Silverfish UK are pleased to announce the formation of Yeti Racing UK a fresh gravity team focused on 4X and enduro downhill competition. The 2012 team will consists of multiple 4X National Champion and former BMX World Champion Scott Beaumont and current Masters 4X gold medallist Dave Richardson who will both contest British, Euro and Pro Tour 4X events as well as UK gravity enduros and DH competitions.



“We have worked with Scott for a long time now and he has become part of the family here at Silverfish. Yeti Cycles offers a high performance bike for every style of mountain biking so having such a versatile and well respected rider on board makes perfect sense to us. I believe that the team will have a strong year in 2012 in both 4X and in Enduro DH where they will have the perfect tools for the job in the form of the Yeti DJ, the Yeti 4X FS frame and the all new Switch technology SB-66” said Silverfish Marketing Manager Pete Drew



The team will take along its full pit set-up to all races it attends throughout the UK and Europe and in addition to Yeti frames, the team will also use Formula Brakes, Race Face components, SDG saddles and e13 chain guides. Having the perfect tool for the job is something Scott is keen to exploit this season,
“The Yeti DJ has always been a winning bike under Jared Graves in 4X, and I hope I can take it to plenty more wins in the UK, Europe and in the new 4X Pro Tour. I’m also really looking forward to competing at Enduro downhill’s with the new SB-66 bike and am made-up to have signed for a brand with such iconic status and strong racing history. It’ll be an awesome year” commented Beaumont.



You can keep up to date with the team through a number of different social media outlets:

www.facebook.com/yetiracinguk - Please click the ‘like’ button

www.twitter.com/yetiracinguk - Click ‘follow’

After the great news last week, that Schwalbe will continue with their title sponsorship of the Euro 4X Series for the next 2 years, we are really happy to announce the initial dates and venues for the 2012 Schwalbe Euro 4X Series.

Round 1 – Winterberg, Germany – 20th May
Round 2 – Leogang, Austria – 27th May
Round 3 – Afan, UK - TBC
Round 4 – Leibstadt, Switzerland – 5th August
Round 5 – TBC




About the Schwalbe Euro 4X Series:

2012 will mark the third year that the Schwalbe Euro 4X Series has been running. The initial idea for the Series was to provide a stepping stone for riders who wanted to race in World 4X events, but they were nervous about the ‘jump’ from their National Series to the World stage. The Schwalbe Euro 4X Series provided a vital step for these riders to gain experience against Europe’s top pro riders, in an atmosphere and an environment that was much more relaxed. The Series uses points for qualifying and a different points structure for racing to ensure that every rider is fighting for an overall position throughout the season.



2012:

The 2011 series came down to the final race to decide the top 3 overall. Joost Wichman, Tomas Slavik and Scott Beaumont all had a shot at the title, but in the end, Slavik came out on top from Joost and Boom Boom. These guys will all be back again in 2012 and fighting it out for the overall once again.
The Series will be returning to Winterberg after a break in 2011, for the opening round in 2012. From there the riders will travel to Leogang in Austria for what will be vital practice in preparation for the 4X World Championships there in September. Then it’s back to the UK to the popular Afan track in Wales which provided such great racing in 2011. Round 4 will be at a new venue – Leibstadt in Switzerland, and the finals are currently to be decided as we are still in negotiations with a few venues.



With venues located all over Europe, 2012 will ensure that Europe’s 4X riders will have every chance to race at a venue.

For further information on the Schwalbe Euro 4X Series:
www.euro4xseries.com
www.facebook.com/eurofourcrossseries
www.twitter.com/euro4xseries

Just back from the Czech Republic where we were racing at a Czech town called Pec for the final round of the 2011 Schwalbe Euro 4X Series.

Coming into this round I was sat in 3rd overall, and with 4 Czech World Cup 4X riders hot on my heels in the overall points, I knew that holding onto 3rd was going to be a real challenge.

The track was absolutely bonkers! 1 minute long, 50 foot double jumps, a road gap that would scare most people on a downhill bike and high speed like we rarely get in 4X. Truly wild track and I was stoked to be there riding it.



Practice went really well. I was using a new prototype Rocky Mountain 4X full suspension frame that was absolutely perfect for the terrain.

In qualifying I had a decent run and qualified in 9th. It was one of those tracks where I thought I had ridden a little better than that, but knew when I had riders next to me I could race fast.

Onto the racing. I won my first couple of heats and landed in the semi finals after a good ride in the quarter finals. In the semi final I got squeezed on the first turn and sat in 3rd. I hounded the rider in front all the way but just could not get past. So I was in the small final for this race. The pressure was on because the riders in the main final meant that I would need to win the small final and get 5th on the day to hold onto my 3rd overall in the series.



I made a great start, my best of the day, but got a little squeezed on turn 1. I then got a good drive out of the first turn and dived inside on turn 2 to take the lead. From here I did not look back and crossed the finish line to take the win in the small final, 5th for the day and 3rd overall in the 2011 Schwalbe Euro 4X Series.



I am absolutely stoked with this result as the Euro Series has had the same riders as World Cups competing in the series. To get an overall podium feels fantastic.

I would just like to thank all my sponsors for your help in 2011. It has been a fantastic year where I have won 5 British 4X Nationals, won the 2011 British 4X Series overall, ended the season ranked number 1 on the British Cycling Rankings and 3rd overall in the Euro Series.

As ever I will be looking for even more in 2012.

In other news, my 2011 Rocky Mountain Prototype 4X race bike will be on display at the Birmingham Cycle Show from September 29th until October 2nd on the Schwalbe stand. I will also be at the show all days meeting up with sponsors and signing posters for the public with some of my sponsors.

Hopefully I will see some of you there.

This weekend (September 24th) sees the final round of the 2011 Schwalbe Euro 4X Series take place on Saturday in the Czech city of Pec on what is one of the World’s biggest and craziest 4X tracks.

Most of the World’s top riders will be there racing at the fifth and final round of the series, fighting hard to finish as high up in the overall rankings as possible. The track is undoubtedly one of the world’s best. At around a minute long, there is plenty of time for lots of passes and with natural rock sections, manmade rock sections, rhythm sections, 50 foot double jumps and a road gap that would look scary on a Downhill bike, the winner in Pec will earn every point towards their overall series total!

Currently, Joost ‘The Boost’ Wichman leads the Series with 396 points, 2010 World Champion Tomas Slavik is second with 300 points and in third it is ‘Boom Boom’ Scott Beaumont with 268. The fight for the overall title will be between these three riders as they are the only guys who can mathematically take the title. With a total of 141 points up for grabs to the fastest qualifier and winner of the race, anything can happen and at Pec, it probably could!

Czech favourites, Kamil Tatarkovic, Lucas Mechura, Michael Mechura, Michal Marossi, Jacub Riha, and Petr Muhlhans will all be looking to dominate in front of their home crowd. However the man they will all be hoping to see is the newly crowned World 4X Champion, Michal Prokop who hopefully will be making his debut in the rainbow jersey at the Euro 4X Series.
The depth of talent at the final round will be pretty immense with Johannes Fischbach, Guido Tschugg, Adam Stasek, Scott Roberts and Premek Tejchman all also fighting for the win.

The 2011 Schwalbe Euro 4X Series has been the best Euro Series ever with 150 of Europe’s best 4X riders all taking part in the series, chasing the prestigious title.

After the race on Saturday night, there will be a fitting party to end the series. Michal Marossi and Tomas Slavik have been talking about it all year, and when those guys get excited about a party, you can bet it’s going to be a good one.
Full results and race report will be online Monday 26th September.

Here is a film from last year’s race at Pec:

Well, the 2011 Schwalbe British 4X Series has flown by. Yesterday we were at Redhill, in Gloucestershire for the final round of what has been undoubtedly the best British 4X Season to date.

Going into this race I was really relaxed as I had wrapped the series title up at the last round at South West Extreme a few weeks ago. However I didn’t want to drop my guard and I wanted to finish the season in the same way that I started it – with a win.



The track at Redhill is awesome. Really flowing and plenty of fun in practice. Without a doubt though, there was going to be some action in the first 2 turns. It was tight in there and most riders were predicting some battles being won and lost in the first couple of corners. What we all forgot about was the weather! Just before the motos started it rained. Then it rained harder. Then there was a downpour before it finally eased off. The track at Redhill is made with a clay soil and the track turned into glass!!



The first 2 motos were pretty crazy. Riders were skating around all the way down the track. There were unforced crashes in every race, and it became survival of the fittest. Luckily the rain then stopped and the track began to dry out instantly.

I was riding really well and won 3 of my 4 motos. In the final moto I finished 2nd, but came back from 3rd in the first turn so was happy with that.

Onto the quarter final. I made a great start and led the race into the first corner. On the exit Pat Campbell Jenner made a fantastic, clean pass by hugging the inside of the turn. Heading down the third straight I got a good drive and went past him into the fourth turn. I then led the rest of the race and took the win.



Into the semi final. I again made a great start and led the race down the first straight. This time in the first turn, Nathan Parssons carried speed all the way around the top of the first turn and passed me on the exit! I again chased hard down the third straight but couldn’t quite get ahead of Nathan. 2nd was good enough and I moved onto the final.



With my 3 wins and a 2nd in my motos, I had the first gate pick and I went for gate 1. Lewis Lacey in 2, Nathan Parssons in 3 and Tom Dowie in 4. All World Cup regulars so a tough final was on the cards. I again made a good start and powered down the first straight. This time I changed my tactics for the first turn and moved out to the outside on the entrance and just railed it as fast as I could. It worked, I flew out of the first turn with a clear track and just put my head down and went for it all the way. I pulled a pretty good lead and took the win.



It has been an awesome year for me, winning 5 of the 7 rounds and becoming the ‘2011 Schwalbe British 4X Series Elite overall winner’. A huge thank you to all my sponsors without whom it simply would not be possible. Schwalbe for sponsoring the series and Trixter for providing me with a new training bike for winning the overall series.

So we have just 1 race remaining, the final of the 2011 Schwalbe Euro 4X Series in Czech Republic this Saturday – 24th September. We are already packing the bikes and kit as we will be setting off on Wednesday. I am currently sat in 3rd overall in the Series behind Joost Wichman and Tomas Slavik. I will be trying my hardest to hold onto that podium position and maybe even move up a step or 2.

Full report next Monday when I return home.