So I received a copy of Clay Porter’s new film The Tipping Point in the mail yesterday and watched it last night in 32″ of LCD beauty. And I have to say it doesn’t disappoint. It’s a doco but this time without the running commentary Clay’s used on his last couple of outings; well planned and edited interviews provide the film’s narrative. Unlike Between the Tape, The Tipping Point does require a bit of knowledge of the World Cup downhill scene; interviewees and riders aren’t consistently credited, but by watching the whole film and paying attention you’ll figure out who most people are.

The film has a clear storyline which opens with Sam Hill concerned that he has a target painted on his back, and he’s right on the mark. Minnaar, Peaty, Atherton, Leov and pretty much anyone else interviewed in the film make it clear that the sole aim for the season is to stop Hill from winning the ’08 overall. The riding footage is top notch.  Clay has effortlessly captured the speed and technicality of both the riders and the track they are riding.

Clay seems to be everywhere. The behind-the-scenes footage with the Athertons and the Yeti Team, as well as the candid interviews with the riders, really gives an insight to us mortals as to what happens on the World Cup circuit.

The individual sections as usual are amazing. Matti Lehikoinen and Aaron Gwin’s parts really shine, but Justin Leov and Sam Blenkinsop still get solid parts that show some fresh New Zealand trails and definitely get a bunch of Clay-love. As an added bonus Greg Leov AKA Gregnum/Magnum gets some solid camera time.

Gregnum PI and Clay Porter filming in Blenheim

I’ve said it a thousand times before, if you’re into racing then anything from Clay is a must-own, but more than ever I’d say that if you have any interest in mountain biking, be it XC, All Mountain or DH, then I’d highly recommend watching this film…

Pre-Order The Tipping Point here. It should be shipping early next week.

“We’re rapt to have an athlete of Nicola’s ability riding Avanti,” says Avanti’s Amanda Till. “Avanti hardtails have proven their performance in the Southern Hemisphere and we’re looking forward to her results in the Worlds in September and beyond.  She’s an on-form athlete with a whole lot more potential—a perfect match for the Avanti Competitor Team she’ll be riding.”

And like the Avanti Team Competitor she’ll be riding, Leary’s progress as an athlete has also been rapid. Only entering her first race in 2007, she has rocketed through the ranks of New Zealand mountain biking. Not only the 2009 New Zealand #2 in both XC and Marathon MTB, she is also the current NZ XTERRA off-road triathlon champion. With a diverse and busy race schedule Leary has also taken on sponsorship with DT Swiss (forks and wheels) and Kenda (tyres and tubes) to ensure a total performance package.

“We’ve combined these leading brands and technologies together to give Nicola the ideal performance package,” says DT Swiss/Kenda Spokesman Tom Sullivan. “It’s a great win-win scenario. We’re really excited to have such a dynamic rider on board.”

The future for Leary? In the short term the focus is on quality performances at the 2009 MTB World Championship (Canberra) and XTERRA World Championship (Maui) respectively. But they are just stepping stones to higher ambition. “I’m just trying to be the best athlete I can be. My big goal is the Olympics, so for now I’m chasing international experience and competition to develop to my full potential. And have a lot of fun, competing in cool races along the way.”

Avanti Bikes

Nic and Cabins Bog

Scolesy kills it in the weekend at the first round of the IXS European Downhill Cup finishing second behind condom sponsored Duncan Riffle.

Elite men
1. Duncan Riffle (USA) 3:06,5.
2. Matthew Scoles (NZL) 0:01,8.
3. Ben Reid (IRL) 0:02,5.
4. Benny Strasser (GER) 0:06,5.
5. Marcel Beer (SUI) 0:08,1.
6. Lars Peyer (SUI) 0:08,2.
7. Dominik Gspan (SUI) 0:08,2.
8. Fabien Pedemanaud (FRA) 0:08,3.
9. Will Rischbreth (AUS) 0:11,1.
10. Loïc Delteil (FRA) 0:11,8.

Trek World Racing have a YouTube channel. And they update it with DH and XC content. Check it out here.

You read that right, Kelly McGarry is on the invite list for Crankworx Whistler VW Trick Showdown. It looks like last year, where he went to both Crankworx Colorado and the Highland Jam in the hopes of qualifying (which he did in Colorado). He can now chill a little knowing that he’s in, although he still needs to qualify for the Slopestyle… But he’s not really chilling, comps every other weekend, different countries every other day. Stay up to date with the McGazza’s whereabouts on his blog. The following athletes will be invited to the 2009 VW Trick Showdown:

Amir Kabbani Germany
Andreu Lacondeguy* Spain
Andrew Taylor* USA
Ben Boyko* Canada
Benny Korthaus Germany
Brandon Semenuk* Canada
Cam McCaul* USA
Cameron Zink* USA
Darren Berrecloth Canada
Graham Agassiz Canada
Greg Watts  USA
Jamie Goldman* USA
Kelly McGarry New Zealand
Lance McDermott* UK
Paul Basagoita* USA
Sam Pilgrim UK
Trond Hansen* Norway
Tyler McCaul USA
*denotes automatic invitation to Monster Energy Slopestyle

Open spots:
Crankworx Colorado 2009
Crankworx Colorado 2009
Highland Claymore Challenge 2009
26 Trix 2009
Goat Style 2009
Wildcard

Oli Brooke-White sent me a text the other day letting me know that 2009 NZ Singlespeed Champ and all round nice guy Tim Wilding was going to be in town. We rendezvoused on Sunday morning for a quick shoot and got a few pics in the bag.

That SS tattoo

Tim was in town to pick up his freshly built Santa Cruz Carbon Blur XC, which is insanely light and built with some amazing bits, like these crazy Rotor Q chain rings (kind of like bio-pace).

Tim's deadspot elminiating Rotor Q rings

Tim Wilding on Salvation

And the overall World Cup standings put Justin in sixth! YEAH

Download full DH results here.

Download full over-all standing here.

The manufacturers battle looks to be getting exciting now to… after three rounds Santa Cruz have taken the lead from Trek World Racing… Andrew Neethling needs to step up to Justin’s level if TRD want to pull the lead back from the SC boys.

Oh and as per usual theres some awesome photos over at Dirt.

Just got an update from Rob Metz about Zerode production and things are looking pretty damn exciting. This is what he had to say.
Well, just got back from abroad where we managed to build the first of the sample frames using the production tooling. As expected we have teething issues to work through but the finished sample is a very big step towards production. From here we will tweak a few of the press tools and jigs, invest a little more in machinery and fine tune the production processes. Once these mods have been made a final sample will be built, painted and stickered up before we get stuck into production…..

We built up the first of the samples at the factory. Dodzy was all smiles as she tipped the scales at 39 pounds without going to town on the build. This should be a little easier to get down the hill than the 45 odd pound steelie that Dodzy rode all season.