DIRT ISSUE 141 – NOVEMBER 2013
Words by Steve Jones. Photos by Steve Jones
Dirt: Are you happy or sad the season has finished?Laurie: The season for me is the main part of the year, so I will always be gutted when it’s over. On the other hand I have just broken my arm so I am glad not to be missing out.
Ten downhill races from February until September, not exactly packed?Yeah not exactly packed. But if you chuck some BMX nationals and regionals in you do have a fully stacked season.
Highs and lows this season?My highs of this season have to be Fort William national and Hafjell World Cup, both for very different reasons. In Fort Bill I pretty much had my best ever result, and in Norway too, that was rad riding a World Cup as a course opener but not racing.
Not a bad season, you won most nationals, right?Yeah, this season was unreal. Somehow I reached every single one of my goals, except one, winning Chatel iXS. And I also just had so much fun this year.
Talk us through the year. Combe you got smoked?Yeah in Combe Sydenham I definitely got smoked, two crashes in my race run was pretty bad. Third place for me there, maybe I was too excited to race after the off–season or something, but I think I was trying to hard.
Then at the Fort you smoked everyone!Ha ha, yeah Fort William went well. I stepped it back a bit and watched the Dirt Josh Bryceland flow video! Everything fell into place from there and I won by almost 10 seconds.
Similarly at Innerleithen? But then narrowly beaten in Llangollen,Yep, Innerleithen also went as well as it could have, confident from Fort Bill I also took the win there. Llangollen was a hard one for me, I felt great but in seeding I crashed due to a blown–out track and it just knocked me a bit, I got second in the end there but no seeding points and it really made things close coming into the overall with my good buddy Frazer McCubbing.
You won the National Champs.The National Champs at Bala was a really great race, a great track and venue and people wanting the win badly. I managed to take the win there with an over the bars mid run, I was really lucky as most of my main competition crashed as well, I managed to get back up pretty quick though and went full aggro until the end. It paid off as I was a few seconds up on everyone else.
Close one at Bringewood.Bringewood was extremely close, it all came down to the line in the finals for the overall. I rode a calculated race, not wanting to get too far to the limit with the overall in play. I was stoked that it paid off, I came in second, just ahead of my rival by literally nothing and took the overall win. It could have gone the other way due to the lost points crashing at Combe Syd’ and Llangollen. I had a lot of fun racing some good competition this year.
Been away this summer?Yeah this summer me and my dad went shredding in the European Alps, it was so cool having him back on a bike after a long–winded knee injury. We rode some of the best riding that you can and also tied in an iXS European Cup round and Norway World Cup.
Great experience at the Chatel iXS? Not far off in seeding?Chatel was a great race, I felt good for it and thought I could do well in the final and had loads of fun with my dad and some Brits in practice. It was really cool to meet some other youth riders as well. On the Sunday it rained a lot and the track totally changed for race runs, nearly every rider fell off. I went totally off the track, got covered in mud and thought ‘oh well that’s it’ and went to start cleaning all the kit and bikes for the long drive back to the UK. I was surprised to be told later out having pizza I had got fourth and the sixth fastest second split of the day! The race was good, I hope to do some more iXS races soon.
I’m assuming your aim is to race World Cups and travel?That is definitely the main aim, racing around the world with all your buddies and getting paid for it, in my eyes there is nothing better than that. Especially after my experience in Norway.>>
