Today was the final day of practice for the everyone but the U23 women, who raced at 4:30pm today. While practice for Downhill or Enduro events is action packed, it's a little different in XC. Most of the riders only took two laps today; two easy-paced laps. Just enough to memorize lines and make any final adjustments to their set ups, then it's home to take it easy. It is crucial not go too hard, so as to maintain the snap in the legs before unleashing the full fury trapped inside on race day. Most riders ended the day early, spending the remaining time at home to eat, maybe wear compression boots, and go to sleep early. As for the U23 women, they crushed out four grueling laps this afternoon. Jenny Rissveds bested top-seeded Margot Moschetti by forty one seconds, and a strong Kate Courtney finished third. No doubt they are all sleeping well tonight.
About the PhotographersMatthew Delorme • Age: 40 • Years Shooting: 8 Matthew DeLorme is just one of Pinkbike’s motley crew of World Cup photographers. He currently lives out of a Ogio bag, and calls the road his home. Delorme works for Trek Bicycle, covering their MTB racing programs. He can usually be found laying in the dirt trackside, cracking jokes and saying things that make little to no sense. He enjoys capturing accessory moments and the journey every bit as much as catching the action shot. Irmo Keizer • Age: 36 • Years Shooting: 10 Irmo Keizer has been mountain biking since high school. Irmo loves nature, technical trails and landscapes and dislikes too many race lines and fire roads. Irmo has a strong passion for all sorts of mountain bike disciplines ranging from cross country, to enduro and downhill. Combining his passion of mountain biking and photography ten years ago, Irmo has been working as a photographer/editor in mountain biking ever since.
Nice photos!