Pro GRT/NW Cup #1

This last weekend was my first race of the season. It was first round of the Pro GRT and Northwest Cup in Port Angeles, Washington.

Practice for the race started on Thursday and for most of the weekend we had great weather. The Dry Hill course is one of the best around; it has a bit of everything but my favourite would be the top part of the course- steep with rooty corners. SICK!! I was having fun doing runs with my teamates and buddies, we were feeding off each other well. It would have been easy to do too many runs but I limited myself to only 4 runs on Thursday and Friday to keep my body rested.

I was really looking forward to having seeding runs on Saturday evening because it was a good chance to see where my speed was at. Moments after I came down from my seeding run I was told Kristen Smart, a fellow Canadian racer, had dislocated her shoulder and had to be taken to the hospital to get it put back in. It was later at the hospital that I found out I placed 8th, which was really encouraging because I was in the mix with a lot of fast dudes. Healing vibes go out to Kristen! Raceday started out dry but cloudy, and racers got one practice run before the racing started 6 hours later. I was thinking we might end up getting lucky and the rain would hold off but it started to rain shortly after practice ended haha. I'd been riding quite a bit in the wet during the winter so it wasn't a big deal, but it can make things unpredictable.I gave the bottom part of the course a quick hike to see how it was affected by the rain and it definitely looked slippery. 6 long hours after the morning's one practice run it was time to head up for the race-run. Everything went well; I was able to focus and I didn't make too many mistakes. I managed to do one placing better than my seeding result for 7th. Top 10 Pro Men---

1. Danny Hart 2:50.07

2. Andrew Neethling 2:52.48

3. Duncan Riffle 2:55.19

4. Richie Rude 2:56.43

5. Bryn Atkinson 2:57.05

6. Mikey Sylvestri 2:57.92

7. Dean Tennant 2:58.34

8. Cody Warren 2:58.92

9. Tyler Immer 2:59.19

10. Mitch Ropelato 2:59.67

I want to give a big shout out to my sponsors; Dunbar Cycles, Devinci, Elka suspension, Troy Lee Designs, Zett compression wear, Spy Optics, Straitline Components, and NRG. And also to the race organizer; Scott Tucker and Casey Northern, and everyone involved.

Later,

Dean

Check out my latest video with Aaron Larocque!

Dean Tennant/Dunbar Cycles from Aaron Larocque on Vimeo.

Upcoming Video

Hey guys, check out these screenshots from an upcoming video with Aaron Larocque. Keep an eye out for it being released on pinkbike.com and other MTB sites soon.

If you haven't seen my previous 'Winter Training' video with Larocque, check it out below...

MSA World Champs

Hey everybody,

Well it's been awhile since I last posted on the blog but I'll try to get it up to date with what I've been up to lately...

First I'll back things up to the first week of September: World Championships at Mont Sainte Anne, Quebec. Mt Sainte Anne has always been described as a real man's track: fast, rough and long. A true classic. I'd raced there four times before and I'd say the course and I get along well enough. We had awesome accomodations right at the bottom of the mountain and very helpful support from the DH coaches; Mike Jones and Geoff Pendrel. We had almost a week to practice before the race on Sunday.

At the start of the week the conditions were toasty: 30 degrees and the track was bone dry. Of course in Quebec it doesn't stay that way for long; the rain came and by the time Sunday arrived the course had become a blown-out mudfest. To be honest I didn't have that bad of nerves before the race. In the back of your mind you know it's the most important race of the year but you kind of just block that out. 'BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BOOOOP' and I rolled out of the startgate and got into a good flow. I was getting into it with my cut Wetscreams schralping (Re.drifting) the upper corners. With only about a minute left in my run on the 5 minute course I hit a patch of slick roots at a bit of an angle. At first it just started out like a cool drift and I was like 'sweet getting rowdy' but before I knew it I was over the bars and into the side taping. Worst. Feeling. Ever. My bike got wrapped up in the tape and it took me what felt like forever to get it free. The spectators watching were just yelling "PEDALLL!" It felt like a bad dream and even writing about it now I'm still not really over it. After getting my bike free I finished the race to a 56th place.

I've always been considered a consistent racer. I don't crash too often in races but sometimes when you're going for a good result you have to be on the edge and sometimes you go over that edge. So after doing 20+ DH races throughout the season it ended with a crash but I won't let a bad moment spoil a bunch of good ones. Overall it was a successful season coming away with a 3rd place at National Champs and 2nd place overall in the Canada Cups.

So that's it for the 2010 season but as they say the next race starts as soon as you've finished the last one. I've been looking forward to making the most of the winter and coming out strong next year. Stay tuned for more frequent posts by me and what training I get up to.

Cheers,

Dean

1st Pro at the Arduum Challenge!

This past weekend was the Arduum DH race on Red Mountain in Mission, BC. The Arduum track is known to be the gnarliest of all the BC Cup rounds with steep rooty sections, massive jumps, and sketchy drops. This was my first time riding this course and also my first BC Cup of the year so I really wanted to do well at this event. I was just coming off an injury from the previous race in Port Angeles where a massive crash kept me from racing due to a back injury.

Saturday's practice was very busy; the course is fairly long but it has lots of lines to check out so I tried to take it all in. I timed my final run on Saturday and it was a 3:31, which was the fastest freelap run of the day so far- I was encouraged by that. In the evening after practice was the Dunbar Cycles 16' Race, in which tow riders go head-to-head on small bikes. I decided not to race since my back was still too sore but instead was the finish line marshal. I was to decide who crossed the finish line first. Because the races were sometimes very close I had Jerusha Millar help me with video camera for photo finishes!! And we needed it too, in the finals between Kyle McDonald and Tyler Gorz the first round was so close that it was ruled an EXACT tie! Gorz took it in the end.

Sunday's weather forecast was for rain but it only drizzled at worst. I was a bit behind schedule Sunday morning and only got one practice run in which included a slide-out on the "rock slab" section. Four hours after that it was time to head up for the race. My actual race run wasn't exactly as planned, I think I knew after winning the freelap practice on Saturday with a relaxed run I could do it, but I might've pushed a bit too hard which brought on some mistakes. I was actually really surprised that I came down into the hotseat and was sure my time wouldn't hold for long but thankfully I was wrong!

Thanks to my sponsors, Dunbar Cycles and Sombrio!

Top 5 Pro Men

1. Dean Tennant 3:28.84

2. Matt Beer 3:30.63

3. Alan Crisp 3:30.90

4. Dan Skogland 3:31.74

5. Ewan Fafard 3:32.11

Bitching Photo

Just a nice shot of Misdemeanor Deaner riding!!