Exciting News!

[Vyo]

Hey everyone - you probably haven't seen me around much lately, because my summer has been INSANE. Some of you already may know that I'm very passionate about mountain biking.

I started mountain biking at the age of 24 and started racing at 30. This is my third season as a racer and my first year in the elite category.

Yesterday, I received an invitation to compete at the Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup downhill race on the Canadian National team. Which I am so very stoked about. However, they don't give you a lot of time to organize things. I'll need to leave on the 7th and the race will be on the 10th and 11th.

This is a very challenging course and will be my most difficult race to-date. If you're curious, you can see a preview of the track:
https://www.redbull.tv/video/AP-1SQXVKB ... se-preview

Thanks to everyone for the congrats and I'll see you all in game (someday)!

Edit: I'm all sorted! Much thanks to Santino and Theid. <3 (solicitation over!)

[Kaan]

Congratulations, Vyo!

PS, I just watched the track video... It's insane... Don't break your neck and good luck!!!!!!!!

[Dartes]

That's really super awesome! The course looks intense, but I'm sure you'll breeze right through it!

Hopefully you'll record it like the video and provide your own commentary too

[Vyo]

Thanks guys! I'm not actually allowed to bring a camera on track in official practice but maybe I'll be allowed to do it on Thursday. First run down would be interesting!

[Orino]

Wonderful!

I’ve run several marathons and ultramarathons. You know, my doctor just told me that I should start doing other things like riding a bike… Mountain biking looks pretty sweet! (I don’t think that’s the kind of riding he had in mind)

Great work Vyo!

[hyzael]

if we donate you have to dress a trolloc in full clan gear when you race. sorry. non negotiable

[Vyo]

Sorry to disappoint but I need to race in my national jersey and team kit. Non-negotiable. :p

[Amilyndra]

How did it go? Update!

[Maegon]

How did I never hear this through the rumor mill? I've raced with several of the Junior Canadian National Track team riders. Hope the race went well, either through results or experience gained.

[Vyo]

There was definitely a lot of experience to be gained! I have to say, the GoPro does not do this course justice. It's so full on, that the only place you're even really pedaling is the finish line. Most tracks have a place where you can take a couple second breather to recharge mentally. This course doesn't have that. There's always rocks, or a gap, or a drop, or a jump, or just so much speed with loose boulders. Even the easy parts still take so much concentration to make sure that you're hitting them just right. It rained before both practice days, and everything was soooo slippery. All the riders were cursing, people were crashing everywhere, girls were crying, it was pretty insane. I ended up having to go in for an x-ray after crashing on my second run down and I was the 5th rider to have a hospital visit within a 1.5 hour time period (not counting visits to the clinic beforehand). I was okay though - just a badly bruised hand. Painkillers ftw.

Sadly, I went down in a rock garden during my qualifying run and smashed my brake lever out of reach. I tried to fix it quickly but trying to ride that course without a rear brake is impossible. I just had to stop and put it where it needed to go to make it down the course. I also almost ran over a girl that had crashed before me around a blind corner (hello marshals where are your flags?), but my run was blown at that point anyway so the extra stopping time wasn't going to put me into the finals.

DH racing is a fickle friend! All in all, it was still amazing to be racing with the top riders in the world. The professionalism of the elevated competition level really shone through. Everyone was quite friendly and supportive of each other.

I'll post some pictures and more details on my blog in the next couple of days. If you're curious about the race there is a lot of coverage about the Mont-Sainte-Anne World Cup on http://pinkbike.com

Orino - Mountain biking has been classed as an extreme sport, but there are lots of ways to manage risk. Not saying that crashes don't happen, I've had a ton of them, but generally when I'm pushing myself racing or hitting tricky features. If you're interested in doing it, I would recommend taking some kind of instruction - it can help you avoid injury and just getting to a level where you're having a good time and not in a lot of danger.

Maegon - That's pretty neat! I don't really know a lot about track racing, but I have a lot of respect for the commitment level of the athletes.