Mont Saint Anne Race Report

So I flew from Italy over to Canada for the 6th World Cup round in Mt Saint Anne, Quebec. It was my first time in Canada which was cool and I was pretty excited to get to ride the track that i had seen in so many videos and pictures!

I spent a couple of days chilling out in Quebec city at a backpacker's waiting for the Scottish boy's Joe Barnes and Ben Cathro to pick me up, which was sweet to get to check out the city a bit. Joe's flight didn't get in till late on the day before practice so I didn't get the chance to walk the course which I was a bit pissed about, but just had to get up and try do a slow run down and have a look at the course, which was harder said than done. I followed some other riders down and was starting to get in to the course, till I missed the take off for a small gap and went over the bars into a big pile of rocks. It certainly wasn't the start to the weekend that I had wanted, the result 1 swollen hand and a scraped up back. But nothing a bit of tape couldn't fix although it was pretty painful holding on on the rough rocky track that is MSA.

So after my crash I took the rest of practice pretty easy and was loving it, I rate it pretty high among the best WC course's in the World. It has a bit of everything in it and some awesome high speed section's that are just rough as anything! The rest of the day went pretty well a bit loose but no major crashes or anything so it was sweet. Overnight we got a spot of rain and it made the course a bit slicker but was still heaps of fun. I took my qualifying run real steady and didn't really push it too hard as I just wanted to get down with out any crashes or anything after the previous day, I ended up 47th which wasn't the best result so I knew I had a fair bit more work the next day for Finals. The other kiwi's went alright as well with Blinky 4th Justin 6th, Aari 40th, and young George Brannagin in 53rd not bad for his debut World Cup, and Rankin and Cam Cole were in the mix too with average runs.

Finals day was a fair bit more muddy and after my first run down with Dry tires on I changed to cut spikes which favored the wet condition's a bit better just were scary on the rock sections. I did 2 runs a felt pretty comfortable for my race run. I started off pretty well putting some pedals down in the top section and felt good then in the woods I felt a bit cautious, as It was a fair bit more drier than I had expected. In the bottom section I struggled to hold speed and was make stupid little mistakes that were costing me a lot as it was crucial to hold speed through the bottom section.

I ended up one place worse than Qualifying in 48th which was for me a disappointing result but it was a bit of a rough weekend for me anyways, but just have to keep the dream alive, and look to the next weekend to go better. Kiwis faired ok but maybe not as well as they would have wanted with Justin 10th, Blinky 16th with a mechanical, Cam 25th, Rankin just in front of me in 46th, Aari 63rd with a crash and George 67th.

Another World Cup done, leaving only 2 more for the year, next weekend in Bromont and the final in Austria in September hopefully these races can bring me some luck. Thanks to all my sponsors for making it happen, Ancillotti Cycles, UFO Plast, Doganaccia 2000, San Marco seats, CampaBros, NZRIDE, Maxxis Tires, Landini Auto.

Until next week
Wyn

Abetone Italian Cup Report

So last weekend we spent racing at Abetone, which is around half an hour from our base in Doganaccia which was cool as we didnt have any long drives to get there and could stay at our place at night.

The track in Abetone was pretty good and has an awesome first section nice and fast and open, and then it goes in to the trees where its a bit more technical has a few rocks and roots that catch you out sometimes. Me and Team mate Brook got some riding done there on the thursday before to check out the track and see what it was like, I enjoyed most of the track but struggled a bit on some of the really tight turns near the bottom.

We had a great turn out of Kiwi's representing, with myself and Brook, Matt Scoles, Nathan Rankin, and Junior Cam Johnson. So you could say it was kind of like an NZ race which was sick. Practice day was cool got a few runs done in the morning in the dry..but then as we were in Europe in came the rain for the afternoon, and turned the track in to a mess, the rocks and roots came super slippery on the spike tires but it was fun to ride I got a couple of runs done in the wet and was stoked on it.

Then on race day it was a perfect sunny day and started drying up a bit, which actually made it harder to ride as the ground got slicker, and it was also a struggle to get a full run in as other riders were just stopped everywhere on the track, they don't pull off to the side of the track over here just stop in the middle. So after one terrible practice run I was heading up for my qualifying run.

My qualifying run was a bit of a shocker, I slid out on a flat rock in the second corner and it sent me of the bike which wasn't the best start to the run, the rest of the way i tried to just keep it smooth and stay rubber side down. I was surprised that i had qualified in 3rd behind Nathan Rankin with my team mate Brook in the number 1 spot. So after qualifying the track started drying up a bit more, and we all went off the spikes we ran for qualifying and on to dry tires. Not something that i like doing as you kind of don't know what to expect or how much grip you would have.

So race run I started well made sure I got through that 2nd turn and rode the top section real good, then in to the trees where the ground was dry but all the rocks and roots were still slick as, I felt like i was swapping all over the place and in some sections just couldn't keep a straight line and was making a few extra uncontrolled turns but it was pretty fun, just had to hang on to it. I got to the bottom put a few pedals in to the finish and I did 3 53 and went in to first with two riders to go Nathan came down and I just beat him, after him was Brook who loves it in the wet, and he smoked us all with an awesome time of 3 47 nice work!

Young Cam didn't have the best day as he went over the bars in the steep rock chute and smashed himself up a bit. The ambulance crew were intent on taking him to hospital but he didn't want to go so he was trying to escape from the ambulance providing a funny scene for everyone watching, but once he calmed down we told him better to get all checked out and off he went.

So it was a good weekend for Ancillotti with 3 in the top 5 as Matt Scoles had to borrow one as his bike wasn't running, the top 5 went Brook, Me, Lorenzo Suding who in the process broke the Italian podium drought, then Nathan Rankin, Matt Scoles. Finally thanks to Tomaso and Alberto for keeping my bike looking and running sweet. Thanks to all my sponsors, Ancillotti Cycles, UFO Plast, Doganaccia 2000, San Marco seats, CampaBros, NZRIDE, Maxxis Tires, Landini Auto.

Next weekend I have Italian Champs and then I am off to Canada more to come soon.

Wyn

Team Videos

Hey guys here's a couple of videos, one from Maribor 4x and one from Doganaccia where myself and team mate Brook are based.in Italy enjoy...


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Canazei Italian Cup Race report

So over the past weekend I raced at the Italian Cup in Canazei in the Dolomites. It was a pretty amazing area to see awesome scenery from the top of the track would be a sick place to go skiing in winter, as there are so many gondolas and chairlifts in the area i think it said 1200 km's of ski piste's.

Anyway so on friday afternoon myself and Brook, walked the course and going off first inspections, we thought it would be pretty boring as the whole course was grass and didn't really have anything technical in it. But then once we got to ride it the next day it was real fun, although it did have a bit too much pedaling for my liking, it was wet and rained on and off the whole day, but that kind of made it better all the turns were super drifty so a good days riding was had, i think I did around 8 runs.

Sunday morning we awoke to clear sunny skies which was cool, but it was hard to tell if it would stay around for the whole day, the weather can change so fast up in the mountains, the bottom of the course was at 2000 metres probably one of the highest finish area's I have seen. My practice run went well, I decided to keep it at one as i had most of lines dialed. 

My seeding run went alright although i missed a few lines in the top section, and saved a bit of energy for the final as thats what counts. I ended up in 3rd which was ok but i had some work to do. Then we had a 4-hr wait till final run which was a bit boring, I just wanted to go and get it done. The clouds started coming over a bit before we headed up so it had a few people changing tires backwards and forwards , I just stuck with the cut down mud's that I'd been running all weekend. 

When we got up the top of the hill for our runs it started spitting, and then got a bit heavier before i went in to the start. Typical euro racing i guess though. So I hit the track and was riding a little cautious as i thought it would be slippery and i rode the top section way too slow, as it was a lot more grippy than I thought it would have been. I started riding faster the further I got down and by the bottom sections I was riding how I should of the whole run, pretty pissed with how i rode. So i ended up 4th 3.4 seconds off the pace of fellow kiwi Matt Scoles. It was a day of kiwi dominance with Scolesy taking the win Nathan Rankin 2nd, my Ancillotti team mate Brook Macdonald 3rd and myself 4th. 

Anyways a good weekend of training and learning more about racing for me, I now have a weekend off, then I have another Italian Cup after that.

Finally thanks to all my sponsor's for making it happen for me, Ancillotti Cycles, UFO Plast, CampaBros, Formula Brakes, Maxxis Tires, San Marco, Doganaccia 2000. And also thanks to Tomaso and Alberto for keeping the bike running sweet.

Until next time

Wyn

Maribor Mud and Stitches

First day of practice at Maribor went off!! the track was super rough but also much faster than previous years, I was right in to it and enjoying it. Myself and team mate Brook "Ronny" Macdonald cranked out a few runs, and we did a helmet cam run for Dirt TV, was probably the worst run ever, I crashed about a minute in to it bending my bars, then Brook kept going to go off course in the rocks, So he went up to do another run with Kona rider Joe Smith and nearly got a full run in behind Joe but went over the bars near the bottom, check out that footage here:  Dirt video

So after DH practice was finished it was off to 4x practice, we did 2 runs and both helmet cam the first for Dirt TV check it out here: http://video.mpora.com/watch/P2eVv1Cg6/    . The second was for Slovenian TV and was quite possibly the dodgiest set up I've ever seen, i had the camera taped to my frame with the battery unit in my pants and the cord between the two wrapped around my seat, hope they got some good footage. Then we went and got ready for qualifying I put in a steady run not too much pedaling a couple of whips keeping it fun..I qualified in 39th spot not too bad for my World Cup debut, team mate Brook came in 57th squeezing in to the top 64 cut with a cruiser run.

After that big day we were off home to get some food and sleep. I awoke the next morning on DH Qualifying day to the sound of pissing rain on the roof. I knew it would be pretty hard on this course in the wet, as it quite hard-pack surface and littered with roots. So I got some cut down spikes on and headed up for a run it was actually a whole lot better than I had expected as all the water on the course kept it king of grippy, the only problem was trying to see the track through wet googles!! But either way it was super fun, then at the end of the practice session, thunder lightning came over causing them to close the gondola. So they had to postpone Qualifying to the next day, I was happy as I was keen for a hot shower and some clean clothes but it would of been cool to have raced in the rain! But it was a wise decision as the gondola at Maribor is the oldest in Europe, I don't even know wether to trust it in fine weather let alone lightning!!

So it was back to the hotel a nice hot shower and then a bit of a Facebook session, then it was time for 4x, myself and Brook were both not that keen to go back out and get muddy again. But still we had qualified so may as well give it a go. We got there a bit late and missed all the practice just rocked up the start got our numbers and went in to the gate...Fresh is Best... We were both in the same first heat and up against some tough competition Lukas Mechura who had placed 3rd at the previous WC and Michal Marosi, who is a bit of a legend. 

We both got smoked out of the gate but held speed in the first turn I managed to lean on Mechura and get around him, but he got me back on the next straight, it was on now! next turn i insided him then he got me back and then in the next turn I hit him and knocked him off line in to a hole. Then I chased Marosi down and and trying to get through the inside but my bars hit his back, pulling my front brake on sending me over the bars, Brook got around the outside winning the heat..teamwork one of us got through so I was stoked. Had to be one of the best 4x races was so fun and moto-like. Brook kept the sick passing move going and made it to the quarter-finals finishing 12th overall not bad for a debut!

So the next day was Finals day and the track was drying but it didn't get better, it made it a whole lot worse as more roots came through and they all became polished and super sketchy, the rock section also got pretty loose and was pretty much a gamble to ride. I did two practice runs with both of them being pretty average, although it was the same for everyone so had to get on with it. I set off in qualifying pretty well and was riding well till i hit the rocks, I got high sided by a slippery rock and smashed my ankle on a rock putting a hole in it. But i tried to keep going although it was a struggle and i was happy to see the finish line at the end of that run. Certainly wasn't one to remember I missed the cut by 3 seconds was pretty disappointed and had to get 5 stitches in my ankle. 

So far this year has been real disappointing for me,  I gotta turn that around soon and get back up to where i know i should be! Looking forward to Canadian World Cup rounds and Crankworks. The next few weeks im back in Italy, my second home training and racing some Italian Cups. The only thing I am stoked on right now is next years Wc

At last I'd like to thank all my sponsors, Ancillotti Cycles, UFO Plast, Formula Brakes, Doganaccia 2000, Campabros, Maxxis.  Thanks for all the support.

Keep the Dream Alive

Wyn

Goodtimes in Slovenia

So havent updated for a while, been busy enjoying the nice weather here in Slovenia. After Fort William I headed out to Slovenia for the European Champs in Kranjska Gora, which was a real cool event the track was sick nice steep section at the top and fast middle section, it certainly made for a good weekends training. My race didnt go so well as i got red flagged by a marshall and couldnt get a rerun but oh well still was a sweet weekend! 

We then packed up and drove to Maribor where we spent the next day doing runs on all the tracks we had a train of us pinning it down pretty much trying to beat each other which was a good laugh! The day after myself and Tam Murrell a young aussie junior headed in to town to check it out, and it was definitely worth the look..the amount of hot girls was crazy so it made for a good days worth of looking at the local scenery.

Then today we met up with Ancillotti main man Tomaso "le Tomato" and checked out Brook's sweet new bike that he will be testing here, It has lighter tubing and a sweet NZ flag sticker kit! We will both be on similar bikes to this in Canberra for the World Champs. After that we walked the DH course which looked sick a couple of new sections in there cant wait to ride it tommorow,  we then killed some time mucking round in the pits,  busting out some sweet flat land moves, getting us warmed up for 4x practice it was myself and Brook's debut to WC 4x and we were having some fun on the jumps the track here is pretty cool, hopefully we make the cut in qualifying, might have to stay "low and Pro" although that looks abit boring! 

Anyways I gotta go have some food and sleep busy weekend this one, DH practice tommorow followed by 4x practice then 4x qualifying. 

Hold it wide..

Wyn

Fort William return from injury

So myself Brook and "Tomaso the tomato" flew from Pisa to Glasgow and then drove through to Fort William, was an entertaining drive with Tomaso behind the wheel he wasn't so used to driving on the other side of the road and car. Myself and Brook spent the drive watching the Mirror get closer and closer to the bank on our side waiting for it get taken off but somehow we made it to Fort Bill and somehow  still with 2 mirrors.

The next day we headed out to the course, walked the track and checked everything out, the track looked well groomed some of it like concrete but after a few days of practice it would be destroyed. I already hated the midgys as well the worst thing about Fort Bill is those little things i cant stand em..

Next day was first day practice and after a few runs i was in to it, the track at Fort Bill is sick roughest track on the World Cup Circuit and probably also the longest, and in my book its up there as one of the best. I did a couple of runs with my Ancillotti Doganaccia Team mate Brook Macdonald he was riding well also. I got a flat in my timed practice and destroyed a wheel, the first of 4 for the weekend, my record as far as wheels go don't actually know how I broke that many, last season I only wrecked one wheel the whole year.

Then it was Qualifying day i did a couple of practice runs then headed up Qualifying I had a terrible run, just wasn't focussed and was made a few mistakes, I think most of it was due to having three weeks off the bike and kind of lost the edge you need for World Cup racing I finished in 65th. And Knew I needed to change that a bit in the Final. Brook had a crash and took to LCQ ticket in 74th. At least we were both in the finals.

Race Day was good, i had a big sleep in and was fresh and ready to go practice went well I was a bit loose but thats kind of my style a bit. Race run was off to a really good start I had a really good top section and was on pace for a good result which I need but then about 3/4 of the way down I washed out on a turn and over I went I kind of knew it was over after that, but i kept going with my helmet visor down and my brake lever up i tried to push it down while i was riding which was a bit loose. I got the finish and finished on a time of 5.01 for 59th place better than qualifying but thats no cigar, I was pretty pissed with myself but checkers or wreckers I guess it was the latter of the two for me lucky i didn't hurt my hand i guess, i just cut up the other hand. 

On to the next race I guess next week Im doing European Champs in Kransjka Gora, Slovenia. After that is Maribor WC got get it together there need a decent result this year. Thanks to my sponsors, Ancillotti Cycles, Doganaccia 2000, UFO Plast, Maxxis, Formula Brakes, CampaBros. And big thanks to Tomaso and Alberto for keeping my bike going would be lost without them. 

Keep it rubber side down people.

Wyn Masters