Finals IXS European cup Innerleithen sunday...

Today was race day for the IXS European cup at Innerleithen. Today's weather was not that nice. It was spitting rain and cloudy so wasn't that pleasant. However, the track stayed the same with it being bone dry and only slick and greasy in a few places. After seeding 1st yesterday I was the last rider off so I rode the track when it was probably at it's most beat up. It wasn't too bad but the track had definiteley roughened up from when the first racers went down till I set off. My run was pretty good everywhere and I pushed it as hard as I could. I didn't make any mistakes however I was a bit cautious on one little section on the middle part of the course due to me thinking the roots were slippy. I crossed the line and finished in 2nd place. I was just a second off first place which was taken by Ben Cathro. Matt Simmonds was in 3rd and 4th was Nick Beer. I was really happy with this result. Winterberg las weekend and this weekend were 2 really good results for me! I look forward to Fort William World Cup next weekend and I hope to do well there.

Laters

Lew

Innerleithen IXS European Cup Saturday seeding...

I arrived in Innerleithen on Wednesday afternoon with the team and chilled out that day. I am staying at home so it was good to be there and see everyone. I walked the track on Thursday evening and it looked super rad. It was all fresh and I hadn't rode it before so I was keen to get in to it. Friday was first day of practice and it was pretty mellow and not much was going on. I did 4 runs and loved the course. I felt it suited me well and I really got in to it. So today was seeding (Saturday) and it was raining a little bit but it didnt change the conditions of the course which was thick dust. I went up for my seeding and I was 55th last off. My run was average. I nailed most of my lines and just cruised and sat down on the pedally sections in the middle and cruised the last sprint section to the finish line. I ended up in the end seeding 1st place in front of Nick Beer from Scott 11 WC team and Ben Reid in 3rd. I was pretty happy with that and didn't really expect my time to be the fastest with the run I had. But I got down smooth which I think was a key factor on this track. This weekend is packed with about 14 of the fastest riders in the world so its going to still be really tough tomorrow for finals. More news later!

Lew

Winterberg IXS dirtmasters cup

After Maribor wc round 1 me and the team headed to Germany for the IXS dirtmaster in Winterberg. It was a huge festival and there where alot of fast top world cup guys attented. Practice began on friday and I was looking forward to get riding. I done around 4 runs and was super fun and I felt fast on course. Saturday was seeding day and I done a pretty fast run and nailed all of my runs. I got 7th behind some of the fastest riders in the world cup circuit. so I was really happy. Sunday was finals day and I felt really good on the morning of the race in practice and was ready. I hit all my lines in my race run and made one mistake but nothing bad. I ended up in 11th overall in elite only 4 seconds back on Aaron Gwin who was in 1st. Next weekend is the IXS european cup in Innerleithen and I cant wait to get to the hill and smash runs out with my mates and have some fun. Hopefully put in a good top 15 result again.

Maribor world cup...

I had alot of fun in Maribor world cup round one. It was fun riding with my new team mates and my speed was building up fast and i felt really good. Unfortunatley in my qualifiying run the mud got in to the holes in my disk brakes and no air was flowing through and my brakes just seemed not to work and i was getting no bite out of them at all. I couldnt slow down so I crashed 3 times and they where big crashes to. Overall I lost about 1 min all together. I was gutted but had fun that weekend and learned alot.

Iam racing this weekend at the ixs dirtmasters race in Winterberg and its going to be a huge event. I cant wait to show everyone what i can do and I have alot of anger in me to put in a really good result. So its on. Me, filip, and brook spent a day in Willengen doing some DH and its was pretty sweet but super windy and iam feeling good.

More news really soon.

Maribor WC...

So its my 2nd day in maribor. The venue looks sweet and the weather is unreal. Its just been pissing rain all the time. Alot of the riders reckon the track will be demolished by the end of tomorrows practice. But i cant wait to get riding in the mud. I think i ride better in it and iam used to it more. So today is just all about getting the bikes ready for tomorrow morning and putting the new graphics on the bikes and walking the course.

Laters
Lew

Maribor WC...

Iam looking forward to the first WC next weekend in Maribor slovenia. I feel confident to do well and theres no pressure on me at all. I Know what i need to do and get done. Its going to be a big experiance for sure and I am just going to take it as it comes.

Laters dudes

Lew-dawg

1st place in DH race...

So I was racing in Innbruck yesterday (Saturday) and the track was pretty fun. It was super rough and very fast and had some cool jumps and technical sections in it. I did 4 practice runs and then it was time to race. My run was really good and I kept everything at a consistent speed and didn't stall anywhere. I ended up getting 1st place by around 4.5 secs against some strong fast riders. I feel really good for maribor WC and I think I couldn't have prepared much better for it. I am looking to be top 3 fastest junior, but I feel that I can walk away from the first round being the fastest junior. Guess we just have to see how it goes. I leave on Tuesday with the team so I'll keep you guys updated.

Laters

Lew

Racing today in Austria...

Today I am racing in Innsbruck. Its not a huge race, just a sort of local race but it will be good training for Maribor and just some fun. The track is pretty rough and slick. It's full of slate and rock and has some pretty cool berms and drops and jumps in it. I had 3 practice runs on it yesterday and I'm just getting the hang of where its going now. Well I better head off. More news later.

Lew

2nd day in Austria/Innsbruck

Its early morning here in Innsbruck. I think the plan is to go riding in Innsbruck today at around 12:00 this afternoon just to do some runs on the hill. I've seen the new MS- EVIL race kit and it looks amazing. I guess you guys will just have to find out what it looks like at Maribor in pics or vids etc. Ill let you guys know how today's riding was later on.

Ciao

Lew

First day in Austria/ Innsbruck

So I have now arrived in Innsbruck/Austria. I am staying at my managers house and Its a real cool place. The area is real cool and its interesting for me. Never seen such big mountains before and the tracks here are amazing fun. I have been riding today up in the hills and the tracks are fun. There are many to choose from and they all have varied terrain.

I got a bit loose on a few runs but the plan is just to settle in the first few days and adapt to the place and have some fun and get used to the place. Tomorrow Ill be hitting up Innsbruck tracks again and I am looking forward to it. Brook MacDonald gets here on Sunday so it should be sick riding with him. We leave for Maribor on Tuesday to go and pick up the rest of the team.

Laters

Lew

New Team

Well, as much as I tried to keep it a secret, it all came out when the UCI published the 2010 trade teams. I've signed with one of my 'Dream' teams - 'MS-Evil'. Downhill Mountain Biking has never felt so good! Stoked/Stoaked or what?. I've been training hard at College and so far have been hitting some great race results, ending up fastest time of the the day overall in the two Alpine Winter Series races held earlier this year.

I'm heading off to Austria next week and can't wait! Going to do some chilled out riding with some of the team personnel (Manager and mechanics) until all the team meet up just before Round 1 in Maribor. The 'Revolt' has been flawless in it's performance and I felt right at home on it from the first day I rode it.