Racer Bikes Cup Muttenz: With World Champs fast approaching the final round in the Racer Bikes Cup series would serve as a great last hit out before the big one on the third of September. It was also my last weekend in Switzerland after almost three months of training and racing. Luckily for us the wet and cold weather that we had experienced in our last couple of weeks was put on hold as summer made one last effort and treated us to brilliant weather for our final days in the Country. Arriving in Basel we were surprised to find the track was quite close to the main City and it seemed to be a very unlikely venue for a Mountain Bike race. There was not really much to the track either. It was predominantly flat and fast with very little in the way of technical single track. The main highlight was a small but fairly steep climb followed by a fast descent and apart from a few small jumps and berms in the main start finish area the rest was open and super fast. Despite this it was a good race venue as it allowed a lot of people to come and watch. The start finish area was in a horse running track with a grandstand and there was a good atmosphere with the main start loop and finish line on the horse track and a few twists and turns with a couple of jumps to keep the spectators happy in the middle. The race itself was very frustrating as it turned out to be a bit like a road race with big groups forming and a lot of mucking around with no one wanting to drive the pace. I had a very poor start and was relegated to the rear of the field and from there had to try and work my way back up. I made the mistake of pushing too hard early on and through the middle of the race. I was strong up the climb and would attack there every lap trying to get further up the field but would get run down by the big bunch and then the speed would slow right down again as no one wanted to set the pace with a group of riders sitting on their wheel. Eventually I did manage to get a bit of a gap but by then I had run out of gas and was slowly reeled in dropping back down to 27th by the finish.

The initial shipment of the new generation KS height-adjustable seatposts is almost gone. Get in quick if you want one. The specs: i900-R model (new generation) 30.9mm 125mm drop (5 inches) 385mm length Priced sharp, they work great. Mike and Rob have been running them on their bikes for several months now with no issues at all.

Our NZO clothing corner is up and running. The only place you can go in NZ to see and try the dirt-worthy NZO range.

There are not many of these frames around, especially in New Zealand. We even managed to get the best colour - Vitamin P ! Full specs here: www.ibiscycles.com/mountain/mojohd Come on in and see it in the flesh. • 160mm of rear wheel travel. • DW Link Suspension. • Weight for the frame and shock, size large: 6.3 lbs, 2.86Kg. • 67 degree head angle with a 160mm fork. • Polycarbonate down tube cable guard. • Chain stay length: 17.125 inches. • 12 x 135mm Maxle rear axle. • Post mount magnesium left dropout, carbon right dropout. • Compatible with the new tapered steerer standard: 1 1/8th hidden upper, 1.5 traditional lower. • Compatible with both Chris King InSet and Cane Creek Frustum headsets. • If you want to run your current straight 1 1/8 fork, we have got you covered too. We will have an adapter available, and you will be able to use a King headset top and bottom. • 2.35″-2.55″ rear tire depending on brand and height of cornering knobs. • Dual row angular contact bearings in the front of the lower link that have less play than standard sealed bearings. Preload adjustment is not necessary. Large 28mm x 15mm x 7mm radial bearings in the rear for stiffness and long wear. • The leverage ratio, like the Mojo and Mojo SL is designed for air shocks. The Mojo HD comes with a 8.5″ x 2.5″ Fox RP23. A DHX air will work on all but the small size. A coil shock is not offered because the linkage rates weren’t designed for it. We lowered the top tube to get slightly better standover than the regular small mojo while having a higher BB because of the longer travel (we managed to retain the DHX air compatibility in 3 of the 4 sizes). • The Bottom Bracket height is 13.8″-14″ depending on tyres. • Front derailleur (if you use one) and adjustable seatpost housing (if you use one) run along the top tube.

Mountain Bike World Cup #4 Champery, Switzerland. My first World Cup in the Elite men turned out to be a race of mixed emotions. In the lead up to the race I was very excited. World Cup races are the pinnacle of Mountain Bike racing and finally getting the chance to have a crack at one had been a goal of mine for some time. The weather in the days before had been wet and the track had become very muddy making several sections unrideable. Practice was good I enjoyed the technical nature of the track and felt at home in the greasy conditions. The mud only increased its difficulty as it already had plenty of slippery roots and rocks but it was good because it required good all round bike skills to do well. Race day dawned clear and fine and a 2:30pm start time gave things a chance to dry out a bit. Starting in 129th position, I had plenty of work to do to get up towards the pointy end of the field but I was very determined to have a good race. But ..... I had not been aware that I had entered a running event as that is how things panned out for the first few laps at least. A field of 175 riders all fighting to get to the front made for a large amount of congestion and a lot of time was spent off the bike. It was very frustrating, the only real chance to get on and ride each lap was up the main climb and it was taken at a furious pace as riders sought to gain positions. Most of the moisture had dried up turning the mud into a thick sticky mess and it was very slow going. Many places were quicker just to jump off and run remounting Cyclocross style in the rideable sections. Racing against such a large amount of riders made for some very chaotic moments. Riders crashed and bikes became tangled up all over the place. A lot of very expensive equipment was destroyed very quickly and swear words in different languages filled the air. In order to make head way risks had to be taken and every little gap no matter how small was an opportunity to move up. As a result of the all or nothing attitude that had to be adopted I had several crashes but somehow my trusty Santa Cruz Blur XC Carbon made it through unscathed, thanks Bike Culture and Hyperformance Hardwear. Although I gave it everything I was unable to finish getting lapped after four laps finishing in 102nd place. I was left feeling a bit disappointed getting lapped is never a good thing but this is the top level of the sport and due to the extremely fast pace and high attrition rate only 58 riders completed the race. You can only give your best and at the end of the day I could not really complain. It had been an awesome day and it was great to finally get an Elite World Cup under the belt. I will be after a better result next week at Round #5 of the World Cup series in Val di Sole Italy, Bring it on.

We made it to Flims on the Friday to check out the course. It was very good, short but with a little bit of everything. The main feature was a very steep climb but the down hills were really good and nothing like the carefully groomed single track we get back home. It was full on roots and rocks and lower down a few wooden features including a big wall ride and a couple of drops. I decided after one lap that it was my favourite race track of the trip so far. It really was a good track with a perfect mix of climbing and technical as well as good passing and feeding sections. Flims is World Champion Nino Schurters training grounds and he was the local hero. A massive crowd came out in support of the World Champ. A very strong line up of riders turned up on the day and although this was my fifth race over here in Europe the excitement of racing against the big stars of world Mountain Biking has not diminished. For this race I was aiming to really push myself early on rather than pacing myself and perhaps having a bit more left for the last couple of laps. I really wanted to be mixing it up near the front of the field and I was after a strong result in my last race before the World Cups. Right from the gun I went well, I really pushed the pace and kept attacking whenever I had the chance and had my best start of the trip so far coming through in 13th position. It was pleasing to be so far up the field as traditionally I have been very poor in the first lap. I was hurting but I just put the hammer down and kept driving the pace. I was determined to leave everything out on the race track today. The technical nature of the course favoured the full suspension and the Santa Cruz was in its element. I was able to charge on the downhill sections and gain time on my rivals. I rode in 12th position for the majority of the race but 8 laps turned out to be a bit too much and coming into the last couple of laps I began to run out of steam. Grovelling through the 7th and 8th laps I unfortunately dropped several positions and ended up in 16th place. Still it was my best placing of the trip and a solid result to finish of the first block of racing. Five races in consecutive weekends has been very full on but also an amazing experience. Racing such high quality events can only be a good thing and I have learnt so much. It will be good to have a bit of a break. We plan to head to France to see a bit of the Tour de France and then build up to the World Cup races in Champery and Val di Sole.

The Swiss Bike Trophy is one of the biggest races on the international calendar and always attracts the top riders in the world. The race is high on a hill overlooking the city of Bern and is a magnificent setting for an event. The public come out in huge numbers to support the race and the atmosphere is amazing. The main access to the race venue is via a cable car and every spectator that entered the car received a rattle, the combined noise of several thousand rattles and the usual Swiss bells certainly created a lot of hype. Commentators report back to the start finish are from several positions on the race track and organised bell ringers drum up support every time a rider comes past. It would have to be one of the most exciting races I have competed in. Even though I was racing flat out I really soaked up the support and enjoyed the experience, it was great being a part of such a high quality event. Summer has really kicked in over here and the temperature on race day was very hot. The heat and a very hilly course made the racing conditions very tough. Despite some steep climbing it was a very fast race track and there was not really anything too technical. But it was great for the spectators with the track looping around the hill with the start finish area on top. It meant they could easily get around to several vantage points without travelling to far. Race start was 1:45 right at the hottest part of the day and I certainly felt it. But this did not slow anyone down, the race was super fast for the first few laps. At one stage on the 3rd lap I ended up getting tangled with several riders after someone crashed on a tight switch back corner and blocked the track. With nowhere to go I piled straight into him and then got jammed up as several more riders came crashing in from behind. Luckily the bike and I escaped relatively unscathed. The feed zone was a highlight of each lap but the fresh bottle I received each time did not last very long and unfortunately did not do much to quench my thirst. I rode well through the 2nd half of the race and gained a lot of positions. I have learnt now that the racing over here is all about those first few laps only the really top riders appear to hold the same pace throughout, everyone else goes nuts at the start and then fades away by the end. I really have to work on my speed through the first half of the race if I can gain a few positions higher after each of the first few laps I would really start to get some very good results. At the finish I was 29th which I am reasonably happy with. Next weekend I race another Racer bikes cup in Flims and then it is a good couple of weeks off until the World Cup races at the end of July.

Racer Bikes Cup Engelberg. Two wet muddy races in a row, anyone would think we were still back in the New Zealand winter and not summer here in Switzerland. Todays race was one of the muddiest I have been in. Rain all week and freezing cold temperatures (it was snowing not far above the track) made for some extreme conditions on race day. Engelberg is another very unique course, mainly because of its length. It is only a bit over 3km and lap times were between 10 and 15 minutes and that was with plenty of mud to slow things down. The track is basically one big climb and then a descent back down to the bottom of the hill with a small section of flat before and after the start finish area. Because of the conditions we ended up racing 8 laps but we were scheduled to do 10. I had a much better start position for this race lining up on the third row. I had my lucky number 13 on the bike so I was feeling pretty good and was keen to have a stronger result. Right away I felt a lot more comfortable. I lost places at the start of the climb but got most of them back by the top. The single track had been gravelled before the race so although it was wet it was not too slippery, but the fun really started when we entered the grass section of the track below the famous Titlis Ski Jump. The thick mud made it pretty much a hold on and hope for the best situation. 3 chutes and if you made it to the bottom safely you were doing pretty well. It was absolute chaos the first lap with riders crashing all over the place. I got down alright breathed a sigh of relief and attempted to slog my way through the mud along the flat to the safety of the tarmac start finish area. After the first lap I decided it was faster just to get off and run along the flat. I flew up the climb on the second lap and by the end I was up into 16th position. The bike was starting to suffer by now. The thick casing of mud was clogging the drive train and chain suck was becoming a problem. The climb was fine, I dropped it into the small ring and spun my way up but I had a lot of trouble riding everywhere else after a fresh coating of mud and grass each lap. The only thing to do was man up and slog on for the rest of the race. The attrition rate was very high with a number riders pulling out after they or their bikes could not hack it. Disappointingly I lost places through the middle of the race and got lapped by the race winner with meters left off my 7th lap. But 19 place was not too bad and a big improvement from the previous Racer Bikes Cup result. I was very pleased with how strong I felt and perhaps if I had done a better job of clearing some of the muck from my drive train each lap I would have been able to spend more time going forwards and finished a little higher but I can not really complain. Looking forward to a bit of sunshine and a dry track next week at the Swiss Bike Trophy in Bern.

Internazionali D Italia Adamello bike XC Vermiglio. Race two of our international campaign. I had actually ridden this race before back in 2008 when I raced it as a junior in the lead up to the World Champs that year so it was pretty cool to be returning two years later. Single track is scarce but the unique part of this track is the section through the streets of Vermiglio, a few stairs, cobbles, alley ways and the vocal support form spectators cheering from there balconies and windows definitely makes Vermiglio different from the usual race track. The main descent is so steep that you really have to control your speed, there is a big gully off to the side near the top that you don not want to go riding into and rocks and stairs lower down make it quite tricky. The other down hills twist through paddocks and were good fun with a few natural jumps and nice slalom corners. Climbing wise the track was tough, the longest climb started out extremely steep and it was a struggle to even ride it especially in the latter part of the race. The grade did ease near the summit before a hike a bike section took you right to the top below a water fall. The other main climb is rough and rocky and came after a tight corner which hooked straight back up the hill from a descent. The race was another character building session, for the first part of the race I found the pace really tough. The hardest part was the flat sections, the speed would really get cranked up and I lost a lot of time to the stronger riders. A lap into the race and it suddenly started pouring with rain. The track got greasy really quickly and it got very cold. We even got pelted with hail at one stage. I had a couple of loose moments in the slippery conditions but managed to stay upright and finished relatively strongly passing several riders in the last couple of laps to finish in 29th position. I am reasonably happy with my result. The step up in performance that comes with racing in the Elite level in Europe is really tough but thats why I am here, to race and learn from the best. I will look to improve next week back in Switzerland at the next round of the Swiss Racer Bikes cup in Engelberg.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010 - from Dirk Peters. After an enjoyable 3 days stay in Schaffhausen we started our race campaign properly, kicking off in Champery with a round of the Swiss Racer Bikes Cup International Mountainbike Series. Our accommodation for the race was a Swiss Youth Hostel in the beautiful town of Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva. The Youth Hostel was right down by the lake which was good but unfortunately two railway tracks passed right by and at night it sounded like the trains were going to come crashing through the wall. The weather, which up until Friday had been very average, decided it was time for summer and the temperature rocked up to 27 degrees with bright sunshine till 10 at night. It felt good to be riding without jackets and thermals on. We had plenty of time to get a few laps in of the Champery track that afternoon and we were very impressed. Its only short at 4.5km but it is very technical and has a couple of nasty climbs that really test the legs especially later on in the race. Heaps of exposed roots and rocks litter the course and in particular the flatter parts where there are a couple of tricky sections that are very hard to ride without losing traction. Not to be out done the descents are steep, literately chutes straight down the hill side with their share of treacherous roots and rocks and tight off chamber corners. It is a true test - you have got to have the skills as well as the legs to do well at Champery. The build up for the race was not the best. We had all been sick, probably caught a bug on the plane and jet lag had made it hard to get a decent nights sleep. But come Sunday we were into it. 6 full laps plus a start lap was the order of the day It was very exciting to be lining up in the same race as riders like double Olympic and multi World Champion Julian Absalon and I was more nervous than I have been before a race in a long time as I warmed up. Call up to the start line was a bit tricky, my German is not very flash so I had to suss out rider number 45 (I was number 46) and follow him up to the line. The gun went off and I suddenly found out what it is like racing against the best riders in the World in Elite Men. It was easily the most intense race I have ever done. I moved up through the field into the top 30 after the first 3 laps but did not advance much further from there finishing in 28th place. I found the pace very tough and dropped off losing a lot of time on the last couple of laps. At the finish I was absolutely shattered but pleased to have got the first race under my belt. A weeks rest and I will be ready to go for the next one.

Santa Cruz Butcher, Nickel and Carbon Nomad will all be available for purchase soon. The Carbon V-10 is due to arrive on our shores next year. Check out the NZ Santa Cruz blog for full details at www.hyperformancehardware.blogspot.com

New design Bike Culture T shirts in stock now. Let everyone know you are a bike rider of discerning taste with one of these bad boys.

New design hoodies are in stock now. Available in all the cool colours for this season (black).

New wheels are build for Annika to use on her World Cup campaign. Stans ZTR wheelset with Crest rims.

We had done the Moerangi ride in the Whirinaki a couple of times now and loved it. We met at The Jail House and Scott shuttled us to the start of our ride. www.jailhousefarmstay.co.nz Mike and Annika braved the cold and rode the extra 13km to the start as a warm up. It was time to make it a bit more of a challenge, so we started at teh River Rd end of the track and tackled the 9km climb up to Moerangi saddle to start. Rob set the pace; not too fast, we had a long way to go. The track was great both ways, rewarding downhills after honest climbs. We stopped at the Rodgers Hut for a snack, and to wait for the group to bunch up again. Then off to the start (or halfway for us) of the track for more food. The two downhills between Rodgers and the start of the track were great fun going in this direction. Homeward bound, we put Annika on the front for the return trip which as you might imagine increased the pace. After the first climb we descended to the first hut and refilled with water. From here Mike took the lead, we again stopped at Rodgers Hut for the bunch to reassemble and we agreed to have our final feed at the top of the Moerangi Saddle. Again, Mike was in front so we could keep it steady, we were on our way home and looking forward to the final 9km descent. Climbing up Moerangi Saddle, knowing it was the last major climb for the day, the pace went on and a little suffering was done. We all met up at the top for our last food stop. Rob again took the lead for the long downhill. Huge adrenaline hit all the way down, hearts pumping. Time for the 13km road ride home, our legs were sore but the pace was on anyway. Total ride of 95km and 6hr03min ride time. Great endurance training! Ride of the year so far, great bush and great fun.

Late March of this year Mike and Kath with a couple of customers; Hayden and Steve went down to the Rainbow Rage ride. For those who do not know, this is a ride from St. Arnaud in the Nelson Lakes down to Hanmer Springs. It is a 106km gravel road bash through sub-alpine country. Being a point to point ride we needed to get the van to the finish at Hanmer Springs so Mike and Hayden drove down the day before and rode teh course backwards to St. Arnaud. We had never ridden in this part of the country before and were stunned by the amazing scenery. Not knowing the exact route led us astray a couple of times. A little backtracking and 126km later into a howling head wind we made it to our accommodation in St. Arnaud. The next morning we were all up early ready for the big day ahead. We were lucky enough to get a shuttle the 10km up the road to the start line. About 400 other entrants were crowded at the start line, some looking a bit scared - 106km on a MTB is a long way. It was a perfect sunny day and the headwind we had yesterday was still blowing the same direction, great, it would now be a tail wind most of the way south to Hanmer Springs. This was to be Kaths longest MTB ride ever so we started with a sensible pace and planned to ride steady. A good plan, as we started to reel in people who had gone a little fast at the start and were now paying for it not far up the road. The first 50 odd km are slightly uphill and then you hit the big climb to Island Saddle at 4419ft above sea level. Island saddle is the high point on the ride and we stopped here for a little lunch. Great views and a good feed and we were soon charging down the other side towards the finish line. A great day had, and a well organised event. Steve had won the Single Speed class and was stoked with his first ever win. Hayden had finished in the top 50 after not knowing how the legs would feel after the punishment of the 126km the day before. Kath and I rolled in with a smile and had not destroyed ourselves in the process. I would recommend the ride to anyone who wants a day out in some great terrain. Not a challenging track for the skills, but a great day out riding in the sub-alpine scenery of the South Island.

Excerpts from Annikas race report from Karapoti, the 2010 New Zealand marathon championships: I was hoping to find the course in pretty dry condition but little did I know that it had rained most of the week, not in Wellington, but on the hills where the course is located at - so much for a dry fast track! The start always seems to be a bit of a scramble as everyone lines up along the river in random order. As soon as the gun goes everyone tries to run through the river and get to the tarmac first. I managed to find some pretty deep spots in the river and had the water up to my hip, luckily the water did not feel too cold and we soon would get covered in mud from head to toe anyway. The first little bit of the course is on the road which then leads into a gravel road through the gorge. There is plenty of space to pass people as long as you do not mind riding through massive puddles and getting splashed, but that is all part of racing Karapoti. I managed get my way back up the field after I ended up way back at the start due to my poor navigation though the river and probably not ideal starting spot. When I saw Nic Leary a little way ahead I planed to catch her up and then stay there for a little while to wait for a good place to attack but when I got to her I had changed my mind and instead of easing back kept going at a steady pace. I was expecting Nic to get on my wheel and stay with me but she did not, I did not know for sure if I had managed to dropped her as I did not want to look back, so I just kept pushing and by the time I did look back the distance was big enough that I could not see her anymore. I was not sure if there where any other girls ahead as I came from the back and decided to keep pushing ahead to hopefully catchup to any other competitors I had. I caught up to some guys and some other guys came past me from the back but I did not see any more girls. Eventually Garth came flying past me and then Marcello caught up to me too and the both told me that I was the first girl, so I was getting more sure about my position. The devils staircase was a bit of a grovel but the rock garden was great fun and would be fantastic if I had time to look at it beforehand as almost all of it is ridable if you pick the right lines. I won the race with an 8 min lead, I am very happy with my result and that I managed to defeat my national mountain bike marathon champion title.

Bergamont Threesome 8.9 (140mm travel trail model) and Contrail 9.9 (120mm travel trail model) are in stock now, starting at $4299.

Updated design Heckler and Superlights are in stock now. With quality builds from $4990, check them out in-store.

BC regular Eugene Kara looking sharp as he pilots his Santa Cruz V10 to a creditable 4th place in age group at the recent Nth Is. Cup DH round in Rotorua.

High quality German brand Bergamont is available at Bike Culture now. With a wide range of models there is something available for any style of riding, and at virtually any price with quality full suspension models starting at just $2,000! Outstanding value.

More NZO goodness, with custom Bike Culture graphics. No fancy features, just a good, honest loose fit shirt in a lightweight technical fabric. Sleeves are cut to elbow length, perfect for trail riding or DH. Range of sizes in stock now.

NZO brand Bike Culture 3 pocket shirts now in stock in a range of sizes. New graphics, new lightweight technical fabric, and new NZO design features. Quality design by people that ride means the three pockets are deep, and positioned so they are easy to reach when you are riding. The extra zippered pocket is a great feature for the sort of stuff you will only need once on your ride, like your house key.

The Carbon Blur Long Travel frame is a pound lighter than the alloy version, and several orders of magnitude stronger and stiffer. It still retains the 140mm of plush, sophisticated, VPP suspension travel that has earned it rave reviews from all quarters. Frames available now, ask in-store.

Lightweight and grippy, you could not ask for much more from a tyre. The Maxxis Aspen tyres are in stock, 2.1 width kevlar bead weighs in at a svelte 515gms, while the 2.1 exception model weighs 465gm. Robs early ride reports are that they are super fast-rolling, and hang on great in Summer conditions.

Hatupatu – Rotorua’s latest mountainbike track. In Maori tradition Hatupatu was the youngest of four sons and was cruelly treated by his elder brothers. Despite this he grew up to become a chief of some note among the Te Arawa people. Having grown into a man of ability and confidence, he led his people into battle and gained great respect and mana. Earlier this year DOC gave us permission to create a new track off Tuhoto Ariki in the DOC area at the top of Tawa Rd. Mike, Rob and a crew of helpers have built a track in the old backcountry style - off camber and rooty. Starting approx 800m from the end of Tuhoto Ariki it will traverse the hill above Morangi Rd down to the end of Billy T. We have tried very hard to make a track that will be very difficult to ride on your first attempt. We wanted a track that challenged you as a rider and really made you think about how to ride it, and ultimately make you a better rider. Hatupatu is not a steep dangerous track but you will have to be a rider of ability and confidence to get down without putting a foot or two on the dirt. Hatupatu has no grade as yet and we would recommend waiting till spring/summer to let it settle in and dry before you give it a try.

Daily duty DH racer? Park bike? Freeride bike? Heavy duty hucker? Backcountry bomber? Yep. All of the above... Named after the much missed former head dog of Santa Cruz, the Driver 8 is a tough beast to categorize. Combining 8 inches of next generation VPP travel with a solidly built chassis that allows 7 inches of up and down seat adjustment - and well thought out details like a super burly pair of long life, low maintenance pivots, a 1.5" headtube, an 83mm bottom bracket with ISCG05 mounts, and a 150mm spacing rear end with a Maxle thru-axle - the Driver 8 is a versatile, tough, fun loving, gravity fed wrecking ball.

For those of you who visit regularly and have been disappointed with the staleness of the website, we apologise! Our aim is to keep things fresh and stay tune for more regular updates! Rock Shox Boxxer 2010 For all the DH riders out here… The New 2010 Boxxer are now in the country and we have them on our V10’s. We’re happy to say they are great! More settings to play with and beefier chassis. What more do you want?!

Bike Culture (BC) kit Hoodies, T. Shirts, riding tops for both boys and girls and riding skirts for the girls (boys too if you’re into that kinda thing?!) are all in stock. Adding to the kit we now also have BC socks available in a range of sizes – come in for a look! Update on our very popular hoodies, we have sold a lot in our first 2 years and felt it was time for a change. So all you Hoodie loving people, watch this space early June for our new design!!

Rotorua Club Jumps Track Race 15/3/09 The Jumps Track is always great fun and this year both Rob and Mike entered the club race. A two run format meant you could have a ‘safe’ run to start and put in a good time and then let it all hang out in the 2nd run. The 30+ vet class had been abandoned this year so the boys had to race the young guns in the Open class. Mike had a great day with a 5min 40sec time which meant he took out not only the Open class but also fastest time of the day. “Not bad for a boy knocking on 40!” race organizer Dave Hamilton reminded everyone at prizegiving! Rob also had a good day and on his 2nd run set down a 6min 01sec time, which earnt him 3rd place in the Open and a 6th place overall. Great day for the BC boys!

NZ Singlespeed Champs 25/4/09 Anzac day 2009 was the 2nd NZ Singlespeed champs here in Rotorua and for Annika she was defending the title she won last year. The Boys converted her Santa Cruz Blur LT race bike to a singlespeed. The day saw perfect Singlespeed (SS) weather (rain showers) and involved all of the usual antics (hiding bikes at the start, full dress ups, skulling beers etc etc). Because the start was its usual colourful and chaotic nature, Annika raced the whole way believing she was coming second! Chasing the lead made for a hard race, only to find crossing the finish line that she had infact won her second NZ Singlespeed champs. XTerra 18/4/09 After being talked into her first triathlon 3 weeks before the off road event, Annika knew this was going to be a challenge. She was up against seasoned and talented athletes and to say her swimming wasn’t her strength was a wee bit of an understatement! On the day she was 2nd last exiting the water, and although she was expecting to make some of that time up on the bike she hadn’t anticipated the singletrack to be like rush hour in Auckland. So it was a difficult ride, but it was her run that really saw her make in roads to the leading women. It made for a very exciting race for the women, and she finished an awesome podium 3rd place behind Nic Leary and Susie Wood. A result Annika was really happy with, but would like to improve on??

...finally! We now have some Women’s specific riding tops and some fresh new Women’s T’s in stock. Also check out the skirts! Yup riding skirts, much much cooler to ride in with your lycra shorts underneath for comfort. Also another supply of the very popular Men’s riding tops and T’s. The riding tops are great for XC riding, and for the downhillers amongst us, plenty of room to fit the armor underneath. Watch this space for our BC socks which are on the production line we’re told as we speak. Come on in and check out the gear or call us now to put your order in!

AUSTRALIAN XC NATIONAL CHAMPS 24-25 Jan. I travelled to Canberra, Australia on Wednesday two weeks ago along with a bunch of other NZ riders to compete in the Australian XC National champs held on Sunday (25th), covering the U19 men & women, U23 men & elite women categories. My preparation for this race had been very good with the North Is XC cup series behind me and feeling strong & ready to give this event a good go. As I had expected the NZ U19 riders were all at the back of the start grid in a line up of 33 riders. This didnt worry me too much as I had raced on the Stromlo track last year & was comfortable with things. After the gun the pace was on as we were running on a hotmix tarseal surface for the first 300 meters & then onto a hard smooth fire road climb for the first 1km.I had got up into 2nd position by the time we hit the first single track which was a technical rocky climb of about 0.5 km. During this stage I took the race lead & started opening a gap on the leading Aussie rider, who seemed to be struggling with the technical parts of the course. Very soon after opening up a handy gap I punctured. Got going again but then had to start climbing back through the field. I had a really fast second lap (the fasted recorded lap of the race) & then to my horror I shredded a tyre on the 3rd lap with a long way to run to the tech zone. Put a new wheel set up on & then finished the race. I ended up in 17th place, which was really disappointing as I felt I was ready to give this one a real good go. I am still pleased to have got another race in on this track, as it is being used for the world champs later this year. But I will be using heavier duty tyres next time. RACE 2: N-DURO SUMMER SERIES 1st Feb I had intended taking this weekend off from racing to have a short spell before focusing on the final race of the Raboplus South Is XC cup series at Coronet Peak, Queenstown & then a couple of weeks later the NZ Champs. But within a couple of days of being back from racing in Australia, the organizers of the Nduro summer series had been in touch to see about my availability to compete in today’s race. There had been a bit of interest from other competitors as to whether I’d likely be racing. The 1st race in the series had a tight finish between 1st & 2nd place with other place getters not too far behind. So I decided to give it a crack. The weather in Rotorua today was fine & hot with tracks in mint condition. The race pace was very fast, and early on I got away with a small bunch of riders. This was a point to point race, so I was wary about not letting anyone get out of sight if I could help it. It was also my intention to be patient & see how the front end of the field sorted itself out. At the start of the first major climb up direct road, myself, Cabin & Stu picked up the pace & separated from the chasers. We held this to the top of Frontal Lobotomy where Stu had gear cable problems & was dropped. Later in the race I got through to the lead & and went as hard as I could through Spring Roll to open up the gap. I was then able to consolidate that lead through to the finish. So I am pretty satisfied with the result. Regards Dirk

Another fantastic day greeted riders (192 of them)and spectators at the Raboplus NZ Downhill Cup presented by Nature Valley held again in the Whakarewarewa Forest – Rotorua on Saturday. The course set for this race went down “Race Line”, “The River”, & “24 Carat”, it was dry and FAST! Lots of carnage on practice day too. The Rotorua course included several jumps including the final jump at the end which is up to 14 metres long and is the fastest line to the finish, but does come with its obvious risks. It also makes spectator viewing really exciting. Another talking point was the Rock Garden especially built for this summer’s downhill races and extended further for this race. It was now more difficult to jump, and the majority of the field now having to ride through it. We were keen to see Sam Blenkinsop (Wanganui)in action since winning the final round of the 2008 UCI World Cup in Austria in September last year. Blenkinsop placed second in his seeding run and was hoping to knock off some time in his race run which he did, but, Ben Cathro (Scotland) took the win in the Elite Men category. Another Scottish rider, Joe Barnes, who is travelling around New Zealand for the NZ MTB Cups took third place. Emmeline Ragot (France) kept her place at the top of the podium in the Elite Women’s category with Harriet Harper (Blenheim) placing second and Rita Langley (Wellington) third. There were 12 women entered in the Open Female category, in what is traditionally a male dominated sport – GO GIRLS! Local girls Alice Kevern (who promoted herself one place from the previous race)- 4th and Annika Smail (fresh from her XC Nth Island Cup series wins) into 5th. Podium finishes well done girls! In the masters 1 Category Rob Smail now riding his new Santa Cruz V10 was only 6secs behind Mike Metz (3:27.28), this elevated Rob to 2nd on the Podium - a perfect result for the Bike Culture boys! This picture: Rob on his practice run (yup its a good crash!) This was the second race in the series of three, with the final round being held in Levin. Results - North Island Downhill Cup Round 2 – Rotorua Elite Men 1 Ben Cathro, Scotland, 3:04.27; 2 Sam Blenkinsop, Wanganui, 3:07.44; 3 Joe Barnes, Scotland, 3:08.47. Elite Women 1 Ragot Emmeline,France, 3:31.75; 2 Harriet Harper, Blenheim; 3:47.54, 3 Rita Langley 4:20.70 Thanks to Nick Lambert for the great pictures.

The third and final round of the NZCT North Island Cross Country Cup was held around Mt Victoria in Wellington yesterday as part of the RaboPlus NZ Mountain Bike Cups presented by Nature Valley. The track was deemed the most technical of the series so far, and high rainfall in the morning resulted in an extra challenging track. The sun and wind dried out the track for the afternoon race and riders in the Elite and Under 19 categories raced under ideal conditions. Results - North Island Cross Country Cup Round 3 – Wellington Elite Men 1 Mike Northcott, Taupo, 2:14.56; 2 Carl Jones, Whakatane, 2:17.26; 3 Gavin McCarthy, Upper Hutt, 2:17.49 Elite Women 1 Samara Sheppard, Wellington, 2:10.09; 2 Nic Leary, Palmerston North, 2:15.16, 3 Katherine O’Neill, Auckland 2:15.55 Dirk Peters (Rotorua) remained at the top of the podium in the Under 19 Men Category finishing an astounding 6 minutes and 3 seconds ahead of Patrick Avery (Rotorua), cementing his North Island Cross Country Cup title. The South Island Cross Country Cup is held in February with races being held in Dunedin, Timaru and Queenstown. The best four results from the six North Island and South Island Cups accrue points for riders towards the overall 2009 Raboplus MTB Cup title in each category. RACE REPORT – from Dirk The final round of the Raboplus North Is XC Cup in Wellington was one that I was really looking forward to. Not only was this a track that I enjoy racingon but it was also an opportunity to take out the U19 North Is series. I went to Wellington with my family on Wednesday & had a look at the course that afternoon. Mostly the same as previous years but with some changes through the middle part with steeper climbs & descents in several places. I liked it. Having had a couple of days preparation I was looking forward to race day on Sunday. There was heavy rain on Saturday night which made the early races in the day a bit difficult for some. As the surface on the steeper stuff was very greasy. The wind was gusting through all morning & the rain cleared. By the time our race came round the track was in near perfect condition. There were some new faces in the U19 race with 21 starters at the line. I had a good start & managed to push out further as the race progressed. I felt good & strong throughout opening up a gap towards the later part of the first lap & increasing it through to the last of four laps going on to win. This also meant I now had the North Is XC Cup win. On Wednesday this week myself & a few other New Zealanders are heading over to Canberra to race the Australian National Champs. This is being held on the course at Stromlo where the UCI World Champs will be held later this year. So a good chance to ride the track & also have a crack at the Australian Championships. Regards Dirk

In association with Hyperformance Hardware (distributors of Santa Cruz bikes in NZ) and Bike Culture we are stoked to announce sponsorship of Rotorua mountainbiker Dirk Peters. Check out his profile in our “Riders” section. Saturday just gone Dirk had his first hit out on his brand new Blur XC at the Raboplus North Island Cross Country Cup Round 2 – Auckland. Following on from last week where he was just pipped on the line by a wheel, this time he took out his category by a very solid 2mins 45 secs with an overall time of 1:45.17. Awesome effort. This is Dirk’s first fully suspended bike and he seemed pretty happy with it. He said it was “nice to ride; forgiving - much smoother and controlled”. “Fast Downhill too”. Keep an eye out for this guy, race report below.

After taking delivery of my new Santacruz Blur XC on Wednesday morning from the boys at Bike Culture, we travelled to Woodhill. I had my first ride on the Blur that afternoon & was instantly impressed. With more practicing on the course on Thursday & a light ride on Friday I was more than happy that the bike felt right & I was ready to race it on Saturday in the Auckland round of the NI XC Cup. This was a fun race course. Nothing like Im used to riding on, with the sand being dry & soft in a lot of places. There were a few challenging & great to ride sandy descents, mixed with short climbs & flowy single track. It was a high effort track. The venue was great with a large flat grassy paddock which was the event village & start/finish loop. Our U19 mens race was a good field with a few more starters than round one in Rotorua. The pace was again real fast & it was hot & humid but I felt comfortable & had good speed throughout the race. The Blur felt amazing over all terrain including the climbs & I found myself in front with a good margin to go on & take the win. The next race in Wellington this weekend is going to be interesting, I think there will be a few South Is riders heading to that race. Regards Dirk

Sunday January 4th 2009 Raboplus North Island Downhill Cup NZCT Round 1, Rotorua. Its hard to believe with the heat, sun and perfect track conditions we have at the moment, but last week was WET and there was heaps of MUD and it was slippery (to say the least) in Rotoruas Whakarewarewa Forest. Team Line and Taniwha on the National Downhill Track were marked out for the course, with pretty technical lines chosen. Practice day was damp and some didn’t make Race day for their crashes. Unfortunately Stefan Bennett (Rotorua) was one of those, which took a little of the excitement out of race day for those of us keen to see Mike (Metz) and Stefan go head to head in the Mens Masters 1. Race day itself was mint! Hot and sunny, with a great atmosphere for all. Lots of awesome spectator support and prime upclose viewing. The track just got better and faster as the day progressed too. There was a real international flavour to the Elite classes at the first North Island Cup of 2009. The tall man from Scotland , Ben Cathro, won Elite Men ahead of 2006 World Junior Champ, Cameron Cole, from Christchurch, Aari Barrett of Havelock North, who recently scored a pro deal with Scott, and Rotorua’s own James Dodds, with less than 2 seconds separating them all. Emmeline Ragot of France won Elite Women with Rotoruas Gabby Molloy, 2nd, and Blenheims Harriet Harper, 3rd. The local (Rotorua) boys & girls came in with some great results too: U-17 Men: Louis Hamilton – 1st 3:40:47 Senior Men: Des Curry - 1st 3:36:33 Master 1 Men: Mike Metz – 1st 3:44:86 (pictured over the Road Step Down) Jarred Taylor (aka Crash Bandicoot) 4th – 4:10.09 Rob (I’m gonna try and not make race run by casing the last jump in practice and seeing stars for a few minutes) Smail 5th – 4:10.92 Mike Green 8th – 5:01.43 Master 2 Men: Dave (Race Organiser) Hamilton – 1st 4:00.57 Open Women: Alice Kervern – 5th 4:57.09 Baylee Jackson – 7th 5:37.93 AWESOME WORK TO THEM ALL! Round 2 of the North Island Cup series will be on The National Downhill track in Rotorua with practise on Friday January 16 and race day on Saturday January 17. Picture thanks to Rob Ashley.

Prior to Christmas and in association with the fantastic people at Peak Safety & Emergency Management, we ran a short course MTB first aid workshop, in the awesome Whaka forest. It was a practical approach with the gear you have when you go riding. We covered site management, patient assessment, managing typical mountain bike injuries, knowing when and how to call help and when to ride out. Good fun with a great group. www.peaksafety.co.nz Following, the crew from Baytrust Rescue Helicopter Rotorua dropped in. We were able to get up close with the machine and found out what was required if a helicopter was called to a rescue ie size of area required to land, where not to stand etc etc Check out their website www.rescue.org.nz or call 0800 111 010 to become a “Friend” community support enables the Rescue Helicopter to stay in the air and therefore supports the community. Thanks guys! This was all topped off with a low key shop Chrissie Barbie held in the picnic area under the trees. The weather played its part and it was relaxing with an awesome crew of people and yummy food!

Results for North Island Cross Country Cup race 1, held in Rotorua on the 5th of January. The course situated in the Whakarewarewa Forest contained a mix of singletrack, and fire roads with a nice 300m climb per lap. This was the first race in the series of three. A Sprint finish decided the Mens Elite category at the first round of the RaboPlus NZ Mountain Bike Cups presented by Nature Valley on Sat. A bike length separated Tokoroa’s Mike Northcott (first) and Stuart Houltham (Lower Hutt) who placed second. Clinton Avery (Rotorua) placed third after a crash at the bottom of Hot Cross Buns losing his 20 second lead. Our very own Annika Smail took the title for the Women’s Elite category, winning the race by a large margin in an impressive display riding hard for the first 2 laps and backing off for the third. Monique Avery (Rotorua) in her first year as an Elite rider placed second with a strong ride, with Nicole Swain (Lower Hutt) placing third and Eloise Fry also from Rotorua coming in 5th. The U19 Men’s race saw the 2 fastest average lap times of the day (pre rain) from Patrick Avery and Dirk Peters (pictured left). Patrick and Dirk pushed each other to a thrilling sprint finish. As part of the Rotorua XC Development Squad, both riders will attend the upcoming Canberra UCI World Cup. We are stoked to be new sponsors of Dirk Peters, as I write Mike is putting together Dirk’s new bike, watch this space, it is impressive! Event Safety was provided by Peak Safety Management (Budgie and Henry). Check out their website for details of more mtb first aid courses. www.peaksafety.co.nz Thanks to Dixie for the pics. Results - North Island Cross Country Cup Round 1 – Rotorua Elite Men 1 Mike Northcott Tokoroa 1:50:20 hrs, 2 Stuart Houltham Lower Hutt 1:50:21 hrs, 3 Clinton Avery Rotorua 1:51:10hrs Elite Women 1 Annika Smail Rotorua 1:33:51 hrs, 2 Monique Avery Rotorua 1:41:14hrs, 3 Nicole Swain Lower Hutt 1:44:10 hrs

Race Report from Annika Smail The Goat Run 6 December 08 I went into the race with no ambitions as it was just going to be a casual event, no pressure to do well, as I am not a runner but use the sport for cross training. The day was a stunner, we (I went down with Nick Lambert) could see Mt Taranaki crystal clear when we sprinted off down the road trying to get a good position in the field before heading onto the walking trail. It got technical as soon as we entered the trail; you had to watch your step and try to spot the good lines (similar to biking). I had heard that the course was going to be super technical but I didn’t quite imagine how technical it was going to be. I was amazed at some of the runners’ skills as they zoomed past me almost floating over the super rough terrain – it looked wicked! While I was running along I had someone tell me that I was one minute down, I didn’t think much of it. Later on in the race, Henry told me I was three minutes down from the lead woman. I didn’t think I was going to be able to catch her up but kept on spotting her a little further up the trail. It wasn’t until the very end that I came close enough to Oksana to realise that I could maybe win if I gave it just a bit more… There was bugger all left in the legs. I was shuffling up the infamous Mama’s Mile, the very last part of the course which is an uphill tar seal road. It was then that Budgie drove past yelling out to me to “hurry up”!! So I thought I better give it a try. I ended up winning the race in 2hrs 27ish min and I am still quite surprised but also super stoked about it! I can fully recommend the event as it is quite an experience, but be prepared to climb up rock faces or other steep terrain rather then running the whole way.

Race Report from Annika Smail: The Huka XL 29 November 08 78k of almost only single track – what a primo race course!! I arrived at the start about 20min before race kickoff and the start area was pretty full already. Luckily I was able to sneak to the front and found some familiar faces like Mike and Tim and Budgie, so it was nice and relaxed, we pretty much chatted away till the gun went off. The very first bit was on the road, then we hit the single track and rode trail after trail and it just didn’t seem to end! It was awesome! I had no idea where the course was going – other than we were eventually going to get to the dam and then take the Rotary track back to Taupo. It was cool to not know what to expect and do trails that I hadn’t done for ages or never done at all. I was in the dark where the other girls were during the race as the course kept winding along, but I thought I had an ok lead so I just enjoyed the ride and tried not to slow down too much. When we hit Taupo I though “sweet we are there” (I was a bit tired by then and was looking forward to the finish line) but the race didn’t quite finish then! We were lead back into some MORE tight single track that I had no idea it existed and growled up some MORE steep rises before we finally ended up in the park close to the finish line and … yes crossed the line to win the first Huka xl race. It was a very cool race because the course was so awesome, I will do it again for sure!

Leaving again from Longmile this week! Bottom of Nursery Rd, Right down the end by the gate. Every second Wednesday Evening 5.30pm. Weather call 5pm via email. If interested let Kath or the Boys at the shop know so you can be added to the email list. Rides are fun, cruisey and vary in length/pace etc depending on the riders of the night. No one will be left behind!

To our brand new website! Our aim is to keep it fairly fresh, with News Updates and Cool Things! Enjoy the pictures! And let us know your feedback! cheers Kath, Mike, Rob & Annika

If your reply is run, scream, ring 111 or simply NO… we can help. In association with the fantastic people at Peak Safety & Emergency Management, we are running a short course MTB first aid workshop, in the awesome Whaka forest, especially run before Christmas and the holiday period when we are all out canning the tracks!! These courses are run on bikes in the forest. They are based on a practical approach with the gear you have when you go riding. We cover site management, patient assessment, managing typical mountain bike injuries, knowing when and how to call help and when to ride out. A fun and action packed workshop style course. This one isn’t just for the girls, boys too! Definitely limited numbers for optimum learning, so if your keen book your place at the shop NOW. Sunday, 14 December 2008, 4pm – 6.30pm (after shuttles of course… ok so you might miss the last run). Meet Waipa Sawmill Carpark. Following will be the Bike Culture Chrissie BBQ: BYO meat, salad or dessert from 6.30pm.

This used to be the best trail bike on the market… Now, with the next generation of VPP (virtual pivot point) technology its EVEN BETTER! The new VPP feels even more responsive under power and the new linkage gives a sense of more travel than the 6.5” it actually has. For up hill or down hill, this is the bike you want! New shipment arriving Mid December. Both Mike and Rob have theirs on order. Surprise, surprise, surprise! The Nomad is going to be available in Anodised Jalapeno amongst others, check out the colours in News article below.

Santa Cruz has dumped the controversial Sand color from the powder coat range and has introduced Red and Yellow for the new season. The new Nomad also has a new Green Anodized color as does the V10. Skidmark is the description for the new Blur LT’s Anodized option.

We now have the first shipment of New Blur LT’s in store. This is the latest of the VPP bikes from Santa Cruz. This bike is going to be a bike for most riding types. We can build it up as an XC racer – which we have done for Annika (she won the 100K Whaka N-Duro on in Oct), or an all around trail bike. Frame’s are in store, with more arriving in mid Dec. Come and check them out, there are some cool new colours too, this is called Skidmark.

The V10 is Santa Cruz’s 10inch travel downhill frame. The same frame Greg Minaar won the World Cup DH series on this year. Mike is seen here building his new V10 downhill bike, gearing up for the new season. We have one V10 in stock, its a medium/white and we are able to hold last years price! (before the dollar took a dive). See us in store.