This is what Fraser Britton from Transend Magazine had to say:
Kenda Morewood riders Nathan Rennie and Mitch Delfs were both representing their home nation of Australia at this weekend’s Mountain BIke Downhill World Championships. Rennie is making his return from a knee injury that saw him miss 2 World Cups, and he served notice that he is well on his way to recovery with a 7th place finish, only 3.98 seconds back on an extremely physical course. Delfs wound up 27th, but not before throwing a one hander to salute the crowd at the infamous “Triple Threat” area of the course in front of hundreds of fans.

Riding one off, custom Australian themed Morewood Makulu’s, both riders stormed the course all week, looking strong and helping to set the pace. Rennie went down hard mid week, cutting the back of his hand wide open and injuring the tendons. A few stitches later, and the big man was back on track.

“I think there was plenty of doubters out there. Being inside the top 10 and getting 7th is great. I think being 7th at any World Cup or World Championship race is huge. If there was any doubters out there, their full of shit and everyone knows that/. I’ve got seventh at a few World Championships now, I’d like to do a bit better, but I had a few problems during the week.

The only reason the hand injury hurt was lack of practice time and not being 100% comfortable on my bike. Still, I know this track to a T and felt good. I’m just happy the season is over for me.”

There may have been doubters, but few riders had as big a fan club here in Stromlo as Rennie. Rennie’s Army was out in full effect, and it could only have helped push him down the course as a deafening roar seemed to follow him from top to bottom, right into the hotseat.

Delfs had an off day but still managed to pull down a good result. ” This isn’t a course that really suits me. I prefer the gnarlier tracks on the World Cup. I was still able to throw a one hander and get the crowd pumped and it was great to be able to race in front of my family and friends here at home in Australia.”

Delfs now rests at home for a few days and then heads back to Europe for the World Cup finals in Schladming, Austria, a course that suits him extremely well.

Results were as followed:
1st Steve Peat(GBR) 2.30.33
2nd Greg Minnaar(RSA) 2.30.38
3rd Mick Hannah(AUS) 2.31.02
7th Nathan Rennie(AUS) 2.34.31
27th Mitch Delfs(AUS) 2.39.58

Mitch Delfs, Kenda Morewood Team Rider:
“My run was blistering up top. My Kenda Morewood was hookin’ up all the way until I got a bit tired. I got tired but held on and made one little mistake at the bottom. I punched through it and finally got into the top 10, first one of the season. Hopefully there is many more to come. I think it was the moustache that did it, aerodynamics. It kept me down on the floor so I could turn better. It looks good as well.”

Mitch Delfs now heads to Canada to spend a few weeks training in Bromont, Quebec for the next 2 rounds of the World Cup in 4 weeks.
Team mate Nathan Rennie was not present at Maribor as he is back in Australia in order to help heal up a few nagging injuries and train for the World Championships at home in Canberra, a track where he raced to a second place finish last year.
Just signed 3rd Kenda Morewood Team Rider, Fabien “Cous Cous” Cousinie would end up in 62nd place after having a trip over the bars mid course.

Fabien Cousinie, Kenda Morewood Team Rider:
“I had put on dry tires and it was going great on the parts that were exposed to the sunshine. I made a big error in the woods and I lost it completely in the rocks. I had lots of arm-pump at the bottom and I couldn’t hang on or brake. I had a big crash because of this and then just cruised to the bottom. I’m heading home now to train for the French National Championships and the Canadian World Cup rounds. My bike was perfect and I am really happy with the new team. I just need a new set of arms now!”

Peter Siulczynski, Kenda Morewood Team Manager:
“We are very happy how this race went for Kenda Morewood Team. I was quite sure about Mitchell’s performance on tracks like Maribor and obviously the 9th place is very satisfied for all of us. Additionally, the fact that Mitch was the 6th fastest at the first split time and made a mistake in the bottom part gives us some hope for even higher finishes in the future. Also Fabien was riding very solid. Unfortunately, he had problem with his arms and crashed in the race run. Fabien will be able to rest a bit before the next World Cup in Mont Saint Anna, Canada and we hope for a good result also for him.”

For more information please email info@gravity-group.net
TEAM KENDA MOREWOOD
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Nathan Rennie, who finished the overall 2008 World Cup on 7th placed had a knee surgery at the end of 2008. The surgery should allow Nathan to ride his bike pain-free. Unfortunately, due to some injures sustained in competitions this season, it wasn’t the case and some additional resting time is necessary to achieve such level.

Team Managenent, Team Members as well as Team Sponsors wish Nathan all the best and hope to see him healthy and race ready in Canberra in 2 and half months.

The situation has given Team Kenda Morewood the financial freedom to offer its services to another rider during the remaining part of the 2009 season. After some analyses Team Management decided to offer that position to one of the best French riders out there, Fabien “Cous Cous” Cousinie.
Fabien represented Team Kenda Morewood together with Mitchell Delfs already during World Cup in Maribor (Slovenia) last weekend and will be also present at World Cup in Mount Saint Anne (Canada), Bromont (Canada), Schladming (Austria) as well as during Crankworx Bike Festival in Whistler (Canada). Simultaneously, Fabien will represent his personal sponsors and keep his personal race schedule.

For more information please email info@gravity-group.net

Team Kenda Morewood riders Nathan Rennie and Mitch Delfs had disappointing weekends, finishing 40th and 49th place respectively in front of the enthusiastic Scottish fans, numbering in the thousands and lining the track from top to bottom .

Mitch Delfs (Kenda Morewood Team Rider) explained after his run: “I am putting this race into a rubbish bin. My race was horrible, I am going to Maribor with high hopes for a top 10.”

Nathan Rennie (Kenda Morewood Team Rider), usually a challenger in Scotland, discussed the troubles he has been having recently: “I feel really good for a minute, I was really strong. When I get towards the bottom I was out of gas and it went really sloppy. I had 5 months off in the off season and it was just too much.”

Peter Siulczynski (Kenda Morewood Team Owner): “The World Cup in Fort William was very disappointing for us, in term of results. We are definitely capable to achieve the same top results as we used to achieve with previous teams managed by Gravity Group, with the KENDA MOREWOOD team. I am looking forward to next World Cup in Maribor where we expect and hope for significant improvement.

The squad now travels to Willingen, Germany to take to the jumps of the old World Cup track for the Wheels of Speed contest, where they hope to turn their luck around and get back to the top of their game.

For more information please email info@gravity-group.net

TEAM KENDA MOREWOOD
co-sponsored by:
BOS
ACROS
CONTROLTECH
FORMULA
MAVIC
MRP
ODI
RACE FACE
SDG
SRAM
TROY LEE DESIGNS
FIVE TEN

The weather couldnt have been any better with constant sun and not a drop of rain which bought on dry and dusty track conditions. The atmosphere was fantastic and there was a big turn out of spectators all buzzing around the pits and up the course to get the best view of some of the worlds best doing their thing.

Practice started on the Thursday, followed by qualifying on Friday, half a days practice on Saturday and racing on Sunday. All Morewood riders were given constant tech support throughout the World Cup and the biggest proplem on our bikes throughout the event was a pringled front wheel. Just shows the quality of a well egineered bike!!!

All Morewood riders managed to qualify for the finals on Sunday, with the likes of Jonty Neethling, Gary Barnard, Vicky Phillips and Pierre Vandermerve from South Africa getting in on the action.

The race went off well with Minnaar taking the win on his home track with a time of 3.43.44 followed by Mick Hannah second and Peaty third. Some of the Morewood riders who pulled out good results to start them off for the world cup season were Fabien COUSINIE finishing 22nd. This guys is a name to watch out for in the future riding under the Morewood United team. Nathan Rennie finished up 11th but didnt have one of his best runs of the weekend. Mitch Delfs, the up and coming youngster riding alongside Nathan in the Kenda/Morewood Team mannaged to pull in a 45th also not having one of his better weekends.

Morewood bikes were the talk of the weekend breaking into the racing scene in a big way, and I believe there are only good things to come! To top the weekend off, Morewood Bikes and Leatt Brace hosted the official UCI World Cup Pietermaritzburg after party at Cross Ways Pub in Hilton just up the road. This turned out to be a huge success with over 900 people coming together and having a good time!

Lets see what next year will have in store for the Morewood crew and Pietermarizburg World Cup!

Nathan Rennie

Patrick Morewood has personally been polishing Nathan Rennies Makulu all day yesterday, and now it is ready to build. Check it out more on Morewood Spy!

Or, read what Andre from Rushsports had to report over here.