Looking at the start list of over 60 pro riders was a bit daunting. It was a bit of a list of who’s who in the world cup 4X and DH scene. It was going to be more than a challenge just to get through qualifying with the cut off point at 32 riders.
The course was great, it had 4 jumps in, was a touch over 21 seconds long and the corners were so much fun! I had never raced duel before and it was awesome to be racing with that person next to you, both trying to hit the next section faster and ultimately get that front wheel across the line before they do. The corners were really dusty which made things that bit more exciting in my eyes. It was very steep out of the start gate and there wasn’t any pedalling around the berms, ever corner you could hit with more speed than you could handle. It was literally hitting the berm as fast as you dare and pop out the other side sprinting to the next.
My qualifying run was a bit of a panicky run down. I hit every turn a bit sketchy knowing that I had to go my fastest to do well. Despite some special moments I came 14th with 22 seconds. I was pretty darn pleased; I was expecting to be on the edge of qualifying not in the top ¼.
I was put up against Jake Ward for the first heat, one of the 4X pinners on Hatch’s 44racing team. I knew it was not going to be an easy race but I went in with confidence. In the first race I had a good run down and Jake made a mistake somewhere on the track which meant I won by a fair distance. This would mean that he would have to beat me on the next race by more than that to go through to the next heat.
We both spent the next race side by side the whole way down, It was one of the closest races all day, we raced the last straight sprinting side by side, I believe it was announced that I won it but it was certainly close.
I went through to the next race against the power house and a favourite to win, Chris Kovarik. I went into the races with a good head though. The first race he got ahead out of the gate. It was a pretty constant distance between us all the way to the finish with us jumping the 2nd to last jump side by side. He managed to pull away a bit sprinting to the line and took the first round. The second race I was on my favourite side. I nearly slide out in the 3rd corner but managed to keep it together and ended up a bit ahead on the 2nd to last jump. I managed to win by a fraction of a second but it was not enough to go through to the next round.
I have certainly found a new style of riding that I love and hope to see more duel races in the future; it’s great to watch too! Here are the results;
Results;
Big final
1 Michal Prokop
2 Roger Rinderknecht
Small Final
3 Joost Wichman
4 Brian Lopes
1/4 Final
Lukas Mechura
Gee Atherton
Chris Kovarik
Josh Bryceland
1/8 Final
Scott Roberts
Dan Yeomens
Duncan Ferris
Steve Peat
Harry Molloy
Will Evans
Scott Beaumont
1/16 Final
Matthieu Trinquart
Jason Egan
Pete Warner
Dave Wardell
Davi Berks
Isaac Mundy
Olli Wilkins
Sam Dale
Jordan Gould
Jake Ward
Tim Person
Neil Donoghue
Adam Carr
Bernard Kerr
Here are some pictures of the weekend;
A huge thanks Jez from Chocolate Distribution for getting me into the race and thanks to my sponsors Last, DMR, Rezurgence, Lifestyle Ford, 2026 distribution, Nema Clothing, Funn, 661, Maxxis, KMC, Lezyne, Mojo suspension, Kali and Shimano.









