Behind the Scenes with Gstaad-Scott Racing
It's not as easy as just grabbing your bike and heading up the hill at a World Cup. Brendan Fairclough and Neko Mullaly have a huge team behind them that makes their daily routine all the more easy and it's this structure that makes it so valuable being on a factory team. How does that day look though? Below we have a small insight in to that process.
Best of luck to Brendan and Neko tomorrow - stay tuned to Pinkbike's Instagram for their individual updates.
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 Good morning Lenzerheide. |
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| Breakfast and lunch are a team affair, with everyone taking a break to eat together family style. |
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| 30 minutes before practice Neko warms up and stretches. Even though he only plans to take two 3-minute runs, his preparation takes nearly an hour. |
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| Blue Steel. |
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| Brendan has taken a bit of a beating this weekend; having a masseuse on hand makes all the difference. |
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| A first run crash has left Brendan with left thumb to match the right one he broke a few years ago. |
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| Plenty of staff are available to tend to all the riders' needs, but some things they still prefer to do themselves. |
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| Stars, bars, and Oskar Blues Beer. |
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| At this level no detail is left unaccounted for. |
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| The wrenching never stops. |
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| Brand new, super sticky tires, after one 3-minute run down the Lenzerheide track. |
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| With all the hustle and bustle of a World Cup it's a treat to just sit in the pits and watch the fans walk by. |
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| Two runs in morning practice, a light massage, and Neko is ready to attack qualifying. |
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| With so much attention paid to the bikes, it's easy to forget how much punishment the riders' bodies take. |
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| Checking and double checking pressures, and just to be safe Neko's start time is written on his mechanic's hand. |
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| A rider's relationship with their mechanic crucial at the top end of the sport. |
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| It's the little things that add up to making a factory bike truly individual. |
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| Logan Mulally tends to last minute details while Neko grabs a pre-quali nap. |
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| Logan also kindly washed off a dusty camera and Neko's bike at the same time. |
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| Pensive about today's events, Brendan and Neko take a moment to themselves. |
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| Brotherly love. |
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| Time to head up to for qualifying and a rapid gondola ride to the startgate. |
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| Track analysis never stops. |
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| The farther riders get from the pits, the more it becomes an individual task at hand. Having a teammate helps. |
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| The company you keep and the sharp end of World Cup racing talent. |
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| With an entire team behind them, once the clock starts it's down to a singular battle between the rider and the race track. Neko drops in to his qualifying run. |
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| Brendog's qualifying run started of with blistering speed through the upper corners. Things got a bit pear shaped further down as he rang his bell in the rock garden. |
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| Classic Brendan style. Heels down, leaned to the max, eyes looking through the exit. |
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| Neko greased this corner without incident in practice, but hit the deck hard here in his qualifier. Completely shredding a knee pad and with dust all over his bike, it's amazing he was only 10 seconds back from Loic's time. |
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| All the best preparation can only account for so many variables. A crash in qualifying knocked Neko back to 58th, 10.48 seconds back. |
Best of luck to Brendan and Neko tomorrow - stay tuned to Pinkbike's Instagram for their individual updates.
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Do your helmet up Brendan!
Hope Brendan recovers well enough to race - probably my favourite rider to watch!
What tire compound do you run?
223
Hard rubber for me, I want my tires to last
272
I choose different tread hardnesses for different conditions.
461
I prefer a medium durometer tread
355
I prefer softer durometer tread
78
No
347
Not sure