John Parkin from Dirt TV/Orpheus Productions has just given us the low down on the day’s happenings:
“The sun has been shining in Andorra! It might well be freezing cold, but as long as the sun is out, the mood in the pits is a good one. Practice has finished and all the usual suspects are looking fast. The track has seen little, if any, work since last year, and the melting snow has caused it to develop some deep ruts, making it a little one line much of the way down. Sam Hill had managed to fit in three runs before most of the press had managed to get up the hill, and is looking terrifyingly fast in places. Gee is now the sole Atherton on the hill, with Rach flying back to the UK today for her shoulder operation, and Dan putting himself out of action halfway through practice with a shoulder injury.
After last weeks brake troubles, Greg Minnaar has a smile on his face once again, with brakes fixed and “maybe even working too well”. Speaking of smiles, Matti Lehikoinen has the biggest of all, a new frame with modified geometry has increased his speed and enjoyment on the bike tenfold. Walking round the pits shows a big range of vehicles and pit set ups, ranging from Duncan Riffles single EZ-Up, to Trek World Racing’s new truck, four tents, two vans and an Audi S5!
4X qualifying just finished, Jared Graves just slotted into first place, beating Roger Rinderknecht by 0.04! Jill Kintner won the women’s, with Jana Horakova in second.
Time to go and eat some food, then do some sleeping before it all kicks off again tomorrow morning at 8.”
Frozen puddles beside the course today, but Rob Parkin reckoned the shorts were a good option for today. The goosebumps say different.
The Medics were ready for anything here, everest climbing outfits, a snowmobile, the probably had a st bernard and some brandy hidden away somewhere too.
It’s a narrow track in most places, even still Sam Hill seemed to be having fun with a few different lines. But are these the lines he’ll ride on Sunday?
Charlie Philips went down hard in 4X practice today. She got stretchered away, looked like a heavy impact to her ribs.
Jared Graves fastest qualifier in 4x today. The white leaders jersey matches his Yeti kit pretty well, maybe we’ll be getting used to that?
vallnord andorra world cup
