Designer Jon and Big Mike from Dirt Magazine tell us about their Fantasy Teams.

You have till Friday midday to register your Dirt Fantasy Team and be in with a chance of winning a spanking new Trek Slash machine.

Jon Gregory-Dirt Designer
Team:The Probes

Or

Tell us about your team Jon:

I had word from Billy yesterday that Matt Scoles may not make it to the first round of the world cup in South Africa…at least he thinks so anyway. Only the final rider confirmation will confirm things tomorrow. So…I had to make some changes. I decided to bring in Damien Spagnolo in his place – he’s been getting quicker and more consistent over the past couple of seasons and with a fourth by Barel on-board the Mondraker last year the bike is no slouch either.

Minnaar…well, he still remains one of the most consistent and fastest out there and will be a serious threat to Gwin’s domination on home soil.

Next up, Mick Hannah, a bargain for this race at 150k…he has shown he has the speed for the last two showdowns at Pietermaritzburg and it was only an unfortunate crash that ended his chances there last year after qualifying first.

Jared Graves, again at 150k, is an absolute steal. I’ve always liked Graves and respected his one-mindedness when it came to 4X and now that he is concentrating solely on DH I am sure that level of focus will be just as strong. He can pedal too and I can see him making up time on the ‘motorway’, I mean… for gods sake, have you seen his calves?

Finally, Tracey Hannah will be representing for the ladies. After watching a couple of videos of her in action on her new pink Morewood I am convinced she looks faster than the competition. She also has an air of the underdog about her what with not having had any full sponsorship deal for the past few years even though she has the speed…and I like that. Total spent… a cool million.

Hmmm…just had a rethink…and maybe I should have a Dirt team rider on board…..D-riff, who finished 14th at South Africa last year and comes in at 100k. Swapping him out for Spaggers leaves me with 100k spare….Gwin in for Minnaar? What would you do?….I will be making that call around 4pm tomorrow.

Mike Rose-Dirt Editor
Team:Walford Timber

How about this team then Mike?

OK, so I’ve just been finishing off Dirt 122, just a few loose ends to tie up and then it’s done. With only a couple of days to go to the start of the World Cup I keep getting hassled to do my Fantasy League team. I did have a scrap of paper lying around with all my notes and workings–out on, but for some reason I’ve lost it…I blame Dawn the cleaner. So basically I have to start again.

Now I don’t want to upset anyone here, I can’t have any favourites, and I have to ‘box clever’, but this thing is a minefield. I guess we’ve all had the same problems, we need to pick riders that are going to do well at a pedally (and possibly wet, if you look at the weather prediction) Pietermaritzburg, but then I want to make sure that I have allocated enough money so that I can make some strategic transfers for round 2 in Val di Sole. I don’t want to find myself stuck with cash in the wrong places when it comes to transfer time.

So South Africa…well the hot money would be on Gwin, but at £400k he is way out of my price range. Take him and the rest of the team might look a little weak. So he is out of the picture for me. Is that a mistake? So it has to be Atherton or Minnaar at 300k. Greg is on home turf and on a bike he knows well…or does he? New suspension, transmission and brakes…ummm. But Gee, can he hang it on the flat bits, and on a new bike (remember that Mick Hannah won qualifying here last year and lost out in the final due to a mechanical, and he was on a GT). History says Minnaar. Decision made.

700k left then. I would love to have one of the guys in the 250k zone, but none of them stand out for me for SA. I do fancy some of them for Val di Sole though. Actually I should mention the women, they will be important in the grand scheme of things. No Moseley, no Rachel Atherton. Pugin will be tough to beat, but if Sabrina Jonnier is free of injury (which dogged her all last season) then she is a safe bet for me for the whole series. So £400k left. Peat could come good in SA, but at 225k he won’t fit in with my plans. I like the look of World Champion silver medallist Spagnolo too at 200k, but again the figures don’t add up.

I’m going to go for two riders at 150k, and then one for 100k, that will hit the cool mill right on the button. I’m going to have to pick two from these three: Mick Hannah, Bryn Atkinson and Jared Graves. All Australian, all fast. I couldn’t make the call, so I asked the office…they went for Hannah and Graves. Have I made a mistake? Sorry Bryn.

And finally the last 100k. So do I stay loyal and go with a Dirt/Norco team rider? Ben Reid and Duncan Riffle are both in that price bracket, but Reid is out through illness and Riffle…I should do…but…well…my gut says Nick Beer. Sorry Dunc.

That’s it; Minnaar, Jonnier, M Hannah, Graves and N Beer. There will be some moving around as the season goes on I am sure. What’s the bet that Riffle beats Beer. Ha ha.

And why ‘Walford Timber’? Well if you ever need a bit of two–by–four you know who to call!

Not registered a team? Then hit up Dirt Fantasy Team. You have till midday on Friday, let’s do it!!!