Source: Yeti NZ
Sixteen year old Daniel Franks of Christchurch enjoyed his first taste of World Cup racing at Windham, New York on the weekend despite missing his gate in the 4X race and missing the cut for the downhill final.
The likeable teenager chalked his time in Windham up to a "good learning experience" in the sport's most elite competition series.
"It was a bit of an up and down weekend for me," Franks laughs.
"I had a good qualifying run in the downhill, but finished 99th so didn't make the cut. I just wasn't fast enough on the day, but I was happy that I got to experience it before going to the World Championships next week."
UCI Downhill World Cup tracks are renowned for their technical difficulty and it can take riders several seasons to master them. There are very few tracks in Franks' native New Zealand that compare.
"The track was awesome - it was a lot harder than what we are used to in Christchurch. It has definitely given us a taste of what we are in for with the Worlds," Franks said.
"The event itself was not as big as I thought it would be. It had a good atmosphere - the riders were very chilled out and it didn't feel like it was a big deal to most of them, but obviously it was for us."
In the 4X race Franks qualified 21st, but missed his start in the round of 32 on race day, ending his hopes in the discipline.
"The 4X track was a lot of fun with big jumps, a rockgarden and fun corners. I loved it in practice and did so many runs on it. I was really having fun on it. But on race day I made a timing mistake when I returned to the pits to get my race jersey and I was on the chairlift about a minute from the top, above the track, when I saw my gate drop. I was just gutted."
Franks appealed to the officials, but was not able to get a run for the round of 16.
"I was really disappointed. After a while I could see the positives - it wasn't Worlds - it was just the lead up to Worlds and next weekend would be a different story for sure."
Franks is one of only a handful of riders who race both 4X and Downhill and the two disciplines place a big demand on his time at events. The Windham World Cup was no exception.
"Friday was a big day for me. I had downhill practice in the morning and then downhill qualifying, then 4X practice followed by 4X qualifying. It was a long day - just riding the whole day," he explains.
The World Cup gave Franks a real insight into what he needed to focus on for the Worlds, he said.
"I need to loosen up a bit and let fly. I need to know how I can ride and I should be fine," Franks said.
"It will be the same as 4X - except I also need to remember my number!" he laughs.
If he qualifies Franks will race 4X at the UCI World Mountain Bike Championships, held at Mont-Sainte-Anne, Quebec, on Friday night at 2100 (UTC/GMT -4 hour). The Junior Men's Downhill World Championship finals will be held on Sunday at 1030 (UTC/GMT -4 hour).
