Taokas Cup 2017 and the OZR Team Misadventures

It's been a while since team OZ Racing has raced en masse in notable races, but wherever the team goes, adventures (or should I say), misadventures are bound to follow. This is what new additions, Ryan Thompson, and Jonathan Gumabras found out when they got on board the OZR caravan during the Taokas Cup 2017. This event is part of a series of varied MTB races, namely: XCO, Enduro and Downhill, and was held in the beautiful province of Dumaguete, where some of the most wicked MTB tracks in the Philippines have been made. On top of that, the tracks are home to really warm people, unspoiled vegetation, and natural hot, cold spring baths. So obviously, we were anticipating a weekend of rad times ahead. Little did we know that the wheels of destiny have dictated otherwise.


The trip commenced with a 150km drive from the main city of Cebu going to the southern tip of the island. While on the way, it seemed as if the Gods raged at the idea of us travelling, as waves crashed into the seaside and the wind rocked the trees by the roadside.

The bike bus, we were just so happy to arrive at the ferry on time.

Once on the boat crossing to Dumaguete, the ride seemed uneventful as the seas seemed to calm down. Same goes for the drive going to Camp Lookout. However, as soon as we arrived, we learned that the place we reserved was given to someone else. The winds also started to pick up again, and in the desperation of finding a place to stay at 10pm, we found ourselves making wrong turns into dark broken paths blocked by fallen trees, and downed electric wires. It was just the ideal setting where movies like Psycho, Wrong Turn, The Hills Have Eyes, etc take place, and this was enough to make a bunch of steel-balled mtb riders start to feel a bit of panic. Luckily, we managed to find our way out, get a GPS signal and found a nice inn for us to stay at.


Next day, Ryan was the first to be up and ready, clearly stoked to do a track read. The day seemed to start out real well, alas, it was not about to last.


Romeox and Matt, the OZR team on the way to the assembly area.


That look of dread on the American as he shuttles ghetto style to the race track, it was either that or the dump truck.

The start of the Enduro races was when things started to get interesting. The rain started to come down, and what were once roads turned into muddy streams.



Everyone on the team was just trying to ride along and have fun with all the ruckus that was going on, until we hit a bump on the road which sent Dongkey flying off the roof of the truck where he was sitting. Inside we were are laughing until we saw Dongkey's back dangle from behind the truck, hanging on for sheer life. It was still cold, raining, with Dongkey grimacing in pain, plus the pressure of getting everyone to the start line on time. We thought that was the end of the adventure, as we would all have felt bad (especially me) if Dongkey was seriously injured. Thankfully, Dongkey, being a trooper, was able to walk away with only minor injuries. So the races went on.



As one riders goes down, another goes up with bike in tow.



Someone doesn't care where his shoes are anymore. A view of the stairs from the top.


Now that Enduro's over with, it's XCO and the much awaited DH for day 3. Still grateful, for the events that transpired the day before, we felt we had to go to a local place of worship as a team. It could have been a whole lot worse..really.


The team just being thankful inside the church, and a quick pose outside thereafter.

There are some wannabees claiming to be the breakaway kid, but Dongkey is the real deal. Here he is breaking away from the lead guys.

Dongkey keeping the pace after breaking away from the rest of the pack.

Shortly after XCO's the DH race commenced at 3pm.

DH Riders waiting in line for their seeding run, while the track builders cleaned up some lines.



Ebeb putting on a show//Another local eyeing where he wants to land.

Due to the storm, landslides, and the delays on the race start, schedules have been moved back to the point where some riders were released during the late afternoon with very little visibility. I happen to be one of those riders, and we kind of just had to ride as loose as possible and just go with the flow.


Awarding came a little bit later in the evening, with riders waiting for their results and prizes to be given away by the sponsors.


OZR team, along with the top guys, in their respective categories.

When the day came to an end, after we had all packed up, ready to ship out, I was having a recollection of what had just gone over. This was definitely one of those stories where the expectation was a bit far from reality. The storm contributed much to a lot of the changes like, the landslide which made the organizers change the DH venue, and made the hot springs inaccessible. Thinking about it now, it wasn't such a bad weekend, not even close. In fact, it was a great weekend for riding. The tracks were awesome, the community was nothing but supportive, and although the organizers weren't very organized, I'd cut them a bit of slack considering the weather conditions. Most important of all, we were riding with great company, and it is a story worth telling.

Huge thanks to: @OZRacinglifestyle for the massive support, @XDEFphotography for the shots, @RedBullPH for the extra boost. @TAOKAScup2017

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