Norco Factory Racing - Leogang DH World Cup 2017

Leogang, home to round 3 of the UCI DH world cup series. A Marmite track, you either love it or hate it, either way it always makes for good, close racing. With a few subtle tape changes since 2016, smoothing out rock gardens and adding a bit more fresh soil, hopefully this was enough to keep the riders entertained. There was no margin for error as the track was so fast, the slightest mistake could either drop you far back in the field or land you in hospital.

Sam was having a real fun time, hitting out laps after lap and looking real strong. The root section had most riders confused and with damp spells overnight conditions in this section kept changing. Finishing strong in qualification Sam was eager to put down a good run, where we saw old Sam form, pedalling in the air and fast, loose riding. When it came down to finals he just felt he could not push that extra bit and with times being so tight he finished out 44th.

Joe, still recovering from his shoulder injury claimed the track was tame, but seemed to be taking out quite a few other riders. With the bike set up for a more smooth, fast track than the prior two rounds, he was looking good, styling through the motorway all practise. In the woods he was getting lines dialled and in the finals was less than 0.6 seconds off Sam, just scraping inside the top 50.

Henry is learning, with no crashes this weekend we were glad to see him on his feet and smiling. The Canadians unique style over the jumps made for good watching and he wasn't hanging around in the woods either. Like many though, he struggled to hack the pace on such a flat out, tight for time track, missing the final show.Check out Blenki's Prototype Norco DH Bike