Liam Little

Fort William BDS Practice 2012 on pinkbike.com

It was a bit of a strange race last weekend up at Fort William, on thursday the last bits i have been waiting for, for the bike turned up so i got them fitted ready to practice on Friday.
I set off up to the race at 5am on Friday morning and managed to get everything set up and got 5 runs in, the bike felt great and after a bit of a wake up call riding such a big, rough, fast i started to feel comfortable and felt like i was riding well.
On saturday morning Paul and Geoff from Knox arrived, i managed to get another 5 runs in before waht was to be the race run bwcause of the impending doom that was to arrive on sunday. I rode realy tight from the start of my run and the wind was really bad having to pedal hard everywhere, with riding tight i started to get pumped up and i was flowing very well and felt i hit almost all of the track slower than i had all weekend.
All in all despite another bad result i have got the bike riding exactly how i want it to, my fitness is good and with a couple of weeks without a race i should get some good time on the bike and hopefully get a better result at the IXS at Innerliethen.

After a few disappointing results to start the season i have spent a lot of time on the bike trying to get my set up correct and get used to the new bike so i decided it would be good to get another race in before the BDS at Fort William. The race was a push up event on a short track which was pedally and pretty tame but it was a good weekend on the bike, it was dry and sunny and i feel some of the changes i have made have made a step in the rite direction. With a couple of new things on there way this week i will be exactly where i want to be going into the 2nd rd of the BDS. I finished 2nd at the weekend but almost 4s off the fastest time of the day i am still off the pace. I look forward to Fort William this weekend where it will see the biggest Elite turn out in a national downhill event probably ever in the world.

Just back from another good weekend racing. This weekend was all the way down south in somerset, but the guys from Balfa were there in the pits to keep me rite.
The track at combe was made up of several bus stops, some really nice turns and a few good jumps. The track was fairly pedaly and really good fun to ride.
Saturday was pretty wet and i started the day by fitting a softer spring on the Elka which i felt made a big differance in the turns and on jumps. I feel i have got the bike set up correctly now, but despite this i was towards the back of the Elite class in the final run, about 10s down from where i need to be. I was 6th fastest through the speed trap which was in the field after a pedaly section so i am happy with the fitness and power i have i think i just need to spend more time on the bike to increase my cornering speed.
I have a few weeks until my next race, so i will be doing everything i can to find the time i need to step up.

The track at Alwinton is probably the most demanding track i will race this year and from when it was origionaly used it is now cut in nicely and is getting really rough now. I spent 3 days there this weekend and feel like i am getting to grips with the bike and feel like i am riding really well but unfortunately in the really muddy and challenging conditions i couldn’t put a decent run together, blowing out of lines and almost stopping in the thick gloopy mud that was to either side of the line. This was my first face on spd pedals and considering how steep and tech the track was and how muddy and difficult it became i felt comfortable riding them. I think it was a really good weekend and i managed to get a lot of time on the bike and i am happy with how i am riding as i think i had the speed to be on the podium, i just need to keep it together when it counts. Combe Sydnham next weekend for the first round of the BDS, really looking forward to racing the first national of the season.

NDH Rd1 2012 Alwinton on pinkbike.com

Its been very busy since my last post and the last race of 2011, i’ve spent a lot of time sending out emails trying to get support together to race in 2012 and put together a structured training program.
As a result of my self promotion i am now on board a custom Foes Hydro for 2012 with team sponsors Elka, Acros, Kodex, Magura, and Schwalbe on the Balfa Foes UK but importantly with some compromise from Geoff and Jamie i was able to be on the Foes Balfa Uk and have KNOX as a sponsor not just for myself but for the whole team with the new 2012 MTB range, things are looking good.
i have been training 5/6 a week for the last 15 weeks and after picking the bike up at the weekend i am looking forward to spending time on the bike getting things dialled in and ready for the first round of the Northern Downhill Series at Alwinton on the 8th of April.
I have dropped 5 kg from this time last year and i am stonger than i have ever been in the gym, the next 3 weeks will be the final phase of my training program and i will be spending as much time on the bike as possible.