IRON HORSE-KENDA-PLAYBIKER update: World Cup round 2 – La Bresse (France)
 La Bresse is a quite town located in the North East of France around 5 hours drive from Geneve.
Playbiker together with Fraser Britton the Photographer and the Mechanic arrived in La Bresse late on Wednesday night after a long days travelling and in the Van. After settling into the accommodation, unpacking the van we were quickly off to bed to recharge before the following days course inspection. After walking the course it was clear that it was going to be a fantastic track with very few berms and a deffinate “old school” feel. The course was mostly made up with flat or off camber turns which were all grass before the riders got to them, thrown in with some rocks and only one man made berm, the riders were excited.
Friday was the first day on course because of the new UCI schedule and it was all about the spikes.
The freshly cut grass was something not usually found on a World Cup course but it was disappearing quickly with the many foot out, flat pedal drifts by Playbiker jr Shaun O’Connor among others and by the afternoon it was a different track with ruts, holes rocks appearing through out the course.The Playbiker riders had a good practice sessions before heading back to the chalet for their portion of the 30 kg’s of pasta freshly imported from Italy. Saturday was morning practice and then qualifying, Floriane and Nathan put down solid runs however looked to improve their positions for the following with a few mistakes and setup issues slowing their pace. Shaun and Elisa did not have the best of runs and missed qualifying which was unfortunate. Sunday was race day, morning practice again went well with the course bone dry the big question was the weather.
Rain was forcast for 3pm which would see Nathan and Floriane down in the dry but some top elite riders in the rain.
Nathan put in another solid run ending 39th dispite still having trouble adjusting to the new bike and suspension but is now in the top 80 riders. Thanks to Maxime at Bos to have worked so hard in his super fine set-up! Floriane did not have the best of runs and said she was shruggleing to fund speed in practice. She ended in 9th position. The team then has travelled to Andorra for World Cup Round 3.
IRON HORSE-KENDA-PLAYBIKER update: World Cup round 3 – Vallnord (Andorra)  After La Bresse the team travelled 11 hours across France to Andorra for the World Cup round 3. After the long drive the team checked into the accommodation and got an early nights sleep. The following day it was time to set up the pits and walk the course. With the pits setup the team headed out to walk the track which the course builders had just finished clearing the snow off the day before and beside the track there was still allot of snow to be seen.
The track was largely the same as last year with the exception of a few minor changes so practice went well for all the riders however the Jr rider again unfortunate becoming extremely sick on the way from La Bresse so he chose only to do the 2 compulsory runs so he was able to race. Nathan was feeling good on the bike as was Floriane with Elisa being consistant as usual. Saturday’s morning practice was wet enough for mud tyres before drying a little for qualifying. Nathan put in a solid run to qualify him into the 40’s as did Floriane qualifying her into 4th position. The race day came around quicker than expected and before we knew it the riders were on course, Nathan improved his position ending in 33rd although he was still unhappy with his run looking to improve his standings in Fort William. Floriane ended in 7th place.
IRON HORSE-KENDA-PLAYBIKER update: International race Prarostino – 1st round Italian Cup The following weekend the team travelled to an Italian Cup which was about 2 hours drive from Milan. The course was very different from what the riders had been riding previously with many off camber corners as well as roots and rocks. Thankfully the weather was fantastic with Sunny sky’s all weekend which made the track dusty and dry, the Australian who had now recovered from being sick with flue was loving the conditions and also the hot weather being very similar to his home. The riders practice went well with all riders showing good speed down the track. The schedule was different to the World Cup rounds with seeding and racing being on Sunday. Shaun had an excellent run down the course and seeded 2nd while Nathan was not so fortunate having a big crash, fortunately he was uninjured and although seeded back in the field he would be able to race. After a short break the race was on, with first placed qualifyer Ben Reid chasing Shaun down the hill. Nathan having already raced earlier was in the hot seat but Shaun was not able to beat him missing out by 0.75 of a second before Ben Reid arrived to bump him out but just 0.05 of a second, it was extremely close racing. In the girls it was not so hotly contested however Playbiker again was on the podium with Floriane taking the win and Elisa coming in for a second place. The awards were celebrated and it was time again to pack the van to ready for the next weekends racing in Verbier, Switzerland.
IRON HORSE-KENDA-PLAYBIKER update: European IXS Cup – Verbier (CH) The team was excited to head to Verbier with talk of an exciting new track and gondola access, Nathan was an invited rider while Floriane and Shaun were coming along for the riding. Friday was the first days practice under perfect blue skyes and a wonderful dry track Shaun and Nathan were feeling fast in the dry conditions however this was all about to change when the skyes opened for the qualifying runs late on Saturday afternoon.
Floriane was the only rider to qualify well on the team which was a relief because Nathan and Shaun did not have such good runs.
The team manager was not happy however Shaun assured him the race was not won yet. Sunday the conditions were drying however with the amount of rain over night the course was still very wet and mud tyres were the best choice. Racing came and Shaun put in a good run finishing him into 2nd position in the Jr Elite Class, Floriane also had a good run and winning the Elite Women however Nathan suffered a mechanical putting him out of contention for the win which was extremely unfortunate, however he is now focusded on Fort William next week end. Iron Horse-Kenda-Playbiker
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