CoffeeTalk
The Chris Van Dine itw part.2
The second part of the Chris Van Dine itw is on ! As you may understand it, there’s not a lot of riders that keep on pushing their sport at 30, dedicated to the riding, the fun of it, doing it with plenty of style…For me this is really a good lesson of life and especially of bike lifestyle, it’s not watching guys like Peaty, Voreis or Mr Hans Rey who gonna make me change my mind ! Enjoy it just after the drop… (more…)
What’s up Mr Minnaar ?
Greg Minnaar is one of my favourite rider of all time…i know i’m not the only one. Actually, i’m pretty glad that Greg is also on board with which is for me the best team in DH, not only racing side, but also for the mood that surround the team. Peaty, Miami Bryce, all that plus the fact that Rob Roskopp was the first skateboard pro deck i bought back in days, all this made the SantaCruz “Syndicate” special.
Greg got injured this winter, so i thought that it was maybe a good moment to ask him how things were doing for him right now. I really would like to thanks Kathy Sessler for the huge amount of pics she sent me, hard choice, so i put a lot of them in a gallery that you can enjoy at the end of the itw. Read that just after the drop ! (more…)
The Sam Reynolds’ coffeetalk…
I first met Sam Reynolds during DOT 2009. I always loved the riding style of UK dirtjumpers, especially those ones who are sticking on trails despite the bad weather they have over the channel ! Maybe it’s because i was a huge fan of SPRUNG and i stick to that style of riding from the begining, anyway, watching Sam riding on the Hafjell’s trail was pure pleasure. More than that, he was sending crazy tricks, and smiling non-stop for one week. Not that his Harry Potter haircut style isn’t helping to make him looks cool, his behaviour is always really chill’. I can’t wait to film with him again this year, and even if he didn’t make it that good at Leogang, for the first contest of the year, we can put for sure the blame on the snow héhéhé… Anyway, his good riding pays off and he’s now on the Blabs team and still killin’ it for Nike 6.0 as you have seen it couple of weeks ago in “behind the scene video” from the 6.0 UK shooting. Enough speaking for me now, let’s the man express himself…Photos credits on Adam Swords, Joakim Andreassen and Szymon Nieborak. (more…)
Jamie Goldman’s CoffeeTalk…
Jamie Goldman is solid. If you see him or watch him riding, you can have no doubt about the power of the guy. But despite this, Jamie’s last season was stopped by an injury, and it’s not the first time. But isn’t it the way you recognize real professionals ? Their ability to overpass some serious injuries in order to come back even stronger ? (Hermann Maier ? Somebody ? ). Jamie took some minutes of his hyper-active life to talk about him, pretty interesting to have his point of view about injuries, riding and travelling…All pics copyright of SantaCruz Syndicate, except Bearclaw Invitational’s copyright of Joakim Andreassen… (more…)
CoffeeTalk with Trond Hansen
Those pics above can really resume well Trond Hansen. Sick riding, smooth passion for music, great guitar player and singer, and good MX rider. I remember the first time i saw the Viking around. Saalbach, Adidas Slopestyle 2005, He was there with Niels Windfeldt and they were really killing it. Such a different style. Exactly what i wanted to see at the time on a mountainbike, snowboard inspiration. Sending huge tailwhips on a sketchy hip on their heavy Kona fullys….This was Trond and he’s still like that. You can count on him when it’s about sending big tricks on big jumps. Doing well on contest, i can assure you that Trond is all about freeriding. Having the chance to film during both Days of Thunder, i was really stocked to see that he found the perfect balance, a nice overall rider, technical dirtjumper (still remember his 720° in Peynier), stylish as a motocross rider on big jumps, and fast as hell when it’s about DH. Watch out for him this year, and get a DOT DVD soon to come to enjoy some great riding from the north ! Find after the drop his interview with sick pics from Joakim Andreassen. As a musician, i asked him what he wanted to put under spotlights for his interview, his answer was Serge Gainsbourg. Sorry, couldn’t find a nice clip of “Requiem pour un twister” but i’m sure he gonna be pleased with one of the most famous beat and song that Gainsbourg made with Brigitte Bardot, “Bonnie & Clyde”…Enjoy ! (more…)
Timo Pritzel’s CoffeeTalk.
Nearly eight years now that i met Timo for the first time . And back in the days, he was the first real “pro” dirtjumper that i had the chance to meet. It was at the BikeShow in Birmingham and even dirtjumps at the time were not really as huge as now, Timo was killin’ it on them, throwing huge flips on his first try…You can always expect the most insane things of him on a bike, as much as he’s mellowguy off the bike. Few years after, i had the chance to work more closely with him, travelling, filming, and he became a good friend. Now he’s 32, and i can tell you one thing, you can still expect the much of him as soon he’s riding his bike. That’s maybe what’s make the difference between normal people and pro’s, the abitlity to swith off the fears sometimes héhéhé… Anyway, here’s my christmas present, the Timo Pritzel’s CoffeeTalk. Enjoy and watch out for some 2010 sick things from him ! Thx to Viktor Strasse for the trail+street pics and Daniel Geiger for the freeride ones…
CoffeeTalk with Lluis Lacondeguy
Lacondeguy is a huge name in the MTB world. Since they came like asteroids during the Adidas Slopestyle, killing lines with huges tricks, Lluis and Andreu are at the top of the game. Andreu has always been the little crzay kid when Lluis was the most reliable of both (héhéhé…) It doesn’t mean that Lluis is more calm, just party with him once and you will understand, just that he’s playing also his big brother role. Beside beeing of the best rider of the show, Lluis is still the cool spanish guy that i used to see on races back in the days… (more…)
CoffeeTalk with Linus Sjöholm
I first met Linus during last 2008’s Days of Thunder. Filming the swedish team, i can tell you that it was pretty sick as all those riders weren’t really familiar to me before. Linus was part of the team. Pretty mellow and chill off the bike, he became wild and technical once riding. This year, i was really impressed how he improved his riding again. Following the steps of his buddy Martin S, i can tell you that you gonna hear about Linus soon…Before that, let’s discover him through this little chat. (more…)
CoffeeTalk with Mike Hopkins
It’s a small word when i say that MTB Freeriding evolution is insane. I always draw a parallel between ski/snow freeriding and MTB freeriding….also between ski/snow freestyle and MTB freestyle. Lines and jumps size are pretty common to both world. The best exemple to illustrate this parallel is Mike Hopkins. Like Richie Schely back in the days, he’s living the dream 12/12 months….pro skier and pro MTB freerider. Pretty busy schedule, and no rest for the body ! Let’s discover more about Mike Hopkins with this little coffeetalk, enjoy some pics, and two vids after the drop… (more…)
CoffeeTalk with Martin Söderström
I know, i’ve made a CoffeeTalk with Martin not long ago, but we like coffee, what else can i say ???? No kidding, this year was really a huge year for him, but the tall guy from Sweden is still kind of a secret for a lot of riders. Hitting the spot with amazing tricks and huge style, Martin is not yet all over magazines with interviews and pro-files….a chance for us to discover a little bit more about him through same random questions…same questions, different riders, read the difference….photos credit : joakimandreassen.com and David Ulrich (more…)
CoffeeTalk with Cam Zink
Nothing is really predictabe when Cam Zink is riding his bike. He got this “go-for-it” attitude that makes him special. For sure that when his run is on, everybody stick their eyes on the screen.
He’s also a man of injuries, a lot of them, but when some could just say stop, you can see Cam coming back everytime. Big crashes, huge jumps, Cam Zink really like going big ! Here’s a small chat for those who don’t really know him, or just through NWD parts. Cam is more that. Expect the unexpected with Cam. Thanks to Felt and Michel Lethenet for the pics. Check out the nice Cam’s edit for Mavic at the end of the itw. (more…)
CoffeeTalk with Carlo Dieckmann
I know Carlo D for a long time now. Before beeing on Cannondale, then LEAFcycles, i had the chance to make a small roadtrip with him while he was on LASTbikes. What always amazed me, it’s his ability to ride a bike. Super confident when it’s about streeriding, Carlo is also really stylish on dirtjumps and quite fast when it’s all about freeriding. I also remember somebody that was really aware of the amount of work that a “pro” status involved. When i see him now, i really see an happy rider. Hooked up with LEAFcycles, he really had the opportunity to let his creativity go, without the restrictions of a big brand with corporate ideas. Always searching for the next thing to do, as with LEAF or MTBisOKAY.de, it was the perfect timing to know a bit more on what was going on for him… (more…)
CoffeeTalk with Jordie Lunn
After having the funniest guy in Europe, it’s time to know a little bit more from a real cool and funny character of the MTB scene, Jordie Lunn. Same questions for him, different answers. Jordie is canadian, and as mainly all canadians i know, he’s super chilled living. With his diamonds, pimp style, Jordie has definitely a style on his own on the scene. Find out more on him after the drop, all pics by Joakim Andreassen… (more…)
CoffeeTalk with Grant Fielder aka Chopper
Yeah, i’m starting a new serie of CoffeeTalk, it’s been a while since the last one….but no worries, ’till Christmas, you will have a lot to read !
So here it is, i catch up with Grant Fielder for a little interview. Chooper, as he’s mainly called, is maybe the funniest rider ever. He have this great british sense of humor that make special. So please read the interview below right after the drop to know a little bit more about Mr Chopper, personnaly one of my favourite character of the MTB scene. Thx KONA for the pics and FB for the last one…. (more…)
COFFEE TALK : Martin Söderström
I catch up Martin Söderström for a short interview after his podium in Crankworx, a 3rd place which just follows a long serie of good results for the tall swedish rider…
Full interview and pics after the drop…Thanks to Joakim Andreassen for pics.
Coffee Talk : Yannick Granieri
We’re in les 2 Alpes right now ? what are you doing here ?
My team (Ayton-Giant) is sponsored by les 2 alpes so every year we shaped some new trails .
I spend my last 2 weeks making the line ” les vallons” a single trail with seven wood stunts on it. The trail is on a steep hill and the berms are really closed so its kind of technical…i rode it the whole week i had good fun on it…Last week-end was “the mondial du vtt” in les 2 Alpes, it’s an french mtb meetings for a famous race who start on the snow and there is also a moutain bike village with a couples of brand who present the new product and you can also try the new bikes.. (more…)
Coffee Talk : Darren Berrecloth.
Darren Berrecloth is maybe the most influential freerider on earth. Beside the fact that he was one of the first rider to bring some tricks to big freeride, he’s also really involved in the sport, making his own contest and acting as a spokeperson on big events. Let’s see what he have to say about his winter “break”… (more…)
CoffeeTalk : Carlo.D
Check out what Carlo Dieckmann has to say about his past, present and future…. (more…)
