Thursday, June 29, 2006
Sunday, June 25, 2006
SDA Rnd 3 Pitchifie, Aberdeen Scotland
The Summer of Mud...
Last weekend was another double header race weekend whilst team riders from the south where racing the MSS at Bala, the Scottish contingent of the team where riding a new and fantastically difficult track at Pitchifie for the round three of the SDA series. However, whereas in the south we where experiencing hot weather and dry conditions, in Scotland the heavens had opened soaking the track and making grip a hard thing to come by for the most part.
The old open top section drops riders down through the heather and over some local granite outcrops before a rock jump which sent you flying blindly into the soaking wooded section. The track started to drop into a very steep gulley, and things got very tricky from this point onwards soaking wet roots and boulders where major features along with the mud which made it very difficult to ride any of the sections clean. Rock drops on to wet roots make for very sketchy landings sending riders sliding everywhere before taking on the sketchy rock garden an almost impossible section to ride well, before the final rock jump sent you flying into the open and towards the finish.
Onto the racing and Fergus took first in Experts tearing down the track and setting a time, a huge 11 seconds up on second placed Graeme Forrest. As well as maintaining his overall points lead in the series. Dave rode hard to take second in Elite, coming in only a few seconds off first placed Chris Ball. Tony Tsoumalis rode to a well deserved fourth in the Junior category only a few seconds of the podium with an impressive time of 2.33.605.
Well done to them all for some great riding roll on Fort William in only a few weeks time for the fourth round of the series…
Friday, June 23, 2006
MSS Rnd 3 Bala, Wales
Here Comes the Summer...
Round 3 of the super series saw riders taking a break from world cup fever, to come ride a classic course which had not been used as a race venue for almost two years now. Set in an idyllic location, the track itself featured some typically rugged welsh terrain with an wide open and recently cleared top section to get the riders warmed up before dropping down and entering the middle woods filled with some tight dusty corners and roots before the bottom finishing field taped with wide flat corners perfect for drifting the bike round before the sprint to the finish line opened up before you a few minutes of drizzle towards the ends of practice made this section a challenge for the first runs, brilliant fun and perfect for riding flat-out all the way in almost any conditions.
The summer is well and truly here and the dry weather made the track dry out super quick leaving conditions near perfect for the rest of the racing, the dust which had build up in places only encouraged riders to hit sections harder in an attempt to spray up the biggest dust cloud. Couple the fun to be had on the track with the relaxed, chilled out atmosphere in the pits and you have a recipe for a fantastic weekend.
Team riders Joe Smith, Jules Coventry, and Matt Simmonds where all in attendance, along with Team Mechanic Steve Parr who also took to the track for the racing. Each of them earned themselves well deserved places on the podium in their respective categories over the weekend.
Youth saw Jo Smith a ride to third place with a time of 2.56.745 only a few seconds of the top spot after a mechanical in the form of a snapped chain. Matt rode hard and fast to take a well deserved second in Elite, coming in between Tom Braithwaite in third and only a few seconds of Marc Beaumont in first.
Master Women saw Jules put in another fantastic ride, to take first spot on the podium coming in 30 seconds up on second placed Suzy Osborn.
The Veterans saw Steve Parr on the podium in second with a time of 3.14.340 only 0.793 0f a second off first placed Martin Crokett.
Well done to them all, for yet another great weekend and another set of fantastic results.
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Vehicle Reviews
Seat Altea
We took the new Seat Altea for a test drive down to the Bridgnorth Downtown Race in October. The car’s mainly going to be used as a management vehicle for the team and will soon be stickered up with Ancillotti logos. Look out for it alongside the Ancillotti van at more races near you very soon.
On the outside the car has a refreshingly different look to it. The design sets it a world apart from your average hatchback/MPV. Nice touches to be noted include the sculpted front headlights. Our Altea came in a cool metallic silver colour which looked great.
Alongside its sporty good looks and performance, the Altea also has safety covered scoring an impressive five star Euro NCAP Rating. So how did it feel to drive, well nice and solid would best describe it and the car never suffered from lack of power when you put your foot down, another plus.
VW Transporter
I would just like to say thanks to the guys at wayside VW for letting me test drive there new toy fresh from the box.
Arranged for the national at Pen-y-bont-fawr to take as a spare van along side the ancillotti stickered T5 Transporter that we already have, but with the national now postponed till later in the year, i took the beast out for a gentle trip to Cwmcarn in Wales. This new T5 Transporter has been modified to look like the new Sportline model that has just been made available to buy from most van centres.
It is has 170 bhp, lowered 50mm, alloy wheels, colour coded bumpers, rear spoiler, front spoiler and is just the best looking van i have ever seen. If i could have had a £1 for every person that looked at me i would be a millionaire! forget your fast sport, petrol thirsty and now very common cars. Vans are now it!
Its hard to write a full report on how good this van is other than to say go and book a test drive NOW! If you want people to look at you and wonder why a big black van is over-taking them in there Golf GTI's and all the like. This is the tool you need!!
Once again thanks to Andy Cole and everyone at the Wayside van centre for putting this van together and allowing me to drive it! I have to tell you one thing, when i picked the van up i was told it would make me smile! All i can say to that is in fact it made me cry! (WHEN I GAVE IT BACK)
Contact andy.cole@waysidegroup.co.uk
Friday, June 09, 2006
UCI MTB World Cup Rnd 3 Willengen, Germany
Club Mud...
Barely a week after the World Cup in Fort William, the world's best riders were on the road again to the next round of the World Cup series which was taking place in Germany. Racing on a completely manmade course, featuring gigantic 30 foot+jumps, big drops and massive rock sections, the airtime available on some sections of the track brought new meaning to the word 'big'. This round saw another wet race with downpours which did their best to put the last rounds weather to shame. As such the course was muddy, very slippery and badly cut up after a few days of practice.
Two members of the team were out racing this weekend. Rich Thomas and Matt Simmonds had made the journey out to make their mark on Europe and were unfaised by the monster track. The first big jump section at the top of the course was very tricky with wet take offs and landings. Matt spent a whole morning hitting this section aiming to perfect it for racing. Unfortunately, on another big jump section at the bottom of the course Rich crashed hard and broke his arm taking him out of the racing for the weekend.(See News Update for the full story on Rich's crash).
Matt looked strong throughout the rest of practice and in the morning qualifiers; come racing he put in a very strong run to take 56th place overall. Very well done to Matt and again a big Get Well soon to Rich.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Interview with Tomaso Ancillotti
The Ancillotti family have been involved in bike design and manufacture for four generations. Firstly with motorbikes and then mountain bikes, and they haven’t looked back since. At the recent World Cup in Fort William we caught up with one half of the father and son team behind Ancillotti bikes, Mr Tomaso Ancillotti, who was over with two members of the Italian Ancillotti race team.
'Tomaso Ancillotti'
J: Tell us a little bit about yourself, how did you get into making mountain bikes ?
T: My Father worked as a motorbike designer, and what really got us interested in mtb, was when we saw a Downhill race in 1992. We saw what we could do for these bikes to make them better. There was not enough suspension so we sat down and developed a bike with more suspension than anything else available at the time. It was really my own interest in mountain biking which made me convince my father to start making mountain bikes. The bike’s reputation has been built on word of mouth by people who like the quality. We don’t advertise ourselves through magazines - we depend on the quality of the design and the product to sell themselves.
J: Do you race competitively yourself ?
T: Not really any more. I raced my first Downhill race in 1993 and I raced in the World Championships in 1994. I came 26th at the 1998 World Cup at Nevergal. I don’t race like that any more, though I’m still a good rider. To be the best there is so much training involved and that doesn’t really appeal to me. I’ve been riding for thirteen years and I just want to have fun when I ride.
'Tomaso DHP Models own'
J: Where is your favourite place to ride ?
T: For me the Alps, I rode in Les Gets last summer and that was good.
J: Who do you admire and why ?
T: Two people stand out for me:
Nico Volliouz- he was a teacher of the sport
and
Fabien Barel- for his bike riding skills.
J: Was there any bike which helped influence the design of the Ancillotti bikes ?
T: Not really. Other frames aren’t necessarily designed to give the absolute top performance, instead they are designed for mass market appeal, not to be raced. They meet the needs of the company giving them a bike to sell, but this is not necessarily what is best for the riders to race. Not us, we make performance race bikes, designed through direct feedback from riders participating in races. Some of our designs were influenced by motocross bikes.
J: Where do you see Ancillotti going in the future, Have you got any new projects planned ?
T: To maintain our focus on quality we look to keep developing and continuously improving our bikes each year. Small changes to the design are made to increase the performance and the quality of the bikes. We still have bikes from each years’ design at the factory and people can come along and try them all and decide which years’ model they like best and find what works for them. We want to stay small so we can maintain our focus on quality, handmade performance products.
J: What’s your favourite bike product ?
T: Suspension
' A Winning Design'
J: What’s your favourite Ancillotti product ?
T: The Pull Shock. We work a lot on the shock, developing it and making it better. Suspension is very important and I believe it’s what makes the bike and if it’s not done well then the bike isn’t a real full suspension bike. There’s always something new to learn, or change to make it better. That’s the challenge I like.
J: How would you describe your role in Ancillotti ?
T: Well it’s me and my Father. I do the designs and my father makes the tubes and the shocks and builds the frame. We see each bike through from the initial design to the final finished product.
J: What bikes do you own ?
T: One of each Ancillotti, I’m very lucky.
J: (laughs) Yes you are, Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us.
'Trick Bits'
Saturday, June 03, 2006
News
Get Well Soon...
Weve had some bad news in from the guys out at the World Cup at Willengen in Germany, Richard Thomas has broke his arm and has just had an operation in which it was pinned and plated, it was a very unlucky crash for Rich, which occurred on one of the truly gigantic manmade jumps towards the bottom of the course, the combination of the wet weather and the sheer size of the jumps with wet take offs and landings is making it a real challenge. From all of us at team Ancillotti UK heres a big get well soon to Rich.
In other news, Matt Simmonds is now running a brand new set of shiny mojo 999 forks on his team bike. The mojo 999 cartridge kit for the Marzocchi 888 forks couples Marzocchi's amazing performance with Mojo's extensive suspension and tuning know how. We'll keep you updated with how they perform over the rest of the season.