First up is our sales rep and a great street/park rider - Piotr Jurczak ripping the streets of Gdansk on his NS Capital in sweet lemon and lime finish.

Your first year travelling the full world cup serie is always a special year. This year Tim Bentley, member of the Morewood United-Ride team, did it. Here is an interview of him shot in Tignes, this video summarizes our season through the eyes of our rooky:

Tim Bentley's words:

My first season as a world cup downhill rider has to be one of the best years of my life and an experience like no other. Since I was a little kid I've always dreamed of riding the WC circuit with riders such as Steve peat, Greg Minaar and Sam hill, and this year, this dream came true. I thought this would never have happened.

Through out the season I gained a lot of experience and learned a lot of new things, I saw so many new places and met so many cool people. I rode at places that I always dreamed of riding such as Whistler and the Alps.

The travelling throughout the season was crazy, I went to over 10 countries in one year spending days in the car or on an airplane. But in the end the time spent travelling was worth the destination. I dont think I want to see an airport for a while now.

In terms of the racing it went well, maybe not as well as I wanted it to go. I had some good races and a few where I had no luck at all, but from each race I gained more experience and learned from my mistakes. It definitely gives me more motivation for the next season and to up my riding and results.

I just want to thank all the people who supported me for this year, all my sponsors, Fabien my manager, my parents, my girlfriend and all my friends who believed in me. I couldn't have done it without them. I'm definitely excited more than ever for next season to see what happens and how I can improve my riding.

It has been an amazing season on so many points, so far the best season for the team. Results from Mick Pascal, Fabien Cousinié and Tim Bentley include, 5th at World Champs, French champion, winner of the avalanche cup of Lyon, winner of Crankworx Colorado DH, 1st, 3rd and 4th at the national French series overall, podium at the DH of Paris Montmartre…

We also spent some amazing time off the tracks and also doing some video shooting. Here is a selection of pictures taken along the road and along the tracks this season.

In the Episode they capture our CNC finesse and rare automation. We intentionally showcase how we make the AMP pedals robotically and we design a new Gyro System that actually works flawlessly!

Coming this fall, two worlds collide in the never ending search for new innovation... We joined, Mike Montgomery & Casey Groves at Straitline Components, the Jump Ship in Victoria and the mind-numbing forests of BC, Canada. - To trace the development, machining and first competition test of a new design that could change the game for slopestyle riders forever...

Voici un petit vidéo d'un de nos fier supporter, Cri-Cri aka La Peule, sur sont Morewood Makulu.

/DREAM/ In this part we present our sponsors in an original way because without them our dream wouldn't be possible. /RIDE/ follow the team in DH/FR training /SHARE/ we built a bike, we brought goods and we gave it to less fortunate kids who live near an amazing bike park in South Africa.

The Lama Cycles team would like to congratulate Yann Gauvin for his performance at round four of the World Cup circuit held in  MSA, Qc  this past weekend.

Photos credits goes to Colin Meagher.

Yann qualified 41st on Friday, ranking him second fastest Canadian. For the finals, the racers were lucky as the rain took a break for a couple of hours.  Unfortunately, Yann caught a cold during Saturday's practice and was not feeling at his best for the race, but still manage to finish 56th . Which is his best result on the world cup circuit so far!

Also, we would like to send a shout out to our Tech, JP Simard, who worked hard to keep Yann's bike clean and working flawlessly throughout the muddy race weekend.

Lama cycles' next stop is in Windham, USA, for WC #5. This will be quickly followed by a 2 week trip to whistler to represent during Crankworks.

See you there!

In addition to Lama Cycles distribution co. and Morewood Bikes, the Lama Cycles team is sponsored by Industry Nine, Kali Protectives, Straitline Components, Formula Brakes, Nema International, Maxxis Tires, Five Ten, ODI, SDG, Manitou, Spy Optic, SkiBromont.com, Finish Line, Sport Beans, OGIO, THULE, Camp of Champion and NSK.

The weather played an important part in the weekend's activities. Rain rarely makes for happy racers. All the rain helped clean the rocks but kept the rest nice and slippery! Actually the rain was on and off all weekend long which made tire choice complicated for racers (wetscream or no wet scream, that was the question). On top of the rain, the mixed (rocky/muddy/hard packed) terrain complicated the tire choice even more. The top of the track was full of rocks and mud but the bottom half section was filled with hard pack berms. Throughout the two days of racing, the track got pretty beat up and filled with massive holes that added up to the level of difficulty. As you probably know, the Bromont track is always a fun track to ride and to watch people ride. The technical section will make you doubt your courage and skills but once you man up and plow through it a couple of times your brain gets used to the speed/danger/risk ratio and all is good. It's a much shorter track than last weekend's 5 minutes 35 km/h long haul but poses its own challenges. On the bright side, it is easy accessible by a direct chairlift that runs over parts of the track, making for plenty of runs in a short period of time.

This year they spiced it up a little. The weekend was shorter but jam packed with new races. The Canada cup DH kinda got the short end of the stick with Friday being the only practice day and Saturday being the race day. I'm not sure a track with that level of difficulty should see its practice time reduced but the goal was to offer 2 extra races in the same 3 days period, which was really nice… The super D race was a blast! It was the first time this kind of race was organized in Bromont and hopefully not the last time. The third event of the weekend was a giant slalom which took place on Sunday as well..

242 riders signed up for the race, 204 made it to the finals, 38 DNS or DNF due to injury or mechanical failure/flats. That's a lot of racers that didn't cross the finish line!

Quite a few racers showed up for the Canada cup, several representing the west coast. Team BC where there and professional, as always. There was a total of 105 elite and junior men. Among those Elite Men several World cup riders and high national calibre riders showed up since it was only a slight detour just one week away to the WC in Mont Sainte Anne. A lot went down and many spills and thrills are to be told, but at the end of the weekend it's all about results…and here they are:

In addition to Lama Cycles distribution co. and Morewood Bikes, the Lama Cycles team is sponsored by Industry Nine, Kali Protectives, Straitline Components, Formula Brakes, Nema International, Maxxis Tires, Five Ten, ODI, SDG, Manitou, Spy Optic, SkiBromont.com, Finish Line, Sport Beans, OGIO, THULE, Camp of Champion and NSK.

Since establishing Morewood Engineering in 2002, partners Patrick Morewood and Richard Carter have developed one of the most respected mountain bike brands in existence today. So it is with sadness that we officially announce Patrick's departure from the company. Feeling the need for a change, he has gone on to pursue new challenges. “It has been an honour to work with Patrick through the years,” says Richard. “He has played an invaluable role in the business and the development of product. We have experienced a lot together on our journey and I wish him the very best for the future.”

Speaking of the future, Richard is clear about the direction in which he intends to lead the business: “The values and principles that have always defined the Morewood brand, have not changed. One particular aspect of this is the South African production of flagship models, which we look to continue and potentially increase. I'm excited about our future. We have a great team of skilled and passionate minds who have grown with the brand through the years, and we are as motivated as ever. We realise that a large part of any company's success is its ability to support its clients and back up its products, and we look to improve on these key aspects as we grow the Morewood footprint internationally.”

Despite Patrick's pivotal role in designing Morewood bikes thus far, we are clear about the capability of the team that has supported him. “We have been extremely fortunate to work with some of the best minds in the industry,” says Richard. “Fabien Lemasson, who has been with the company since 2007, has played an integral role in designing and developing the Zula, Kwela, Makulu and Kalula models. Consulting with Dave Weagle recently on the roll-out of the Sukuma frame, which features his patented Split Pivot suspension system, has also been extremely exciting for all of us at Morewood.”

Moving forward, we will continue to design and produce frames which do the brand justice. Look out for our new Trail, Enduro and XC models due for release in late 2011, as well as the Kwela 29er: available now.

The second round of the Quebec Cup was held in legendary Mont Saint Anne. Despite it being a provincial race, it felt like a national round with the presence of a few BC and USA riders. Rainy weather welcomed the riders to the unforgiving race course that MSA is.

They changed the track! Instead of starting mid-way down the mountain, the start was at the top and the course was practically the same as the World champs track from last year. So needless to say it was a very long and physical track, averaging around 5 minutes of very fast (average 35km/h) the whole way down, reaching speeds of over 55 km/h under the gondolas. That section in particular, under the gondolas, claimed most of the crashes of the weekend. A few spectacular ones resulted in broken collar bones, broken fingers, broken hands and unfortunately one rider ended up with a broken pelvis during his race run.

225 riders signed up for the race, 194 made it to the finals, 30 DNS or DNF due to injury or mechanical failure/flats. That's a lot of racers that didn't cross the finish line!

“This course is very different from what we are used to on the Quebec and Canada Cup circuits. Usually, in the eastern part of Canada, tracks are rocky, technical and tight therefore slower in speed.” Benoit Labelle, Lama Cycles Team manager

The misty weather on Saturday made practicing and scoping out lines a little harder than usual but we didn't get rained on so that kept us happy! The “new section”, which is just a detour in order to avoid a technical section, got us muddy and loose. Tracking new soil in wet conditions usually yields muddy results.

All in all it was a fun weekend that challenged our winter training. Race times were averaging 5 minutes and the winning time was 4:34 by Chris Delbosco (congrats). The Lama Cycles Team had a load of fun in the pits, on the track and in the team condo. With one man short  for the weekend due to bike theft (Franck) we still made our way into the top 10 with a seventh place by Yann Gauvin.

PRO MEN:

This success is only possible with the best products, riders and support out there. We would like to welcome our new sponsors to the Lama Cycles team for 2011 and thank the continuing ones for their commitment to the program.

In addition to Lama Cycles distribution co. and Morewood Bikes, the Lama Cycles team is sponsored by Industry Nine, Kali Protectives, Straitline Components, Formula Brakes, Nema International, Maxxis Tires, Five Ten, ODI, SDG, Manitou, Spy Optic, SkiBromont.com, Finish Line, Sport Beans, OGIO, THULE, Camp of Champion and NSK.