Rainbows in the rain in Champery

Rainbows in the rain? Right, this is what happens when you win two World Championships in the pouring rain! It was truly an amazing day in Champery, here is what went down:

As soon as the downhill finals started, it started raining. And it kept raining, and then some more. Here a canadian junior racer is still stoked, despite being completely covered in mud. That's the spirit!

With the rain came the good news! Here SRAM's best man in Australia, Rob Eva, wheels Troy Brosnan's World Championship winning bike back to the SRAM truck.

While we were waiting for little Tory to show up, Jaroslav Kulhavy came by. The 2011 XC World Champion (and World Cup champion!) was stoked and thankful for his 2011 season, and so were we!

And here is your 2011 junior downhill World Champion, Troy Brosnan!!!

As the DH finals were underway, the crowd kept building up. Awesome to see such a huge fan turnout, even in the bad weather.

And when we say bad, we mean BAD. This is how it looked like as the top 5 men were coming down the course. Extreme, gnarly, you name it.

Danny Hart of Giant Factory Racing came down with three riders to go, smashing the previous leading time by 11 second. With one last guy on course, here is how nervous Danny was in the hot seat. So close...

This is the exact moment when Danny realized he had just become the 2011 downhill World Champion. He could barely believe what was happening...

...but this were the facts. An amazing victory, absolute domination.

This muddy and proud gentleman is Danny's dad. He rushed over the finish area to hug his son, and this is the result. We bet he will never wash that shirt again.

The party at the SRAM truck started right away, and when Danny showed up with his number 1 bike it became just epic: here the new World Champion poses with the SRAM crew!

And here is Troy Brosnan with his proud parents, team manager, and the full SRAM crew!

As we wrap up this World Championships it's hard to believe how good this was...five World Champion titles, Boxxer Worlds, the new amazing race truck...this could be one of the best World Champs ever for SRAM!

Jaroslav: World Champion. Need more?

Jaroslav Kulhavy is the 2011 XC World Champion. Jaroslav topped off his stellar 2011 season, where he has already won the World Cup overall (with 5 victories in 7 races), the European and Czech national championships with his win in Champery on Saturday september 3rd.

Here is the new World Champion, with the winning bike, still muddy from the race in Champery! Notice anything unusual anywhere?

Jaroslav tested different gear combinations throughout the week, but kept the usual 39-26 XX chainrings for the race today. The choice paid off. Avid XX World Cup brakes kept things in control, as well as his SID 29 fork. The Champery course was a true test for both riders and bikes, with everything from steep killer climbs to drops and root sections. Jaroslav rode a textbook race, edging Nino Schurter and Julien Absalon for an all-SRAM XX podium!

There was another World Champion's title up for grabs today: the BoXXer Worlds, the legendary competition for World Cup mechanics. An incredible crowd assembled around the SRAM truck to witness some fine racing, and the usual party antics...

Past, present, legends: Boxxer Worlds MC Greg Herbold salutes Tim Flooks and his wife Helen. Tim was the original RockShox race truck driver, and the old SRAM truck started its career with Tim. Today Tim competed in BoXXer Worlds!

World Champs, at last: Evan Warner, SRAM race support tech, celebrates his BoXXer Worlds victory with 2011 4X champion Anneke Berteen!

That's it for today, catch you tomorrow for more action from Champery!

Live from World Champs!

The SRAM crew is out in full force in Champery, Switzerland, for the 2011 World Championships. As we had into the final weekend, the cross country and downhill titles are up for grab, but a lot of things are already happening, let's see what was going on in the pits on saturday...

Anneke did it! Our favourite 4X girl Anneke Berteen won her first World Championship title last friday night, and to top it all off Mikael Prokop took first in the men's final!

The new SRAM race support truck is the talk of the pits: big, red and beautiful!

HB shows up the truck's workshop: bigger, cleaner and better equipped than ever!

The wrenching area of the new truck is nothing less than the interior! Only the best for the best riders in the world!

World Championships are a crazy, action packed week, and it's all about preparation: star photographer Victor Lucas shows up his custom made map of the best spots on the XC course!

 

 

Speaking of photographer, here is another legendary World Cup snapper: Gary "Flipper" Perkin. We hear the beard is going to come off tomorrow after downhill finals...

Giac of Cannondale Factory Racing puts the finishing touches on Manuel Fumic's race bike. Check, double check and then check again twice. This is how the best mechanics do it.

This is the award for the BoXXer Worlds, happening tonight at the SRAM truck!