Northern Hemisphere summer wrap up

Northern Hemisphere summer wrap up:

“It was probably one of my more memorable European adventures!  My first stops were the two Crankworx festivals in Innsbruck and Les Gets where I competed in DH and whip off and shot a bunch of photos and some film.  I didn’t bring my hardtail this year as I was already maxed-out on luggage, thus I unfortunately didn’t get to do pump track and S&S, but had a ball none the less!”

“Between the two stops I went to Solden with a few mates and a photographer to shoot some images for their marketing department, pretty cool new (three years old) Bike Park in some proper mountains!”

“After Les Gets, I got invited to a Fest series stop, so we drove down to Southern France to Royal fest, which is always a good time!  Big jumps, moto and hanging out all week riding when the conditions are right (no wind for big jumps!) is hard to beat!  Fest stops for me are the perfect setup for a rider like myself. You ride when you feel good and there are always photographers and videographers on hand documenting the whole event so get plenty of exposure out of it. Check out one of the videos HERE.”

“I was originally going to be doing the Mountain of Hell mass start race, but when the Fest stop popped up I couldn’t pass that so had to miss that race. Although, I still got to go to the Mega Avalanche the following week which has always been a bucket list race for me.  The week leading up to the event was epic: camping and practicing the quali and race track with all the Vanzacs and 50:1 boys was all time.  Come quali, I managed to get second overall in my heat behind the eventual winner of the main, which set me up well on the front row of the main race. Quali is out of 20 heats of 75 people and they narrow it down to 350 for the main race so was pretty happy to be sitting on the front row.  I became excited at the start of the race and managed to get into the top 10. Speeds were high on the snow and right at the end I slammed a snow bank and busted some ribs, intercostal muscles and ripped some cartilage off.  It wasn’t a pleasant experience and not a nice end to an awesome week, but still goes down as the most fun I have ever had at a race and can’t wait for next year!” (You can check out my crash HERE)

“I was told that I would be off the bike for at least 8 weeks so I thought that was the end of my biking for the season so booked flights and headed home. Turns out it only took about 4 weeks so I have been enjoying perfect, although slightly cold, digging conditions, and skiing properly for the first time in 7 years.”

“As things current stand, I unfortunately didn’t manage to get into the invited 21 riders for Rampage this year, though I did manage to get an alternate spot so if someone pulls out, I could get the call up. Needless to say, I have my fingers crossed!  I was hoping my RedBull Sound of Speed would be finished and out by the time Rampage selection came about and would be able to help me get in again, but unfortunately the weather halted filming until it eventually dries out, which should be in a month or so.  I also have another video for a new production company’s showpiece to shoot before the end of the year which will be a full hand built freeride video (keep your eyes out for the video), so between two of those I am pretty confident can get back in to one of the invited riders next year!”

“Lastly, I somehow managed to get my second cover of Freerider Magazine, which I am stoked on! Oddly, the photo is a few years old, which is a shame, but I’m still still stoked!”