worldcup

15 Oktober 2020

2020 world cup round 1 Maribor

admin Allgemein, racing 2020, brook macdonald, Eleonora farina, maribor, maribor 2020, mike jones, racing, uci mtb worldcup, uci worldcup, worldcup, worldcup racing

Qualification 2:

: pretty dark in the woods- the view is a factor for sure.

: seems like Bike has ups and downs, but was the slower quarry time a technical move for an early star time?

: easy 28th place for Brook- building his way back to the top.

: Ele is performing well these days.

: who thought, we will see Brook in worldcup racing that quick and who thought he will already perform on this level- this guy...

: 18th place in race 1 for Mike- what can we expect for race 2?

: track looks maybe inviting, but it is difficult to ride on the root carpets in the woods of Maribor.

: Briefing... Brook and Mike.

Qualifying went pretty good for the MS Mondraker Team. We will see all riders in Sunday’s race. With a 3^rd place Eleonora pulled out another top result, Brook sent it into 28^th place and Mike by the skin of his teeth crashed his way into 57th place. The weather forecast for the race is overclauded, but now rain, we will see if this changes the track to the worse or better.

race day 1:

: muddy but rideable- the Micheline tires keep traction.

: Mike Jones railing corners.

: motocross like tracks in the takeoff... the landing didn't look any better

: Mike Jones on his way to 18th place.

: Ele with a very consistent performance this week.

: vision in the woods is another factor for this week.

: happy Ele- this is how we want to see her.

: First world cup first podium.

What a day- Eleonora started with a crash this morning, just one hour before she had to get back up to the start for her race run, but nevertheless she managed to get down a solid run, maybe a little bit conservative, but good enough to finish in 4^th place. First world cup in 2020 and first podium for her- we can’t complain.

Mike had a good run, but unclipped in before the rock garden and couldn’t clip in again. He rode the rock garden unclipped, clipped in after the section and fought into the finish. The effort got rewarded with an 18^th place, which is a good start into the 2020 season. For Brook it doesn’t went as planned. He couldn’t unclip in a slippery section to put his foot out and crashed. Not a big crash, but big enough to lose some seconds, which throw him back in the final ranking to 39^th place. Probably not what he expected, but Brook is building his way back up and there is no doubt we will see him back in his natural habitat: the world cup podium.

Qualification 1:

: Ele in the morning training session...

: Representing the Italian national champion jersey

: cut a good figure in the infamous rock garden of Maribor

: Brook back on a worldcup track- not very sure about a year ago.

: Mike seems to get a long with the rainy conditions.

: mud fest in Maribor

: muddy conditions, but components resist and work perfectly.

: back to shiny pre race conditions.

Qualification ended with mixed feelings. Ele had a little crash, but finished in 5^th. She was not happy with the result, but in general happy with her performance. Mike had a so-so run, but qualified in 33^rd position. Brook had a crash in the top section. He slid out in a corner, but managed to get back on the bike and finished in 54^th place. As he was protected he would have been qualified anyway and he will still start in the flied of the top contenders.

Practice:

: this is the nice picture of racing in autumn

: Maribor- a unique venue close to a bigger city.

: Eleonora cuts a good figure

: Brook looking faster and faster

: those Micheline tires grip...

: Mike Jones seem to be back on a good perfomance level.

: characteristic for Maribor- wild root sections.

: autumn racing

We are finally back to world cup racing and Maribor is usually a good start if the season starts in spring ad not in autumn. Brook, Mike and Ele had a good day out in the woods and learned the track pretty quick, so they could get up to race pace. Conditions will be different for qualification and race day as rain is forecasted. Maribor what a beautiful place on Indian summer days…

Track walk:

: difficulties at the uplift- team effort solves the problem

: Brook back on the worldcup circuit.

: autumn conditions with slippery leafs

: race 1

: race 2

: high speed section in Maribor

: this is Maribor- infamous rock garden

: at this time of the year also the light and the view are factors.

Back to world cup racing. Round one of the 2020 UCI MTB world cup takes place in Maribor Slovenia. The conditions are like to expect that late in the season, changeable weather conditions, with the track being covered in leaves and the light is getting dark pretty early already. Beside all the new restrictions we have because of Covid we also have a new situation regarding race. Both race in Maribor and Lousa are supposed to be double races, which means we have qualification 1 on Thursday and race 1 on Friday and qualification 2 on Saturday and race 2 on Sunday.

This is on one hand double the chance, but also double the effort and difficult for riders as they have to learn 2 different tracks in sections and they only have the normal amount of training time. Stay tuned on RedBull.Tv and follow the race.

6 September 2019

Final world cup round Snowshoe USA

admin Allgemein, racing 2019, Eleonora farina, final round, laurie greenland, Snowshoe, uci mtb worldcup, usa, worldcup

This is the daily report from the final world cup round in Snowshoes, West Virginia, USA. The 2019 UCI MTB world cup got us to Snowshoe mountain which is about 4 and a half hours west of Washington DC. The ski resort is located in a national radio quiet zone near the biggest moveable radio telescope of the world: the Greenbank telescope.

Stay tuned for more news.

Day 3: Qualification

: Laurie at the rock drop in the training session

: crash marks in qualification- not the best sign.

: pretty crowed on the track already.

: no points for qualification at the world cup finals- Laurie took it easy.

: Eleonora was not fit enough to race. Another concussion in 1 week time... not worth risking it.

: Brook is always with us- KIA KAHA

: new Renthal bar in place. final race preparation has started.

: Stefan oru carbon specialist is double checking Laurie's helmet.

One rider left in the game for 2019 UCI MTB worldcup finals in Snowshoe… not what we hoped for when we came to North America, but now we have to deal with it. While Brook is doing big steps in his reha, Eleonora had to step back from racing in Snowshoe. The concussion from yesterday would have effect her too much. Laurie is the last man in the game and as there is that special rules for world cup finals, where you won’t get any points for qualification, Laurie decided to take it easy. He tried some things on the track, but one line didn’t work out as planned and Laurie crashed over the rock drop. Nothing has happened, but currently we are pretty nervous.

Day 2: 1st practise and times training

: Mark in USA mode

: Also Laurie pays homage to the USA.

: last check before training.

: first jump on track right after the start.

: spectacular rock line...

: ...with a rock turn right after.

: 2 crashes and another concussion today- Eleonora will not ride or race this weekend.

: 2 riders out, 2 mechanics out- different tasks this weekend.

Well not it has happened what we tried to avoid think about. Our riders flied get reduced by Eleonora Farina and now Laurie is the only remaining rider for the MS Mondraker Team. Eleonora crashed twice in her training and showed signs for another concussion in only 1 week time. Eleonora and the team decided to step back from a start to not risk any consequences.

Day 1: course walk

: It's been a while since the boom in these parts.

: It may not be the rust belt, but there's still a ton of cool history oxidising in the forest.

: A terrapin and not a smooth-shelled one at that.

: US back country

: Natural flow before the rocks really kick in.

: A beautifully shaped berm before things get super technical.

: Laurie USA outfit

Track walk was pretty exciting as Snowshoe Mountain is a brand-new venue to us and the organizers modified the track, which was used for national mountain bike events. The track is different from what we used to race on the world cup circuit, but for sure the track offers a kind of everything we are asking for… and more. With 2 riders left we are going into this race and as usual we will work for podium results- stay tuned.

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.

10 August 2018

world cup round 6 Mont Sainte Anne

admin Allgemein, racing 2018, brook macdonald, laurie greenland, mike jones, mont sainte anne, patrik butler, UCI, worldcup

Day 4: finals

Well that race was a little bit of a disaster for us.

Laurie could not start because of a bad ankle from a smaller crash on the day before, Mike hasn’t had a good run, but also a flat tire and Brook crashed in his race run with in reach of the top split times, got back on the bike and had a flat tire as well.

Laurie had a DNS (did not start), which drops him from 3^rdto 6^thposition in the overall. Brook finished in 53^rdand dropped one position in the overall from 6^thto 7^thplace. Mike finished in 27^thand dropped 1 position in the overall.

The only real highlight for us this weekend is the 4^thplace of Pat Butler I the juniors race. That got him from 9^thto 6^thplace in the junior world cup overall ranking.

Obviously we are not happy with this and we came to Mont Saint Anne to do better, but this is how racing is: sometimes you win and sometimes you lose- we are not desperate but looking forward to the next round to fight back! Stay tuned for the next round, which is the season final in La Bresse/ France.

Day 3:

Riders were struggling in the first training session before qualification. With way less runs as they are used to, they had some try and errors, which is why we saw quite a lot of crashes. Brook went down pretty hard and Laurie rolled his ankle. Almost no able to walk his ankle got taped up by body mechanic Martin New Hill and at least Laurie was able to roll out of the start gate. Laurie got a DNF (did not finish) but as he is a top 10 rider he is protected for the race. Brook finished in 5^thwith a massive mistake in the top part. This let us hope for more as he was just 2,2 seconds off on 4.20.00 track. Mike was far off being happy after his run. He said that he made every mistake you could have made on this track and caught all the wrong and slow lines- not happy with his run, but happy with 20^thplace.

Junior Patrik Butler finished in 5^thwith a solid, but not error free run- we will see if he can make himself a birthday present on race day or not.

: crash marks say it all...

: Laurie hurt his ankle in last training session and just rolled out of the start gate.

: Mike (by his own words) rode like a beginner, but was happy to qualify in 20th place.

: Brook Mac in one of the typical sections of MSA

: Pat Butler- turning 18 today- will he make a present to himself today?

: Laurie before he rolled his ankle. Look super fast again.

: struggling with his ankle...

Day 1 +2:

Mont Sainte Anne/ Canada hosts the 6^thround of the 2018 UCI world cup. This year it is the one and only world cup round out of Europe and coming here includes special preparation such as flying over earlier for acclimatize and getting over the jetlag.

The weather in Mont Sainte Anne this year is unusual hot which are the best circumstances for storms and unstable weather. On the first day of training one of those storms kicked in with heavy rain and thunder. Training got interrupted for 2 hours because track marshals got evacuated from the mountain, the gondola got stopped and the riders got a maximum of 4 training runs on the first day. The good thing was that we showed again that we are a force to count with: Brook 3^rdand Mike 7^thElite time training and Pat got 2^ndin juniors timed training.

: here we are- Quebec City sight seeing tour first day

: Laurie in slippery conditions in the first training.

: Mike coming back after a good rest for his wrist

: boys going back on track after the first storm.

: just 4 training run in total- 4th run in timed training was the first full run and he finished in 3rd.

: Laurie back on one of his favourite track even the conditions were really difficult.

: Mike 7th place in timed training session.

: happy faces, good team: Ben and Brook

12 Juli 2018

world cup round 5 Vallnord

admin Allgemein, racing 2018, anodrra, brage Vestavik, brook macdonald, Johannes von Klebelsberg, laurie greenland, mike jones, patrik butler, vallnord, worldcup

In the Elite category Johannes von Klebelsberg was the first rider of the Ms Mondraker team to come down. Coming from a very strong 26^thplace in the qualification he was able to improve his time by one second, which was not enough to repeat the result from the day before. He dropped down to 46^thposition.

Mike Jones was struggling all week with some big crashes and a sore wrist, which hold him back. To make it into the race run, Mike decided to use a wrist brace, which might be a handicap, if it was not tested before, but as it turned out later, the wrist brace was not going to be his biggest problem in his final run. Mike started out of the start gate pedaled thru the first section and snapped off his chain and derailleur. While we saw already fast runs without a chain, this one was different. The derailleur kept hanging on the cable and the risk of going fast was too big till the derailleur finally ripped off, which was too late to make up positions in the ranking. Mike finished in 60^thposition.

Brook was next to come. With a very strong 4th place from qualification he knew he could make it onto his first world cup podium since Val di Sole 2015. Brook went into a fully commited race run, but lost some time in the first section, while he was faster thru some of the lower section than later winner Loris Vergier. Just in the last corner before the last open bit Brook went hard into a corner, but was able to catch up and crossed the finish line in 3^rdposition with 3 more riders to come.

Laurie Greenland was next and again he showed a wild ride. Laurie dangled a little bit in the lower woods, where he almost got send over the bars. Laurie crossed the finish line 1,4 seconds off Brook and still two more riders to come.

Former team-mate of Laurie Danny Hart could catch up with neither Brook nor Laurie and qualification winner Luca Shawn crashed. Brook finished in 3^rdplace and Laurie completed this sensational result with a 4^thplace.

2 riders on the podium got us into 2^ndplace of the ranking for the team of the day and this 2^ndplace got us also into 2^ndplace of the overall team ranking. We again leave a world cup round with big grins on our faces.

We are now heading back home to prepare for the next world cup round in Mont Saint Anne/ Canada in about 3 weeks. Stay tuned and wait for our team video release on Wednesday!

full results

: 6th place- another top result for Paddy Butler.

: Johannes went one second faster than in Qualies, but that was not enough to replay the position from the day before- 46th place.

: Again bad luck for Mike Jones- check out his bike: chain missing, derailleur missing... 60th place.

: Laurie had a little hanger in the woods, which almost send him over the bars.- 4th place and another podium for him!

: Brook is back on the podium- 3rd place

: 2 MS Mondraker boys on the podium- well deserved!

: the newer generation podium.

: 3rd and 4th- two guys on the podium- thats more than you can ask for!

Day 3: qualification

Another very strong sign of the MS Mondraker in the qualification at the 5^thround of the 2018 UCI MTB world cup: Laurie Greenland finished in 3^rdposition just 0,006 seconds of 2^nd, Brook MacDonald finished in 4^thplace with a little mistake in the wood section where he clipped out of his pedal, Mike Jones got 22^ndwith a sore wrist after a big crash in the first training and Johannes von Klebelsberg managed to finish in 26^thplace. This 26^thplace is another strong result, which underlines his ascending performance curve. Brage Vestavik was riding a little bit to conservative and hold back too much. He did not qualify for the race and finished in 85^thplace. Last but not least Pat Butler qualified in 8^thplace in the junior category.

Overall we showed a very good team performance and we are looking forward to a tight race on Saturday- stay tuned and follow us on redbull.tv

: Mike Jones was riding with a sore wrist (from the crash on the day before) into 22nd place.

: Laurie Greenland finished 3rd- 0,006 seconds off 2nd place.

: Brook MacDonald with this little mistake in 4th place- 3,795 seconds off first, 1,226 seconds off 3rd.

: highspeed in Vallnord

: Brage was riding a little bit to conservative and could not qualify-85th place

: Best world cup qualification for Laurie Greenland so far- 3rd place.

: A little bit unlucky at the moment- Mike is riding fast, but is holden back by a sore wrist.

: Incredible performance of Brook MacDonald. Strong season so far especially considering his fast comeback after a broken collarbone at the beginning of the world cup season.

Day 2: first practice

We had a pretty good training day and the MS Mondraker training train was on again. In total it was a good day- a few mechanicals, a few little crashes and one bigger “digger” of Mike Jones, which was a little setback fro him as he tweaked his wrist again, but he will be able to ride today. Brook crashed in his timed training run and still got 10^thand co-factory rider Johannes had the 20^thfastest time of the day- so we are not worried about our pace or performance- bring on the qualification!

: BROOK 10th in timed training- with a crash!

: something we are really proud of- our MS Mondraker team train- watch out!

: one of the man made sections in Andorra.

: Mike Jones on fire. he wants to prove himself and is pushing

: a little bit to hard sometimes...

: ...but he is okay.

: Brook showing again a really strong performance

: Laurie- easy going in timed training- no doubt he knows his lines!

Day 1: track walk

Back to back weekends of racing on another sick track. We are here in Vallnord/ Andorra- a little country between France and Spain in the Pyrenees about 3 hours north of Barcelona and 3 hours south from Toulouse. The track in Vallnord is known as being a very fast track with some ambitious sections and we are coming here with some good memories such as the team overall world cup win in 2016.

: Laurie stoked about his #2 number plate

: Brook back in Vallnord

: big take offs

: mix of natural and man made sections

: man made section super fast and tricky when it's wet

: natural rock section- Laurie and his dad on course walk

: sharp rocks

: Brook in yoga mode

7 Juli 2018

world cup round 4 in Val di Sole

admin Allgemein, racing 2018, brage Vestavik, brook macdonald, Johannes von Klebelsberg, laurie greenland, mike jones, patrik butler, val di sole, worldcup

With Laurie’s 2nd place, Patrik’s 3rd place in juniors and Brooks 9th place we won the team ranking of the day- an amazing result for us for sure. Check out the impressions of this weekend captured by Björn Hunger.

Music credits:
„broken pieces“ by Not Scientists
„blue pill“ by Uncommonmenfrommars

Day 4:

This day was one of these days, which pay off for all the blood, sweat and effort… but let’s start at the beginning. First important race for us today was the junior world cup, where we have been represented by the Australian Junior Patrik Butler. Patrik missed the first couple of race because of a broken scaphoid and Val di Sole was just his 2^ndworld cup race in 2018. After qualifying 5^thPatrik showed that there is a chance for him to enter the podium. Because of his figure and his body language he looked like flying over the track. He beat some of the stronger and bigger riders and got 3^rdwith 3.3 seconds off first.

In the Elite race we have been represented by three riders and first of them to come down was local Johannes von Klebelsberg. With his so far best qualifying result in his pocket, Johannes rode a little bit to conservative and repeat the position from the day before. Johannes finished in 38, which is still his best world cup result so far.

Brook showed top split times in timed training as well as in his qualification run and so he was in a good mute for the race. On race day he struggled a bit with finding the right suspension setup before his race run. The problem lead into his race run and Brook rode a little bit too consistent to be able to get on the podium- 9^thplace for him. Last to come down one more time was Laurie Greenland. Laurie had a run, which was evocative to his run of world championships in 2016. He showed some wild lines, which paid off in the end. He crossed the finish line in lead and jumped into the hot seat with 4 more riders to come. Vergier crashed at the very top and was not able to attack the podium anymore. Luca Shawn was a few seconds of in the top split times, made up time in the lower part, but couldn’t beat the time of Laurie. Former team mate Danny Hart came close to Lauries split times, but could beat him in the end. Last men to come down was Amaury Pierron, the two times winner of the 2018 race season, who pointed out his strength in qualifications with a fabulous time and for sure he was the favorite for this race. Amaury was ahead at split one, back at split 2, back again at split 3 and a few tenth of a second ahead again at split 4. The French men crossed the finish line 0,524 ahead of Laurie, who got 2^ndin the end.

With the 2^ndplace of Laurie, the 9^thplace of Brook and the 3^rdplace of Patrik in the junior race we won the team ranking of the day and made up some point in the team overall ranking.

We are now heading to the 5^thround of the 2018 UCI MTB worldcup in Vallnord/ Anodrra- stay tuned.

: Brook MacDonald on fire.

: style shot by Nathan Hughes of Brook MacDonald

: racing at it's best in front of an awesome crowd

: the last seconds waiting in the hotseat and last man is coming down

: happy days with happy people...

: junior Patrik Butler with his first podium in 2018.

: that does not happen very often- this is why it is so special: team of the day!

: Mr. MS himself and Brook MacDonald- again happy people.

Day 3:

Again heavy rain over night- the conditions were difficult and Mike Jones struggled riding with his sore thumb from the crash from the day before. Mike crashed again and could not qualify for the race on Saturday. Brook came down with top split times, but unfortunately crashed in the so-called “Sam Hills corner”, which is the second last corner before the finish. With no speed Brook pedaled into 25^thplace. Laurie had a constant run and finished in 10^thplace. Big surprise of the day was co-factory rider Johannes von Klebelsberg, who finished in 21^stposition- not just his best qualifying result so far, but also in front of his home crowed. Last but not least Patrik Butler qualified in 5^thposition.

: steeeeeeeeeeep.

: mudd action marks

: crashed again in qualifications- Mike Jones

: Laurie on fire as in 2016

: Mike Jones

: Laurie Greenland

: Brook MacDonald

: Laurie Greenland

Day 2:

First day of training is done. We had some heavy rain over night, which made the track being even more tricky. The roots and rocks get even more slippery and the dusty ground changed into a loamy surface. Mike Jones slipped in one sections and crashed, not hard, but he caught a crack and dislocated his thumb. Brook and Laurie didn’t push too hard in timed training and finished in 7^thand 36^thposition.

: Laurie in the zone

: Mike following Brook.

: team work

: the MS Mondraker training train

: sew SDG dropper seat posts seen on the trainings bikes of Brook, Laurie and Mike

: Brook in stoned stones section

: Mike dislocated his thump

: Mike just before the crash happened.

Day 1:

Comezzadurra in Val di Sole host the 4^thstop of the 2018 UCI MTB world cup. The track is known as rough and unforgiving. We are always come to this place with mixed feelings- for sure it is an exciting track to race on, but we are always happy to leave this place in one piece. There was nothing really new to discover on track walk and so it was just about finding the fastest line… a lot to discuss on and off the track.

: nice overhauling for the race bikes

: Brook and Ben discussing the bike set up for the first training session

: the MS Mondraker factory team

: factory team riders helping out co factory riders with line choices... Johannes appreciates that help

: well... this is where we go thru

: talk shop

: pretty difficult line choice here and there

: steep and gnarly...

9 Juni 2018

Leogang world cup round 3 with the first podium

admin Allgemein brage, brage Vestavik, brook, brook macdonald, fabian, fabian urlich, Johannes von Klebelsberg, laurie greenland, Leogang 2018, mike jones, mtb worldcup, UCI, worldcup

Another video summary by Björn Hunger of our fabulous week in Leogang… good things happen when you don’t expect them! 4 elite men in the finals, 3 out of 4 in the top 10, 1 podium with a 3rd place and the 2nd place in the team results… you can’t ask for more- we are stoked!

Day 4: Race day

Another race is in the books and we are catching up. We went into the race day fully excited, as we knew we were on a good pace. All the riders from the factory program qualified in the top ten, as well as Johannes qualified for the men’s final and new add on Patrik qualified for the juniors final. The times from the day before were very promising, which let us hope for the jackpot.

Patrik was the first in juniors race and struggled a bit after coming back from a broken scaphoid. He did some mistakes and crashed in the last section of the track. In the end he became 16^th, which was maybe a little setback for him, but the result from qualifying is something we can build on.

Co-factory rider Johannes was the first to come down. Johannes didn’t find his flow, made some mistakes, which send him back into 54^thposition, but we think positive, as we know what to change to get him up in the rankings.

Mike Jones was net to come. He already showed in the first timed training session that you have to have him on the radar. His 2^ndplace was motivation was enough to qualify in 10^thposition with a steady run. In his final race run Mike put a solid run together which got him into 8^thplace in the end.

Laurie was next to come. He qualified in 6^thplace, which was the perfect position for an attack- and so he did. Laurie had one of these runs he is known for- wild and on eth edge, but controlled and precise at the same time. He was just a few tenth of a seconds of the time of current leader Aaron Gwin and crossed the finish line in second position, but got 3^rdin the final result.

Last man of the MS Mondraker team was Brook MacDonald. Still not 100% fit and missing some weeks of riding after a broken collarbone, Brook shows an incredible performance. A 2^ndplace in qualification got him into the circle of favorites. Brook was the second last man to come down today. He lost some time in the top parts and took a different line in the lower section. Brook got 9^thin the end… maybe he was not really satisfied with that, but happy to know that he is on the pace to keep up with the current podium riders.

The 3^rdplace of Laurie was our first world cup podium this season and the fact that we had three riders in the top 10 brought us into the 2^ndplace of today’s team ranking. We are now back in 4^thposition of the team overall world cup ranking and keep catching up.

Here you can find the complete set of results.

We are now heading to Bikepark Innsbruck for the second round of the crankworx series- meet us there!

: Patrik Butler, had some good split times but crashed at the end of his final run

: Johannes von Klebelsberg- always 100%

: Mike Jones is back. The top 10 is his new home along with both his team mates MacDonald and Greenland.

: Brook sending it into the panorama...

: check out the line and where they took off...

: Laurie was again on a pinner... 3rd place

: Ex team mates, Brook and Greg after one eventful afternoon in the woods.

: first world cup podium for the MS Mondraker team with Laurie Greenland in 3rd

Day 3:

We had an amazing qualifying day today. Brook, Laurie and Mike from the factory squad qualified in the top 10, as well as Johannes from the co-factory team qualified in 40^thposition. This result got completed with the 6^thplace in qualification for the men junior race of Patrik Butler, which is pretty promising considering his situation of a coming back after a broken scaphoid. We are now in a very good position for the race tomorrow. Stay tuned and follow the race on https://www.redbull.tv/live/AP-1VPHMM9GS1W11/mercedes-benz-uci-mountain-bike-world-cup

: "habt acht" boys are ready for action

: Mike Jones at one of the bike park wallrides- prefers the natural sections for sure.

: Laurie 6th in qualies...

: Laurie enjoyed riding the new version of the worldcup track in Leogang

: Johannes qualified in 40th position

: Brages was sick all week- too enfeebled to qualify

: Brook again on fire- 2nd place in qualies

: typical bike park section... wall ride action

Day 2:

First day of practice was wild. The riders couldn’t wait to ride the new version of the DH world cup track in Leogang. Laurie, Brook and Mike got on speed really quick and they were on the same pace thru out the open training session. Mike was leading in the timed training session for quite a while and got 2^ndin the end. Brook got 14^thwith a solid run and Laurie got 20^thwith a so-so run and an almost crash, where he hit a tree. We have a good pace and everything is open for tomorrows qualification.

: Austrian rider Fabian Ulrich

: the MS Mondraker train is on course

: Brook is getting stronger and stronger after his broken collarbone

: The Viking Brage Vestavik- will he qualify this weekend?

: no question- Laurie like the new version of the track.

: new for this weekend- Patrik Butler from Australia joined the cofactors squad

: our Italian rider Johannes von Klebelsberg- also known as"putega internazionale"

: Mike Jones- a 2nd place in timed training get him back on the screen.

Day 1:

In the past few years Leogang was maybe not the most popular track on the world cup circuit. Too easy and to “bikeparky” was the common sense between the riders. Even more we have been surprised on track walk when we saw the modifications the organizers did to the track- especially the nice new grass off camber section was in favor of all the riders. The new common sense?! Bring on the race and lets rock!

: Greenland getting all out of shape on the first kicker.

: Mike Jones keeping up with the MS squad.

: the boys are sharing lines...

: thats the way to go...

: Brook and Ben doing fine adjustments

: the good stuff for the cockpit- Renthal bike components

: Laurie and Brook switch to hike mode ready to go find out what awaits them up the mountain.

: bike is getting a overhauling

We had an amazing qualifying day today. Brook, Laurie and Mike from the factory squad qualified in the top 10, as well as Johannes from the co-factory team qualified in 40^thpositi