The first World Cup of the season was held in the very catholic city of Lourdes right on the doorstep of the French Pyrenees. It was not just the first WC of the season, it was also the first WC race for our new Racing Family – The Solid-Reverse Factory Racing Team.
Race with god but ride like hell...The new track in Lourdes was filled with natural rock gardens, natural canyon features, super steep sections, big jumps and some thrilling speeds from top to bottom. In other words – super sick, technical and fast.
The practice went well for our riders – the bike was in its element on this sort of track. Everyone had a smile on their face, even if the track changed a lot from run to run due to the many riders and the soft dirt. Morgane was focused on getting up to speed.
Saturday came and the first qualifying of 2015 was under way. Morgane Charre was riding safe and managed to get a solid 8th place. The track was getting harder to ride and some sections offered more pot holes than proper track. Thanks to Arthur from BOS Suspension, we could adapt our suspension set up to this track.
Harry Molloy was feeling strong and he was riding with no limits. The result was a 32nd by the end of the day. He mentioned that he was still riding in his comfort zone … what this means on a track like Lourdes is something else.
Our South African race weapon, Stefan Garlicki had some bad luck in his qualification run as he got blown off the track in the high speed section near the bottom. Unfortunately he just missed the top 80 by 2.4 seconds. We all felt sorry for him as he was on pace all weekend and he had some promising lines up his sleeves.
Joe Connell was the mighty Red Baron in his bright Jersey and he just loved the track. So it was no surprise that he was seen by most of the spectators when he pulled a relaxed 63th place in qualification. Thanks to Hugues our mechanic all our bikes were set up perfectly for race day. He is not just a mechanic, he is a genius and a personality with a positive attitude to life. He became quickly the motivator and hero of our pit.
| I felt good in the morning and ready for the race. My final run went well despite a mistake at the top, I feel really pushed by the awesome French crowd! I finish 8th, 6 sec off the podium. - Morgane Charre |
| My race run started off strong and the fact my first split was just 2.7 seconds off the winning time showed me I was in contention for my best result. After going through one of Lourdes demanding rocky sections I came out the other end with a rear flat. Gutted but still determined to get a result I carried on for over half the track with a flat and managed to get 75th, keeping me inside the top 80 ranks for the next round at Fort William. - Harry Molloy |
| The weekend went well for me. My Solid Strike was really good on the rough rocks and the long wheel base felt really comfortable on the high speed sections. I saw lot of guys were having bad crashes so I made sure to ride consistently and come away safe with a 31st in the Finals and 31st overall in points heading into Fort William which I am really looking forward to. Cheers to the awesome French fans for making so much noise! - Joe Connell |
The whole team says thank you Lourdes, you have been an awesome host for the first WC race in 2015. We also thank all our sponsors, Solid Bikes, Reverse Components, BOS Suspension, Schwalbe Tyres, Sapim Spokes, Clockwork Clothing and all our fans.
Photos:
Alex Gann.
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here are the one from the video:
www.modernride.fr/15-triad-drift-trikes#/freins-a_disque/age-adulte
I hope you enjoy it ; )