Mr Blings PORC Dh Race 17th Oct

Another stonking race from the notorious Mr Bling! PORC racing is getting better and better and the rider numbers and spectators are increasing quickly.

It was another sunny weekend with one of the best tracks ever raced on at PORC. It used the best steep bits of the hill, catching a lot of people out, with a blistering speed section with 3 road gaps straight after each other!

Here are some pictures of the fastest growing mini DH race series around!



























































































































































Thanks to Last, Rezurgence, Lifestyle Ford, 2026 distribution, Nema Clothing, DMR, Funn, 661, Maxxis, KMC, Lezyne, Mojo suspension, Kali and Shimano.

British DH Series – final round, Caersws;

Caersws was the last chance for everyone to make their last impressions and try to better their series positions. I wanted to better my 6th overall and hopefully get onto the podium again.

The course was the basically the same course from a few years ago at the previous national. There were just a few differences that I thought made it flow better. Also the whole top and middle section had been cleared of trees so it was basically a new track.

The weather was good all weekend even if it was freezing cold at night in the tent. And I had my girlfriend Jasmine as personal warmer upper too.

The track was pretty short and steep for the most of it with a 30second sprint to the finish. It had lots of jumps and no pedalling for the most of it.

I did plenty of runs over the weekend; it wasn’t tiring to do run’s so I squashed in about 10 in on the Saturday and a couple in before seeding on Sunday.

My seeding went well and I tried to put in the best time I could. Points were important from seeding despite not being a lot it would all add up to the overall. I seeded 2nd 2 seconds off of Marc Beaumont. I was really pleased as I initially just wanted to be in contention for the podium.

Race runs added a little more urgency and I managed to go a little faster but I couldn’t pedal as strong in the field. I ended up coming 4th. Just 1 tenth of a second off of Joe Smith and 0.4 seconds off of Ben Cathro. Marc Beaumont was a second ahead of us winning the race. I was pleased with my result as it meant I moved up a place in the overall. In my first season of Elite I had made it to the 5th place overall spot and made it onto the podium twice in the British Series. It’s been a happy end to my first year as a pro.

Here are a few pictures;











Thanks to DMR, Rezurgence, Lifestyle Ford, 2026 distribution, Last, Nema Clothing, Funn, 661, Maxxis, KMC, Lezyne, Mojo suspension, Kali and Shimano.

PORC DH race 12th Sept;

Another top race from Mr Bling!

We all got lucky with the weather again. A rainy Saturday turned into a blue skied race day. The course was already dry by practise.




The track this time was pretty simple and fast. There were a few hops and jumps but the speed was the challenge on this track. I’d say 10 seconds in the middle section was the only exception but it was all about carrying your speed. The rest right from the start, all the way to the finish was flat out and brakeless.

I think PORC is the shortest course I race on which mean it’s the most crucial to not make a mistake. Results are tight! Even the smallest mistakes make a big difference to your placing and time. Even though as racers we get 3 race runs at PORC, it’s still very hard to do a run that you’re happy with. All your concentration goes to just a 40 second track so everything is that bit more on edge and pinned.

All my runs were good. I got 37seconds each run but going 0.2 faster each time. My first run I made a little mistake and nearly went into a tree on the fastest part. It was right at the finish though and didn’t cost too much time. My second run felt a lot better, I felt quicker the whole way down and didn’t mess up. I went .2 faster; it just goes to show how much .2 of a second is on a track this short. My 3rd run was a bit sketchy at times as I pushed it as hard as I could in places.

I finished on a 37.4seconds. I was pleased being the only person on a 37. It was a good weekend’s racing and I’m looking forward to the next one on the 17th of October.

Here are some pics;
- It was a memorable day for Dirt mag's very own, Rodder's. It was his son Nico's first DH Race ever and just check out his ride!






Thanks to DMR, Rezurgence, Lifestyle Ford, 2026 distribution, Nema Clothing, Last, Funn, 661, Maxxis, KMC, Lezyne, Mojo suspension, Kali and Shimano.

Aston Hill DH race 5th September;

I went up to Aston Saturday but didn’t get there until the afternoon because of the dreaded M25 traffic. I was still a bit ill so I didn’t want to do many runs though.

I walked the course when I got there. It was similar to the usual course but with a fair few changes. Watching the racers practise I could tell the course was flat out from top to bottom.

I did 4 runs down getting faster each time and tried a few different lines that seemed a little different to others. At the end of the day I did a run behind Dad to see how he was getting on too. It was good to see he’s still got the pace.




After practise we went back to Rich’s place and got ready to go out for a meal. We also met up with good friends Rachel and Jacob, wife and son of Nema distributor, Jez. I had the best curry I have ever had and I can’t even remember what it was called. After food it was back to Rich’s to terrorise little Jacob. I have never known a kid who wants to be tickled so much!

The event was full with 300 people racing. The car park was packed to the brim come Sunday morning. I spent the first part of the morning changing tires and checking over Dad’s bike. There was so many problems with it I had to fix what I could.
I did a few practise runs to pick up the pace and warm up again. The course was getting beaten up a bit which made it even better to ride.

I watched a few of my mates in their first runs in Junior go down and got ready for my run. I warmed up how I would usually with my trainer Ian watching me. I felt confidant on the start line and before I knew it I was sprinting the first straight. I made a few little mistakes like you do but all in all a good 1st run. I got fastest time of the first runs by 1.4 seconds in the expert/Elite.

Unfortunately in 2nd runs someone hit a tree falling off at the bottom and there was a scare that he had broken his neck or spine. There was talk of the rest of 2nd runs being cancelled whilst the guy was being attended to. News came through that the injured racer didn’t need an air ambulance but went in a normal one. Racing was back on and I got my gear back on to ride. Over the years there has been talk about if it’s possible to break the minute barrier down a track at Aston. I made it my challenge to do it.

I warmed up this time with Ian showing me what to do. I learnt a lot about warming up and it’s not about spinning your legs backwards. I made a few mistakes again in my run but the start felt much faster. It was going to be touch and go if I was to get the time I wanted. As I went through the finish line everyone shouted yes at the bottom. I didn’t really know what this meant but I soon found out I got a 59.6second run. I was really pleased to get under a min.

I heard after my run good news about the guy that had suspected spinal injuries. Despite being very concussed his spine and neck was fine.

When I was called for the podium I went up very surprised to see the amount of prises for me! Check this out, a pair of carbon Avid Elixir brakes, a Sram X0 rear mech, a Truvativ bar, stem and seat post, a free Boxxer fork service, £50, some bike cleaner and an oversize can of Monster.








Thanks to Rich and Rachel for another fantastic memorable weekend.

Thanks to DMR, Last, Rezurgence, Lifestyle Ford, 2026 distribution, Nema Clothing, Funn, 661, Maxxis, KMC, Lezyne, Mojo suspension, Kali and Shimano.

UCI World Cup Finals - New York;

New York for me was the coolest world cup of the year. I met the owner of Nema Clothing, Erick, who put me up for the week in the Nema Lodge; a massive new house with loads of rooms a swimming pool, hot tub, the list goes on! I also met friend of Erick’s and now a good friend of mine at the airport, he goes by the code-name of “Stevie Z” and happens to work with all the stars in Hollywood.

The DH track looked pretty simple but flat out. It had a 45ft road gap, rock drops, rock sections the list goes on but all the usual characteristics but with a lot of speed. I was pretty ill unfortunately for the whole time I was there but I managed to do enough runs in practise to feel confident enough to qualify.

In qualifying I just tried to get down and have fun without coughing too much. I had a smooth run and finished up 32nd. I was on a 2min 46 seconds and was pretty happy with that. I was 10 seconds off of qualifying winner Steve Peat and just 4 seconds off of the ton 10. Relieved too considering the UCI DH was powered by Nema.

That Friday night we all went to the VIP dinner which was amazing. I have never had a VIP pass before but I can’t imagine that anywhere else does it the way this was presented. First up you got a lift to the right floor where there was a presentation and thanks to the event kind of thing. Then there was live acoustic and vocal music as we walked into the dinner room with tables all over the place with a buffet in the middle with all sorts of nice exotic food! I ate very well that night!

I think I preferred having another few hours of practise on Saturday as opposed to the usual racing the day after qualifying. It gave me more of a chance to try new lines and see what the top 80 racers were up to. I think I learnt a fair bit more. I did 4 runs trying out the new lines I had found the day before. I felt like I could go a fair few seconds faster than my qualifying run for sure.

Erick introduced me to the guys at Adidas who seemed very keen to help me out. They hooked me up with some riding sun glasses and some race goggles which was pretty sick.

I was treated like a King on Saturday night before race day, so I woke up feeling as fresh as I could do considering I was Ill.

I did 3 practise runs before the big final run of the week. I felt good and ready to race. Erick even put me in some sample 2011 kit and got me to warm up properly at the top.

I sprinted off the start feeling strong. In the first tight left hand corner I was as close as it gets to falling off which scared the crap out of me. I managed to calm it down straight away and not try to make up on the lost time but have a clean run down the rest of the track. By the section before the raod gap I was having a lot of fun just racing down the hill. I whipped the road gap and the cheering got me going for the pedalling ahead. I had a smooth run through the rest of the woods and sprinted the straights at the bottom as hard as I could. I went 6 seconds quicker with a 2min 40 but ended up 50th place. I was pleased with my result but was a little disappointed. I needed 4 seconds to get comfortably into the top 20.

Everyone from the house went out for Mexican to celebrate that night before we all went our separate ways home. I went back to Albany airport with Erick and Stevie Z and some of the others went on to World Champs.

I had an awesome time at New York and I’m looking forward to the World Cup round there next year all ready.

Thanks to Erick for all the help!

Thanks to Rezurgence, Lifestyle Ford, 2026 distribution, Nema Clothing, DMR, Funn, 661, Maxxis, KMC, Lezyne, Last, Mojo suspension, Kali and Shimano.

British DH Series rd4 Moelfre

I was looking forward to this race to make a stomp down on my result the previous weekend in Italy. I like Moelfre too, it’s a pretty easy course to get down and although a lot of people think it’s very pedally, I think it’s ok if you carry your speed well. With it being an easier course you really have to do something special to get ahead of the rest.

Practise was wet on the Saturday and the grassy bits of the course were like ice which was quite fun. I changed to cut spikes for a couple of runs but as it dried up again I went back to high rollers. By the end of practise the course was in pretty much perfect condition. I walked the course and found absolutely nothing but one thing I wanted to look at the top of the course. When I got down I had the meal of a lifetime made by Jez from Chocolate distribution.



They had a gladiator style blow up thing in the big tent Saturday evening. It was one where you have to both stand on a little platform and knock each other off with big baton things. I watched that for a while before going to bed.

I did about 3-4 runs on Sunday morning as it was really fun being dry and rolling well.

Seeding was cancelled as someone had to be air lifted half way through it. This was a bit annoying as I wouldn’t have ridden for about 5 hours or more before my race run was meant to happen.




My race run went pretty well, I only had one proper mess up and that was just changing into a too easy gear before the 4X jumps at the bottom so I couldn’t pedal going into them. It was really windy the whole way down and I really thought that I got unlucky with it... it felt like I was slowing down a lot of the time with so much head wind. I made it down smoothly and Josh Bryceland was the current leader in the hot seat. I came in 3 seconds behind but managed to close the gap up a bit more as i went into 2nd. I waited for everyone else to come down and the first to beat me was good mate Rich Thomas by half a second. Then mark Beaumont came down and increased the lead. Steve came down and beat Mark by a few milliseconds which rounded off the results. Steve won with a 2min 25, Mark was 2nd with a late 2 min 25, Josh was on a 28, Rich was on a 30 and I was on a 31. I was pretty chuffed with that. I certainly didn’t find any shame in being beaten by current world champ and legend Steve Peat, last weekend’s world cup winner Mark Beaumont, previous junior world champ, Josh Bryceland and all round sick rider and good mate Rich T. I was happy to make my first Elite National Podium in my first year of elite too; it was certainly a good feeling.

Thanks to Last, Rezurgence, Lifestyle Ford, 2026 distribution, Nema Clothing, DMR, Funn, 661, Maxxis, KMC, Lezyne, Mojo suspension, Kali and Shimano.

The last Month;

Ok so I’ve been a bit out of touch with the internet for a while now and I’ve not really had time to write reports. Here’s why;

First up was National Champs at Ae Forest on the 18th of July. Of what I can remember it was a bit of a wet one. The track had a few pretty good changes which was nice to see. I punctured in my seeding run and ended up 14th in the race. I messed up at the top and stopped in a corner but apart from that I had a good run. Steve Peat came down and won the national champs jersey with a stormer of a time!

Straight from Scotland I rushed home as I had a few hours to clean my kit and meet up with Rich Thomas and Jacob Gibbins to start are travels to Champery World cup round 4, Switzerland. Champery was an amazing course! It was pretty hard to do to say the least. After we walked it Rich and I made a little pact saying that we would both do all of the jumps in our first runs. So we did! Baring in mind there were nearly 30 very big jumps in the track, it was quite scary! When it rained it made the course a lot harder, you just couldn’t slow down in places you needed to. I went over the bars in my qualifying run and my bike was caught in the catch netting. My gloves were covered in mud. I tried getting my bike out of the catch netting but it was stuck pretty bad, when i finally got my bike out and the right way up and my seat pointing the right way again I began trying to take my gloves off so that i could hold the bars without slipping off. I thought i had my slip on gloves on but it turned out they were Velcro ones so they wouldn’t come off. People were shouting at me a lot by now so i decided to try ride the rest with no grip on the bars. I made it down just but couldn’t do the last jumps. I came in and surprisingly after all that still qualified mid-pack in the top 80.



My race run turned out much the same. I just got through the section where I fell in my qualifying and went over the bars again just a little further down. I was pretty annoyed as I felt my hole run I went slowly so that I wouldn’t fall off. I ended up 49th place which was ok but knowing I could have been right up there if I didn’t crash was hard to take.



I chilled out in Morzine, French Alps with my mate Jamie for a few days to get some riding in whilst we were out there. Was awesome to just chill out and ride for a few days!

It was then to Italy for the next round of the World cups at Val Di Sole. This track was seriously rocky rooty and generally hardcore the hole way down. I felt pretty beaten up after practise, it was a very physical course. It was a constant gradient the hole way down which was pretty steep but the ground was so dusty and loose it was really hard and kind of felt really slow everywhere when really you were going fast. I messed up big time in qualifying. I miss judged braking into a slow technical section where I hit a high line too fast and couldn’t make it over the next root section straight enough. My front wheel seemed to disappear straight away and I went over the bars down the course. It wasn’t a massive crash but my bike was a bit twisted up. I tried making the time up but it was a mistake as I flew all over the place down the rest of the course. I just missed out on qualifying with a 89th just a second off. This was the first time I hadn’t qualified this year, I was pretty annoyed and it took a while to get over it.

We went back straight after the race to get home in time to rest up for British DH series round 4. We broke down around 5 miles from Calais which was something we could have done without but we all made it home to see the sun rise Tuesday morning so not all was bad.

Thanks to Rich, Jacob, Jamie and everyone else that has made the last month a good one away!

Thanks to Last, Rezurgence, Lifestyle Ford, 2026 distribution, Nema Clothing, DMR, Funn, 661, Maxxis, KMC, Lezyne, Mojo suspension, Kali and Shimano.