So this year, with a new addition to the team, some brand new bikes and a fully fit group of riders, 2010 could very well see Chain Reaction Cycles/intense in the limelight of the world Circuit.
In preparation for the new season…the team made the trip over to Ireland to visit the team headquarters of Chain Reaction Cycles, easily said, but the Icelandic volcano was really causing some difficulty in getting the numerous team members on their planes and in the air. But after a week delay they finally made it over to CRC and were united with their new Intense M9 prototypes. After an initial build and set up they headed down to the South of Ireland to compete in a very wet and muddy Irish NPS round to get a feel for their new weapons. Everyone rode well and adapted quickly to the new bikes despite the conditions, with Chris, Claire and Matt taking to the podiums in their respective categories.
”I have never ridden anything so much like peanut butter mixed with Nutella in my life! It was crazy. By the time I got down each run, it looked like I was running 4.0 Gazzaloddi’s! All balled up with no grip and we were running full spikes! It was rad though” Claire Buchar
The next day gave the riders a break from their bikes and allowed them to switch off a bit as they met up with the CRC advertising team for a day long photo shoot in the studio and around different locations in the CRC HQ. At one stage managing to coax a smile out of Chris, which he denies and claims was a merely show of teeth.
“its a tough life having to pose and smile and not smile on cue” Chris Kovarik
Once fed and given a full nights rest they packed up the vans and headed out to a forest and popular DH track on the north of Ireland called Rostrevor. This was their base camp for the next two days as they spent their time setting up their bikes, fixing snags and generally getting them all sussed out and ready to go for the first race of the season. They were joined on the trip by MTB cut videographer Stu Thompson who spend the days filming and documenting the 2 days riding. As well as one of the resident CRC photographers who photographed the riding as the team took turns tearing apart and shutting down the various lines throughout the forest.
“I was amazed how big CRC was and it was cool to see that everyone was really in to the team!” Matti Lehikoinen
“Personally i had a great week a big thanks to everyone who made it happen.” Matt Simmonds
A good week all in all, with a lot of riding, everyone got to grips with their new bikes and everything seems to be going smoothly in the CRC/Intense pits. Lets hope it continues onto the track throughout the year.
“With the huge support from Chain Reaction Cycles.com and the new M9 bike from Intense I think we have the best possible chance for a stellar season. This year is going to be a great one.” Team Manager – Nigel Page
——————————————————————————————————
A video of the training event in Rostrevor Forest can be found here
http://blip.tv/play/g5tQgd_ABgA
Here’s the link to a PDF of the main story:
& the link to the story on CRC
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/News.aspx?NewsID=940
source: Nigel Page
Team Manager – ChainReactionCycles/Intense
http://www.CRCintense.com
