Transition TR250

I've got this on loan from Surf Sales for a few weeks as a 'first ride' test bike. Only been out on it a few times but it's as good as it looks! Plenty more riding planned for as long as I've got it. Check out the 'first ride' review here.

Pietermaritzburg World Cup

What a start to the season for Trek World Racing with Aaron Gwin and Tracey Moseley both taking the win at Pietermaritzburg, South Africa!

Peaty set the standard for the day smashing his qualifying time and looked more than comfortable in the hot seat. It was so good to see Peaty back on form and back on top, especially after the trouble he had last season.

Devinci's Steve Smith came close but just couldn't catch Peaty's time. Sam Hill was up at the first split but lost time in the unforgiving flat section where every pedal stroke counted.

But it was Aaron Gwin who put together the run of his life and destroyed Peaty's time by nearly seven seconds! Gwin didn't even look out of breathe as he stepped off his bike.

Fabien Barel was the next man down with a brilliant comeback to racing but didn't have it in him to nudge Gwin off the top spot. Even a new line on the hip jump from Gee Atherton didn't turn out to be enough.

Cedric Gracia had made a brilliant return to form at Pietermaritzburg with the fastest run in timed practice and qualifying in fourth, but on race day he just couldn't get it right and ended up finishing 16th. Fellow French rider Julien Camellini also had trouble putting a solid run together and couldn't match Gwin's time.

All eyes were on Greg Minnaar as he set off. Pietermaritzburg is his hometown and the crowds were out in force to cheer him on, would he be able to secure another win on home turf? As hard as he tried Greg would have to settle for second place.

The only man that could stop Gwin now was GT's Mick Hannah, but a crash early on soon ended Hannah's plans for a victory, and Gwin secured his first World Cup win.

1st Aaron Gwin - 4.08.634
2nd Greg Minnarr - 4.08.875
3rd Gee Atherton - 4.10.555
4th Fabien Barel - 4.12.880
5th Steve Peat - 4.15.443

In the women's race it ended up being a British one two with World Champion Tracy Moseley winning and Fionn Griffiths taking second place. They were joined on the podium by French trio Emmeline Ragot, Sabrina Jonnier and Floriane Pugin. Madison/Saracen rider Manon Carpenter managed a top ten fnish and crossed the line in eigth place.

Check out the full results and press releases from the teams here.

IMB Issue 11 Goes Live

IMB Issue 11 went live yesterday morning, and it's one of the best ones we've made, with the Kielder Trail Guide, Merida trip to Mallorca and a big feature on the World Cup.

Deadline week is always pretty tough, and this issue was no exception. By the end of it you're pretty ruined. Lack of sleep is probably the worst thing, but my knees started giving up from being sat a desk for so long, and my shoulder felt like it was hanging off from leaning on said desk for so long.

A bit of casual seep depravation is the order of the day and the more tired you get, the worse your language becomes, to the point the worst words you know become the norm. That always takes a bit of adjusting to when you break free of the office and let out back into civilisation.

But after seeing what Karen's done with all the text and photos it all seems worth it. So here's to hoping it won't be as bad next issue!

There are some breaks from writing though, and sneaking out on a bike is the best way to use them. On one such break Will came along with his camera and one of his shots of me ended up on the cover. Will is a great photographer and he's also seriously fun to work with.

Not massively sure how I feel about being on the cover of the magazine. We needed a photo of someone in a half-lid and we couldn't find one so the best thing to do was to make one. It's a bit of an achievement but I'd much rather see a pro rider who isn't pulling a stupid face on the front!

Mondraker Kaiser

Jealousy is a terrible thing, and that's why I'm trying my hardest not to be too envious of Pete's latest purchase, a 2011 Mondraker Kaiser. Not only does it look pretty stunning but the spec and value for money is spot on too.

Fox Van R shock, Boxxer Race forks, Sram gears, Formula brakes and a sweet Race Face finishing kit. You see how it's missing a set of pedals? That's to keep me from riding it!