Team MotionBased

Besides the lung-searing altitude, Deer Valley has much to offer the competitive mountain biker, if they are willing to skip an event or two! To be sure the racing is as competitive as ever, and the courses are pretty sweet too, but the true mountain biker will be drawn to the endless singletrack that the Wasatch Mountains provide... But first things first, Team MotionBased arrived on Thursday to prepare for a long weekend of racing. One of the keys to racing at altitude is not to arrive too early - the optimum time to get there is within 3 days of the event, otherwise plan on 2 weeks to acclimatize. Elevation hurts when it gets the better of you, and even within the 3-day window it's no guarantee of success, as a few of us would find out. Day 1 - Friday - Semi-Pro XC and Pro Super-D Shadey hydrated well, ate well, and readied himself perfectly for the XC race, which started at noon under hotter than normal conditions. As Dave and Olivier sat in the shade, O was happy to be saving his legs for the Super-D while Dave was watching attentively to see how the conditions would affect the racers. The course consisted of two major climbs, plus one minor climb per lap linked by fast trails and slippery switchbacks. It was clear that the elements were taking their toll on the racers as the lap splits continued to slow down. Shadey rolled in, completely spent, in 32nd place. At around 4pm Kenny and Olivier began taking the lifts to recon the Super-D course. Olivier had gotten in one pre-ride earlier that day and had made a tire change: off went the 2.2 Cortez's, and on went the 2.1 Nevegal SWS. The tire change made all of the difference!! All of a sudden, the loose corners felt grabby and a huge amount of confidence took the place of caution experienced in the earlier run. The Super-D provided two interesting results for the Jamis/Garmin racers: on the one hand, Olivier's 10th place validated the Jamis XAM bicycle platform and Kenda tires (as well as confirming decent fitness) and on the other hand, Kenny's broken prototype XCR led to important discoveries of its own: there is no better test environment than a full-on race! (Full results from the race are here). Check out our sponsors! Garmin, Jamis Bikes, Kenda Tires, Formula Brakes, Easton Components