the best wet time in the qualification on the day before. Pierron had a good run with some little mistakes and couldn’t beat Laurie’s time. Next to come was Brook, who looked good in the top pit of the track, but unfortunately crashed out of the camera views. That crash throwed him back in the ranking and Brook finished in 30^thplace. With just 4 more riders to come, the first world cup victory was more and more in reach. Not one of the upcoming riders was able to beat Laurie’s time and so he finally won his first world cup by a margin of 2,8 seconds.

This was the first world cup victory for the MS Mondraker team since 2016. We are super stoked and happy as these moments make us what we do… the moments of joy when we won a race.

Thx to the whole team and all the sponsors for the support and making us win.

Results:

Day 3: qualification

: still good conditions for the women.

: try conditions in the morning training session.

: Farina with a save run into P4- full gas tomorrow!

: Mike Jones with a re-run after a red flag.

: Laurie Greenland 3rd fastest wet time- P10 in the end.

: mud is sticking everywhere.

: rough cleaning after the race run.

: still in good shape...

Well that was a hard day for use. We started with not too bad weather in the morning. The track was partly dry even it was raining the whole night. The weather seemed to be stable and the women had a dry qualification race. Elenora rode very save to make sure to qualify, which she managed with 4^thplace.

With about 10 riders in the men’s qualification the weather changed to the worth possible. The sky opened its doors and heavy rain effected the upcoming riders pretty bad. Mike got a red flag in his run and had to re-rum, which got him into 31^stposition. While a lot of riders where struggling bot Laurie and Brook had very good runs and entered into the group of riders, who came down in dry conditions. Brook finished in 5^thwith the fastest wet time and Laurie ended up in 10^thplace. Thibault Laly was unlucky again and crashed. He didn’t get seriously injured, but it is unsure if he will be able to compete in Lenzerheide.

Full results:

Day 2 practice & timed training

: Thiabult went down hard, but should be able to ride in qualification.

: building back up his confidence after two big crates in a row- Mike Jones. P15 in timed training

: Laurie pretty confident here in Val di Sole- the track suits him.

: Solid performance of Brook in VdS- P10 in timed training.

: home race for Ele- finished 3rd in timed training.

: toolbox wars- different level

: Stefan Dopplinger: Master of toolbox

: good day on the mountain for Laurie...

First training session in Val di Sole went good for us. The conditions where very dry and dusty and it seems like the track will not hold till finals. Thibault had a crash, but without serious consequences. Ele showed a strong performance again with a 3^rdplace in timed training. Brook set the 10^thbest time of the day and Mike finished in p15.

Results and Startlists

Day 1: course walk

: mud slinging when it's wet...

: Val di Sole, but it's raining?!

: quite a few options...

: good mood in miserable conditions.

: Mark checking Laurie's race wheels from the race last week in Pila- Mavic Deemax's still in good shape.

: Brook happy with the feel of his brakes.

With the 6th round of the 2019 UCI MTB world cup we are dropping into the 2^ndhalf season with just 4 more race to come. Val di Sole is one of those places we know pretty well and we probably had our biggest victories here. For sure the world champion and vice world champion titles here in 2016, but also the 2^ndplace of Laurie here last year where some of our highlights. The track has a big name in the Downhill scene and counts to the hardest tracks on the planet.

While we had good weather in the past few years we started with rain into this week and the forecasts are unsure for the upcoming days. One thing is for sure: if it will rain this track with the mix of loamy ground, rocks and roots will be the hardest of the year.

11 Juli 2019

world cup round 5 Les Gets

admin Allgemein, racing brage Vestavik, brook macdonald, Eleonora farina, laurie greenland, les gets, mike jones, thibault laly, uci worldcup, worldcup

This is our race journal from the 5th world cup race of the 2019 season in Les Gets/ France. We will update the journal every day with the latest news and pictures of the day. Stay tuned we keep you posted!

Day 4: Finals

: Laurie in a good mood- ready to enter the podium agin.

: Unlucky Mike Jones- showed best performance all weekend with times to enter the podium, but crashed in his final run- 53rd.

: Eleonora proofed again her ascending form- 4th place and another podium.

: entering the podium in front of an amazing crowd.- Laurie Greenland 3rd.

: first podium for Laurie Greenland in 2019.

: back on the podium... moments of joy!

: 2nd podium in a row for Eleonora Farina.

: Brook gave all after a tough weekend and managed to finish in top 15.

Great weekend for the MS Mondraker team in Les Gets/ France. We are back in the game with 2 podiums of Laurie Greenland with 3^rdplace in men’s racing and Eleonora Farina with 4^thplace in the women’s race. Brook MacDonald managed to finish in the top 15 after a tough week with massive crash on day 1. Unlucky Mike Jones crashed with 2^ndand 3^rdfastest split times- without a doubt on a podium run- and finished in 53^rdplace.

The team finished in 4^thplace of the day, but made up some positions in the overall. We are now in 4^thplace in touch with the top 3.

Results & Standings

Day 3: Qualification

: last race preparations for Eleonora.

: Mark and Stefan discussing the latest adjustments...

: Eleonora got 4th with a safety run- for her it is about to qualify and getting the protection status back.

: Laurie had a smooth run, which got him into 11th place.

: Brook still struggling after yesterdays crash.

: Thibault Laly missed the qualification.

: Alos Brage Vestavik did not qualify- not happy about a too conservative run.

: Not happy, but 37th place will do it for now.

Qualification went pretty good for us. We got 4 out of 6 riders into the finals with promising positions for the race. Eleonora got 4^thwith a safety run- for her it is about to have a run, which gets her in the finals where she can attack. She took some safety lines and lost a few seconds, but everything is in place for finals. Laurie had a smooth run, which got him into 11^th, Mike had an okay run, which still got him into 10^thplace. It seems to be a very good track for Mike as it is about to hold speed on the open sections. Brook still struggled because of his big crash on the first training day, but managed to finish in 37^th. Thibault and Brage rode to conservative and missed the qualification for finals.

Day 2. practise and timed training

: skeptical view from Mike's mechanic- today he must have pulled something out the sleeve.

: Ms Mondraker team train...

: strong performance in timed training of Mike Jones- 7th.

: big crash in the morning, but kept fighting thru the day.

: Laurie had some good sectors, after struggling in the morning with his setup.

: Eleonora was fastest today in 4 out of 5 section times...

: ...happy with that.

: always a smile on the face no matter what.

Todays practice started with a shock moment in the morning. Brook had a big crash in his first run and another one in his second run. This holds him back a little bit during the day, but he will be fine for qualification. Laurie struggled a bit in the morning with his bike setup, but found a good configuration by the end of the day. Mike showed a relay good performance in timed training and finished in 7^th. Eleonora struggled a bit at the beginning. Most of the girls had problems with the last jump before the finish- the height of the drop and the speed are frightening factors, but Eleonora managed it. She got 3^rdbecause of a small crash, but was fastest in 4 out of 5 sections.

results/start lists

Day 1. Course walk

: THE MS Mondraker Team

: Les Get start panorama

: Still pretty wide, still pretty grassy reaching the bottom of the upper section.

: Mike Jones and his mechanic Stefan Dopplinger on the Les gets road gap.

: chairlift life: Brage Vestavik and Laurie Greenland

: no hunger games for Laurie Greenland.

: A wonderful, touching moment between friends and competitors. Luckily there is no audio to spoil this still image.

: Brage dreaming big.

To most of the people Les gets might seem like a brand-new venue for the UCI MTB world cup, but in fact we have been racing here already back in the 90s. The last world cup happened here in 2002 and the last big race here was the world championships in 2004.

The track here is more old school with more natural features, wide open corners in the grass and high speed. This is for sure going to be a very interesting race.

4 Juli 2019

world cup round 4 Vallnord Andorra

admin Allgemein, racing 2019, andorra, brage Vestavik, brook macdonald, Eleonora farina, laurie greenland, mike jones, thibault laly, uci worldcup, vallnord, world cup racing, worldcup

This is our race journal from the 4th world cup race of the 2019 season in Vallnord/ Andorra. We will update the journal every day with the latest news and pictures of the day. Stay tuned we keep you posted!

DAY 4: FINALS

: fully focused in her world cup comeback race.

: Eleonora managed to get 5th with a clean run.

: First world cup podium in 2019.

: enjoying the good times.

: Laurie on the very smooth run- not at his limit yet.

: Brook was really happy with his run and to be just 0,7 off the podium.

: boys celebrating... team spirit at its finest

: hot seat from a different perspective.

This was a pretty cool race for us and we can’t complain at all: we have 3 riders in the top 10, we got a podium and we finished 2^ndin the team of the day ranking. Eleonora had a good run and finished in 5^thposition, which meant her first world cup podium of this season. Mike was again unlucky and suffered from a mechanical, which led to a crash. He managed to get down and finished 48^thplace. Laurie came down with a good run, but was a little bit irritated by dust swaths in the woods. He finished in 9^thplace and made up some positions in the overall. Brook finish in 6^thplace and was just 1,3 seconds of the podium. He also made up some positions in the overall and sits now in 7^thplace.

Results:

Day 3:

: Eleonora back to speed- P6 for her in qualification.

: Mike Jones building up his form curve again P27 for him

: Brook hasn't had a good run- a few mistakes cost him some sections- he is happy though P7.

: Mike Jones in one of the more natural wood sections.

: the track in Andorra offers a good mix of different conditions.

: Thibault Laly crashed in quails and could qualify for the race- P 83.

: Laurie into P8 with an easy run as he called it.

: Thibault introduced Brage to our Normatec recovery system... pretty sick tool if you are burned out after days like this.

We can’t complain after qualies. We had a good time and got 3 riders into the top 10 and 4 of 6 riders into the finals… there is not a lot more you can ask for. Eleonora qualified in 6^thplace and is back on pace after her longsome infection, which is why she missed the races in Fort William and Leogang. Brook didn’t have a perfect run- a few little mistakes summed up to 1 or 2 seconds, but he finished in 7^th, which is pretty promising for finals. Laurie had a smooth run and didn’t pushed too much- P8 for him. Mike is keeps building his form back up and finished in 27^th.

Brage had a solid run and just missed finals 0,7 seconds in 64^thposition. Unlucky Thibault felt good and had a good run until he crashed- 83^rdplace for him.

Results

Day 2:

: Stefan is checking the balance of the the Michelin tire.

: Eleonora leaving the pits for the first run of the day.

: the boys take the opportunity to share lines on training runs- pretty hard sometimes.

: "what you reckon is the best line?"

: Brook sending it.

: track is pretty dusty- Laurie can tell.

: Brook said that the hot weather and the dust makes this track the most physical demanding so far.

: Mike in attack mode.

Andorra is another level this year- the hot weather in combination with the deep dust makes this track thy most physical demanding. The boys and girls got some good training runs in and feel ready for the qualification.

With a 5^thplace of Brook, a 14^thplace of Laurie and a 18^thplace of Mike we had 3 riders in the top 20, which is pretty promising considering the fact that most of the riders already went up to race pace to see what is possible on this track.

Results and start lists

Day 1:

: good mix of natural sections...

: with man made sections...

: high speed section with loose gravel.

: cofactory pilot Brage Vestavik following the factory riders like being their shadow.

: Finish jumping the arena of La Massana.

: Brage Vestavik tries to look sharp...

: pit life... hanging out after lunch and sharing impressions from course walk.

: little rain in the evening after course walks... thunderstorms expected for day 2.

Here we are back in Andorra, a mini state in the Pyrenees between France and Spain.

We connect very good memories with this place: double podium in 2018, podium in 2017, victory in 2016 and the win of the team overall in 2016…

This season hasn’t been that good for us so far, but we hope this will be our turning point. The track walk didn’t show any major news to us, which means the track is basically the same like last year.

One major change for this race is, that Laurie as well as Brook will test a new bike setup with mixed wheel sizes. This setup was tested first at Crankworx Innsbruck and now we will test the setup under world cup conditions.

7 Juni 2019

world cup round 3 Leogang Austria

admin Allgemein, racing 2019, austria, brook macdonald, ici worldcup, laurie greenland, leogang, mike jones, thibault laly, UCI, worldcup

This is our race journal from the 3rd world cup race of the 2019 seaosn in Leogang/ Austria. We will update the journal every day with the latest news and pictures of the day. Stay tuned we keep you posted!

Day 4:

: Thibault struggled a little bit, but managed to finish in top 50.

: Brook finished in solid 12th position.

: some little mistakes cost Mike a good result

: not the weekend of Laurie- big crash in the finals with no chance to finish in a top spot

: Thibault collecting points.

: Happy but not satisfied: Brook MacDonald

: 29th place for Mike Jones.

: nothing else to lose...

What a final in Leogang/ Austria. We saw an exciting and tight race with some solid results and some bad luck for our team. Thibault struggled but managed to finish in the top 50. Mike was on a good run, but a few mistakes at the bottom of the track cost him a top result. He finished in 29^thplace. Brook had a really good run and finished 12^th– “happy but not satisfied” he said. Unfortunately Laurie had a massive crash, while riding well. He saved 2 points and finished in 59^thplace.

Day 3:

: wall ride from a different perspective.

: Laurie in full action mode.

: tucked in full race mode.

: Brook MacDonald finished in solid 20th place.

: Brook in the national champion jersey.

: Mike on the mission to qualify- he hold back a little bit to make sure he will race in finals on Sunday.

: Wallride- usual perspective

: Mike qualified in 37th.

Qualifying is done and went pretty good for the MS Mondraker team. We finished the day with 4 riders qualified for the finals and 2 riders in the top 20 in ideal position to attack the podium in finals. Mike Jones is also back in the finals after the mechanical issue in Fort William, which didn’t let him qualify for the race and Thibault Laly qualified again. Even the results maybe haven’t been outstanding we are happy as we know the pace is there and we just have to put some things together to make our way back onto the podium.

Day 2:

: The Ms Mondraker Team train is back on track.

: probably one of the most impressive sceneries in world cup racing- Mike is sending into the panorama of Leogang.

: battle tracks on Brook's jersey- still 9th in timed training.

: Thibault is the only rider representing the co factory team this weekend.

: Mike on the mission to strike back.

: Laurie simply enjoys riding this track.

: tight relation between rider and mechanic- in here, Mark and Laurie

: Brook and Ben get into details...

The conditions for the first training session where unreal. Good weather and a perfect track- there is not a lot more you can ask for. The MS Mondraker train with Brook, Laurie, Mike and Thibault was back on track and the boys got some solid training runs in. Brook and Laurie had both a little crash, but with no consequences which will affect the race.

Day 1:

: Laurie and Thibault wit Leogang panorama

: Leogang wood of fame

: one of the bike park features in Leogang

: difficult line choice

: where to go?

: Brook and Mike followed by the mechanic crew.

: bridge before the finish

: sun is out- happy Mike Jones.

Here we go with the 3^rdround of the 2019 UCI MTB world cup in Leogang/ Austria. Finally we are back in summer and the weather conditions have changed a lot from Scotland to Austria. Leogang Bikepark- instructed by former MS Mondraker team member Markus Pekoll- changed the track quite a bit from previous years and for sure for the better. While in previous years riders didn’t like the bike park style track too much, they are happy with the changes and the fact that the layout changed by about 70%.

31 Mai 2019

world cup round 2 Fort William

admin Allgemein, racing 2019, brook macdonald, Eleonora farina, fort william, laurie greenland, mike jones, thibault laly, UCI, worldcup

This is our race journal from the 2^ndworld 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:

: this is what we call miserable.

: one of the necessaries this week: tear-offs. No worries, those will be collected after the race.

: Last training session for Laurie.

: Brook going over the Red Bull road gap.

: Brook was pushing hard in his race run: 9th place.

: Brook going over the Scotland arch jam.

: Laurie dropping into the last section.

: 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 9^thplace, Laurie end up in 15^thspot and Thibault became 60^thand 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

: Eleonora in the last training session before the qualification.

: Brook finished in 6th with a solid run

: unlucky fellow Mike suffered from a mechanical on the front wheel. unfortunately not protected and will not race the finals

: Laurie had a mechanical as well, but the protected status makes him race the finals.

: Thibault happy with his 43rd place.

: Laurie before his race run.

: signing session at the Mondraker pits with quite some interest.

: good crowed here in Fort William

Qualification today ended with mixed results. Brook had a good run and finished in 6^thplace. 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 43^rdplace.

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

: goggle setup- probably the most important these days.

: Laurie in his fancy Fox pants with a zebra animal print.

: conditions and atmosphere on track were surreal.

: Brook on one of the wooden bridges in the upper part of the track.

: Mike showed a good pace trout the training.

: Thibault Laly crossing one of the little creeks.

: mudpack for the Mondraker Summum

: 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

: track walk time in Fort William. Boys and girls checking out the track- just minor changes.

: weather is miserable in Fort William... cold and wet, but Eleonora is still smiling.

: Laurie in a good mood... Micheline hat keeps him warm.

: Fully prepared Mike Jones.

: happy Brook MacDonald... no matter of the weather!

: classic pit preparation in Fort William

: Mark Sterland preparing Laurie's bike.

: 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.