Day 1 at the Worlds in Mont Sainte Anne

I'm going to jump a bit in the story here and leave out the weekend in Windham - it was remarkably rubbish, mainly due to the fact that the throat infection was killing me. On Monday, when the very kind guys from mtbs.cz gave me a lift up to Mont Sainte Anne, I started to feel better, I rested on Tuesday and yesterday, when the first actual race was held, I felt almost 100%. The only problem I have now is that one week of not eating properly and taking antibiotics simultaneously have took its toll and I am rather weak now, but I had my first burger last night so I'll regain my strength in no time. But enough of the chit-chat, let's see photos from yesterday's races.

Katerina Nash during the UCI MTB World Championships in 2010,Mont Sainte Anne, Canada

The day started with the team relay race and I used it as an opportunity to map out the xco course. I quite liked it but it became obvious pretty soon that I won't be able to cover the whole course: it's just too stretched out to do that. I caught Katerina Nash at the beginning of the lap, she was the third rider of her team.



UCI MTB World Championships in 2010,Mont Sainte Anne, Canada

This ascent turned out to be pretty tricky as the surface loosened up and it became too loose for most people to be able to climb up.



Jose Antonio Hermida Ramos during the UCI MTB World Championships in 2010,Mont Sainte Anne, Canada

It was probably his badass trucker 'tache that helped Jose Antonio Hermida Ramos on top of the climb - he was the only one who could do that that morning.



Pauline Ferrand Prevot during the UCI MTB World Championships in 2010,Mont Sainte Anne, Canada

Pauline Ferrand Prevot is only 18 years old but acts like a pro already: she immediately started to smile once I pointed my lens toward her. She also seems to know the secret to a sparkly smile.



UCI MTB World Championships in 2010,Mont Sainte Anne, Canada

Different teams took different approaches to combat the exhausting heat. The Swiss took a more high-end road and used these cooling vests.



UCI MTB World Championships in 2010,Mont Sainte Anne, Canada

The US team went for rather lo-tech solution, also known as the icepack.



Valerie Meunier during the UCI MTB World Championships in 2010,Mont Sainte Anne, Canada

Young Canadian riders prepare for the race with serious grinning.



UCI MTB World Championships in 2010,Mont Sainte Anne, Canada

And then off they went.



Valerie Meunier during the UCI MTB World Championships in 2010,Mont Sainte Anne, Canada

Valerie Meunier tackles the longest and probably hardest climb in the cruel heat.



Helen Grobert during the UCI MTB World Championships in 2010,Mont Sainte Anne, Canada

German rider Helen Grobert finished third place. This descent is much worse in reality than it looks here.



Pauline Ferrand Prevot during the UCI MTB World Championships in 2010,Mont Sainte Anne, Canada

After the high-tech Swiss riders dropped out of the race, no one really threatened Ferrand Prevot's win.

UCI MTB Worlds in Mont Sainte Anne, Canada: Junior XCO winner, Pauline Ferrand Prevot

It was a tremendously hot day and the riders were rather struggling for survival instead of winning. But there has to be a winner at the end and that winner was last year's champion, the humble-smiled Pauline Ferrand Prevot.

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Cyclephotos does New York City - well, kind of

Nothing went well on this trip so far, and that's an understatement. But let's start at the beginning.

After a frantic last-day-at-work-before-a-long-holiday, I was ready to leave London. My extensive traveling in the last couple of months had taught me how to pack quickly and efficiently, without leaving anything important behind. So I was calm and prepared when I arrived at Heathrow last Thursday, little bit before 7am.

New York City

After the humble on-board services of my previous intercontinental flights in my life, I was impressed by the wide variety of films and TV shows British Airways was offering and since I had chosen seat with ample legroom, the actual flight was almost perfect. The landing went well and we were waiting for our cases in no time. Up until this point, everything went well, my only concern was that my throat ached more and more.

Finding the right tube line to central New York wasn't as easy as I thought but, eventually, I was on the right train, en route to Penn Station. Then a funny thing happened: I bumped into two fellow photographers, Jan and Michal from mtbs.cz. They were about head out to do some sightseeing, so we rode the same train for a while and chatted about New York.

Getting to my hotel took me longer than I expected so it was about 3pm when I was able to head into the center of New York to do some proper sight seeing. I took my camera with me and snapped a couple of pictures. Prior to my journey, I'd bumped into a blogpost that advertised an event at Rapha's NYC store, so I built my afternoon around that, making sure that I got there at 6:30pm to see who's the fastest mechanic in NYC.


New York City

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UCI MTB World Cup 2010: elite women's race in Windham, USA

Had a hectic trip to Windham, more on that later, long story short, Catherine Pendrel has won the last World Cup race and thus the Wold Cup overall ranking as well, her main contestants, Willow Koerber and Eva Lechner didn't stand a chance today. Now off to the men's last World Cup race.

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UCI MTB World Cup 2010: Men's top 3 in Val di Sole, Italy

Nino Schurter during the UCI MTB World Cup 2010,Val di Sole, Italy

Nino Schurter



Julien Absalon during the UCI MTB World Cup 2010,Val di Sole, Italy

Julien Absalon and Schurter were riding together for the most of the race, but 300 meters from the finish, Schurter put the hammer down and opened a small gap that Absalon wasn't able to close until the finish line.



Florian Vogel during the UCI MTB World Cup 2010,Val di Sole, Italy

Winner of last round in Champery, Switzerland, Florian Vogel just wasn't strong enough to win again.



UCI MTB World Cup 2010: women's top 3

Maja Wloszczowska during the UCI MTB World Cup 2010,Val di Sole, Italy

Maja Wloszczowska



Catherine Pendrel during the UCI MTB World Cup 2010,Val di Sole, Italy

Catherine Pendrel let the pack right from the beginning, but in the last lap Wloszczowska overtook her, but the silver medal still meant that she is leading now the overall standings.



Irina Kalentieva during the UCI MTB World Cup 2010,Val di Sole, Italy

Irina Kalentieva



Val di Sole - the juniors

The weather is fantastic here, at Val di Sole, the venue of the last World Cup round in Europe. I flew to Munich yesterday and tried to figure out the course this morning, during the juniors' race. The women is going to start in les then twenty minutes, so I better get off to the course.


UCI

UCI
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World Cup weekend - follow Evans Cycles' blog

It's been quite a while since the last update - the lack of races should be blamed for that. This weekend is a World Cup weekend again, this time in Champery. But there won't be any update on this blog and here's the reason why.

As some of you might know, I have recently joined Evans Cycles, a bike retail company in the UK as blogger/photographer/twitter guy. As a trial, I'll cover this race weekend on that blog, so make sure that you tune in on http://evanscycles.com/blog. You can also see updates on their twitter accound at http://twitter.com/evanscycles. Things will get back to normal next week, when the last European World Cup race will be held in Val di Sole, Italy. See you soon.
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UCI MTB World Cup 2010 in Leogang, Austria: Downhill winner Greg Minnaar

Greg Minnaar during the UCI MTB World Cup 2010, Leogang, Austria

The winner in Leogang: Greg Minnaar. This was the muddiest race in my life, will take ages to clean the gear. But first things first: now I need to catch my plane back to London.

UCI MTB World Cup 2010 in Leogang, Austria: Downhill winner Sabrina Jonnier

Sabrina Jonnier during the UCI MTB World Cup 2010, Leogang, Austria

The winner of the women's race: Sabrina Jonnier. Rachel Atherton crashed at an upper section of the course and didn't finish the race.



Qualifying in Leogang
Saturday training at Leogang
First day in Leogang
Arrived in Leogang
Sabrina Jonnier & Gee Atherton
The Sarsha Huntington crash sequence
UCI MTB World Cup 2010: 4X finals in Fort William, UK
UCI MTB World Cup 2010: Downhill qualification on Saturday in Fort William, UK
UCI MTB World Cup 2010: elite women's race in Offenburg, Germany
Catherine Pendrel, winner of the women's World Cup race in Offenburg
UCI MTB World Cup 2010: Junior's race in Offenburg, Germany
Official MTB World Cup traning in Offenburg
The road to Offenburg
The first UCI Downhill World Cup from Maribor, Slovenia
Steve Peat and the almost-crash in Maribor
Steve Peat blasts through the rocks
The weather and the gear.
4X - and the weather is still horrible
Downhill qualifications - and some more mud and rain.
Rain, rain, some more rain and mud
Arrived in Maribor
UCI MTB World Cup 2010: Women's race in Houffalize, Belgium
Top 3 men in Houffalize
Top 3 women in Houffalize
The morning near Houffalize
Houffalize 4X World Cup photos
A warm Saturday, mountain biking heroes and some junior racing
The spring in Houffalize...
Houffalize and the lack of photos
UCI MTB World Cup 2010: Elite Men's race in Dalby Forest, UK

UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup Season 09/10 - The Book

The book about the 09/10 UCI Cyclo-cross World Cup season is out now. Check out the book or BUY THE BOOK.

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Upcoming races

  • 06/06/10 - UCI MTB World Cup, Fort William, UK
  • 20/06/10 - UCI MTB World Cup, Leogang, Austria
  • 23/07/10 - UCI MTB World Cup, Champery, Switzerland
  • 30/07/10 - UCI MTB World Cup, Val Di Sole, Switzerland
  • 29/08/10 - UCI MTB World Cup, Windham, USA
  • 06/09/10 - UCI MTB Worlds, Mount St. Anne, Canada

Gear

  • Canon EOS 1D Mk II
  • Canon EOS 5D
  • Canon EF 17-40 f/4
  • Canon EF 24-70 f/2.8
  • Canon EF 70-200 f/2.8
  • Canon 580EX
  • Canon 580EXII
  • Radiopoppers
  • Macbook Pro 2.53
  • Aperture 2
  • Newswear All Weather vest