CrossWorx RADT on the RUSH290 at the UCI Downhill Worldcup in Lenzerheide
Who knows us, knows – “We love downhill”.
We have our roots in downhill and used to be on the road ourselves in the World Cup circus. Countless race weekends, spread over several continents and countries, on and off the track have definitely shaped us.
After dedicating ourselves to frame building, it was therefore always our dream to let our bikes loose on the World Cup tracks of the world.
From our own experience we can say that World Cup racing is on another level. But let’s start from the beginning.
The first World Cup for our RUSH!
Wednesday, June 7, 2023 – Lenzerheide.
We’re excited. The first World Cup is on the schedule for our RUSH prototype. After Jonas and Erik were able to achieve national podium finishes on our RUSH, with Jonas narrowly missing out on winning the overall Elite class of the German Downhill Cup, the UCI Downhill World Cup was simply the logical next step for us and our factory team.
Wednesday starts off with a relaxing trackwalk in Lenzerheide. We take the Rothorn cable car to the start of the downhill track. The view from the top is absolutely premium. The World Cup track winds through open sections and technical downhill sections, especially with high-speed descents towards Heidsee.
The fresh forest sections and massive jumps immediately put a big smile on our faces, even though the jumps may look huge at first when approached on foot.
Quali - Time in Lenzerheide!
The first training runs are quickly completed. It’s important to us that we quickly master the big jumps and gaps so that we can build up speed in the open and technical sections. Tension is naturally always high at a World Cup.
Unfortunately, Jonas had a significant crash near the end of the training session and had to finish the first training day with a substantial bump on his head. Undeterred, we were already looking ahead to the upcoming, highly important qualification day. Our clear goal for Friday is to make it into the top 60.
However, Friday didn’t bring us the best weather at the start. Due to the overnight rain, especially the hard high-speed sections have become extremely slippery – the holes and braking bumps are getting deeper as well.
RUSH290 - worldcup approved
The start times are quite close together. So, at approximately 4:30 PM, both of us are set to take on the World Cup track.
Jonas starts his qualifying run first. A bit fatigued from the initial training days, Jonas struggled primarily with his strength. In the end, he lands at P152 in the qualifiers.
Just a few minutes later, Erik sprints out of the starting gate. With a fast pace close to the top 100 riders, he experienced a significant puncture between Split 1 and 2, unfortunately having to end his run with a flat tire.
Certainly much wiser from these experiences, we leave Lenzerheide and look forward optimistically to the remainder of the 2023 racing season.
At this point, we want to express a huge thank you to all the on-site supporters and sponsors. Without this fantastic support, such experiences would not have been possible.
A big thanks also goes to Gregor from MTB-News.de for those great shots.
Stay tuned!
