Scarborough was the location for the second fat face night ride held this weekend, where a fast course starting in the castle ruins, took us down a network of paths footpaths and roads littered with wooden features and steps finishing up on the sea front. Being on the british coast, the weather didn't disappoint with storms and torrential rain proving to be the challenge of the day.

Practice and hotly contested qualifying runs took place demonstrating very close racing  over what was a relatively short course in off road standards at about 2 minutes. However as the early categories set off for their race runs, the number of crashes and injuries meant the UCI commissure declared the conditions unsafe with final results taken from qualifying positions. This left me with the win from qualifying, unchallenged due to the final run cancellation.

In the end it was a shame about the weather but luckily the scarborough locals are hardy folk and so there was a great crowd for seeding runs despite the conditions.....

Check out footage of the race below

Words: Stanny Footage: youtube

The weather was so hot and sunny that my unaccustomed body nearly went into anaphylactic shock and had to be calmed with coconut ice-cream. But heroes emerged from the throng bearing umbrellas to shade the sun-burned skin (thank you Mr Twigg and Mr Ward).

During practice there were horror stories of the legendary hour-long queues for the uplift in the burning sun, a challenge not unlike some sick Japanese game show. The blame for these queues were laid squarely at the feet of the freeriders who seemed to be able to buy their way to the front in some sadistic- f-off fashion, causing what were to be the only tensions of an otherwise chilled weekend.

Mark	ChrisP

The 'skin suit issue' kept me amused, as the Mojo boys (or should that read Mojo men?) were wolf-whistled and called 'sexy boys' - ummm... did I fail to see bucket loads of lycra-clad cross country riders whizzing by the paddock all weekend? It's a strange world indeed. But it was mainly all in good humour apart from some smart-arse Aussie guy who perfectly answered to the stereotypical antipodean male. Are they homophobic or sommit?

Pra Loup is a quirkie little resort but it's a place I would much rather be now than in wet Wales. I'll leave the technical stuff to the experts - just to say it was an exciting race day and a excellent result for the Brits.

Ben	Chris

The whole Mojo team was together this weekend for the first time in a month or two since Dan broke his wrist. It was good to be together again. We were back to the usual Ae Forest track and it was riding good in the slightly wet conditions. Ben had the best runs from the Mojo team this weekend and took the win after a crash in his 1st run and a blinding run in his 2nd. Stanny was just infront of me in 5th I think. I had a crash in my 2nd run and a poor 1st run so finished 6th. Another pretty succesful weekend for all with Dan beginning to get his strength back in his hand which is great to see.

That's Ae for another year.

Stanny	Chris

Ben	Stanny

Words: Chris Hutchens. Pictures courtesy of © Ian Linton www.ianlinton.com

The 3rd round of the NPS took place last weekend in the now sunny town of Fort William. There was sadly a lack of Elite riders as a lot of the top boys decided not to race. Why they did this I'm not sure but it certainly ruined the atmosphere a bit. The track was the same as always except a few of the big holes had been filled in and some new ones had developed, on the whole I think the track was running faster than it had.

Ben	Aimme

Due to racing this course twice recently I decided to take a laid back approach to the weekend. I had a lie in on the Saturday and rolled up at about 11, this was my master plan as I would be revitalised and fresh for the riding. Unfortunately you have to get to the race early enough to sign on........ Which I didn't. Luckily I found Steve Parr wandering around with the sign on sheets and got my name down. Two good practice runs and a decent seeding run set me up in 3rd behind Minnaar and Beaumont which I was quite happy with. So we packed up our stuff and headed out to a friends birthday party/ceilidh to watch Stu Thompson get tipsy and bust out some moves not seen since the 80's.

Sunday arrived a little too soon for some who were still recovering from the night before. Myself, being the pro that I am, stuck to the fizzy pop all night so I was raring to go in the morning. I arrived at the race and popped in two more practice runs. Race run came round and I put in what I think was one of the smoothest most accurate runs I've ever done at Fort William. It wasn't crazy fast, I just put the bike exactly where I wanted it. I got to the bottom and ended up with a 4:55 which I was rather happy with. That put me in second behind Minnaar which is no bad thing.

Chris Hutchens

Hutch had an alright run but made quite a few mistakes which lost him time, I'm not sure how Aimee did but I'm sure she'll fill you in.

Now it's road trip time: France; Wales; Canada. It's going to be awesome.Ben Cathro

Words: Ben Cathro. Pictures courtesy of © Ian Linton www.ianlinton.com

The SDA race this weekend was on a new track, which is always exciting to race on, and this one especially did not disappoint. It was a short, steep, technical rocky track that saw a few of the faint hearted cutting their losses and leaving the bike in the van. For the rest however, the race was an exciting one with an ever changing track adding to the challenge. I finished 2nd, keeping the series lead, with Hutchens narrowly missing out on the podium in 4th. Stanny.

Stanny	Hot Chickens (Hutchens)

Aberfeldy was the Dogs bol**cks of a track. So technical in places and it was dusty all weekend. I was loving it during practice but come race run the luck wasn't there and I ended up crashing in both runs. I had to settle with a disappointing 4th spot. Stanny grabbed 2nd place but I don't think any of us were happy except from Joe Barnes who took the win. Nice one dude. Cathro was there on Saturday geeing us up for the huck at the top. Mtbcut.tv should have footage coming soon. Another succesful SDA though and thumbs up to the crew that dug the track. Brilliant! Chris Hutchens

Stanny	Stanny takes 2nd

Words: Stanny & Chris Hutchens. Pictures courtesy of © Ian Linton www.ianlinton.com

This weekend Team Mojo/lOrange was in sunny Scotland for round 3 of the UCI MTB World Cup at Fort William. We were racing in skinsuits following a managerial decision by Mojo. Following an unusual lack of rain in Scotland, the track was very dry and dusty, which was pretty loose in places but the fast rough track made for good racing. I had a steady qualifying run, saving energy for the final, but unfortunately came off on one of the loose corners in the middle section, loosing a lot of time. Ben and Chris however both put in good times. Stanny

What did I say in the last report? Two Mojo boys in the top 20? I'd say that was an accurate prediction (haha). Can you believe it, another dusty race in Fort William. The only problem was this time the midges decided they felt like a snack. A quick purchase of some multi coloured midge candles and that problem was no more. The track had also changed a lot from the SDA. It was still as loose and dusty but there were monstrous holes developing on the top section. I know I had a few stem riding situations due to those bad boys.

This was also the big unleashing of the limited edition super special atmosphere slicing Mojo skin suits specially manufactured by cyclejersey.com. They are a bit controversial for a few different reasons but they certainly proved their worth at the weekend, with myself placing 8th and Hutch getting 17th. Awesome. Stanny had a spill on his run but he still managed to put in a decent 34th which is amazing with a crash.

All my efforts are going to be focused towards the World Champs in a few weeks which should be an excellent race. At least this time everyone will be in skin suits. Can't wait! Ben Cathro

My best result to date, I dont think it was just down to the skin suit, but I'm sure it was a few seconds quicker. It was controversial and I didn't like some people's attitudes towards us over it. No names, but grow up guys. So 17th for me in the end, if only I was 2 places higher, maybe that could have been me off to the Worlds. One day I hope :( Best thing was porridge every morning, thanks to Stoats for that! Great to see Sam Hill getting another whooping, I wasn't keen on his domination of the series this year. Ben's 8th was the highlight of the weekend and I was super pleased for him. Stanny got unlucky and unfortunately crashed. I got a text from a girl on Sunday who had one of mine and Ben's jokey chat-up posters, which was quite amusing. Chris Hutchens

Susie's take on the World Cup at Fort William...
Best Effort:  Mojo crew hawking the limited edition cowbells - a total of £390 raised for the Scottish Downhill Association.
2nd Best Effort:  Mojo crew sticker bombing the VIP marquee girlies......sorry Andrea!
Funniest Moment:  Stanny creased with giggles watching Gee trying to master the fine art of riding a road bike on a set of rollers - tee hee (he did it eventually).
Unkilely Scenario:  2 days of full-on sunshine at the Bill.  Blue skies rule.
Best Stand:  Stoats Porridge.  Yummy breakfast fare, served with humour.
Most Unsportsmanlike Moment:  Nathan Rennie in the 'hot-seat' refusing to shake the hand of Ben Cathro.

Numpty:  Anthony O'Boyle for leaving his drink to head off on the dance floor.  It got spiked and he spent the night in hospital on a drip!  Oopps.
Most Surprising:  Seeing six of the Mojo technicians turning up to the site on Friday in their brand new tech shirts.  They rose to the occasion - very proud.
Hero of the day:  Porridge man!
Non Heros:  Mojo crew (full of male bravado) heading off for a swim in Loch Eil, only to dip in their collective big toes. (I think Robbie braved it though).
Miscellaneous:  The skin suit issue....arrrggghhh! I think it'll run and run.

After packing the shorts and sun cream for this weeks race in Andorra, arriving to find they had just had record levels of rain was a bit disappointing. The track was short, but a good course and in the end I thought the weather improved the racing, with lots of deep ruts in the corners making the ever changing racing line more interesting, and keeping riders on their toes.

I had some changes to my bike setup before this race, which took a bit of getting used to but worked well, and I was pleased to have a steady run finishing 19th on a slippery track which claimed many victims to the mud (including Ben Cathro). Chris Hutchens had a good qualifying run inside the top 40 however dropped a few places in the final under tough conditions.
All packed up now and back to Fort William for round 2.... Stanny

Andorra has to be the nicest place in Europe, certainly for a World Cup venue anyway.  It’s at some silly altitude which also made it physically hard to ride due to the thin air. The views were pretty breathtaking as well. The track was quite similar to stuff in the UK but with 17 hours of practice it changed so much every run and ruts appeared in a lot of places. Rain on Friday night made it a lot more fun to ride on Saturday but many of the Corners got blown out....all good though as it rode amazingly.

In qualifying I put in a fairly good run and went into 38th place. I was feeling good for the final as I knew I had a couple of sections which I could hit a lot better. Some I did hit quicker but I unclipped in one of the flatter sections and lost a good bit of time. 50th place for me in the end which is ok but I’m still striving for a clean run at the World Cups this year. I’m now travelling back to Fort Bill...cannot wait! Chris Hutchens

Not the greatest result in the world for myself in Andorra. A small adventure off the track on my qualifier and a big crash in my race run ruined any hopes of a good result. The track was a lot more physical than it appeared which, when combined with the altitude, made me a very sloppy rider. At least my split time showed I was somewhere near the pace. Have to big up Stanbridge for putting in a good result. He’s had a hard time recently so hopefully he’s back to his top standard. Hutchens finished in the top 50, which is cool, but he should be hitting for that top 30, he’s got it in him. Aimee’s had a string of bad luck, a crash in her qualifier spoiled any hopes of making the final. Enough of the sad news, Fort William is going to be amazing. Look out for  some Mojo riders in the top 20! Ben Cathro

This weekend saw NPS round 2 at Innerliethen. A dry race, with a tight, twisty course made for challenging racing. Ben put in a top time continuing his elite winning streak, with Chris not far behind making up a Mojo/Orange dominated podium. I didn't have such a good weekend, with a crash in my race putting me out of the running.

Next, a quick turnaround and on to Andorra...Stanny

Hot Chickens (Hutchens)	Ben

The 2nd round of the NPS went pretty good for me, although I could have gone under that 3min mark...gutted I made a few errors in my run. So I finished up 5th, my 1st ever National Elite podium. For my first year of elite I'm pretty pleased with that. I was struggling with the lack of practice on Saturday and went into my seeding trying a few new things. That was probably a good thing as I still was on a good pace.

Stanny	Aimee

Ben takes 1st

After a wet first round at Ae Forest it was nice to see the sun. The track was taped using the steep, tight woods at the top and went on into fast bus stops, berms and jumps at the bottom. The track got pretty dusty throughtout the weekend, but I had so much fun riding it, and was really happy Saturday after seeding 3rd behind Rach and Tracey.

...Happy Aimee didn't last very long on Sunday after a disasterous race run. After crashing in the top woods I made a couple of mistakes on easier sections on the bottom trying to make up for it.

Cathro had another amazing result, taking the win, with Chris in 5th. Stanny had two crashes in his race run but still only 10seconds off the pace. Keep your head up Stanny!
Andorra next weekend :) Aimee

Words: Stanny, Chris Hutchens & Aimee Pictures courtesy of: © Ian Linton www.ianlinton.com

Bone dry? Fort William? Believe it or not those two statements actually became one and the same on a race weekend for the first time in...... well, ages. Practice was amazing fun as the rear wheel rarely followed the same line as the front which caught out most riders more than once.

Stanny	Ben

The track had a lot of work done on it to try and smooth it out but luckily the track was still the rough flat out affair we all know. Big mention of the weekend has to go to Stanny who used his supernatural strength to rip off one side of his bars then tumble through the tape. The most important thing about this incident is he got up, dusted himself down then went back to fix the tape! Gentlemanly behaviour indeed. I was feeling really good all

weekend, I had made some big changes to my bike and I had it running just the way I like it. I justified this feeling with my first ever elite win which I was really happy with. Stanny finished off just behind me in second and Chris very nearly made it an all Mojo podium with a 4th place. All in all it was a great weekend with good riding, the next race on the list is the NPS at Innerleithen, see you there. Ben Cathro

Stanny	Chris Hutchens

I had to redeem myself slightly after a disappointing result in Maribor, I think I almost got there. One place off of making it a hatrick! Mojo team placed 1st, 2nd and 4th in Elite! I would say that was a pretty good round up for the weekend at Fort Bill. The track was riding seriously rough after the winters thaw and there was a lot of melt this year after one of the best snow seasons Nevis has experienced for a few years.

I hope some work gets done on some of the berms at the top before the World Cup in three weeks.  Another set of Burgtec bars snapped and there seems to be a lot of people changing bars for the next few races. I certainly wouldn't want mine snapping landing that tripple at the bottom of the track.

Ben	Ben
It was good to see Mark Mackarel snapping up 2nd place in Vets also riding for Mojo Suspension. So lastly congrats to Ben for beginning to find some good form of late. We're off paint balling together tomorrow and then go-karting before we head to the premiere of Seasons and the New Downhill Racer race Guide 2007 in Glasgow. More racing from Inners this weekend. Chris Hutchens
Words: Ben Cathro & Chris Hutchens Pictures courtesy of: © Ian Linton www.ianlinton.com

Well Maribor didn't go as I planned unfortunately. It was a disappointing result after feeling great all week and riding with Ben and Stanny on most of my runs during practice. I was confident about qualifying after placing in the top fifth last year. This year however I went and had the most stupid crash ever on probably one of the easiest corners on the track. What I was doing I haven't a clue, infact I dont really know what happened. I just fell off! It was enough on this track though for me to just miss qualifying by two seconds. Pretty gutted looking back now as I was on a stormer of a run and would have comfortably qualified if I hadn't have made that mistake. I should learn a lot from that run though. Back to exams for me this week at Uni though. But Fort William this weekend. Chris Hutchens

Maribor, what a place! Great weather, good food, amazing track and a lot of talent (female)! Maribor was the first world cup of the year so the team was keen to put down some solid results. But before we could do that we had to get there which for Hot Chickens (Hutchens) and Staniel Danbridge meant a quick flight down to Graz. Aimee, Pete and myself on the other hand, being the hardcore members of the team, drove the 20 hour long trip almost non stop. I'll admit I did sleep most of the way but Pete just knocked back a crate of Toro Rosso and held it wide open, respect.

Stanny	Chris Hutchens

Practice was business as usual for the male members of the team. Unfortunately Aimee took one of the biggest spills ever on her first run. She performed a rather large over the bars manoeuvre in the rock garden and landed directly on her face. This smashed up the front of her helmet and goggles but luckily she walked away with only minor cuts and bruises, she is hard as nails.

Qualifying was really surprising, I don't think I've ever seen the times so tight before. If you made a mistake you pretty much didn't qualify which proved true for Hot Chickens and Aimee. My race run was a bit hectic, I knew I could do well so I went all out from the start. This proved to be a bad decision as I began to tire around the mid point. I made several mistakes and felt like I was loosing time everywhere. I must have made up time on other sections as I managed to post a good time and finish in 17th, stoked. Stanny was only a couple of seconds back on my time due to a big mistake on his run but that dropped him back to 42nd! Mental!

Back home now and getting ready for the Fort William SDA, should be ace. Ben Cathro

This weekend's race was the first of the NPS series and was great fun. The track was hard, a bit hit or miss in the bog and with the changing weather conditions over the weekend. The highlight was getting some really good practice runs in over the weekend and feeling comfortable on the bike. The most amusing moment over the weekend had to be when Pete, the team mechanic, met his first very drunk, broad-spoken Scottish women. He was not impressed judging by the very confused look on his face, while he tried to eat the lettuce and celery, (which was the only option for a vegetarian) at the 2nd chinese restaurant we had visited over the weekend.

Well I finished 19th with Ben in 9th after an impressive leap off the elevator. Stanny managed 7th. I think we were all pretty dissapointed with our runs. At least they got into the top ten though, which was where I was hoping to finish, if not on the podium. Next time one of us will be on the podium I think. Another enjoyable and fun weekend with the Mojo team and I'm now looking forward to heading out to the first World Cup round in Slovenia. Chris Huchens

Stanny dropping in	Chris Hutchens and his WHITE trainers!

Despite the hellish weather on Saturday the first NPS of 2008 turned out to be amazing. The track was more of a river than race course and there were many riders impersonating fish flopping around in the slop. Team Mojo kept a positive attitude in the conditions and shredded the track to bits. Unfortunately small errors on race runs spoiled hopes of podium spots but the results were decent. Back home now for the big clean up operation then we'll all keep active till the next race in Maribor, which will be awesome. Ben Cathro

	Words: Chris Hutchens & Ben Cathro Pictures courtesy of: © Ian Linton www.ianlinton.com
Aimee takes off!

The race was an interesting one, it wasn't a matter of getting down as fast as possible, more a case of making it down in one piece. I didn't have the best day at the office this weekend but I'll be on the case for the next race. Most impressive site of the weekend was Hutch banging out some handstand press-ups...... Either that or Stannys rodeo rock stall to face plant.

Chris on his way to 3rd place	Chris Hutchens

Chris Hutchens had this to say. The start of my season is going really strong and I think the pain, sweat and tears (also spewing) from training over the winter is beginning to reap the rewards.

Ben Cathro	Ben Cathro
This was my 1st proper Elite race and I managed to grab the 3rd step of the podium. I can't complain too much there. The track this year managed to catch a lot of people out, including every elite rider bar one in the first timed runs. The middle section was seriously difficult this year and the rain over the weekend didn't help much. Conditions worsened for the 2nd runs with the heavens opening half way through seniors just for the experts and elite. I think this made interesting viewings for the spectators who I think got a real show. Well another good result for me and another medal to put on the mantle piece, this time an Elite Bronze one!
	Words: Ben Cathro & Chris Hutchens Pictures courtesy of: © Ian Linton www.ianlinton.com Podium picture courtesy of: © Brian Gibb

The weather at Cwmcarn was typically Welsh. Unpredictable and cold would be the best way to describe it; although the sun was out and we had the occasional blizzard, which did the track some good if anything.

Results prove that everyone is getting along with the new bikes, with Tom Wheeler on the top step of expert, placing him 9th fastest of the day! Little Joe Taylor put together an impressive run placing him 8th in junior, probably the hardest category to race in. I was pretty happy with the weekend taking 1st place from Haby-blu Cann with a 3.26.

Overall a good weekend from Mojo/Orange. Well done guys!

The course was a fun, fast and open track, mostly consisting of big jumps to flat, testing bikes, wheels, and how much riders had been bench pressing during the winter. Unfortunately the sun did not hang around for the race, with a wet start to the day, but the wind caused more difficulties, with about half of riders being blown off their bike inches from the finish line on an 8 foot drop with a blustery cross wind.

Out of a heavily British field, Gee and Dan Atherton took the 1 and 2, with Cedric Gracia in 3rd and Mojo rider Ben Cathro in 5th, putting in a great ride and showing he is getting on well with his new Orange and looking forward to the coming season. Mojo technician, Aimee Dix came down a respectable 4th in the women's. And I finished a less respectable 13th, as a result of the new airport baggage weight restrictions meaning I had to jettison my lucky socks at checkin.

My first elite race ever and although it was a winter series race I was pretty excited. The likes of the Athertons, Stanny, Peaty, Camellini, Beaumont, Fungus Lamb and a few other riders were there. A tough field for such a small level race.

Stanny takes 2nd place	Chris Hutchens about to take off

The track was great but it did take a few chunks of flesh out of me and I managed to strain a ligament in my thumb on the Saturday morning, so it was a little sore when riding. Nothing that a good bit of taping can't fix though. Racing was good on Sunday and I finished 9th out of about 15 elite riders. It was a relatively pleasing result after hitting a tree at the top and then being close to a lot of fast riders' times. Stans no-tubes was working a treat over all the rocky stuff at the top - not one puncture from any Mojo riders.

Ben Cathro keeping tight	Aimee in full flight

Stanny says...This weekend saw a last minute decision to head up to Scotland for the final round of the Alpine Bikes winter series at Innerlithen. A small relaxed race to kick off the season, although a glance down the entry list read like a World Cup podium with the likes of Steve Peat, Gee Atherton, Mark Beaumont and Julien Camellini making up the numbers in the men's category, and Rach Atherton and Helen Gaskell setting the pace for the women.

Stanny on his way to 2nd place	Ben Cathro staying low
The course was a mixture of old favourites cut and shut together with plenty of trade mark Innerlithen squeezes between trees. The snow however added an extra dimension to contend with particularly for the uplift buses. The race saw Gee take 1st place, with me in 2nd and Camellini in 3rd, with most of the other riders stuck between trees I think! The women's podium saw Rach take the win, with Mojo rider Aimee DIx having a good run, missing out on a podium finish by only 2 seconds in 4th. Next week Portugal, where I'm hoping to thaw out.
Words: Chris Hutchens & Stanny Pictures courtesy of: © Ian Linton www.ianlinton.com

It was good having some competition and it gives me a good estimate of how my training is going on the run up to the season, though I can't stop pedalling yet, there's always more training in the bag!... That was basically the BUSA's for me and I couldn't have asked for more, maybe a little more champagne to drink! Edinburgh also finished 3rd in the Overall downhill which was a great result.' Away the lads!     Words: Chris Hutchens Pictures: Joolze Dymond

Chris keeping tight, even in the mud!