It was amazing to be back racing at Fort William for BDS round 2. First run down every year im always blown away after forgetting how truly rough, long and mental the track is! This year was even worse, the track was rougher than ive ever seen it – but I was loving it! Had a huge smile from top to bottom smashing rocks, holes and turns!

Last week Thierry from Contour UK came up to Ludlow to film a video for Contour helmet cameras. The sun was out and tracks were dusty so it made a great day of filming.  The videos been featured on the Pinkbike main page and has received over 22,000 views in the last few days!

Dan Sheridan – UK Trails on Pinkbike

After having an amazing time at round 1 of the Pearce DH series I spent the next week hassling the guys at Pearce Cycles for a late entry for round 2 at Bala. Luckily they let me in at the last moment so huge thanks to Lindsey for that!

I travelled to the race with Perry and once there pitted/stayed in Will Jones’s camper van. Huge thanks to both of them for making the race possible!

With quite a bit of rain on Friday night the track was wet and slippy come Saturday practice, although drying up quickly throughout the day. I got 5 practice runs in and was feeling quite good on track, still struggling on some bits so I had an early start on Sunday to get to work!

I got 3 runs in on Sunday morning and was feeling good, ready for race runs!

My first race run was going good until I crashed in the forest. Game over. I got to the bottom and prepared for my 2nd run.

My 2nd run was going well.  I nailed the top section, putting in the 2nd fastest speed trap and my split only 1 second off the eventual winner Joe Smith. I took it a bit cautious through the forest after my crash in my previous run but put in a clean run overall to finish 7th in Elites. Happy enough and taking lots of positives from these smaller races. Improving well for the bigger events!

Big thanks to all my amazing sponsors!

The first round of the Pearce Cycles DH series was held at the weekend at Bringewood, only a few minutes from where I am currently living in Ludlow! I was lucky enough to be given a late entry only a few days before so big thanks to Peare Cycles for that!

The weather was good all week and a sunny weekend forecasted I was looking forward to some good racing in the dry. I got a lift up to the race with Perry Gardener who also supplied a great pit for the weekend which helped alot. Saturday practice was amazing! The track was so fast and fun, and also dusty! Not a regular occurance in the UK! Everyone was really enjoying it and I got 7 very good runs in on Sautday. I was feeling really fast on course – the best ive felt in a long time – so couldnt wait for Sunday to see what I could do!

Another sunny day on Sunday and with 2 fast practice runs I was ready to race! I got a bit too excited for my first race run and crashed near the top, I got myself together and kept on trucking to the bottom. I ended up putting in the 4th fastest bottom split, only 0.6 off the winner Gee Atherton! I put the crash behind me and got ready for my second run.

The track got really blown out for run 2, making it difficult to ride so I knew it would be tough to beat peoples first run times. I didnt push too hard on the blown out course but put in a steady run to finish 6th.

My goal for the weekend was a top 5 so im quite please with 6th. I took alot of positives away from it with my good split time and how I was riding, so a good race to build on! Cant wait for the next one now!

Thanks to all my sponsors!

I am really excited to announce that I will be riding for Dare 2b this season! Dare 2b make some of the best outdoor sports clothing available, with a huge range to keep you warm and comfortable what ever your outdoor discipline!

During races you’ll see me kitted up head to toe in Dare 2b casual kit when im off the bike; making the most of their stylish rain jackets, soft shells, Tees & accessories!

Geared up in the Hawaiian Blue ‘Headset’ Jacket and the black ‘Mooched Canvas’ short during round 1 of the British DH series!

When training; whether its cross country, road riding or gym work, ill again be making the most of their amazing jerseys, technical tees, shorts, lycra and accessories!

Sporting the black ‘Antics’ jerseys & ‘Mooched Canvas’ short during an XC training ride!

Road riding in sunny Malaga, staying cool in the white ‘Offshot’ jersey and the ‘Jolted’ cycling short!

For more information, and to check out the full Dare 2b range, check out their website: http://www.dare2b.com/

2013 British DH series round 1 – Combe Sydenham – Race report

Just a day after arriving home from a weeks long training trip in sunny Malaga I was packing up and getting ready for the 3 hour drive south to Combe Sydenham in Somerset for the first round of the 2013 British DH series.

The track was similar to last year and was in good condition on Friday; dry, grippy and lots of pedaling! Rain was forecasted for the weekend so we knew it wouldn’t last long, with Schwalbe Dirty Dan’s most likely being the tyre of choice come race day.

As expected Saturday was extremely wet and the track got really torn up, making some sections very hard to ride. I got 4 practice runs in due to the slow uplifts and really wasn’t enjoying the track; I don’t think anyone was! I tried to make the best out of it and got ready for race day.

Sunday was race day and the weather was slightly better . Again due to the slow uplifts I only got 1 practice run in before seeding, which wasn’t ideal, but I was feeling better on track than Saturday. I got the bike washed with some Eat My Dirt bike cleaner for seeding and after a quick warm up headed up with the rest of the elites.

With this being my first race in Elite and the hugely stacked field, about 40 top riders, my goal for the weekend was a top 20. I put in a steady run in seeding trying to save my legs on the pedaling and placed 21st.

A few hours later and I was back on the uplift to battle out another run on the brutal track! Hoping to shave off a few more seconds and get well into the top 20.

I put in an OK run despite the conditions, just trying to stay clean and feet up on many sections. I still managed to take 4 seconds off my seeding time and ended up 22^nd in the finals. Considering the conditions and how awful I felt on track I am pretty happy with my final position. I know how much better the up coming tracks will suit me so cant wait for the season to get into full swing!

Big thanks to Diego from Schwalbe UK for the pit and support all weekend and also Nigel Page for the loan of an easy up! Photos by Aspect Media. Huge thanks to my great sponsors for all the support:

Headcam from the SRAM test track while out in Malaga last week! Filmed on my Contour +2.

Below is a headcam edit from my recent trip to Malaga a few weeks ago, filmed on my Contour +2. Includes most of the top tracks in the area!

Just 24 hours after collecting my new 2013 Nukeproof Pulse from Chain Reaction Cycles I was already stripping it down and packing it into a CRC bike bag ready to fly off to sunny Malaga for 2 weeks of training with some of the Brits; Matt Simmonds, Joe Smith, Olie Burton, Rob Smith and Perry Gardener. A great opportunity to get used to the new bike and up to speed following the faster riders! My Nukeproof Snap was coming along aswell for some fun!

Packed up for 2 weeks in Spain!

I landed in Malaga on Friday to be greeted with heavy rain, great! After getting both the bikes built we hit the tracks on Saturday, which were in amazing condition after the heavy rain the previous day! I was blown away after the first couple of runs on the new Pulse…damn it’s fast! Safe to say I spent the first day with a huge smile on my face trying to find the bike’s limit – a week later and I still haven’t found it!

Pulse ready for its first even run!

Luckily there hasn’t been any rain since, and the tracks have been as dusty as you like! Always a pleasant change coming from Ireland! We have spent the week busting out DH runs during the day, and then going for a play on the hardtails in the evenings, either at the dirt jumps, BMX track or skatepark! A few gym sessions thrown in during the week for the gains! How else would you want to spend your days?

Dirt Jumping at the step ups.

The Pulse has held up amazing out here with only a snapped gear cable  which is pretty impressive consdering the amount of runs we have clocked up already! We’ve spent most of our time riding the local tracks around Benalmadena where our Villa is located, with one trip further a field to Ojen. Some sick tracks going from 1.30 minutes all the way up to nearly 10 minutes! Its been great following Matt, Joe and Olie down on runs and my speed has increased alot since day one!

Kitted up in my new TLD, 100% & CRC kit!

The timing poles are coming out next week with race runs going into full swing! Another blog to come! For more updates follow me on twitter at @dansheridan94 !

Thanks to Chain Reaction Cycles, Nukeproof, Schwalbe, Contour, Five Ten, Eat My Dirt cleaner, Dare 2b, Crankbrothers and 100% goggles.

Top of a Spanish mountain in my new CRC/TLD kit and Nukeproof Pulse!

Some fresh goodies showed up from Decade Europe today! Im really happy to be supported by Ride 100% eye wear again this year. The goggles are top class and the new sun glasses look amazing too, so cant wait for them to arrive later in the year!

For more check out http://www.decade-europe.com or http://www.ride100percent.com/ .