Saturday things were looking up for Fee. She once again sat out DH practice to ice her body in the local glacier stream. Passers by stared in awe as Fionn sat quietly numbing her legs and back. It worked a charm and Fee felt a bit of relief for the afternoon leading to the 4X. So far the weather had been great all weekend with only the occasional shower, but the skies opened up and destroyed the 4X only moments into racing. From then on it was anyone’s game. Jill Kintner dominated her semi-final heat with Japanese rider Mio Suemasa coming in a close second thus knocking World Cup leader Anneke Beerten out of the finals. Fionn kept it upright in her semi-final heat as well and followed new comer Racheal Seydoux down the track to secure a place in the finals. Finals were a different story. Fionn and Racheal gated Jill and charged together for the 1st corner. But Jill wasn’t going to be left behind. She rode straight into Fionn beginning what would be a long battle through the top half of the course. Jill and Fionn collided around every turn and over most drops before Jill managed to get the better of Fee and begin the chase for the lead. Jill caught Racheal on the final straight but Fionn didn’t quite make it and pulled across the line in 3rd place. First World Cup podium of the year.
After a hard night’s racing, it was no wonder Fionn’s back was aching again for DH. Nothing some vitamin I couldn’t help however and Fee was off for her qualifying run. She managed to keep it together for a run with only one big crash and came across the line in a respectable 6th place. Riders qualified all over the place with times ranging from 5:17 to 17 + minutes! Fionn was unlucky in her race run however. Coming through the split in 5th position she was on course for a 2nd podium but a big crash put her off the pace as she spent roughly 20 seconds tangled in catch netting off the track. She did her best to make time up on the rest of the track but a few slipped pedals and missed lines did all the damage needed and Fionn finished the day in 10th place.
Since the last World Cup things have been a bit more relaxed for Fionn and I. We took a day or two off to rest Fee’s back then found a comfy place to park the van in Morzine and Fionn hit the trails for days full of riding. The weather was great and she was tearing up the mountain with Scarlett Hagen and Tracy Hannah. Then we turned the van around and headed back to Champery to meet up with long time friend, Niki Gudex. When we arrived it turned out a whole crew of Canadian freeride boys were there to ride and shoot with Niki and funny enough one of those boys was Norco Factory Team rider Gareth Dyer. Since Gareth’s bike had not made the flight with him, Fee lent him her Norco 4XXXX for a couple of days and everyone hit the trails together. The trails in Champery were sweet and the sun even came out long enough for Fee to shoot with Colin Meagher.
Now that we are refreshed – Back to Racing! Monday’s arrival was met with sweltering heat and perfectly blue skies but that didn’t last long. It started to pour Tuesday night and continued straight through course walking! Riding was sweet as ever though. The DH track was fast and rough, almost the same as it was last year with a few changes in the top woods sections. Fionn was riding flat out all week. Having won her first World Cup here in Ste Anne, she is always full of positive energy riding this track. However luck wasn’t on her side for the weekend and both of her runs were littered with nagging mechanical issues. Her qualifying run was solid and she pulled out in the 9th position. Racing just was unlucky though. She was 6th fastest at the split, but flatted right around there and spent the rest of the race fighting drifts and working her butt off pedaling the grueling bottom half of the course. Her work paid off - she sprinted her way to a 16th place finish and was able to move herself up to 8th in the overall World Cup standings.
4X qualifying was eventful. Fionn was ripping it up all the way down the course until she slipped a pedal off a jump and made us all a little nervous. It looked like it was all over for the weekend! Fionn held it together though and keeping the rubber side down she was able to get back to speed and sprint her way into 6th position. With a low qualifying place Fionn knew she would have a tough semi final heat. Anneke Beerten, Tara Llanes, Joanna Pettersen and Fionn battling it out for the key two positions in the finals. Coming out of the 1st turn Llanes was in the lead, but an error on the triple cost her and she crashed hard coming into the 2nd corner. Fionn turned sharply to avoid Tara crashing and managed to blow up her own wheel. Yet somehow she jumped back on her bike and rode it out to the finish line along with Anneke Beerten to advance to the finals. Lucky for Fionn she was able to find a solution to her wheel problem and she was off to the finals. Jill Kintner lead the heat out of the gate but lost control in the top section and crashed. Anneke and Fionn seized the opportunity and blasted past Kintner to take a respective 1st and 2nd. Jill finished 3rd, Mio Suemasa 4th and Joanna Petterson was 5th.
After a 90 minute delay due to severe weather conditions, the race started under light rain and 30 mph gusts. Andy Jacque-Maynes (California Giant Strawberries) made the first significant move and Ramsey bridged up shortly after. The two worked efficiently enough to gain up to one minute on the field. At the halfway point Roman Kilun (Health Net) bridged up to the duo and brought along Successful Living rider Christian Valenzuela. Shortly after, the lead group grew larger as several Jelly Belly riders joined along with two more Successful Living teammates.
With seven laps remaining. Ramsey put on his best poker face and attacked once again gaining a minute on the lead group. The three teammates sat on and forced the others to initiate a chase as time ran out and the race was now for second place.
"I was guessing one of my teammates would take the race, not me. I'm really happy for the team. We needed this. I'd like to dedicate this to my wife and my daughter," said Ramsey.
Results
1. Daniel Ramsey (Successful Living p/b Parkpre)
King of the Mountain
1. Daniel Ramsey (Successful Living p/b Parkpre)
Sprint
1. Daniel Ramsey (Successful Living p/b Parkpre)
Flying Fionn takes second at Sea Otter! Britsh 1 – 2 Podium!
MONTEREY, CA – The 1st international DH race of the year was a huge success for British female riders Rachel Atherton and Fionn Griffiths who finished 1st and 2nd respectively at the 2007 Sea Otter Classic. Fionn, who has been working hard training in the off-season, was hot on Rachel’s tail finishing about a second off the young rider’s winning time. “I feel the race went pretty well,” remarks Fionn, “It was quite windy in my race run so I was focused on tucking and sprinting anywhere I possibly could. I had a pretty clean run and only really made one little mistake with a cross rut but it couldn’t have cost me too much time. I’m happy with the result. 1st International race of the year - 1st podium.” Fionn and Rachel bested the current World Champion, Sabrina Jonnier who finished 4th just behind one of the US’ finest, Melissa Buhl.
The Sea Otter Classic season opener is renowned as one of the season’s easiest tracks to ride, yet hardest track to race. Bike and tire choice are key components to a podium result. Most riders opt for a lighter overall bike since a full 8 inches of travel is seldom used on this type of course, however Fionn’s full Norco Team DH race rig seemed the tool for the job. With a semi-slick Kenda tire front and rear combo Fionn was rolling fast and sprinting hard through this lung-burning course. “No matter how much you warm up or how much you prepare for Sea Otter, this track will make you suffer.” Fionn remembers, laughing. “If you try to pace yourself you won’t finish well, yet if you go too hard your legs and lungs will blow up before the flat finish sprint. It is just sprint interval after sprint interval. You can see the hurt in people’s eyes as they come across the finish line and you can tell who’s been doing there training in the off-season!”
Fionn sights are now set on the 1st round of the Nationals this coming weekend in Innerleithan, Scotland where she will meet Rachel, Helen Gaskell, and the rest of the UK’s top women before the World Cup Opener in Vigo, Spain in 3 weeks time.
"I wanted to get out in front and pick the lines. It is such a fun course, so I wanted to just stay on the gas and take advantage of the fun factor. It was a lot easier this year since I was on the front line and there was no snow," said Compton, referring to the tough conditions of last year's national championships.
Gould had a blistering start off the line, pushing a fast pace for the rest of the field to contend with. Only Compton could answer her pace, leaving Gould in sole ownership of second place throughout the race.
"It was kind of like a time-trial out there as opposed to a race", explained Gould, who opened up a big gap on the rest of the field within the first lap.
While the races for first and second lacked a bit of drama, the fight to round out the podium gave the crowd some nail-biting action. Kerry Barnholt (Tokyo Joe's/Maxxis), Deidre Winfield (Velo Bella-Kona), Rhonda Mazza (Team S/Vanilla Bicycles), Rebecca Wellons (Gearworks/Spin Arts Cycling), Christine Vardaros (Lotto-Belisol Ladies Team), and Ann Knapp (Kona) fought until the very end for third, fourth and fifth place.
