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Actually, the kids from our Propain Talent Factory wanted to step their game up in 2020 and build on the good results of the previous year. Several training camps were planned for preparation, the race dates were marked in the calendar and all were “ready to go”! But everything turned out differently than planned.
First of all, the race dates of the Rookie Cup were postponed and we were forced to postpone our training camps as well. Then the race dates were even cancelled one by one, until now only one race in Steinach in August is left…
Nevertheless we, and especially the kids, try to see the situation in a positive way and use this year as an extra chance for preparation and development. In this context we are very happy to have two new hungry U-15 riders in the team, Klaas Michaelsen and David Adamek, with whom we can work this year. So the team lineup for 2020 consists of two “Oldschool” and two “New School” kids:
Mo is with his 12 years the youngest in the team, but has been on board since the foundation 4 years ago and therefore already belongs to the "oldschool" kids. He is competing in the U-13 category and is particularly notable for his freeride style.
Jordi from the UK has also been with the team since its foundation and is therefore an "old school" kid. He is a pure racer with a partly quite wild riding style. He is the only team rider who already competes in the U-17 category and therefore does not race in the Rookies Cup anymore.
Klaas joined the team this season and is one of the "New School" kids. He switched from motocross to downhill and was able to directly take second place in the overall ranking of the U-13 class in his first racing season last year. This year he advanced to the U-15 class.
David also joined the team for this season and is our fast Czech. He has been coached by Michal Marosi in the past and has already achieved some success in the Czech Republic. He will race in the U-15 category from this year on.
Due to the Corona situation the first team camp of the season could only take place in Todtnau at the end of June. Here some kids and parents met for the first time and got to know each other. The atmosphere was great from the beginning and the kids were hot and motivated! But they had to be, because Marcus Klausmann had chosen some challenging technical sections of the new downhill line in Todtnau for the training.
The first day of the camp started early in the morning with a fitness and coordination unit. As soon as the lift opened they went up the mountain for two two-hour sectional training sessions with Marcus. The trained sections on the freshly built downhill line were technically quite demanding, so that the kids were really challenged. Both in terms of their riding technique and fitness.
After the hard training sessions the boys send it big during a video session on the jumpline to end off the day. They even had to be slowed down a bit to avoid pushing each other too much.
For the second day the obligatory internal team race was on the schedule. Due to the heavy rain during the night, the conditions of the sections were even more more demanding than in the training of the previous day. The kids therefore used their two training runs to get used to the changed conditions and to adjust their lines if necessary. Afterwards they had to go to the starting line for the seeding run. Most of the guys played their cards close to their chest due to the slippery conditions. But in the following “race run” they all gave 100%, which paid off at a crucial key section for some of them and for some not.
The bottom line to take from the team camp is that the guys all ride on a high level and that they have not forgotten how to race due to Corona forced break. So we keep our fingers crossed and hope that the last remaining race in Steinach will take place, so that the boys get a feedback where they are in comparison to the competition.
We are already looking forward to the next camp and will report again.
A huge thanks goes out to all our sponsors, who support our development program even in these turbulent times and thus the future of the downhill sport!
SIXPACK Racing / RS Farbroller / Vee Tire Co / Leatt / iXS / Smith / Sports Nut / Motorex / Klausmann Suspension
Pictures: @jb28fotografie
Video: @friendsnvisuals
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