Mondraker Team In Leogang

A Challenging Weekend in Austria

After Fort William, the team travelled to Leogang for the 3rd round of the World Cup Series, where a rough and physical track awaited them.
After the course walk on Thursday it was evident that the bike settings and race strategy would be very different from the week before. The riders opted for steeper head-angles and shorter chainstay lengths to enhance the bikes handling in the technical sections and they also stiffened up the suspension for carrying speed over the jumps on the long, flat, middle section.
Friday’s training went well and the highlight of the day was Patrick Thome seeing his first ever top 10 place on the scoreboard in the timed runs. Damien and Fabien also rode well and were feeling good on the bike.
By Saturday the track had become much rougher and Damien was not feeling as confident as he hoped, however he managed a good qualifying run to finish 19th. For Patrick things went very well as he finished with his best ever qualifying run in 39th place after a very careful and easy ride.
Fabien had a very solid run with few mistakes and a good speed placing him in 4th position, showing he was back up to speed and ready for a good race on Sunday.
After a night of heavy rain the track was soaked on Sunday and training was very difficult, Fabien had a big crash during his last run and hurt his back and neck, luckily he was able to recover enough to race in the final due to his late start time.
In the finals, for Patrick things went really well until the last steep section where he crashed and lost valuable seconds, with the first 2 splits looking very good he was on course for his first ever top 20 finish. For Damien, things ended in much the same way except for him it was in the upper parts he made the mistakes and lost time throughout the bottom section as he played it too safe!
Fabien had the pressure of a late start after his 4th place in qualifying and the frustration of the week before playing heavily on his mind, this combined with his injuries from the morning caused him to battle all the way down the track, not being able to put together a good run he ended up risking a bit too much near the finish and went down hard! This put an end to his chances of a podium finish, but in the end maybe the 13 was his lucky number as he walked away with no major injuries.
The riders were all very disappointed with the results, but eager to move on to North America for the next 2 rounds of the World Cup Series.
 
For a video of the team at the event, head here - http://video.mpora.com/watch/Xdm6xpDi9/
 
Follow the Mondraker Factory Team at - www.mondrakerfactoryteam.com
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