Good Month / Bad Month: June 2018

Probably the most interesting bit of tech to pop up in June was Aston's look at the carbon Sequence downhill bike, a one-off project by Vladimir Yordanov that uses a dual-link layout to deliver 200mm of travel. It also happens to be gorgeous. Speaking of downhill sleds, Specialized's prototype was caught by Ross Bell's camera at Fort Bill. And Fasst Company's press release for their $499.99 USD Flexx handlebar, while looking interesting and worth reviewing, also had some of the best comments under it that I've seen in ages. Don't discount it quite yet, though, as I remember chuckling over Revolution's Suspension Grips... Until I tried them. Shoutout to Dom Wrapson's unreal breakdown of World Cup weekends, too. If you're a die-hard racing fan and/or stats nerd, Dom's number crunching is a must-read.











His season started off with two DNFs, too, followed by a 30th in France, which really underlines how fickle enduro racing can be - there are just so many variables in play that can make even the fittest, most skilled racers look like they're pack fodder. Graves certainly ain't pack fodder, though, and while the overall is way out of reach, it'd be no surprise to me if he pulled out a victory or two before the season is over.

Curtis Keene isn't having a much better time of it, either, with the American sitting in 42nd overall after a string of results that are well below what he's capable of. It all adds up to a team ranking of 25th, although that's a bit misleading as other teams have more racers contributing to their points haul at each race meeting. Either way, you can bet that Graves and Keene are a hell of a lot better than their results say, so expect a turnaround at some point soon.









Some fans are concerned that the UCI, which many feel hasn't done right by mountain bike racing, will only mess up a good thing, but Ball is insistent that nothing will change on the outside: ''Ultimately we remain in control of our series. Our structures will remain the same. We will help the UCI write the rulebook for enduro globally, that they can then apply to the wider National Federations.'' There's also the addition of the 'Trophy of Nations' that's essentially a Motocross des Nations for enduro racers, which sounds pretty rad.

Perhaps the biggest upside to the new relationship will be additional drug testing, which isn't cheap or easy to implement. The EWS has, by its own admission, not been able to implement extensive testing thus far in its short history, which is something I've written about before, but bringing in the UCI means that the CADF (Cycling Anti-Doping Foundation) will be testing to WADA's protocols. ''Testing costs money, and now the next step is to roll out more testing,'' Ball explained. ''The EWS will ramp up the amount of tests we pay for, and over the next 3-5 years, we’ll dramatically increase our doping controls.'' How much do you want to bet that we'll see results get shaken up and possibly some unexpected retirements? It's all for the better, though, and as much shade as the UCI catches, I'm sure that the partnership can only be a good thing.