I have a few photographs published in the latest issue of Australian Mountain Bike Magazine. The images are from Rocky Trail Entertainment’s Jetblack 12hr out at Dargle Farm.I decided I wanted to play around a bit with the riders headlights and just the whole night-time feel which is what makes these long endurance events so special.
There is a new course on Rocky Trail Entertainment’s Shimano GP’s circuit and that’s the trails of James Estate Winery, where round 2 was recently held. The race marked the opening of the trails to the public. The 10km track winds in and out between grape vines, out the back towards the edges of Wollemi National Park before bringing you back through the vines and even weaving you through wine-vats on the way back to the start. The start was conveniently located by the cellar door where plenty of sampling of the local produce was done.
Well done to Rocky Trail, Graeme Scott and all involved withe the James Estate Winery race for putting on such a great day.
Sram’s Single-track Mind Enduro
Last Sunday saw me up at Awaba to the north of Sydney. Chocolate Foot were hosting their final event for the Sram Single Track Mind series. An 8 hour enduro and an enduro it was with temperatures pushing up around 35C. Toasty to say the least. There was around 360 competitors who braved the heat. The track led through some beautiful Eucalypt forests and down into a great section of rainforest. Note to self: When shooting in rainforests be sure to use insect repellent. 2 days later and more and more mosquito bites keep showing up.
It has been an interesting week here in St. Anton.
The start of the week saw the O’Neill Big Mountain Pro come through town. The contest takes 6 of the worlds best snowboarders, Jeremy Jones, Mitch Toelderer, Xavier de la Rue, Fredrik Evensen, Thomas Eberharter, Eric Themel and 6 of the worlds best skiers, Cody Townsend, Loris Falquet, Thomas Diet, Richard Permin, Jeremie Heitz, Arnaud Rougier and puts them to work on various faces throughout the Alps for prize purse of US$60,000. The interesting thing about this contest is the fact the it is a movable contest and travels to wherever the snow may be and the conditions are best. This year the contest travelled between St. Anton and Saalbach further to the east.
I managed to catch the first run in St. Christoph. The face that the organisers chose had some good conditions though I would consider it to be an unusual choice for a competition with the words big mountain in the title. The face is around 100m vertical. Short though it may be the face provided numerous drops and hucks for the riders to hit and some good snow.
The contest has moved off towards the East where they have found some nice powder. I have heard that they may be returning here for another session this week which will be great as we have just had some fresh snow. Hopefully I shall get another chance to shoot with these talented riders.
Yesterday I made a trip out to Fieberbrunn near the Tyrolean/Salzburg border to watch the qualifying round of the Big Mountain Freeride Tour. With a total of 10,000 Euros prize money, the contest has attracted 76 entrants from around the world all hoping for their chance to qualify for a spot on the prestigious ski and snowboard freeride world tour. Though the majority of riders come from Europe the contest has also attracted riders from as far away as New Zealand. The winner at Fieberbrunn qualifies for the Nissan Freeride de Tignes which starts on the 8th of March and has a prize purse of 40,000 USD.
Clouds had hampered the previous day with only 5 riders being able to ski due to the diminishing visiblity. Yesterday the weather was clear and cold with the temperature being around -12° at 9 in the morning. There was a biting wind blowing which dropped the temperatures even further. Conditions were quite mixed on the course and a bit more snow would have been welcome as a few rocks were uncovered after a big landing or a heavy turn. Although the majority of the riders kept it safe there was a few throwing down a couple of big drops. The final will be held between the 7th and the 15th of Feb (weather depending).
I am not sure if I will get to make it back to the final as this week in St. Anton the O’Neill Big Mountain Pro kicks off with some of the world’s top riders but if the chance arises I will definitely be making the trip back to Fieberbrunn to watch the final (and I shall be sure to take a bigger lens).
