Dean Tennant Race Report

Another win on the Sunshine Coast

I just got back home in Victoria from another first place finish at the Sunshine Coaster DH race. The course was really fun to ride and the weather was amazing the whole weekend. I’d never ridden on the Sunshine Coast before and it’s definitely a cool spot I’d like to ride again.

I arrived Friday morning at the race with teammate Andrew Mitchell after driving 2 hours and taking 2 ferries. The Dunbar crew shuttled about 4 runs that evening and I tried to figure out the course. It’s a bit flatter than most courses and isn’t the most technically challenging but it was still very fun to ride. Saturday morning I got up and walked the course to try and find where I could make up some time over the other racers. There aren’t many lines on the course but I did find some double lines to help maintain speed through flat rough sections. To win this race I would have to have a perfect run so even small lines were important. I managed to time one practice run with freelap on Saturday afternoon and pulled out a 2:50.42 which I knew was faster than last year’s winning time so I was satisfied knowing I was on pace. I figured with some stronger pedaling I could take a couple seconds off for my race run.

Raceday I was feeling anxious to get on with the race. I was one of the first pros out of the gate and when I got to the bottom I was surprised to find out I was 5 seconds up in the hotseat with a 2:50.40! My run was very much like any other practice run really, except it’s funny because I felt like I put so much more effort into that run but it was only 0.02 seconds faster haha.

Top 5 Pro Men

1. Dean Tennant 2:50.40
2. Tyler Gorz 2:52.84
3. Jamie Biluk 2:53.55
4. Dan Skogland 2:55.32
5. Tim Coleman 2:56.32

Next up is the Tremblant Canada Cup in Quebec. I hope I can carry this momentum through to that race and pull out a good result there. Cross your fingers for me!

10 second win at Port Alberni Island Cup!

I’m really stoked to pull off a win by my biggest margin yet- 10 seconds! I got up at 6:00am to drive up-island to Port Alberni for the 2nd Island Cup of the year. The whole day went smoothly, I was expecting it to pour rain the whole day but it was mostly cloudy instead. The course is the best I’ve raced so far this year; the top part is gnarly and rooty with corners and the bottom is faster with flowy berms and small jumps. That might be why I was in a really good mood the whole day; I was just having so much fun. Shuttles up to the top were fun too; it’s probably the roughest shuttle road anyone will see at a race and we’re all packed into these vans 4bying up the road!

My run was good without any big mistakes. The course is longer than most so by the bottom I was quite tired, however I still pulled off a scrub-whip off the last jump going into the finish line for the crowd which garnered some cheers. There were a lot of talented riders at this race so to win by such a big margin is one of my biggest achievements yet.

Top 5 Pro Men

1.Dean Tennant 3:59
2.Simon Garstin 4:09
3.Sky Gustin 4:10
4.Jamie Biluk 4:13
5.Connor Macleod 4:16

Thanks to the race organizers, Lee Blais and Colin Wilson for the wicked event and to my sponsors, Dunbar Cycles and Sombrio.
Cheers

Dean

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Cam's Post

Published: 2010-01-21
Author: Cameron Porteous

went for BMX ride at a local school with a friend. We were jibbing around, having fun, and decided to get a bit competitive, So, a game of H-O-R-S-E ensued. I took the lead scoring from a barspin and some motorhop lines. So soon enough Paul was only one letter away from losing. I went for the kill and set up to hop over a guardrail and as soon as I was squared up for the hop my bars went limp as cooked spaghetti. I slid to a stop and discovered that I had split open my bars and one end. Now, Paul asumed that the ride was over and said he won by default, I didn't agree. I put my left hand on the grip, and my right hand in the middle of the bars and did a little 180. Paul went for it, and dabbed (understatement).

Listerfield Lake, Melbourne

Published: 2010-01-13
Author: Kevbot

Another day cracking out the XC bike to spin up the legs and tire the hell out myself! I was at the point today where without neccessities like XTR shifting and the responsiveness of the Fox shox, I would have been dialling an ambulance from my back on the dirt! The wall was hit numerous times after having followed up yesterday's XC effort in the hills. It feels like a long road to come back into some sort of form after such a long time having been off the XC, or any other cardio style exercise! But every time in the red zone pushes you further and faster on every proceeding ride. That's what I tell myself anyway!! Imagining pinning the very same trail in a few weeks time with little effort keeps me pressing on! As did the candy and 2 litres of water in my Camelbak!!
It was only a short ride out around the lake, but keeping the intensity high is definitely going to pay off. It's decently flat terrain that rips through eucalypt 'plantation' style terrain, with amazing drifty corners that my bike just relishes!! I just can't praise my Trance any further after having come from a hardtail and totally different riding style, and consequently, capability! Being out there in the cooler yet sunny weather always makes me realise why such a simple contraption as a bike, takes so many of our imaginations!!
Rob would be proud, I then went and played Beach Volleyball! Still got off the ground even with the exhausted legs!!

Kev

HOT ASS days!

Published: 2010-01-12
Author: Kevbot

Been at home in Melbourne, Australia now for a few weeks with the intention of missing the misery that winter in Vancouver imposes upon all! Nonetheless, I do miss the wet roots and loam, and a cracker of a crew to rip them up with! Instead it's been heatwave after heatwave!! I was out on the DH bike the yesterday in 43 degree heat and was ripping some cutties on the road for a laugh! It was so hot in the sun that I was making Bitumen berms with the insane Maxxis' in the middle of the road! I wonder how long they're going to hang around for!? Possibly until the next scorcher turns the road into a tar lake!

Ken Faubert of team DC recently headed Down under to check out the riding, the great weather and the Aussie scenery... not specifying whether female or male... to be determined through his Blog! We hit up all the local DH trails about my area and had a ball!! One that he rather enjoyed in particular is one of my most favourite trails that I've ridden. It's out in Warburton, Victoria! Super quick trails with a bit of everything thrown in for good measure, lasting up to about a 6 or 7 minute run. It makes me giggle! Riding with Ken has been good fun for sure! He has moved on over to Adelaide for the Aussie Nationals that are taking place this weekend.

Just got in from a pisser of an XC ride that ruined my out of shape DH legs! My local area takes me through some dry open forest that offers kangaroo and rabbit trails everywhere! Terrain that my Giant Trance X1 relishes!! Pinning down loose tight XC trails on the Trance is making me push my cornering, and surprises me about the grip that the 2.1 Kenda tires are giving me! It's also teaching me about the benefit of lower rotational weight respecting the CrossMax wheels that the Trance is spec'd with. It makes corner transitions a treat, as well as adding massive benefit to my climbing capacity... kinda hard to keep the front wheel down though!! I'm enjoying the XC bike a bunch again, which is soon enough going to have to be coupled with hitting up the gym so I don't turn into a rake!!

Tomorrow is another day on the XC rig, followed by a weekend up the mountain at the local MTB resort, Mount Buller. Should prove to provide plenty of laughs with some new riding buddies! Am pretty stoked about getting out on the DH bike again for some solid runs! It seems a little unhappy at the moment, but a little love and the old beast will tear the trails down again! I just have to learn to untame the thing over the course of this summer at home! Keen to ride as much as possible!!

Happy riding!
Open it up!

Kev

Shredding in Squampton

Shredding in Squampton

The Morning started with a flash. I could here the pounding far off in my head, but i was unable to wake from whisky in-duced sleep. The pounding quickly got louder, slowly tearing me away from my haze of dreams. I opened my eyes, staring up at the paint and cob-web covered ceiling. However the pounding noise of my dreams started again. Damn door I thought. I awkwardly got out of my bed , my whole body aching for more sleep. The person pounding on the door sounded like they were giving it one last series of slightly louder blows before giving up. I forced my legs to carry me up the flight of stairs out of my dank basement dwelling. I darted across the dining room and in one smooth motion reached for the door and whipped it open. The stranger who was so persistently knocking had turned there back to the door, obviously giving up on it being answered. The man all of a sudden spun around sensing my presence. We locked eyes only for a second before both springing into action. He exploded at me like a grenade swinging a wild left hook . The stranger was surprisingly quick but not quick enough, I had already anticipated his next three moves and countered with a step to my right side and a quick Jab to the mans solar plexus, crumpling him over at the waste. I followed my strike up with a dive bomb punch to the back of his exposed neck. The man began to fall to the ground but before he hit I swiped him up by the ears, aligning his head for a well placed knee strike right to the tip of his nose. The mans face popped like a apple stuffed with a fire cracker. I let go of his body letting it slump down into the doorway. In my peripheral vision I picked up more movement out on the street . It was another man quickly approaching, but this man was different. Unlike the this previous visitor, his shoulders were relaxed, a casual snap in his stride. This new visitor obviously had a different agenda than my previous visitor.
He rounded the bush to my stairs and bounced up the flight towards me. He raised his eyes to meet mine. It was my good buddy Dan Gongross and he was here to go ride some Mountain bikes.
And so we did..... in Squamish.....and it was awesome