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Gee Wins Red Bull Challenge in the Goldmine
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3/27/2006 - by
Descent World UK
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Gee Wins Red Bull Challenge in the Goldmine
Gee Wins Underground
Written by D-W Admin , Descent World UK
Brazilian biker Markolf Berchtold dominated the first official round of practice at the Red Bull Challenge in the Goldmine. The biker from Santa Catarina got the best time yesterday (March, 24th) – 01:05:10. Next up were Walace Miranda (Sao Paulo) and Djone Fornari (Rio Grande do Sul) with 01:06:06 and 01:07:28 respectively.
By this Friday’s results, Markolf – number seven in the world and last year’s second place in the World Cup stage held in Camboriu (Santa Catarina) – proved to be among the favorites for the title. Australian biker Nathan Rennie and the English biker Gee Atherton, another possible winner, also showed their stuff. Gee Atherton got the fourth best time of the day and Nathan Rennie came in fifth even though he made two mistakes.
Markolf Berchtold
“I felt great on the way down. I still think I can improve a little on my time but I know the other bikers still have to improve a lot. The boys are going fast and Gee and Nathan will improve on their times”, says Markolf.
Nathan Rennie, two-time world champion, thought much of the circuit and said that he does not see himself as one of the favorites for the title. “The times in general are good and I think I’ll be in the top five. But Markolf is really fast and I don’t think I can match his time”.
Another highlight of the first day of practice was Felipe Wermuth (Rio Grande do Sul). He got the best partial time until a fall jeopardized his performance on the downhill. The first elimination round will take place this Saturday at 9:30AM. All twenty bikers will complete the downhill again and the ten best will qualify for the finals, which will take place on Sunday.
First day’s practice times:
1. Markolf Berchtold – 01:05:10
2. Walace Miranda – 01:06:06
3. Djone Fornari – 01:07:28
4. Gee Atherton – 01:07:49
5. Nathan Rennie – 01:08:24
6. Robert Sgarbi – 01:08:40
7. Martin Raffo – 01:09:41
8. Volkmar Berchtold – 01:09:86
9. Joao Ludolf – 01:11:04
10. Anderson Furlanetto – 01:11:07
11. Leandro Campovilla “Kblinho” - 01:11:61
12. Guilherme Bizarria – 01:12:69
13. Felipe Bortolletti – 01:12:45
14. Nataniel Giacomozzi – 01:12:75
15. Marcos Marra – 01:13:07
16. Marcio Ravelli – 01:13:96
17. Mario Jarrin – 01:14:94
18. Pablo Cingolani – 01:15:58
19. Kyle Strait – 01:20:42
20. Felipe Wermuth – 01:20:54
Final
The ten bikers who will take part in the grand final competition of the Red Bull Challenge in the Goldmine have been determined. The finals will take place this Sunday, March 26th, at 10:30AM. English biker Gee Atherton came in first place in the qualifying round with a time of 01:02:60, followed by Nathan Rennie, Wallace Miranda and Markolf Berchtold.
The result encouraged Gee Atherton. He was 2 seconds ahead of Nathan
Rennie, who came in second. “All I can think about is first place. I want the title. I won’t be satisfied by any place other than first,” said Gee.
Australian Nathan Rennie and Brazilian Markolf Berchtold, however,
promised to make things difficult for the English biker in the final
competition. “Nobody is here to be second. I already have a well defined line and know what I need to do tomorrow to get the title”, said Rennie.
Markolf – number seven in the world – also seemed very confident. “I can’t really tell how much I can improve on my time, but I think I can. I’ll try to do my best and let’s see what happens”.
Wallace Miranda, Anderson Furlanetto, Volkmar Berchtold, Mario Jarrin,
Djone Fornari, Nataniel Giacomozzi, and Robert Sgarbi will also be fighting for first place. Sgarbi (Rio de Janeiro) and João Ludolf (Minas Gerais) were locked in a battle for the tenth position. “I’m going to stick this competition’s result on my bike and leave it there for the rest of my life. Whenever I see it, I’ll remember that I can do a little better,” stated Ludolf regrettably.
Wipeouts
Apart from the excellent results of the most important bikers in the world, the wipeouts also attracted a lot of attention in the elimination rounds.
Guilherme Bisarria (Minas Gerais) was doing well when a fall blew his
chances of winning.
Pablo Cingolani’s chain came off at the beginning of the circuit. That
eliminated any chances of the Argentinean qualifying for the finals. But the most spectacular wipeout was Felipe Wermuth’s. He crashed at the entrance of the mine and rolled down the track for about 10 meters. The biker from Santa Catarina hurt both his arm and leg. “When I fell, I wasn’t the least bit worried about getting hurt. At that moment the only thing that went through my mind was that I had lost my chance to qualify”, said Wermuth.
Gee Atherton
This Saturday’s results:
1. Gee Atherton – 01:02:60
2. Nathan Rennie – 01:04:66
3. Walace Miranda – 01:05:08
4. Markolf Berchtold – 01:05:13
5. Anderson Furlanetto – 01:05:40
6. Volkmar Berchtold – 01:06:00
7. Mario Jarrin – 01:06:73
8. Djone Fornari – 01:06:90
9. Nataniel Giacomozzi – 01:07:21
10. Robert Sgarbi – 01:07:540
11. João Ludolf – 01:07:546
12. Leandro Campovilla “Kblinho” - 01:09:49
13. Martin Raffo – 01:09:55
14. Márcio Ravelli – 01:09:58
15. Marcos Marra – 01:11:00
16. Kyle Strait – 01:11:16
17. Felipe Bortolletti – 01:11:90
18. Felipe Wermuth – 01:37:64
19. Guilherme Bizarria – 02:15:49
20. Pablo Cingolani – 03:19:88
Impressions of The Red Bull Challenge in the Goldmine
The most renowned bikers in the world started practices for the Red Bull Challenge in the Goldmine last Thursday, March 23rd. As it is a new event in Brazil, it was the bikers’ first time competing inside a goldmine.
“It’s wild. It’s all really dark and the feeling is crazy. I’d never competed in a circuit of this kind. I’m very happy”, said Mario Jarrin, second place in the Red Bull Challenge of the Prophets, four-time Ecuadorian champion and a pan-American medal winner.
Darkness, the type of terrain and the final sprint were the greatest
difficulties mentioned by the bikers, who described the track as fast. The circuit, which is 680 meters long and has three artificial obstacles, is being done in 50s by the fastest bikers.
“It’s very different from other tracks. I think I am going straight and
suddenly I realize that I am not and drop into ruts. Also, I always have the feeling that my head is going to hit the ceiling and the adrenaline level is much higher because you know that a wipeout there can be much worse than falling on a regular track”, explained Marcos Marra, second place in the state of Sao Paulo in 2005.
Another biker, Nataniel Giacomozzi, commented on the difficulties of the track. The biker from Santa Catarina was second place at the Red Bull Down Taxco in 2005 in Mexico and is number two in Brazil in downhill. “This is very different, really awesome. When you are riding and see rocks all over, there is a lot more tension. The circuit is faster, very interesting. That surprising feeling is constant because it’s very dark inside”, said Nataniel.
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