"Start writing a blog" they said, "it'll draw more people to your website"
Apparently, this is a thing but as I thought, it's now another job that needs doing and I have been just too busy to do one for a while.
So, here's a quick one and the theme at the moment seems to be that Trek Sessions are quite the weapon!
Trek Session's killing it!!
Still relatively low profile, Stacey is without a doubt, a talent. She spent a year as National Champion and spends this year as reigning National Series Champion - not bad for a girl with just two years of downhill racing under her belt!
Last season she had a frustrating injury but hopefully, an operation offseason has sorted that and she's ready to do battle again. It certainly looks that way!
A bike deal has been up in the air most of the off season, leaving her without a DH bike for most of the winter. In fact I met her at Revs one day and she was in training on a short travel e-bike! Finally she got a Trek Session sorted and wow was it last minute. We met the week before the first Gravity Events race and had a nightmare! She hated the bike, hated the set-up, the tech let us down etc. So, off she went to the Gravity event in Rheola with a less than perfect set-up. She still won by a clear 13 seconds!
So, we went back to the drawing board in Llangollen and found a much better compromise. She went down for the first National series and took her second win of the season already by a similar margin. This is awesome but we know there will be stiffer competition in Fort William. I for one am really excited to see how she goes against the best at a UK National.
Meanwhile, brand ambassador and up and coming junior Brand Turner had crept his way up the UK overall ranking to the top spot with a string of good mini DH results over the winter. A relatively disappointing result in Rheola will see that fall, but, Brad is relishing the prospect of taking on the Fort Bill world cup track.
Finally, and sadly probably for the last time, Mikayla Parton raced the opening round of the World Cup in Lourdes on her 'Dialled' set-up. I'm always stoked to see Mikayla go well and a 10th in quali followed by 11th in the race is amazing! She's defo going to carry confidence into a home race in Fort William and she's sure to go well. The door will always be open and I certainly wish her all the best.
Trail Rippers (Nathan De Vaux)
I guess this could fit in the above with Nathan riding a 2018 Trek Session. Nathan is without a doubt a talent and we've been trying to offer some assistance through the last season. This season we have sponsored his entry to the first round of the National Series and got his bike all set up ready for Fort William with a testing day in Antur Stiniong. Keep an eye on this one, he's got two second places under his belt already and he's hungry to improve. A very exciting new bike coming later in the season too but that's shhhhh.
Others
It's still very early days in terms of data acquisition on bikes being an industry so we're learning about the patterns through the year. What learned this year is that pre-season is hectic. So I'd just like to wish all the best to all of those that I've met over the last few months. Thank you.
Dialled Telemetry Midlands
Last summer Elliot Downes bought in as a franchise. Elliot is a Graduate motorsports engineer with a passion for bikes. YOu'll see him at the races representing the Royal Engineers team and he's quick!
Elliot has been shadowing me on the job and practising with friends. Then he's started taking jobs on with me supporting remotely. He is now operating almost totally independently but running the data by me at the end of the day. He is doing a great job and having returning customers is the best sign of a job well done.
Having Elliot on board opens up lots of possibilities. First of all range. We can now offer the service in the Forest of Dean, Bike Park Wales and the Pearce cycle venues of the Midlands. We can also work in a current location like Revolution Bike Park with two technicians present, you can bring a mate and both get full individual attention. In fact, you will be able to catch us both at the Llangollen round of the National series.
in the Dialled spirit of giving back to the sport Elliot kindly donated a set-up day as a prize at the first round of the Pearce Cycles DH series.
Keep up with what's going on by following @dialled.telemetry.mids on Instagram
Dirt Fund Project
I'm a big fan of the Dirt Fund principle and it fits well with our ethos of trying to 'close the gap' between the privateer racer and the factory teams. So, we're really happy to be offering a set-day for the winner of the Dirt Fund bike raffle and a significant discount on testing days for racers selected for a Dirtfund payout.
Get yourself a raffle ticket, you have a few more days!!
The next few weeks are all about EWS preparation. Exciting times.
Hopefully, I'll see lots of you around!
Dave