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Rider profile – Johann Potgieter – by ESP

ESP — Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:35:03 +0000

Part two of the top Western Cape downhill rider’s profiles features Johann Potgieter. We catch up with him on a small practice track at the foot of Table Mountain.

Hometown: Bellville, South Africa
Age: 25
Team: Canfield Factory (as of 2012)

Background:
During high school, Johann was introduced to the Downhill racing scene by one of his friends’ brothers and in 2003 got his first proper Downhill bike, an Xtension, which lead to him winning his first Downhill race at Magic Forest in 2004. After finishing school the next year, Johann worked at his local bikeshop where he got his first sponsorship in the form of a Kona, kick starting a very successful racing career.

Racing career:
Backtracking to 2004, Johann went overseas to take part in the World Champs and learned a thing or two about how the real Downhill racing world works. Several years of racing in the local DH series passed when Mongoose stepped onto the scene in 2010, providing a two year sponsorship and in 2011 Johann made his first real impact overseas. He took a win in an Austrian and German cup, and got a 5th and 3rd in two European cup races. It was during this time that the Canfield Brothers team took note of him (and Stefan Garlicki) and offered them a spot on the team for 2012.

From here:
This year Johann will be riding for the Canfield Brothers Factory team, taking part in the World Cup races as well as the European cup races.

“I would like to thank Redbull, Von Zipper and Mongoose for their support. Without you it would not have been possible”.

URBAN ASSAULT results

Francois — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 17:32:32 +0000

The fairest of Capes played host to the Urban Assault at Signal hill on 22 & 23 October, an annual highlight on the western Cape cycling calendar. With the recent growth within DH MTB it is good to see even more variety in races thanks to specialized events like this that bring DH racing to the people…

The usual names you find on the results sheets at western Cape DH races were at the race as well as a few new ones, but the number one position belonged to none other that multiple SA champ and home town favorite Johann Potgieter. With the event format of a combined time of two runs to count for the win and innovative extras like the Redbull speedtrap, consistency would prove to be a winning recipe. Nowhere is this tactic more evident than in Pottie’s race stats: fifth fastest time through the speed trap but still victorious overall.

The overall results are as follows:

Pos No. Cat Name Time 1 Time 2 Runs Total Time

1 31 EM Johann Potgieter 03:00.98 02:58.86 2 05:59.84

2 62 EM Stefan Garlicki 03:07.68 03:05.89 2 06:13.57

3 58 EM Dane Olsen 03:14.86 03:08.89 2 06:23.75

4 48 JM Adi van der Merwe 03:12.95 03:16.20 2 06:29.15

5 47 EM Mark Hopkins 03:16.64 03:14.96 2 06:31.60

6 32 EM Jaco Veldsman 03:21.86 03:12.05 2 06:33.91

7 19 EM Devon Katzen 03:18.46 03:15.74 2 06:34.20

8 61 JM Luke le Roux 03:27.98 03:22.20 2 06:50.18

9 15 EM Luke Davis 03:25.80 03:29.30 2 06:55.10

10 67 HT Ian Whittaker 03:29.45 03:27.96 2 06:57.41

11 16 EM James Kennedy 03:33.68 03:29.14 2 07:02.82

12 1 FS Chris Mariarty 03:29.16 03:33.70 2 07:02.86

13 11 FS Alex Scheuer 03:34.37 03:28.49 2 07:02.86

14 20 FS Andrew Little 03:22.18 03:41.05 2 07:03.23

15 28 FS J-P Human 03:31.96 03:34.45 2 07:06.41

16 45 FS Henlu Starke 03:40.58 03:27.57 2 07:08.15

17 57 EM Devin Chadbourn 03:37.30 03:32.54 2 07:09.84

18 9 EW Rika Olivier 03:38.45 03:33.86 2 07:12.31

19 12 FS Luke Bollman 03:40.80 03:35.40 2 07:16.20

20 17 JM Sebatian Barret 03:41.10 03:38.20 2 07:19.30

21 27 FS Duane Bosch 03:39.92 03:41.71 2 07:21.63

22 53 FS Pieter Henning 03:34.26 03:47.89 2 07:22.15

23 2 FS Gareth Rodney 03:43.30 03:40.37 2 07:23.67

24 38 HT Gustav Brandt 03:46.26 03:39.51 2 07:25.77

25 3 FS Jacques Prins 03:48.27 03:38.07 2 07:26.34

26 30 FS Maya Matthews 03:47.37 03:39.85 2 07:27.22

27 44 FS Stephen Merry 03:50.86 03:40.86 2 07:31.72

28 39 HT Liam Murcott 03:48.86 03:43.01 2 07:31.87

29 4 FS Sebastian Petersen 03:47.77 03:44.16 2 07:31.93

30 10 FS Shaun Havenga 03:37.01 03:56.77 2 07:33.78

31 34 FS Christo van Eeden 03:52.86 03:42.63 2 07:35.49

32 23 FS Marius de Wit 03:52.09 03:45.48 2 07:37.57

33 72 EW Gina Nixon 03:52.45 03:46.96 2 07:39.41

34 25 FS Qunut Hilberg 03:45.01 03:55.46 2 07:40.47

35 21 JM Scott Gray 03:35.18 04:14.80 2 07:49.98

36 60 JM Peter West 03:58.96 03:57.16 2 07:56.12

37 22 FS Byron Kramer 03:43.37 04:13.90 2 07:57.27

38 55 FS Mark Meyer 04:07.24 03:50.57 2 07:57.81

39 18 EM Jasper Barret 04:03.36 04:01.14 2 08:04.50

40 13 HT Haegyn Roux 04:09.48 03:58.36 2 08:07.84

41 69 FS Julian Morbidelli 04:11.86 04:05.36 2 08:17.22

42 59 FS Martin le Roux 04:12.11 04:06.08 2 08:18.19

43 52 FS Abraham le Roux 04:06.20 04:16.55 2 08:22.75

44 29 FS Myles Mayhew 04:16.75 04:09.64 2 08:26.39

45 33 EM Thomas Gilfoy 04:21.26 04:22.37 2 08:43.63

46 74 FS Matt Muir 04:39.93 04:28.80 2 09:08.73

47 36 FS Paul Morris 05:49.86 03:29.95 2 09:19.81

48 14 HT Glenn Willemse 04:07.05 05:28.01 2 09:35.06

49 64 HT Marco de Nobrega 06:23.86 03:37.68 2 10:01.54

50 26 FS Mukhtar Ahamed 05:24.39 05:53.80 2 11:18.19

51 63 HT Percy Munisi 06:08.75 05:42.23 2 11:50.98

52 8 JM Roman Kumpers 03:24.40 11:45.05 2 15:09.45

53 7 JM Dylan Godfrey 03:41.40 11:59.68 2 15:41.08

54 6 JM Theo Erlangsen 03:19.57 13:13.45 2 16:33.02

55 5 J M Daniel Saunders 03:18.76 13:46.05 2 17:04.81

56 24 FS Martin Lompa 03:54.68 14:00.95 2 17:55.63

57 54 FS Henk Brand D:N.F 03:37.27 1 03:37.27

58 43 EM Robert Starke 03:47.66 D:N.S 1 03:47.66

59 51 JM Neil Walker 04:09.54 D:N.S 1 04:09.54

URBAN ASSAULT – SIGNAL HILL 2011 – REDBULL SPEEDTRAP

Rank Number Name Surname Run 1 Run 2

1 62 Stefan Garlicki 58 62.5

2 47 Mark Hopkins 58 61.4

3 48 Adi Vd merwe 58 61.4

4 15 Luke Davis 57.6 60

5 31 Johann Potgieter 59.8 59.8

6 1 Chris Mariarty 54.7 58.8

7 8 Roman Kumpers 52.4 57.8

8 19 Devon Katzen 55.5 57.8

9 30 Maya Matthews 49.7 57.5

10 5 Daniel Saunders 54.7 57.1

11 6 Theo Erlangsen 54.7 57.1

12 58 Dane Olsen 55 57.1

13 10 Shaun Havenga 49.8 56.7

14 28 Jp Human 54.7 56.7

15 61 Luke Le Roux 53.5 56.7

16 67 Ian Whittaker 55.3 55.9

17 32 Jaco Veldsman 53.4 55.7

18 7 Dylan Godfrey 51.8 54

19 2 Gareth Rodney 54.8 53.8

20 20 Andrew Little 55.2 53.8

21 57 Devin Chadbourn 52.4 53.7

22 64 Marco De Nobrega 51.1 53

23 45 Henlu Starke 50 52.9

24 22 Byron Kramer 49.1 52.9

25 24 Martin Lompa 45.5 52.3

26 11 Alex Scheuer 49.5 52

27 12 Luke Bollman 49.5 52

28 25 Qunut Hilberg 52.9 52

29 21 Scot Gray 53.5 52

30 14 Glenn Willemse 45.8 51.5

31 9 Rika Olivier 49.8 51.2

32 36 Paul Morris 50.5 51.1

33 17 Sebastian Barret 46.2 50.7

34 38 Gustav Brandt 50 50.7

35 39 Liam Murcott 46.7 50.7

36 27 Duanne Bosch 51.7 50.2

37 44 Stephen Merry 50.8 50.2

38 23 Marius De Wit 45.1 50

39 54 Henk Brand 13.4 50

40 53 Pieter Henning 49.7 49.8

41 3 Jacques Prins 51.2 49.5

42 4 Sebastian Petersen 51.2 49.5

43 72 Gina Nixon 46.8 49

44 34 Christo Van Eeden 44.6 48.7

45 69 Julian Morbidelli 45.9 48.1

46 18 Jasper Barret 45.5 48

47 33 Thomas Gilfoy 48.6 47.7

48 55 Mark Meyer 45.6 47.2

49 71 Darryn Stowe 47.3 46.9

50 13 Haegyn Roux 40.2 46

51 59 Martin Le Roux 50.2 44.3

52 29 Myles Mayhew 46 44.1

53 52 Abraham Le Roux 37.7 39.7

54 74 Matt Muir 34.8 35

55 26 Mukhtar Ahmed 33.5 29.8

56 63 Percy Munisi 28.7 28.1

59 51 Neil Walker 47.1

60 43 Robert Starke 56.6

61 60 Peter West 47.1 N/A

Thanks to Eric Palmer Photography for the pictures of the event.

FRANCE /BELGIUM TRAIL TRIP by SKABANGA!

Francois — Wed, 19 Oct 2011 12:09:15 +0000

FRANCE /BELGIUM TRAIL TRIP from SKABANGA! on Vimeo.

Mongoose Western Cape DH#3 results & race report – by Eric Palmer

Francois — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 21:34:40 +0000

Off early to Contermanskloof to shoot the last of the provincial series. Robert Starke & his crew have been very busy making a new track full of jumps & loose corners. A very different feel there after the rain & a new track made it feel like a completely different place…

It’s been a while since I’ve shot any DH & took a few min to get back into it. The track being more in the air than most left me struggling to find little tech spots on the ground, but the rock garden before the finish caught my eye on the way up. I made my way a little more than halfway up to a ski jump/road gap style drop with a view.

I made my way down to a few dusty switchbacks for the start of the runs. It was super loose & dusty with guys sliding everywhere & a few tyres got claimed as usual. I moved down a few meters to another ski jump drop for the faster guys & then it was time to make the move down to the rock garden for the 2nd run.

While I was setting up at the last spot I saw a warning sign for the XC guys that made me chuckle a bit & had to get a shot of it & then straight to action again! There were lots of close calles with Duran blowing a pedal hard at the bottom of the rock garden, Luke Davis tested his recovery skills after putting his front wheel solidly behind a rock on the way down & Jaco with a sneaky line avoiding the worst of the rocks & Pottie just flying through smiling into 1st place.

The overall results are as follows:

1 EM Johann Potgieter 01.53.67

2 EM Stefan Garlicki 01.54.21

3 EM Luke Davis 01.59.61

4 EM Dane Olsen 01.59.78

5 EM Duran Van Eeden 02.01.27

6 EM Adriaan Smit 02.03.02

7 EM Robert Starke 02.03.40

8 SV Mark Hopkins 02.03.51

9 YM Daniel Saunders 02.04.18

10 JM Adi Van Der Merwe 02.04.48

11 YM Theo Erlangsen 02.05.51

12 SV Thomas Rood 02.07.07

13 SV Jaco Veldsman 02.09.18

14 EM Chris Nixon 02.10.35

15 EM Devon Katzen 02.10.74

16 EM Daniel Walsh 02.11.98

17 JM Adrian Schwellnus 02.12.90

18 JM Nico Kellerman 02.12.98

19 FM Wilbur Van Blommestein 02.15.02

20 EM Tyrone Van Rooyen 02.16.01

21 YM Kyle Fletcher 02.19.11

22 VM Vince Muir 02.20.48

23 EW Rika Olivier 02.22.71

24 FM Joshua Steinberg 02.25.39

25 SV Andrew Little 02.25.67

26 VM Craig Mc Cosh 02.25.90

27 FM Henlu Starke 02.26.68

28 EM Richard Argent 02.27.17

29 FM Gareth Rodney 02.27.59

30 YM Dylan Godfrey 02.27.89

31 FM Hanco Binneman 02.28.50

32 FM Nick Gates 02.29.67

33 FM Chris Mariarty 02.30.11

34 FM Devin Chadbourn 02.31.64

35 SV Shaun Havenga 02.33.67

36 JM Angus Thompson 02.36.08

37 SV Bennet Nel 02.36.99

38 YM Peter West 02.39.17

39 JM Luke Bollman 02.39.98

40 JB Sebastian Petersen 02.40.40

41 FM Byron Cramer 02.48.38

42 EW Gina Nixon 02.49.77

43 VM Christo Van Eeden 02.50.10

44 SB Francois Du Toit 02.52.17

45 JB Jacques Prins 02.53.30

46 SB Jasper Barrett 03.05.27

47 SB Matt Muir 03.37.77

48 HT Glenn Willemse 03.39.80

49 YM Luke Leroux 08.35.67

URBAN ASSAULT is on the 22nd & 23rd October from Signal Hill down into Bo Kaap. See you there for another weekend of downhill!

Big thanks to Eric Palmer for the great pics and event report.

Mongoose GAS DH provincial Championships

Francois — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 04:08:10 +0000

Western Cape Mongoose DH series #4

Francois — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 06:51:31 +0000

The 2011 Mongoose DH provincial series is officially drawing to close with the fourth and last leg of the Western Cape series taking place on 1 & 2 October at the “Revised” Contermanskloof DH track just outside Durbanville.

Mongoose GAS Gauteng provincial DH champs results

Francois — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 07:51:20 +0000

The 2011 Gauteng DH season has finally come to a close this past weekend at our newest and most fun track, track 139 in Waterkloof in Pretoria. Minimal rocks, maximum airtime and hair raising bails abound, the weekend was thoroughly enjoyed by everyone…

The latest addition to the Gauteng track line up was built by the riders for the riders and a big thank you has to go out Christo and JP du Plessis and Dirk Van Schalkwyk who birthed this brainchild. A smooth, flowy track with man made rock gardens and jumps galore was the perfect setting to end of what is normally a very rocky Gauteng series with riders reaching blistering speeds and frightening heights over the 15m table top gap jump. It was a welcome sight to see some of the old school DH crew make a return to the sport after months of absence, as well as a few first timers to DH.

With the regular one run champs format we’ve been using the last four years it promised to be an interesting race as the balance between speed and caution would be key in ensuring a winning time. Despite the smooth and almost ‘rockless’ conditions on the track there were a couple of biffs and mechanical issues that was testament that the faster you go the harder you fall and the overall response was pretty much that you can’t get enough of this new gem of a track.

The overall results were as follows:

Gian Pierre Orselli EM 1:45,0
Alex Bramley EM 1:45,5
David Hogan EM 1:46,6
Ryan Frerichs EM 1:49,4
Chris Pearton SP 1:50,3
JP du Plessis YM 1:50,4
Ian Duxbury EM 1:51,8
Marnus Swanepoel EM 1:53,3
Jan Joubert SP 1:54,4
Patrick Alexander SP 1:54,6
Anthony Brookes EM 1:54,7 (hardtail)
Luke Evans YM 1:59,7
Shaun O’Flynn SV 2:02,2
Kruger Breedt SP 2:03,2
Mark Miller SP 2:05,9
Andries Van Wyk EM 2:06,2
Marco Pritchard SP 2:06,4
Dallen Nel SP 2:15,6
Dustin Rudman EM 2:17,1
Tynan Usswald YM 2:30,3
Neil Evans SV 2:31,5
Dibden Hamish SP 2:33,5
Francois Swanepoel SV 2:48,7
Gernot Hanke SP 3:11,8

A very very big thank you to Neil Cocker from Mongoose who made the entire 2011 Gauteng series possible and a big thank you to the paramedics, GAS committee for ensuring the event runs smoothly and a especially to the riders and the fans who make the sport the success that it is. There will be a few more fun/social rides throughout the year and the next big race will be the Malelane Toyota DH challenge on the weekend of 30 October 2011. More details will follow on nsrmtb as soon as the details become available.

Gauteng DH Provincial Championships

Francois — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 21:23:40 +0000

The last race in the 2011 Mongoose GAS Gauteng DH Provincial series will be held on the newest, fastest and smoothest track in the province. The provincial champs is a one day one run wins all event that will crown one riders as ultimate provincial champion…

The track pretty much runs parallel with the N1 north highway heading towards Menlyn shopping center and is visible from the highway. Access is via the 139 Garsfontein off-ramp on the N1 with the primary congregation point in Fuchsia road, Waterkloof heights and the shuttle drop-off point being in Bauhimia road, Waterkloof heights and the finish at Dely road.

Riders who wish to practice the course on Saturday will have to arrange their own shuttles as the event is a one day only event with medics and shuttles available on Sunday 14 August only.

Practice will start at 09:00 on Sunday until 14:00 with race runs at 15:00.

All riders are welcome as the track is not very technically demanding and can easily be done on a hardtail bike. Entry fee is R100 for GAS and non GAS members with and additional R35 day license fee for non GAS members.

Open the link below for the map from Garsfontein Drive to the middle section of the track.

http://maps.google.co.za/maps?saddr=Garsfontein+Rd&daddr=Fuchsia+Street,+Pretoria,+Gauteng&hl=en&ll=-25.792588,28.263273&spn=0.019629,0.042272&sll=-25.793052,28.264689&sspn=0.019629,0.042272&geocode=FfiNdv4dSFyvAQ%3BFYdQdv4d-DqvASlBUTZ80WCVHjGMtccAIFk71w&mra=ls&z=15

SA National Dh #4 Results

Francois — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 20:41:39 +0000

The fourth and final round of the South African National downhill cup series have come and gone this past weekend at Stonehouse Mountainlodge in Hartebeespoort with loads of giveaways and prizes galore…

In a field that was pretty evenly matched as far as Gauteng and KZN riders go it was once again the guys from the Zulu province who showed their prowess with Hayden Brown taking the number one position on raceday. In Gauteng’s defense it has to be said that our local riders have significantly increased our tally of national podiums. If it wasn’t for an unfortunate crash during Matt Smith’s practice runs on Friday we would surely have seen him on the SubVets top step. But well done to Shaun O’Flynn Madden for continuing to carry the torch and insuring a Gauteng number 1 podium. The feedback from fans and spectators was and all round thumbs up as the event ran smoothly and a good time was had by all who made the trek out to the event.

Overall Top 5

Sports Class (Leo Daffue not present)

Sub Junior Boys

Youth Men

Junior Men

Veteran Men

Elite Men

The overall results were as follows:

POS CAT Name Best Run1 Run2

1	EM	Hayden Brown	1:43.210	1:43.210	1:44.000
2	EM	Kelvin Purchase	1:44.170	1:46.260	1:44.170
3	JM	Tiaan Odendaal	1:44.550	1:50.670	1:44.550
4	EM	Ryan Frerichs	1:46.359	1:46.359	1:47.250
5	YM	Alan Hatherly	1:46.580	1:49.188	1:46.580
6	YM	Jean-Pierre du Plessis	1:48.172	1:48.172	1:52.000
7	JM	Alasdair Fey	1:48.760	2:09.922	1:48.760
8	JB	Jonathan Philogene	1:48.960	1:52.000	1:48.960
9	JM	Samuel Bull Alastair	1:50.047	1:50.047	1:51.360
10	JM	Kyle Davids	1:50.090	1:52.875	1:50.090
11	EM	Simon Dinkelman	1:51.922	1:51.922	2:09.060
12	EM	Alexander Bramley	1:52.547	1:52.547	1:53.365
13	EM	Gian-Pierro Orselli	1:52.938	1:52.938	1:54.260
14	EM	DUSTIN TROY RUDMAN	1:53.520	1:53.520	2:34.000
15	EM	David Hogan	1:54.240	1:55.750	1:54.240
16	EM	Ian Duxbury	1:56.875	1:59.422	1:56.875
17	SP	Everd Vermeulen	1:57.000	1:57.609	1:57.000
18	YM	Kyle Fletcher	1:57.297	1:57.297	2:19.375
19	JM	Sven Pottow	1:57.547	1:57.547	2:01.250
20	EM	Marnus Swanepoel	1:57.590	DNF	1:57.590
21	EM	Joshua Liebenberg	1:57.922	1:57.922	2:39.063
22	EM	Andre Pretorius	1:59.250	1:59.740	1:59.250
23	VM	James Morland	2:00.560	2:00.560	DNF
24	YM	Luke Evans	2:01.260	2:02.480	2:01.260
25	SV	Sean O’flynn-madden	2:03.620	2:05.550	2:03.620
26	SV	Mark Sydney	2:03.688	2:09.420	2:03.688
27	EM	Kyle du Toit	2:04.172	2:04.172	2:06.110
28	EM	Mark Malherbe	2:04.922	2:04.922	2:29.770
29	SP	Patrick Alexander	2:07.172	2:07.172	2:12.000
30	SV	Des Ellis	2:07.234	2:07.234	2:08.700
31	JB	Behan Boshoff	2:07.984	2:07.984	DNF
32	JB	Christopher Philogene	2:08.672	2:08.672	2:13.563
33	SV	HENNIE BLIGNAUT	2:12.050	2:12.050	2:15.500
34	VM	Norman Hatherly	2:17.188	2:20.960	2:17.188
35	EM	Anthony Brookes	2:19.960	2:26.170	2:19.960
36	VM	Desmond Purchase	2:22.250	2:36.359	2:22.250
37	VM	Neil Evans	2:24.922	2:24.922	2:33.688
38	SV	Conrad Davies	2:27.000	2:28.920	2:27.000
39	SP	Leo Daffue	2:27.210	2:27.859	2:27.210
40	SP	Jaco Pretorius	2:34.000	2:50.734	2:34.000
41	SV	Francois Swanepoel	2:34.875	2:43.760	2:34.875
42	SP	Dorette Crous	2:36.188	2:46.234	2:36.188
43	JB	Tynan Usswald	2:46.500	2:49.797	2:46.500
44	YM	Ryan Casey	3:09.922	3:09.922	3:26.375
45	YM	Daniel Saunders	8:04.375	DNF	8:04.375

The thank you list is a long one this time around thanks to tremendous support for the local riding community and new partners and sponsors who ensured great value all entrants:

Michael, Susan and Lucas from Stonehousemountainlodge for the venue and support before and during the event.

Rockhopper MTB Club and Central Gauteng Cycling Federation who secured the finances for the event.

Dustin Botha from Luksbrands for the awesome Skullcandy prizes.

Fritz Pienaar for the BuyCycle prizes.

Neil Cocker of Mongoose for their continued support with all of the 2011 Gauteng DH events.

All the riders who put a goon spoon to the dirt and helped to build and extend the track: Marnus, Hennie, Dustin, Everd, Anthony, James, Josh, Tynan, Christo & JP Du Plessis, Luke & Neil Evans and Gian Pierro & Roberto Orselli.

Event officials: Richard, Retief, Morne, Greville, Sharon and Christiaan.

And in the tradition of saving the best for last, A BIG THANK YOU to all the riders and spectators who attended the event, without you guys there will be no DH.

All photos courtesy of Erlo Brown Photography.

Readers Rides and rider profile – Matt Smith

Francois — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 10:58:11 +0000

The target of this month’s readers rides and rider profile focus is a Mongoose rider with a riding resume longer than the pedally section in the Maritzburg track and a capable all round bike rider who is once again in the Gauteng provincial DH cup winner and is set to take the national cup as well…

A super sleek Mongoose BootR with an inverted MotoX inspired Manitou Dorado seems to be the perfect setup for Matt who is known to hammer the cranks and make full use of the BootR ’s propedal design. Well it sure shows the performance of both bike and rider, with Matt’s power to the ground approach the bike and rider fully compliment each other and you have a winning combination. The BootR is by far the most versatile and best value for money DH bike currently in the market and the fact that you can be guaranteed there has been one on every podium throughout the last three years of which Matt has contributed a substantial amount of those podiums.

A local commentator on all things fast and all round good bike rider is what you could call Matt Smith. Matt took some time out of his busy schedule to give us some more info on the man on the machine.

The obligatory how did you get involved in DH?

Well I suppose we have to go all the way back to the beginning for that one! I first started riding Mountain bikes in the UK in about 1989/90 time. My Dad bought me a Raleigh Montage in Peppermint green for a Christmas/Birthday present and it was a size 23’ frame. I think he was basing it on road sizing and thought I would grow into it…if I was Michael Jordan it might have actually fitted me one day…haha!! That ended up being sold and replaced for a 21’…the Old Man was still airing on the side of caution.

When I showed an interest in proper riding and started to ride in places like Hamsterly Forrest and the Yorkshire Moors it became obvious that I needed a proper bike. Weardale Cycles was the establishment that provided, in my opinion, my first proper Mountain bike. It was an 18’ Off-road Sport made by the same guys that also made the proflex bikes at the time. The year was 1991 and it had suspension…a flexi stem! Oh how times have changed. Not long after that we emigrated here again and I met a guy at school called Owen Howell who knew I was into Mountain bikes and took me along to a race.

I was all Cross Country, Downhill, Dual Slalom and foot-ups in the same day back then so we were all pretty good at all things to a certain degree. My inspiration was always from MX and Mountain biking was the closest I could come to copying the speed and style of those riders like McGrath and Damon Bradshaw and the like.

I was always a very average cross country rider and would just race that to keep the sponsors happy but Downhill was where the passion was for me. Speed was what it was all about and I got a rep pretty early on as a pinner but a crasher too. I was the ‘Win it or Bin it’ guy.

I raced on the National circuit in SA from the beginning of 1993 till the end of 1994 when I moved up to Pro Elites. In my last year as a Junior I made the Springbok team and represented SA at the World Champs in Vail Colorado. I think I finished in the 70s somewhere on a hardtail with 2 inches of travel and bleeding hands from the beating I took through practise and the race. Great experience and a real eye-opener. The rest I guess is history.

You have an unmistakeably British accent, where do you hail from?

I’m from England. Was born there in 1976 and we first came to SA in ’81 when my Dad got a contract with the mines. We moved back to the UK in 86 then returned again in ’91. I left here in ’98 to race the World Cup Circuit then again in ’99 to live and work there. I got here this time five years ago in 2006. I’ve done a few laps of the world for sure and I wouldn’t change a thing. My accent is a bit crazy now from the split Nationality thing but it works for me. In some ways I think it makes me as I picked up Commentary work partly because of it.

Besides being pretty unstoppable on your DH bike the last few years, what other forms of bike riding do you take part in?

I’m very lucky in the work that I do for TV on the Motorsport side of things that I get to try out a lot of the sports that I am involved in. In the last five years I’ve done a season and a half of Super Moto racing, had several guest rides in the Kawasaki ZX-10R Masters cup, Raced a Porsche 924 in The Porsche Club Challenge, been a driver trainer on the WesBank Challenge (Greg Minnaar went on the post the fastest lap). In more recent times I’ve got more into Motor Cross and off-road racing too as well as getting better at Superbikes and track riding. It’s all amazing and I count my blessing every day believe me.

Does your Super Noto and track bike experience help with your DH performance and how?

Yes I really believe it does. The Superbikes racing gets yours eyes and reactions used to the speed that everything is happening and you use different muscles. That and the Super moto taught me to really relax on the bike and not freak out when it starts drifting around. The MX is a new deal and I started with that in this past off season. I’ve never been able to afford a bike and the time came where everything fell into place. All the Pros swear by it and I can see why. MX riding uses everything you’ve got. All muscle areas, concentration, reactions, skills, cardio. They’re all pushed to the limit. Along with my regular training programme, adding MX to it in the build up to the first races made me more aggressive in the corners and jumps and stepped me up for sure.

Your riding style is pretty much the same as Peaty’s, keeping the wheels and power to the ground. Was this a factor in choosing to ride a Mongoose (because of the pro pedal design)?

My riding and racing style has always been ‘pedally’. It comes from the old tracks we used to race being far less technical than the tracks we race on today. National tracks used to be 5-6 minutes long so fitness was a major factor and skills were almost secondary but bravery was key. I’ve developed along with how the bikes and tracks have changed and found set-ups that work well for me. For the last four seasons I’ve been on Mongoose, starting with the old ECD and moving to the Boot’R when it was launched. In the last three years I’ve also moved onto the large bike which gives me much more room to move around on the bike, the medium was a little cramped for my six foot one body.

I work a lot on my leg speed and in the past have had to rely on that to gas out of the corners but have dialled in my cornering much more due to the cross training I’ve done. The Mongoose is definitely one of, if not the best pedalling bike out there and the suspension works well on the rougher tracks too.

I appreciate the comparison to Peaty and I know what you mean about the keeping the wheels down thing. I feel in most sections I am able to keep the cranks and wheels spinning rather than airing out then I’ll do it. I do get caught out sometimes when I bottom a pedal or a cranks but they’re rare thank goodness. Stonehouse regional earlier in the year was a good example of me trying to pedal where I shouldn’t have and ate it hard there.

I don’t see myself changing wagons any time soon. Me and the Goose are tight.

You are one of very few riders who runs an invert fork, any issues with delayed response due to it not having three crowns?

In my career I have run just about every fork out there. In the last three seasons I’ve gone from Fox 40s to Rock Shox Boxxer then to the Manitou Dorado this season. I was sceptical of going back to inverted. In 1997 I ran the RST XXLs and they were like spaghetti…lots of flex but the longest travel of the time so I rode around the problems. I later went on the race my 1998 World Cup season on White Brothers UD150s which were better but still nearly ripped the bars out of my hands in the rough stuff. I have faith in technology and the development of suspension over everything else in the industry continues to impress me.

The Manitou Dorados have worked faultlessly the whole season, even when the conditions have been at their worst. I haven’t suffered anywhere near the flex I was expecting and the small bump activity has allowed me to carry much more entry speed into corners. The weight of the fork is comparable to the Rock Shox Boxxer team so they aren’t holding me back on the weight front.

No indication as to what the 2012 bikes will come with but I’m happy to ride the Manitou another season.

When was the last time someone beat you on the nationals circuit and who was it, because the last few years you seem unstoppable?

The last few seasons it’s been a close battle with myself and Mark Hopkins from Cape Town trading paint. He pushed me hard to step my game up and train hard to be in peak condition where as I used to goof a bit and rely on my skills.

James (Morland) used to give me a good run at the regionals until he moved up to Vets this season. Last years Nationals were pretty tough with Dirk Lourence and Robin Rumbelow dusting off their rides to come play. Competition was close but I had an off year with injuries and lack of form. That’s why I was so fired up for 2012. Shame there wasn’t that much competition this time around but there’s always guys moving up so I’m looking forward to the challenge of retaining my titles in 2012.

As a Sub Vet rider, do you aim to take part in the masters world cup?

I did make the team last year and was selected to go to the Masters World Champs in Brazil. The selection Committee only gave us two months notice so it wasn’t possible to attend due to short notice and funds etc.

It’s definitely on my list of things to do either next year or the year after. I’m in good shape and want to represent SA again while my form and pace are as good as they can be. I’m clicking up to the 35-40 class next season as far as that race goes and I know it’ll be good racing, I feel I have the pace and big match temperament that I can do something there and need to just work hard next year to be selected and work with my sponsors to find budget.

What are your future riding plans, DH and other wise?

Next Season is a big one for me. I’m going to be running a three rider team in a Steve Peat Syndicate style deal. There are a lot of strong riders coming up through the ranks and it’s time for me to pass on my knowledge and experience to the next generation. I promise I wont quit racing while my body is working but I am ideally placed with the relationships I’ve built through my career to guide the next stars on their journey. Team planning is still in the early stages but watch this space…. I can promise that it’ll be even more “Hollywood” than before.

What suggestions do you have for the powers that be to ensure the growth and longevity of DH in SA?

Hhmmmmmm. Now there’s a question. It’s hard to say what and where things went wrong this season but there most certainly did. CSA I feel have always viewed Downhill and Downhill riders as an annoyance and nuisance rather than a part of the whole. We are all Mountain Bikers, be it XC, DH, 4 Cross, Trails, whatever and we all deserve support and recognition in equal measure. What I can observe has happened over the ten years or so is a steady fade across to favour XC and endurance racing. This is obvious when you see where the support and sponsorship lies. You only have to look at Super Cycling on MNET to outline this fact. For goodness sake BMX gets more press than Downhill and you can’t move for inserts on long boring endurance races. I’m not knocking these races but why do we have to see so much of it and why couldn’t some of that budget have been used to cover a regional DH of a few more than 5 minutes coverage of NATIONAL DH. Let’s remind ourselves that we have truly World Class riders attending these events.

I recently had a meeting with a potential sponsor and was embarrassed when they asked how they would get exposure if they get involved. How do we as sponsored or potentially sponsored athletes answer that? We can’t. Maybe a little bit of Magazine print if we’re lucky, a 1 second shot on Super Cycling maybe, definitely NSRMTB on the web…but where else?

It’s a huge problem. Outside partners need to be found to drive the movement forward with money and to put pressure on the powers.

In the UK, USA and Europe the Cross Country and Downhill Series are run as completely separate entities and I feel this is the only real answer. For too long has it been the case that XC and DH each had to suffer the others payload at a venue that suites one but not the other and we are told that this is how it must be. This is not how it must be. Downhill MUST run a separate entity, reporting too and taking guidance from CSA but essentially running its own show. In that way it will be free to seek out fitting partnerships and drive Downhill forward as a potential stepping stone to being a pro. I’ve seen so many talents fall by the wayside through the years through lack of support when their XC counterpart has gone on to make a good livin gout of being a pro athlete.

I think I’ll end on a positive note. We will once again host the opening round of the UCI World Cup next season which is an amazing achievement for all involved. The spotlight will be on us and hopefully DH will start becoming more recognised and benefit from the leverage that a big International Event can encourage. Then in 2013 we get the big show and host the World Champs. The time for Change is now.

I’d like to take this opportunity to thanks all my sponsors and partnerships that have helped my achieve my goals:

Mongoose Bicycles

Omnico

Thor MX

Von Zipper

Liqui Moly

Match Insurance

DC Shoes

KTM Motorbikes

Leatt

Frerichs Customs

Cycles Africa

Mikes Bikes Greenside

Special Thanks to François, NSRMTB and the GAS crew for making the events and exposure happen.

A lover of all things fast, Downhill champion and a modest man who knows what he’s talking about, thanks for your time Matt, we look forward to seeing on the podium for many more years to come.