timH
03-27-2006, 02:00 PM
We all know what it's like to descend a steep incline for a good 400 feet. But could you imagine doing the same thing inside a cave? In the pitch black. What about down a gold mine? Well, you get the idea, that's what the The Red Bull Challenge In the Gold Mine (http://www.redbulldesafionamina.com.br) was like.
http://www.redbulldesafionamina.com.br/redbulldesafionamina/imgs/galerias/treinos/gal_mina_piva_394x318.jpg
The place chosen was the Mina da Passagem (Passage Mine). It's located in Mariana a historical city in Brazil. The mine was deactivated 20 years ago. The competition started outside the mine. In this stretch bikers came across eight stunts as well as natural challenges. Once inside the mine the riders quickly dropped 400 feet down in complete darkness.
Brazilian biker Markolf Berchtold dominated the first official round of practice . The biker from Santa Catarina got the best time on Friday – 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.
Friday’s results showed, 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.
http://www.mbaction.com/archive/redb.jpg
“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, loved 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”.
http://www.dropmachine.com/news/post/images/goldminegeebrazil27032006.jpg
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. Gee 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.
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 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”.
http://www.revistabikeaction.com.br/noticias/imagens/91top.jpg
Gee came through on Sunday to post a 59.988s run, nobody thought a sub minute run was doable. Here are the rest of the top ten.
Final classifications
1. Gee Atherton – 00:59:988
2. Nathan Rennie – 01:00:550
3. Markolf Berchtold – 01:02:284
4. Walace Miranda – 01:03:091
5. Anderson Furlanetto – 01:03:348
6. Djone Fornari – 01:04:000
7. Mario Jarrin – 01:04:016
8. Volkmar Berchtold – 01:04:666
9. Nataniel Giacomozzi – 01:05:313
10. Robert Sgarbi – 01:06:877
http://www.pedal.com.br/fotos/camp/234003f.jpg
Thanks to mbaction.com (http://www.mbaction.com), dropmachine.com (http://www.dropmachine.com), revistabikeaction.com.br (http://www.revistabikeaction.com.br) & pedal.com.br (http://www.pedal.com.br) for the photos.
http://www.redbulldesafionamina.com.br/redbulldesafionamina/imgs/galerias/treinos/gal_mina_piva_394x318.jpg
The place chosen was the Mina da Passagem (Passage Mine). It's located in Mariana a historical city in Brazil. The mine was deactivated 20 years ago. The competition started outside the mine. In this stretch bikers came across eight stunts as well as natural challenges. Once inside the mine the riders quickly dropped 400 feet down in complete darkness.
Brazilian biker Markolf Berchtold dominated the first official round of practice . The biker from Santa Catarina got the best time on Friday – 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.
Friday’s results showed, 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.
http://www.mbaction.com/archive/redb.jpg
“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, loved 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”.
http://www.dropmachine.com/news/post/images/goldminegeebrazil27032006.jpg
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. Gee 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.
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 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”.
http://www.revistabikeaction.com.br/noticias/imagens/91top.jpg
Gee came through on Sunday to post a 59.988s run, nobody thought a sub minute run was doable. Here are the rest of the top ten.
Final classifications
1. Gee Atherton – 00:59:988
2. Nathan Rennie – 01:00:550
3. Markolf Berchtold – 01:02:284
4. Walace Miranda – 01:03:091
5. Anderson Furlanetto – 01:03:348
6. Djone Fornari – 01:04:000
7. Mario Jarrin – 01:04:016
8. Volkmar Berchtold – 01:04:666
9. Nataniel Giacomozzi – 01:05:313
10. Robert Sgarbi – 01:06:877
http://www.pedal.com.br/fotos/camp/234003f.jpg
Thanks to mbaction.com (http://www.mbaction.com), dropmachine.com (http://www.dropmachine.com), revistabikeaction.com.br (http://www.revistabikeaction.com.br) & pedal.com.br (http://www.pedal.com.br) for the photos.