Here we go then, the Dirt Enduro Fantasy League Powered by Avid results after the opening round.

Top of the heap is David James with his ingeniously titled “Dave’s Team” on a score of 2230. Dave only went and picked the top three finishers didn’t he? Barel, Clementz and Graves. Bang. Big points right there!
And with 3rd place women’s rider Cecile Ravanel and Josh Carlson also on the team Dave is 70 points clear of the four way tangle for 2nd place. That’s Brandon Turman from VitalMTB tying for 2nd, he knows his Enduro onions.

Big points all across the board on Dave’s Enduro team.

So what do points make? Driving license endorsements? No. Prizes of course!

And for winning the first round David James wins a pair of the superb Avid XO Trail brakes! Well done Dave. See below for prizes.

How did your team get on? Click www.dirtendurofantasyleague.com and let us know in the comments below.

Wot no Dirt team?

In the private leagues VitalMTB are top dogs. Good work chaps!
(We’re so slack here at Dirt that we have’t got one sorted yet! Any takers?)

Round Winners

1st place:

Avid XO Trail brakes.

The winner of each round of the Enduro World Series Fantasy League will once again take home a pair of the superb Avid XO Trail brakes. I wonder if any lucky sod will manage to win more than one set of these? Oh, and remember if there’s a tie for points at any stage of the competition then the winner is the one who registered first.

2nd place:

Duffle bag

For coming second in a round of the series you’ll get this rather swanky SRAM Duffle bag. With specially designed pockets for things like your helmet and shoes this bag is great piece of kit to have.

3rd place:

Swag bag

And finally, but by means least, if you squeeze into third place you’ll get a bag of swag from SRAM which will include socks and a trucker hat along with a load of other nice goodies.

And don’t forget the overall top three at the end of the season will win these mega prizes:

Overall Winners

1st place:

This one is so good that no photo can even do it justice! SRAM will kit out your bike with a whole pile of their top end kit, and that includes a fork, full groupset, brakes, handlebar and pedals! They’ll even get one of their top mechanics to fit it all to your bike and make sure it’s totally dialled. They will do this for you at either a round of the Enduro World Series or at their factory in Schweinfurt, Germany. You will be responsible for your own travel, but either option would be a great experience in itself, and remember you’re winning a massive pile of kit which is worth a fortune! (For those that don’t want to have to spend any more we are also working on a free option)

2nd place:

Yep, that’s right, a brand spanking new pair of Pike forks. And if you haven’t heard about the reintroduction of the legendary Pike then you can read about it here.

3rd place:

A full set of Avid XO Trail brakes await the lucky person who rounds out the top three overall.

Ee by gum, Mick Kirkman and Joe Rafferty are putting on a new MTB event up at Swaledale, North Yorkshire on June 29th/30th.

The UK’s premier natural Enduro and All Mountain Sportive.
June 29th & 30th 2013, Swaledale, North Yorkshire.

Combined mountain bike Enduro and All-Mountain sportive in the stunning Yorkshire Dales National Park. Our exclusive route takes in 100% natural rocky descents incorporated into a big day out in the Dales. We obtained one-off access to private land, which means ‘Ard Rock Enduro can take in gnarly, rock strewn terrain only rideable in our event. Our chip timing system is provided by industry leaders SportIdent.

There will also be camping, a BBQ, beer and fantastic spot prizes from event sponsors Santa Cruz, Hope and Mavic. All entries before Monday 10th June are automatically entered into a prize draw for a £600 set of Mavic Crossmax ST wheels.

Hit up www.ardrockenduro.co.uk to enter.

Ee by gum thats rocky!

Cracking view Gromit.

A grand day out.

Yorkshire roost.

Time for a cup o tea and a sit down.

Gee Atherton will be aboard a new bike for 2013. Photo: Victor Lucas

3: Have you made any significant changes to your training, coaching or equipment setup for the 2013 season?

Aaron Gwin: Yup, lot’s of changes for 2013!

Greg Minnaar: Not really, I start my 11th season being trained by Stephane Girrard. Last year we were on pre production bikes, now that we’re on production bikes our V10′s weighed in quite a bit lighter, so it’s almost a new bike

Gee Atherton: I’ve started working with a new coach so our training has been mixed up slightly, keep things fresh.

Steve Smith: I wouldn’t say I’ve made any major changes. There is a lot to fine tune and I’m continuing my training with the same trainer. He works hard to push our progression in all angles, trying to sharpen every tool in the shed.

Sam Hill: I’m on a whole new bike this season. I’m riding the Nukeproof Pulse which is amazing. I feel really comfortable on this bike and I think that’s important. I’ve been training with my same coach TD lifestyle and have been putting in the work for sure so I’m ready to go.

Josh Bryceland: We had a really productive test session with fox in march but my bike is really similar to last season. My training has been great this winter, made some big steps in terms of strength.

Brook Macdonald: No real big changes with my training just the same as last year and chipping away at some new things. New bikes would be the biggest change for me but I’ve adapted quick to that and all the gear we are on I have ridden before.

Danny Hart: This off season I made some drastic changes, I went with a new coach, Andy Wadsworth, In Bristol, we have been working very hard, I have a WattBike, so I have been recording a lot of data at home and all of my stats have improved. Everything else has more or less stayed the same… I have great people in more corner, I didn’t want to change anything really.

Mick Hannah: Yes

George Brannigan: Yea I have a new trainer this year ‘Todd Schumlick’ and I’m real stoked with the program I’m on. It is quite a bit more than my previous training but I have the time to do it all.

Emmeline Ragot is on a whole new team and bike this year. Photo: Victor Lucas

Rachel Atherton: Yes quite a few, started working with Alan Millway a respected S+C coach really closely, he comes to the house during the week and we smash it hard, its been good, changing my muscles i hope… This was the first year we didn’t go abroad for any length of time to train, usually Cali or NZ for 6 weeks so we will see if that was a good decision soon!! And i didn’t have surgery at the end of the season last year so i pretty much had time to ride and enjoy my bike all winter, yay!!

Emmeline Ragot: I have couple big changes for 2013. First I changed team to Lapierre Gravity Republic, so naturally I’m riding the new Lapierre – dh Team bike. The other big change for me is my suspension, I will be on the SRAM / RockShox Black Box program for 2013 which I’m very happy about.

Myriam Nicole: I have change a few thing with my new trainer, also the team is now sponsored by Bos suspension which is awesome, we have been doing lots of test and the bike is working really good.

Tracey Hannah: I haven’t done anything the same leading up to the 2013 season, coming from my injury in August I have had to go through the recovery process and then turn it into training. We changed bikes this year and I’m loving it, I can’t wait to take the Polygon to the world cup stage.

Emilie Siegenthaler: I didn’t make any big chances to my training; my Dad is still making my training plans as he does for his own athletes (Nino Schurter, René Wildhaber). I finish my Master degree this summer so I m very busy with it all but I try to do my best. I’m looking forward to be finished with the Uni stuff, so that I can finally focus on racing! The bike is quite the same as last year, few changes and optimisation, but I won’t say too much…

Can Steve Smith Capitalise on his win in the final round last year? Photo: Victor Lucas

4: When did you last scare yourself on a mountain bike?

Aaron Gwin: A few days ago when I ran over a snake on an xc ride, I hate snakes.

Greg Minnaar: Testing in Spain…. Messing around on some jumps, tried to Super seat grab, but missed the bars and face planted

Gee Atherton: RedBull Rampage

Steve Smith: I try to scare my self every time i ride haha

Sam Hill: I’m not sure. I don’t really think I get scared riding a bike anymore.

Josh Bryceland: I scare myself most days on and off the mountain bike. Today was when I tried to scrub a jump but just carved right and got all out of shape, Hit a tree with my forearm and lost some skin but rode it out!! woooo

Brook Macdonald: Start of the year filming with the C3 boys when I got ejected at about 50ks but only scared me for a minute or two then I was good haha

Danny Hart: Fort William national.

Mick Hannah: I was trying to show off in practice at the Sea Otter and whipped myself right over the bars ha ha. That scared me, but I got away without hurting myself.

George Brannigan: Today haha, I went riding in the mud for the first time since knee surgery and had a wee slip up onto to my left leg but it was fine.

Why is Pom Pom Called Pom Pom? Photo: Victor Lucas

Rachel Atherton: Before sea otter classic Gee, Marc and I rode our distortions in the USC forest on some big downhill jumps, that was scary the first time hitting them on my little short travel!

Emmeline Ragot: Hum… I think the last time for me was in Windham USA last year when I got blown by the wind on the final jump! I think everyone remembers that crash.

Myriam Nicole: 9 Months ago, on a jump in Whistler. I landed on the back wheel and broke my collarbone, pretty scary when you ride at 50km/h

Tracey Hannah: Well, last time I rode my bike I crashed and broke my collarbone, so I guess you could say it was 4 weeks ago. I’m feeling really good finally since I broke my leg, the current injury is more just an inconvenience and I really can’t wait for the first race.

Emilie Siegenthaler: I had a little race last week end, it was a huge mudfest and there I had some few scary moments…

Click here for overall EWS rd#1 results.

Sunshine Coast – Welcome the Trail Wizard. We’re thrilled to welcome Linden Feniak to the Joystick family. James Doerfling and Linden Feniak slayed Lindens local trails while the Feniak’s played host to the Joystick crew.

Dan Makin and his team are planning what looks like it’ll be an amazing indoor dirt park in Manchester. With the UK weather being bloody unpredictable recently (snow in May, come on really?!) an indoor spot is just what we need for ensuring guaranteed all year round riding.

(Maybe we should sponsor it? After all it’s Dirt Factory, we are Dirt at Factory Media, makes sense!)

Here’s what the Dirt Factory team say:

An indoor mountain bike centre planned for Greater Manchester is fast gaining support from riders and people keen to back the project.

Dirt Factory aims to be the UK’s first dedicated indoor mountain bike centre – accommodating riders of all abilities and disciplines. As the name suggests, the Dirt Factory creators will use real dirt as the primary construction material for their range of indoor trails.

Indoor dirt jumping whatever the weather. Sounds good doesn’t it?!

Dan Makin, project leader, added: “With all the crappy weather we have in the UK we need an indoor mountain bike centre more then ever. An indoor centre with flowy jump lines, pump tracks, big berms and north shore is the way forward. We want jumps big enough for experienced riders and made from real dirt so we can change the layout from time to time.”

With their business plan in place, Dan and his fellow creators (and support from Maia Media) have already had some promising meetings with potential venue owners and business partners. Dirt Factory now needs your support to help bring this project to life. Spread the word to your friends, family and fellow riders by sharing and following Dirt Factory on Facebook and Twitter.

Keen to ride at an indoor venue? Find out more and show your support here www.dirtfactory.org

The Welsh countryside can be a vast untouched wildness of roaming forest and distant mountains, or it can be the complete opposite, a thriving and overcrowded environment filled with bustling businessmen and pencil pushers. Blaenau Ffestiniog once was one of the latter, a slate industry driven town where mining and quarrying were its biggest investments. Over the years the thriving industrial town has seen its self drying up of all it resources and slowly started to decay. Dont get me wrong, business in the quarries is still booming and the slate that comes from this area is still some of the best in the world but the mine tours and corner shops selling sticks of rock dont bring the crowds like they used to.

Great trails and an all round joyful day had with the 2 of 3 from Team Continental. Rob Scullion and Mike Inman looking quick and on form for this year of gravity based enduros here in the UK, crazy how they manage to find time to train around their full time jobs.

Continental: Up from the Slate from Laurence Crossman-Emms on Vimeo.

Beaumont first corner Winterbreg Bike Park

The opening round of the 2013 Schwalbe Euro 4X Series took place in Winterberg, Germany at the weekend. Held as part of the Dirt masters Festival, this event attracts thousands of fans who flock to Winterberg to watch Schwalbe Euro 4X Series, IXS Downhill series and the impressive Bergline Freeride World Tour event.

Slavik playing in the sun

The race had nearly 200 riders entered so practice was busy and the track has had a constant flow of riders as everyone got to grips with it. The weather played a pretty big part of the weekend as well. On Friday the track was a little bit wet and it made the turns slippery in places. On Saturday it was foggy and damp for qualifying, but then for race day, the sun was shining and the track was absolutely perfect.

Slavik was pinned in qulai

In qualifying, Tomas Slavik had a perfect run to take the fastest time ahead of Hannes Slavik (no relation to Tomas), with Scott Beaumont in 3^rd. Just 2 seconds covered the top 15 riders making this an extremely tight qualifying session. It was awesome to see Joost Wichman back and also to see Ivo Van Der Putten, the World Class BMX rider from Netherlands giving 4X a go. He qualified in 7^th.

Jess GREAVES made the trip to Germany into 9th place

In the women’s Katy Curd continued her domination of 2013 as she took the fastest qualifier ahead of Steffi Marth and Helene Fruwirth. It was great to see Fruwirth back on the bike after she had a huge crash at the first 4X ProTour round in Poland 2 weeks ago.

Adrian Weiss before his crash

So onto race day. As mentioned the sun was shining and the track was perfect. In the early rounds there were a couple of top riders who went out. David Axelsson from Sweden crashed in his first round and did not qualify to the final 32. A crash for Adrian Weiss and a broken collarbone put him out in the 2^nd round of racing along with Milan Mysik and Martin Neumayer.

Joost Wichman on his birthday

It was the quarter finals though, where some real shocks came along. Van Der Putten was leading his quarter final when a crash took him out of the race. He was looking good but a mistake cost him. Joost Wichman, Jurg Meier and Jakub Riha all also failed to make the semi finals.

RSP Team mates Slavik & Beckeman

In semi final 1, Tomas Slavik led from start to finish, but the action was the fight for 2^nd. Felix Beckeman was looking good but through the ‘Schwalbe S bends’ Aiko Gohler dived inside and took 2^nd place away from Beckeman to book the final spot.

Last and Beaumont fighting in the Semi Final

In semi final 2, Hannes Slavik battled Boom Boom Beaumont into turn 1, but Slavik got the holeshot. Running wide, Beaumont then slipped back to 3^rd as Benedikt Last moved into 2^nd. Beaumont was quite a long way behind, but carried speed all the way and made his move in the final turn to pass Benedikt Last back again and move into the final.

Katy Curd taking the win

So onto the finals and first up were the women. Fastest qualifier Katy Curd took gate 1, Steffi Marth was in 2, Helene Fruwirth in 3 and Tanja Hendrysiak in 4. Curd got the snap and led into turn 1. Fruwirth was close to her and got on her back wheel to settle into 2^nd. Hendrysiak made a great pass on Marth to move into 3^rd. Fruwirth hounded Curd all the way, but just could not find a way past. Curd took the win from Fruwirth and Hendrysiak.

Beckeman winning the small final

The men’s final stepped up to the start. Slavik on gate 1, Hannes Slavik on 2, Beaumont on 3 and Gohler on 4. As the gate dropped, Tomas Slavik led into turn 1 with Boom Boom right behind him. Then from tight inside Hannes Slavik collided with Beaumont and both riders crashed out of the race. Gohler narrowly missed the carnage and moved into 2^nd. There was a battle for the bikes, but Beaumont got going 1^st and took the final step on the podium. This was the first 4X race in a while where a big crash decided the outcome, but luckily all the riders were ok.

Tomas Slavik was clearly happy with the win:

‘I have had an awesome winter of training and it is paying off right now. I’m stoked to take the win here in Winterberg and leave here with the Schwalbe Euro 4X Series points lead.’

A truly awesome day of racing, and a great start to the 2013 Schwalbe Euro 4X Series.

Elite Women

1 CURD Katy – Rose Vaujany

2 FRUWIRTH Helene – Ciclopia Moro

3 HENDRYSIAK Tanja – Merida Velo Team

4 MARTH Steffi – Trek Gravity Girls

5 LACKAS Julia – Last Bikes

6 SCHMULBACH Jessica – Rodan

7 BORSCHIG Anna – Nox Cycles

8 KONIKOWSKI Laura – ghost Racing Team

Elite Men

Final
1 SLAVIK Tomas – RSP Mountain Bike Team
2 GOHLER Aiko – Last Factory Team
3 BEAUMONT Scott – Yeti Racing UK
4 SLAVIK Hannes – Transition Bikes
Small Final
5 BECKEMAN Felix – RSP Mountain Bike Team
6 LAST Benedikt – www.fourcross.de
7 KULESZA Robert – MTB Wieza
8 PENC Jiri – Gigantic Racing Team

Here is the link to both men’s and women’s finals that was shown live on www.bigair.tv :

http://bigair.tv/video/dirt-masters-2013-bike-unit-4cross-rumble-finals-elite-women-and-men

For full results on www.euro4xseries.com

Round 2 of the Schwalbe Euro 4X Series is in Harthill, UK on 2^nd June 2013.

Keep up to date with the Schwalbe Euro 4X Series on: www.euro4xseries.com

On Facebook: www.facebook.com/eurofourcrossseries

On Twitter: www.twitter.com/euro4xseries

Photo Credit Chris Roberts

Dirt Mountainbike Magazine is seeking a professional and enthusiastic Website Editor to produce and manage a stimulating mix of gravity focused content from the UK and beyond. The main role will be to ensure the website is updated on a daily basis and refreshed with dynamic high quality content, making Dirt the leading site in its field. Maintaining a firm link with the magazine is critical, as is the delivery of cross platform content to ensure the two grow.

• Reports to the Editor–in–Chief
• Works day to day with the Editor–in–Chief and Deputy Editor of Dirt magazine and the Head of bike content on MPORA.COM
• Works with Advertising Sales Manager, SEO Manager and Digital Director
• Will have line management responsibility for an editorial assistant

• Produce and circulate both long term and weekly editorial plans to the publisher and advertising team
• Post at least 5 editorial pieces on average per working day
• Supply content that optimises the time each user spends visiting the site
• Ensure that video content is delivered effectively and is of high quality
• Ensure the site has at least five pieces of content uploaded each day
• Produce news and feature articles that are optimised for search queries
• Monitor and participate in the site’s forums
• Produce high quality newsletters to registered users
• Liaise/recruit/monitor the quality of bloggers
• Commission content from freelance journalists within agreed online budgets
• Assist with updating advertiser micro–sites where required
• Work with the sales team to represent Dirt to advertisers

• Strong attention to detail
• Effective time management and strong organisational skills
• A thorough understanding of the target market and their online media behaviour
• Excellent verbal, written and communication skills
• Must have a high degree of proficiency with Gmail, Twitter, Facebook and other social media products
• A knowledge of the Adobe Suite for both video and photography
• Some degree of familiarity with web development and other digital content related applications
• You must be eager to learn and relish a challenge
• The ability to innovate and come up with new ideas that will benefit the long-term success of the website
• Must be able to work independently, using own initiative as well as working as part of a wider team
• Good problem solving skills
• A keen interest in mountain biking

Apply to jobs@factorymedia.com

]]> http://dirt.mpora.com/video-clips/cedric-gracia-through-my-eyes-1-punta-ala.html/feed 4