Despite the best season ever for Team MBUK/Santa Cruz last year, that old sporting adage "you're only as good as your last result," holds particularly true in mountain bike racing. So with the 2008 season right upon us it's time for the team to get back out there and continue where they left off - starting with a new name: Team BikeRadar.
With new goals, higher expectations and a winter's hard training behind them, Team BikeRadar is ready to take on the best and the riders plan on coming home with trophies and titles in their kit bags.
Through the website, Team BikeRadar will be keeping us up-to-date with exclusive news from the biggest downhill races from around the world. We've already put together a collection of helmet camera video clips, behind-the-scenes photographs, blog entries from the riders and information on their race calendar for the year ahead.
We've got detailed pictures of the riders' Team BikeRadar Santa Cruz V10 downhill bike, so you can see exactly what gear they'll be running in their races. There are also plenty of riding pictures which were taken to celebrate the launch of the team for 2008.
Keep up-to-date with the latest on the team via this page, and other sections of the site including the mountain bike news page and the BikeRadar blog page.
For more details on the team members as well as videos, pictures and their latest blogs, look below.
Team BikeRadar blogs
Missed a Team BikeRadar blog? We'll be posting links to the latest from behind-the-scenes right here.
- Team BikeRadar's Neil Donoghue reports from Schladming
- Team BikeRadar's Neil Donoghue on the world cup race in Oz
- Canberra World Cup
- Team BikeRadar in Australia
- Team BikeRadar's post-Crankworx report
- Marc Beaumont at the Jim Beam Air Downhill
- Marc’s Whistler blog at the Garbanzo downhill
- Donny’s Whistler blog
- Team BikeRadar success in Canada
- Team BikeRadar at the MTB World Cup, Bromont – Race Day
- Team BikeRadar at the MTB World Cup, Bromont - Day Two
- Team BikeRadar at the MTB World Cup, Bromont - Day One
- Team BikeRadar latest from Canada
- Team BikeRadar latest from Mont Saint Anne
- Team BikeRadar’s Neil Donoghue at the British National Championships
- Team BikeRadar hit the podium at the National Champs!
- Team BikeRadar's Neil Donoghue reports after round three of the British NPS
- World Mountain Bike Championships - Day 4
- World Mountain Bike Championships - Day 3
- World Mountain Bike Championships interview: Oli Beckingsale
- World Mountain Bike Championships - Day 1
- Neil Donoghue gives his take on Fort William
- Marc Beaumont assesses his Fort William performance
- Team BikeRadar’s Fort Bill report
- Team BikeRadar at Fort William
- Team BikeRadar: kickin' it live in Lisbon
- Will Longden wins NPS 4X round 2
- Team BikeRadar rider/manager Will Longden reports from Maribor
- Team BikeRadar's Neil Donoghue on the first round of the downhill world cup
- Team BikeRadar rider/manager Will Longden reports from Belgium
- Team BikeRadar's Marc Beaumont on the first round of the NPS at Ae Forest, Scotland
- Team BikeRadar Donny on the first round of the NPS at Ae Forest, Scotland
The Riders
Name: Will Longden (Wilber)
Age: 29
Special Move: Wilber Scrub
Career Highlights: 3 national titles, 2 national Series titles. 15 years on GB team.
Seasons' Expectations: Win another National title, Top 8 overall in 4X World Cup, and beat my teammates at least once!
About Will: I've been racing bikes since I was six and racing mountain bikes professionally since 1995. Specialising in downhill racing and 4X, I've won National titles in each discipline. I ride in the National Points Series, the Maxxis Cup European series, the six round World Cup Series and many other one off events all over the globe.
Name: Neil Donoghue (The Don, Donny)
Age: 26
Special Move: One-foot tables
Career Highlights: 5 medals at the National championships. 1 gold, 3 silvers and a bronze.
Seasons' Expectations: Top ten at World Cups and I want to get another gold at the National Champs.
About Neil: Neil AKA Donny, is the quiet guy of the team. He likes to let his riding do the talking, and is one of the smoothest and most stylish riders around. Despite being fairly small he still manages to make his riding look effortless. Although a major title has eluded him in the Elite ranks Donny has been a consistent wing man to riders like Marc, Gee Atherton and Steve Peat.
Name: Marc Beaumont (Slugger)
Age: 23
Special Move: Being able to carry my speed
Career Highlights: Vigo World Cup win, 2 National DH titles.
Seasons' Expectations: Top 5 overall in the World Cups and retain my National title.
About Marc: Marc started racing in 1999 and his first event was the National Championships. Fast forward to 2008 and he is two times and current National DH Champion and was the winner of the National Series in 2006. Marc learnt his trade under the tuition of MTB legend Steve Peat and has gone on to put those lessons to good use on the International stage. His first World Cup podium came in 2005. His best result came last year in Vigo, Spain when he won the first World Cup of the Season.
ArrayThe Bike
Team Bike Radar Santa Cruz V10
- The cockpit - - Easton Monkey Bars and Havoc stem with Lizard Skins lock on grips and custom coloured Hope Moto V2 levers. SRAM X0 shifter. Fizik Gobi XM seat, with Easton carbon seat post - a knockout combination of lightweight and strength all round here.
- Rolling chassis - Fox Racing Shox 40RC2 forks and DHX 5.0 shock. Hope Moto V2 brakes with 203mm floating discs attached to a Pro2 hub, laced to Syncros DS28 rims with DT Swiss spokes. Kenda tyres and Joe's No Flat's tubeless system and tyre sealant kits.
- Drivetrain - SRAM X0 gear system and Holzfeller OCT chainset. E-Thirteen LG1 chain guide. Crankbrothers Mallets, or 50 50 flat pedals.
- The pilots - All new Fox Blitz race kit, Unabomber gloves, Rampage helmet and System leg/knee armour. Launch suit body armour. Crud Catcher ZXR guard. Fox casual wear. Thanks to Action Cameras, the team's every move will be recorded on the amazing POV-1 helmet or bike mounted camera.
- In the pits - Pre-race warm up Elite cycle trainers. Dirtworker jet wash plugs into the van's 12v socket to clean things up in a jiffy, with the help of Muc Off cleaner and lubes. Pedro's tools and workshop gear make maintenance easy whilst keeping an eye on the environment.
Helmet camera footage sponsored by actioncameras.co.uk
Where Can You See Them Racing?
You can see the team in action at these major races, or check out the team page straight after or during the events to find out how they’re getting on. ‘NPS’ is the National series and ‘WC’ is the World Cup Downhill and 4X series.
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Team Sponsors
